full pages + Marvin synchronisation

[adrianf]

I run calibre 2.51 under OS X 10.10.5
I have two problems and I would like you to please address both. I want:

(1) to have the choice that when I open a book to have it opened in integer page sizes (that is, not from page 677.9 up to page 679.2, but from page 678.0 to page 679.0) When I change the font size, also the page size should change.

(2) to be able to synchronise with Marvin on my iPad; this is still not possible.

Can you please help me with both these issues?
Many thanks
Adrian

[kovidgoyal]

1) Those are not page numbers. They are locations in the book. If the presence of a decimal point offends you, just pretend it does not exist, the numbers you see do not in any way correspond to page numbers.

2) I'm afraid I have no interest in implementing syncing with individual reader applications, there are way too many of them to make that practical. What I am in the process of implementing is an in browser ebook reader that can be accessed directly via the calibre content server, which automatically solves syncing problems since you no longer have to use different reader apps on different devices.

[adrianf]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

1) Those are not page numbers. They are locations in the book. If the presence of a decimal point offends you, just pretend it does not exist, the numbers you see do not in any way correspond to page numbers.

2) I'm afraid I have no interest in implementing syncing with individual reader applications, there are way too many of them to make that practical. What I am in the process of implementing is an in browser ebook reader that can be accessed directly via the calibre content server, which automatically solves syncing problems since you no longer have to use different reader apps on different devices.

(1) Most books I read using calibre I need also to quote, so I need either page numbers (best), or, lacking page numbers, then integer locations in the book (not so good but something). Surely I would prefer page numbers, if that is possible.

(2) I am very interested in your future in-browser ebook reader. Could you please put me on the e-mail list announcing that launch?

Many thanks
Adrian

[kovidgoyal]

What's the obsession with integral numbers? Multiply the number by 10 and there you have an integer number. I think you are trying to say something else.

The viewer has a dedicated solution for referencing that is much more precise -- reference mode. Click the reference mode button in the toolbar on the left and hover your mouse over any paragraph, it will give you a combined section + paragraph number which you can then use to quote, with far greater granularity than a page.

As for the in browser reader, that will be part of calibre 3.0 and calibre itself will inform you when that is available.

[adrianf]

I know of the reference mode, but when I quote from a book for a journal article it has to be in some recognised sort of way; chapter+paragraph is not recognised by any journal to my knowledge so it is useless for use outside my own administration. On the other hand you are right that also the position in the document (integer of not) is equally useless for publishing in journals. Page number is the only recognised way for locating a quote; that is the case for all journals and publishing houses I know. The only exception is quoting from holy books, where, indeed, book+chapter+paragraph in the case of the Bible or similar for other holy books is the correct way of quoting.

I hope now, at last, I have clarified my problem. Many thanks for your patience.
Adrian

[kovidgoyal]

There is no way to get a quotable page number from an ebook. E-books dont have pages and the numbers you see in the typical ebook reading app will vary from reader application to reader application and may or may not match the numbers from any specific print edition of the work either.

The only partial solution is to use ebook page mapping which involves creatting mapping data in the ebook for mapping sections of the ebook to page numbers from a phsical edition of the book. But very few ebooks have that data, so it is not a robust/scaleable solution.

[adrianf]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

There is no way to get a quotable page number from an ebook. E-books dont have pages and the numbers you see in the typical ebook reading app will vary from reader application to reader application and may or may not match the numbers from any specific print edition of the work either.

The only partial solution is to use ebook page mapping which involves creatting mapping data in the ebook for mapping sections of the ebook to page numbers from a phsical edition of the book. But very few ebooks have that data, so it is not a robust/scaleable solution.

Many thanks, dear Kovidgoyal, much appreciated. I was not aware that only a minority of e-books have page mapping data.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by adrianf

I know of the reference mode, but when I quote from a book for a journal article it has to be in some recognised sort of way; chapter+paragraph is not recognised by any journal to my knowledge so it is useless for use outside my own administration. On the other hand you are right that also the position in the document (integer of not) is equally useless for publishing in journals. Page number is the only recognised way for locating a quote; that is the case for all journals and publishing houses I know. The only exception is quoting from holy books, where, indeed, book+chapter+paragraph in the case of the Bible or similar for other holy books is the correct way of quoting.

Citation guides (APA, MLA) have been updated to match the 21st century -- these days, it is OK to reference chapter/section/in-text reference.

See e.g. http://www.noodletools.com/helpdesk/...article&id=206

In fact, they officially un-recommend the use of page numbers, due to the fact that unless the ebook has page-mapping data most EPUB readers will lie about the page number.
(Kindles will utilize "location" numbers instead, and the lack of bald-faced lying is something I like about Kindles. )