Kindle Previewer Differences

[konrad51]

Hello,
I am having a problem and I wonder if anyone has an answer for this.For some time now ,I have been experimenting with Kindle Previewer 2.31 to generate KF8 files from epubs. I finally got everything working to my satisfaction,(embedded fonts,drop caps, smallcaps, backgrounds,etc). All my chosen fonts(embedded) for drop caps displayed fine.Then I upgraded Kindle Previewer to v.2.901 and now only one of my embedded fonts that I use for drop caps is displaying in Kindle Previewer 2.901 (Still OK in v.2.31). V.2.901 has an empty space corresponding to the location of the drop cap ( it changes to match if I change drop cap parameters). I experimented a little and substituted another of my original drop cap fonts for the one that actually still worked , in the epub ...leaving everything the same except changing the name to reflect the different font (and embedding the changed font),But it still did not work properly.Also the small caps run outside of the page margins.(Works fine in v.2.31).(I use spans for the drop caps and small caps).This behavior is puzzling to me and negates a lot of the work that was done that was working fine in v.2.31.If anyone has any answers or suggestions ,I would greatly appreciate hearing them. Thank you.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by konrad51

I am having a problem and I wonder if anyone has an answer for this.For some time now ,I have been experimenting with Kindle Previewer 2.31 to generate KF8 files from epubs.

Though convenient for quickly generating Kindle books, Kindle Previewer is woefully inadequate for Kindle book testing. (Since the actual display of a Kindle book on a Kindle device may differ significantly, you may want to test your book on an actual device or at the very least with one of the free Kindle apps.)

Originally Posted by konrad51

(I use spans for the drop caps and small caps).

Kindle books require special dropcaps code also you don't need to embed small caps fonts, since all Kindle system fonts natively support them.
For more specific feedback post a small sample epub/mobi and Kindle Previewer screencaps that clearly show the problems that you have encountered.

[konrad51]

Doitsu, I appreciate the quick response to my post. Some of my question was actually concerning why the redition of my epub-converted to-kf8 was so drastically different (to the point of not even displaying the drop cap) from v.2.31 to v.2.901 of the Kindle Previewer...(I am using the latest version of kindlegen, by the way).And also why only one font that I was using for drop caps actually was displayed in Kindle Previewer v.2.901 , when they all worked equally well in v.2.31.All my code passes epubcheck in Sigil and while I get some warnings in kindlegen, none concern anything to do with this problem and I get no errors. My workflow is set up to use Writer2epub in OpenOffice , Sigil and Kindle Previewer (kindlegen).The smallcap problem is not that much of an issue.I have checked the generated kf8 with the latest version of Kindle for PC and it appears to display fine. I really don't understand why, if everything checks out in epubcheck and kindlegen has no errors and an earlier version of Kindle Previewer displays the kf8 exactly as intended ,plus Kindle for PC works properly ,that Kindle Previewer v.2.901 fails to display in the same manner as everything else did. Do I have any other options other than to buy a Kindle Fire and try my kf8 there? Thanks .

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by konrad51

And also why only one font that I was using for drop caps actually was displayed in Kindle Previewer v.2.901 , when they all worked equally well in v.2.31.All my code passes epubcheck in Sigil and while I get some warnings in kindlegen, none concern anything to do with this problem and I get no errors.

In my experience, none of the Kindle Previewer versions that I've tested so far, provided a reliable preview for all devices and formats. I.e., if your book was rendered as designed by an earlier KP version that version might have actually rendered it incorrectly, and the current version's preview might be correct. (Of course, it's also quite possible that the current version is buggy.)
However, unless you provide more details, you're not very likely to get an answer that'll help you fix your problem, because without seeing the actual styles that you used it's hard to tell whether this is a KP issue or whether your styles are simply not supported by KindleGen and/or Kindles. The same goes for the fonts. (AFAIK, sometimes obfuscated fonts cause problems with KindleGen.)

Originally Posted by konrad51

Do I have any other options other than to buy a Kindle Fire and try my kf8 there?

You don't need to buy a Kindle Fire, any used K3, K4 or higher (with the latest firmware) will display KF8 books. However, if you're a publisher or a service provider, you may want to invest into at least one device or find someone who'll do the final QA with a couple of different devices.

[konrad51]

Doitsu, thanks for the info and advice. I think I've found the reason the rendition differences exist between the two Kindle Previewer versions. A little more experimentation will be necessary to confirm this. Again, thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions