font change sigil to mobi with kindlegen

[wyatt650]

I write my original text in Word 2003, save it as Web Page, Filtered, and convert it to .epub file with Sigil.
Sigil always shows me a bold Arial font. I compose in Word with Arial normal.
If I edit my text in Sigil, in particular adding new paragraphs by hitting Enter, the new text shows as the bold Arial font.
However when I convert this to a .mobi file with kindlegen, the new text displays as a normal Times Roman font. And the surrounding Sigil text from the original document is still in the nice bold Arial.
Help!
Thanks!

[mrmikel]

If you look at the epub in Sigil, you will see Arial and TNR being specified. Search for <font and see if you can locate them and eliminate them and their end tags. Then the user can choose from available fonts on their reader. These font tags probably came out of Word.

It is also possible that font information is hiding in the stylesheet as part of a style. Open the stylesheet of the epub and see if the font information is there and get rid of it (without damaging the rest of the style.)

[wyatt650]

Thanks MrMikel.
Looks like I found the culprit in hiding in the stylesheet from Word:
How much of this can I just delete from Sigil?

<style type="text/css">
<!--
  /* Font Definitions */
  @font-face
        {font-family:SimSun;
        panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1;}
  @font-face
        {font-family:"\@SimSun";
        panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1;}
  /* Style Definitions */
  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
        {margin:0in;
        margin-bottom:.0001pt;
        font-size:12.0pt;
        font-family:"Times New Roman";}
  a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
        {color:blue;
        text-decoration:underline;}
  a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
        {color:purple;
        text-decoration:underline;}
  @page Section1
        {size:8.5in 11.0in;
        margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}
  div.Section1
        {page:Section1;}
  -->
</style>

Originally Posted by mrmikel

If you look at the epub in Sigil, you will see Arial and TNR being specified. Search for <font and see if you can locate them and eliminate them and their end tags. Then the user can choose from available fonts on their reader. These font tags probably came out of Word.

It is also possible that font information is hiding in the stylesheet as part of a style. Open the stylesheet of the epub and see if the font information is there and get rid of it (without damaging the rest of the style.)

[mrmikel]

I'd save a copy, then delete:

/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:SimSun;
panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1;}
@font-face
{font-family:"\@SimSun";
panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1;}

and

font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";

and see how that goes.

That way the Kindle can select the size and any fonts it can display.

What Sigil displays in set in preferences and has nothing at all to do with what the reader will display, unless fonts have been loaded and referred to. Arial and Times New Roman are licensed fonts which should be avoided and open source fonts used instead if you wanted to specify a particular font.

Not a bad idea to load enough of a font for a fancy chapter start or something, but a complete font set can take up a fair amount of space in the reader and be a headache for you getting the thing to display, especially in some older readers.

[Matt Butts]

I find I get the best results when I keep my font calls generic. I don't try to embed Times New Roman or Arial or Georgia, I just default to the e-reader's fonts by using generic familes (i.e., 'serif' or 'sans-serif') Sometimes I want my text in Courier New (my main character is a reporter and it's something he's typing), in which case, I use "font-family:monospace." Works like a charm with Kindlegen.

I also find it helpful to use relative, not absolute font sizes in my CSS. Don't use "font-size:12pt" use "font-size:100%" instead. This lets the reader choose the font size in their e-reader settings. Many an ebook I have put down because I had to up the font to the largest size available just to read it.