AZW3 and dropcaps

[Jeff L]

I converted an epub that had dropcaps defined as follows:

.dropcaps
{
float: left;
font-size: 60px;
line-height: 50px;
padding-top: 1px;
margin-top: -.04em;
margin-right: .04em;
}


After I converted the epub to AZW3, the dropcaps ended up as this:

.dropcaps {
float: left;
font-size: 2em; <-----
line-height: 50px;
margin-right: 0.04em;
margin-top: -0.04em;
padding-top: 1px
}


I can fix this manually but is there another way to deal with this? Is this an issue with the font size key?

Using version 0.8.68

[kovidgoyal]

calibre converts font sizes to ems. You can turn off font size rescaling in the conversion options, though I dont recall if that also prevents conversion to ems or just resizing.

[Jeff L]

Disabling font size rescaling kept the original font size but then the line height changed.

I don't mind the change to em from px, it's that the conversion doesn't create an equivalent size. I'll just do manual edits. Thanks.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Jeff L

Disabling font size rescaling kept the original font size but then the line height changed.

I don't mind the change to em from px, it's that the conversion doesn't create an equivalent size. I'll just do manual edits. Thanks.

If you have font size rescaling ON then you also need to check the 8 values in the Font size key just below it. Could it be that the 8th value is currently set to 24? This would mean that nothing in your converted file will be >24pt. Try setting it higher to 36 or 48, whatever size you'd like your dropcaps to be. I have mine set to 36. This equates to my dropcaps font-size in the converted epub css file being 3em. My base font-size is set at 12pt (1em). I guess it's possible that the maths is slightly more complex if the base font-size is not 12pt.

[Jeff L]

Thanks. The font size key did the trick for the font size but now I get the line height changing all the time. It's getting set to 1.2 without any unit named. I expect it means 1.2em.

I'm trying to make AZW3/older mobi packages, that is, I'm using the option to make one file that has both formats (I have older and newer Kindles in the family).

If I make files with only AZW3, then I can edit them afterwards. But with the combo files, editting them removes the older mobi format so I can't edit them afterwards.

I going to try Kindlegen and see what I get.

[jackie_w]

I think your line-height problem is also to do with your conversion settings. On the same Look&Feel page, just under the Font size key, there are 2 line-height boxes. I'm not sure which one of them is the culprit, but my settings are
Minimum line height: 0%
Line height: 0pt

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

On the same Look&Feel page, just under the Font size key, there are 2 line-height boxes. I'm not sure which one of them is the culprit, but my settings are
Minimum line height: 0%
Line height: 0pt

@Jeff L by default Minimum line height is set to 120% if you want to disable this, the pop-up screen says to set it to 0%.

[Jeff L]

Yes, that was it. Line height now remains as it was. Of course, different Kindles interpret the settings differently, but that's a separate issue.

Karma all around.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

I think your line-height problem is also to do with your conversion settings. On the same Look&Feel page, just under the Font size key, there are 2 line-height boxes. I'm not sure which one of them is the culprit, but my settings are
Minimum line height: 0%
Line height: 0pt

KF8 on an eInk Kindle doesn't respect line-height to lower the line height. The only way to be sure of getting the exact line-height you want is to embed a font with a modified line space that you want of just code with no embedded font for the default font and go with that.

[jackie_w]

Sounds like another good reason for me to stick with epub for the forseeable, then. My only Kindle-like hands-on experience to date has been Kindle for Android, which I found distinctly underwhelming.