Is there a way to remove the gap between pages without merging?

[morty92222]

I am trying to create a reflowable book in Sigil. Each page is its own separate html page in Sigil to allow for maximum speed while rendering the book in a ebook reader.

I noticed that while displaying the book in Apple Books on iPhone or macOS, there is a gap between every page. All margins and padding are set to 0.

I know if I combine all pages in one html page this problem will go away, however doing so will render the book too "heavy" as I am dealing with 500+ page books.

Please take a look at the attached pictures for more insight. Please note that the language is Arabic, which is read right to left.

Thank you!

[phillipgessert]

No, and usually you want to split at chapter heads rather than trying to portion off a page of content. That won’t work well because those breaks are essentially arbitrary when you factor in varying screen sizes and display settings.

[exaltedwombat]

This is why we normally compromise by splitting into chapter files, small enough to load fast but long enough to give a good block of continuous flow. We don't know where page breaks will come in an eBook. That's what 'reflowable' MEANS.

[DiapDealer]

Any kind of (very) minimal page-loading speed gained by this strategy is likely lost by having to parse a 500+ entry manifest in the opf file. Split the book into chapters (or reasonable chunks if there are no chapter breaks) less than 2Mb and no reader out there is going to struggle with keeping up.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by morty92222

I am trying to create a reflowable book in Sigil. Each page is its own separate html page in Sigil to allow for maximum speed while rendering the book in a ebook reader.

Each PAGE? I mean....unless this is extraordinarily graphics-heavy, there's no reason for this. Not remotely. We do books that are huge--certainly upwards of 500 pages--and we've never done this.

I noticed that while displaying the book in Apple Books on iPhone or macOS, there is a gap between every page. All margins and padding are set to 0.

Yup, because they are separate HTML files, which render in different "sizes" on different screens on different devices for different readers. Not print pages.

I know if I combine all pages in one html page this problem will go away, however doing so will render the book too "heavy" as I am dealing with 500+ page books.

Honestly, page count is fairly irrelevant. Word count and kb matter, not pages.

Please take a look at the attached pictures for more insight. Please note that the language is Arabic, which is read right to left.

Thank you!

That doesn't really matter (R2L), inasmuch as the actual size, in kilobytes, of the sections.

Commercial/professional bookmakers break at chapters, typically. Does your book not have chapters?

Hitch

[Notjohn]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Split the book into chapters (or reasonable chunks if there are no chapter breaks) less than 2Mb and no reader out there is going to struggle with keeping up.

I have only one book longer than 2MB, and most run about 500KB. Does that mean I'd be as well off if I used only a single html file?

I suppose that splitting off chapters etc makes the TOC work easier.... Is there any other advantage?

[KevinH]

Older readers had a 210kb or so limit. Splitting it into chapters is the best approach for both readers and editors from a speed point. Imagine from a reader or editor perspective having to grok an entire book just to show a single reflowable page of text!