Font sizes when sending book from Calibre to Kobo

Seth H · 08-04-2021, 06:33 AM

I wanted to have a standard size and font for my books both in Calibre and when sent to my Kobo.
I set the font size in: Preferences>Conversion>Common Option>Fonts to 13pt. I then converted a small selection of books EPUB to EPUB. Using the Calibre ebook viewer the fonts appeared to be the same size. However when sent to my Kobo there was a significant difference between font sizes.

Am I doing something wrong here and is there a way to have my Kobo reader display a set font size, line spacing and margins.

Any advice much appreciated.

JSWolf · 08-04-2021, 06:49 AM

You do not need to set the main font size, line height, and margins. In fact, you want them left out of the CSS. You use the sliders in the Aa menu to set the font size, line height, and margins.

Seth H · 08-04-2021, 07:05 AM

Jon thank you for your response. However I would rather not have to mess around with the Kobo Aa sliders for each book.

As I can set a consistent font size in Calibre I am hoping that I could transfer that consistent Font Size to the Kobo ereader.

Sirtel · 08-04-2021, 09:17 AM

I don't know about conversion, but you can do it by editing the font sizes in the editor. Remove any specified size from the body and general paragraphs in the css. The same with line-height and margins. The drawback is it must be done individually for each book.

And it's also possible you'll have to patch your Kobo, if you've not already done so.

hobnail · 08-04-2021, 01:23 PM

Using pt for a font size is best avoided in my experience.

See if you can get calibre to set the font-size to either 100% or 1em when converting any book. Then you can set the sliders for the desired font size on your kobo once and all books will have the same font size.

JSWolf · 08-04-2021, 02:23 PM

It's very easy to edit the CSS in Calibre. Once you have the eBook loaded into the editor...

1. Tools > Remove unused CSS rules
2. Search in the CSS for line-height and delete all line-height lines
3. Search for font-size and delete the ones that change the font size of the body text

That's all you need to do unless you want to do more editing.

You set the sliders in the Aa menu and it's set unless you load another eBook you've already started reading with different settings.

Seth H · 08-04-2021, 08:34 PM

Thank you to everyone for the helpful replies. The more I use Calibre the more I find my knowledge of Calibre and ebooks is not sufficient.
Using "Edit Book" would only allow me to edit one book at a time. Would it be possible to use: Convert Books>Look & Feel>Styling>Filter Style Information and check Fonts and Margins. This would allow me to update multiple books.

Sirtel · 08-04-2021, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth H

Thank you to everyone for the helpful replies. The more I use Calibre the more I find my knowledge of Calibre and ebooks is not sufficient.
Using "Edit Book" would only allow me to edit one book at a time. Would it be possible to use: Convert Books>Look & Feel>Styling>Filter Style Information and check Fonts and Margins. This would allow me to update multiple books.

Yes, but this option will remove ALL font sizes and margins. The book probably has different font sizes and margins for chapter titles, footnotes, section breaks etc. The conversion option will remove all of them. It might butcher the layout, depending on the book.

hobnail · 08-05-2021, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yes, but this option will remove ALL font sizes and margins. The book probably has different font sizes and margins for chapter titles, footnotes, section breaks etc. The conversion option will remove all of them. It might butcher the layout, depending on the book.

Yes, with my sledgehammer approach I often end up with chapter titles on the left rather than centered, not bold, down close to the first paragraph, etc. But what's important to me is that the paragraph text be the same size, likewise for the margins, and line spacing, across all books. I'm more concerned about the words, the story, and the book's readability, not that it be pretty.

For public domain books that I've reformatted and uploaded here I do try to make it look nice but there again I don't specify a point size and set the margin and border to 0 (and now I'm wondering how they would look, on the kobo at least, if I left the margin and border unset or set to inherit).

hobnail · 08-05-2021, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobnail

(and now I'm wondering how they would look, on the kobo at least, if I left the margin and border unset or set to inherit).

Tested this; I can leave padding and border unset but margin needs to be 0 or I get a blank line between paragraphs.

JSWolf · 08-05-2021, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth H

Thank you to everyone for the helpful replies. The more I use Calibre the more I find my knowledge of Calibre and ebooks is not sufficient.
Using "Edit Book" would only allow me to edit one book at a time. Would it be possible to use: Convert Books>Look & Feel>Styling>Filter Style Information and check Fonts and Margins. This would allow me to update multiple books.

It will not allow you to deal with multiple eBooks at one time as CSS can be different and you would have to know which ones use the same classes.

What I outlined is something that's rather quick and easy to do.

08-04-2021, 06:33 AM	#1
Seth H Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Tasmania, Australia Device: Kobo H2O	Font sizes when sending book from Calibre to Kobo I wanted to have a standard size and font for my books both in Calibre and when sent to my Kobo. I set the font size in: Preferences>Conversion>Common Option>Fonts to 13pt. I then converted a small selection of books EPUB to EPUB. Using the Calibre ebook viewer the fonts appeared to be the same size. However when sent to my Kobo there was a significant difference between font sizes. Am I doing something wrong here and is there a way to have my Kobo reader display a set font size, line spacing and margins. Any advice much appreciated.

08-04-2021, 01:23 PM	#5
hobnail Running with scissors Posts: 1,552 Karma: 14325282 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: none	Using pt for a font size is best avoided in my experience. See if you can get calibre to set the font-size to either 100% or 1em when converting any book. Then you can set the sliders for the desired font size on your kobo once and all books will have the same font size. Last edited by hobnail; 08-04-2021 at 01:25 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
kobo aura font sizes	jb1	Kobo Reader	14	06-08-2013 07:27 PM
Calibre clipping font sizes?	Guido Henkel	Conversion	2	02-21-2012 02:14 PM
Repost - Kobo reboots when changing font sizes	meandher57	Kobo Reader	1	10-04-2011 03:34 PM
Kindle 3, Calibre, Duokan, and Font Sizes	booknut	Kindle Developer's Corner	0	12-27-2010 11:27 AM
Kindle 3, Calibre, Duokan, and Font Sizes	booknut	Amazon Kindle	1	12-26-2010 09:44 PM

08-04-2021, 06:49 AM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,998 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	You do not need to set the main font size, line height, and margins. In fact, you want them left out of the CSS. You use the sliders in the Aa menu to set the font size, line height, and margins.

08-04-2021, 07:05 AM	#3
Seth H Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Tasmania, Australia Device: Kobo H2O	Jon thank you for your response. However I would rather not have to mess around with the Kobo Aa sliders for each book. As I can set a consistent font size in Calibre I am hoping that I could transfer that consistent Font Size to the Kobo ereader.

08-04-2021, 09:17 AM	#4
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,142 Karma: 224760044 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	I don't know about conversion, but you can do it by editing the font sizes in the editor. Remove any specified size from the body and general paragraphs in the css. The same with line-height and margins. The drawback is it must be done individually for each book. And it's also possible you'll have to patch your Kobo, if you've not already done so.

08-04-2021, 02:23 PM	#6
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,998 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	It's very easy to edit the CSS in Calibre. Once you have the eBook loaded into the editor... 1. Tools > Remove unused CSS rules 2. Search in the CSS for line-height and delete all line-height lines 3. Search for font-size and delete the ones that change the font size of the body text That's all you need to do unless you want to do more editing. You set the sliders in the Aa menu and it's set unless you load another eBook you've already started reading with different settings.

08-04-2021, 08:34 PM	#7
Seth H Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Tasmania, Australia Device: Kobo H2O	Thank you to everyone for the helpful replies. The more I use Calibre the more I find my knowledge of Calibre and ebooks is not sufficient. Using "Edit Book" would only allow me to edit one book at a time. Would it be possible to use: Convert Books>Look & Feel>Styling>Filter Style Information and check Fonts and Margins. This would allow me to update multiple books.