No bug-free epub file pssible?

[nexo]

Hi there,

as it seems, Calibre is not capable of producing an epub file that will be accepted as bug free by any validator. Here is an example:



I used an .odt file as source, generated by Word 2019.

Maybe this is of some help do the developers.

Best,
Nexo

[kovidgoyal]

That's a bug in the epub checker not in the epub. calibre will not dumb down the markup it produces to conform to the execrable epubcheck.

[BetterRed]

Also see ==>> Frequently Asked Questions — E-book format conversion

BR

[JSWolf]

So fix the what epubcheck says is wrong and there you go.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by nexo

I used an .odt file as source, generated by Word 2019.

Docx converts far better than odt.
I do an extra Save As in docx for Calibre as we changed completely to LO Writer in 2015 and then from Windows completely to Linux Jan 2017.

You can make WP docs not suitable for ebooks. Our files with extra Save As docx and converted by Calibre to epub2 pass:
Both checks in Calibre Editor
Google's checker
Smashword's checker
Amazon KDP's checker

We do manually edit CSS on larger images to simply for better display, they still pass. We set width or height to a suitable % and then the height or width to auto.

I've never seen that message.

[Sarmat89]

<ol start="..."> is apparently invalid in XHTML.

[Quoth]

Also for best compatibility only style your lists without any numeric, alphabetic or bullet. Just a plain list style and then manually enter the list item text at the start of a paragraph. Then "start" is never needed and will never appear in the conversion.

The auto numbering/lettering is for web designers frequently editing the list on a live web page. It's not needed when creating an ebook. Just check all lists before final import of docx to Calibre.

[ballistyx]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

That's a bug in the epub checker not in the epub. calibre will not dumb down the markup it produces to conform to the execrable epubcheck.

So can I remove all the "class=calibre" from the html tags, so Apple will actually accept the epub? I don't see that removing the padding and margins will have a huge impact on the end result

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ballistyx

So can I remove all the "class=calibre" from the html tags, so Apple will actually accept the epub? I don't see that removing the padding and margins will have a huge impact on the end result

Please post your CSS and some sample code. We cannot suggest removing classes without know what's going on.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by ballistyx

So can I remove all the "class=calibre" from the html tags, so Apple will actually accept the epub? I don't see that removing the padding and margins will have a huge impact on the end result

Why not ditch Apple because of their stupidity and simply use a better distribution.

Some free advice: You really need to use someone to vet your books code because you skills are not really up to the job currently. (I assume you want it 'out there' fast. Writers corner, and the EPUB sections here can help you learn the ins and outs.

[ballistyx]

Originally Posted by theducks

Some free advice: You really need to use someone to vet your books code because you skills are not really up to the job currently.

and there we have proof that anything free is worth exactly what you pay for it. My skills are perfectly adequate, thank you. I got this far without anyone else's help, and the only issue is that I am not a Calibre programmer. I guess I'll go to stackexchange if I want answers and not opinion and unsolicited criticism

[theducks]

Originally Posted by ballistyx

and there we have proof that anything free is worth exactly what you pay for it. My skills are perfectly adequate, thank you. I got this far without anyone else's help, and the only issue is that I am not a Calibre programmer. I guess I'll go to stackexchange if I want answers and not opinion and unsolicited criticism

I am not a Calibre 'Programmer'. I am a informed user that had to learn CSS and REGEX when I started leveraging Calibre.

If you just use the Library management. You probably never need either CSS or REGEX. But if you want to Fix or tweak bad code, knowing REGEX can help.
While it is done, every day using inline styles, those should be avoided as Use of a CSS allows adjustments in 1 place for all uses

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ballistyx

So can I remove all the "class=calibre" from the html tags, so Apple will actually accept the epub? I don't see that removing the padding and margins will have a huge impact on the end result

What is Apple saying is wrong with your ePub? Does your ePub pass an epubcheck validation?

[Quoth]

If you submit an epub to Smashwords / D2D and pass their checks they automatically put the ebook on Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and a few others.
Free and no hassle. We use the same epub also for Google (Play Store Play Books) and Amazon KDP.

So three free uploads gives you about 98% of the English language market.

Having class="Calibre-whatever" in tags isn't an issue. Source is odt in LO Writer, extra Save As to docx for Calibre conversion to epub. The only editing we do in the Calibre Editor is tweaking CSS of images. But it's just fiction, not complicated textbooks.

[ballistyx]

Originally Posted by Quoth

If you submit an epub to Smashwords / D2D and pass their checks they automatically put the ebook on Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and a few others.
Free and no hassle. We use the same epub also for Google (Play Store Play Books) and Amazon KDP.

So three free uploads gives you about 98% of the English language market.

Having class="Calibre-whatever" in tags isn't an issue. Source is odt in LO Writer, extra Save As to docx for Calibre conversion to epub. The only editing we do in the Calibre Editor is tweaking CSS of images. But it's just fiction, not complicated textbooks.

Thx. It's on D2D - maybe it's just the previewer that doesn't like it, and it will go out from D2D with no problems, but that initial validation fail did concern me