Justified or Left Aligned?

buffaloseven · 08-27-2013, 11:14 AM

Genuinely curious, what do people prefer?

JD Gumby · 08-27-2013, 11:27 AM

Standards for other languages might differ, but since the standard for English books is justified with indented paragraphs, and has been for longer than I've been alive, I have to go with that. Anyways, jagged edges are horrible to try and read....

Nate the great · 08-27-2013, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

Standards for other languages might differ, but since the standard for English books is justified with indented paragraphs, and has been for longer than I've been alive, I have to go with that. Anyways, jagged edges are horrible to try and read....

Nope.

It's been proven that a badly aligned text is harder to read than a left-justified text.

I like left-justified mainly because most of the ereaders and reading apps can't justify text as well as what you would find in a paper book.

doubleshuffle · 08-27-2013, 12:04 PM

While it's true that in justified text the occasional line looks ugly on an e-reader, left-aligned text is an aesthetic nightmare for me, every single page of it. So for me it's justified all the way - better one ugly line per page than a whole ugly page.

BobC · 08-27-2013, 01:04 PM

Recently I've been going for Justified with Indent but for the first paragraph of a chapter no indent.

It doesn't usually take long to modify imported EPUBS to get rid of any first para indents.

BobC

DNSB · 08-27-2013, 01:12 PM

My preference is ragged right with the first paragraph in a block flush left and the remaining paragraphs indented. Part of my editing changes when I get a non-DRMed epub.

Regards,
David

speakingtohe · 08-27-2013, 01:22 PM

I like left aligned no indent, a minority of one. I have a point 3 spacing between paragraphs.

I tend to read in chunks I think, rather than a word at a time so this is more comfortable for me.

Helen

Anak · 08-27-2013, 02:08 PM

Justified text. At the start of a chapter, and after a blank line: no indent. Other text: indented text.

P.S. No one who likes centered text?

Ripplinger · 08-27-2013, 02:32 PM

Justified with an indent. My preference is the first paragraph of a chapter has no indent and after a blank line that denotes different time or scene, but I won't bother changing that if it's not, indented is ok.

Once in awhile I've used .5 em spacing between paragraphs and that was surprisingly not annoying at all and pretty nice to read on.

But always justified for me. I find the ragged right edge to be just visually disturbing for me.

2bits · 08-27-2013, 02:51 PM

Preference is an emotional response
Feeling is not (in most cases) - thinking

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...491.x/abstract

Abstract
... The present study investigated the effect of using a text format that might be predicted to disrupt reading. In this study 56 individuals were presented with reading material presented in right-justified format and in‘ragged’uneven line format.

Subjects performed significantly worse on right-justified material.

Subjects who were classified as good readers on the basis of a pretest were more affected than poor readers.
...

What is "best" depends on your aim
- to "feel" well
or
read well

anacreon · 08-27-2013, 03:25 PM

For prose, I prefer justified with indents, unless reader width / pitch / hyphenation make it look wrong.

For poetry whatever the poet chooses (usually left aligned, no indents). Should it be necessary to split a line, left indent for the second part. In those cases I miss the Sony which allowed landscape format, hence longer lines and less splitting.

glos · 08-27-2013, 03:58 PM

left aligned with no indents, and space between paragraphs, because it helps me... breath

ectoplasm · 08-27-2013, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

My preference is ragged right...

Mine too, although I prefer to call it "evenly spaced" or left-aligned

Code:

Rather    than    extra    spaces    between    words

dmapr · 08-27-2013, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anak

Justified text. At the start of a chapter, and after a blank line: no indent. Other text: indented text.

P.S. No one who likes centered text?

My preference is exactly the same. When I deal with a non-DRM epub, I'll fix the justification, but I usually don't bother fixing start/after a blank, I just wish it were like that

Fortunately, a lot of times that's exactly the way they are

bookwurm70 · 08-27-2013, 04:46 PM

For me, the most important thing is the INDENT.

I prefer justified in print, but I don't feel like ereaders do a good job with it, so I generally prefer left aligned for ereaders.

View Poll Results: Pick your preference!
Justified with no indent.	9	10.00%
Justified with indent.	49	54.44%
Left align with no indent.	12	13.33%
Left align with indent.	20	22.22%
Voters: 90. You may not vote on this poll

08-27-2013, 11:14 AM	#1
buffaloseven Watching the Sky Posts: 234 Karma: 634112 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Winnipeg, MB Device: Kobo Aura	Justified or Left Aligned? Genuinely curious, what do people prefer?

08-27-2013, 02:08 PM	#8
Anak Fanatic Posts: 598 Karma: 641742 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: DE Device: Kobo Glo	Justified text. At the start of a chapter, and after a blank line: no indent. Other text: indented text. P.S. No one who likes centered text? Last edited by Anak; 08-27-2013 at 02:11 PM.

08-27-2013, 03:25 PM	#11
anacreon Guru Posts: 961 Karma: 3475832 Join Date: May 2012 Location: France Device: Elipsa, Sage	That depends For prose, I prefer justified with indents, unless reader width / pitch / hyphenation make it look wrong. For poetry whatever the poet chooses (usually left aligned, no indents). Should it be necessary to split a line, left indent for the second part. In those cases I miss the Sony which allowed landscape format, hence longer lines and less splitting. Last edited by anacreon; 08-27-2013 at 03:29 PM.

08-27-2013, 04:46 PM	#15
bookwurm70 Addict Posts: 265 Karma: 89314 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Southern Illinois Device: eSlick, Pocketbook IQ, iPad, Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura ONE	Indent For me, the most important thing is the INDENT. I prefer justified in print, but I don't feel like ereaders do a good job with it, so I generally prefer left aligned for ereaders.

08-27-2013, 11:27 AM	#2
JD Gumby Cynical Old Curmudgeon Posts: 1,085 Karma: 8495696 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Halifax, Canada Device: Kobo Mini, Kobo Arc, HTC Desire C	Standards for other languages might differ, but since the standard for English books is justified with indented paragraphs, and has been for longer than I've been alive, I have to go with that. Anyways, jagged edges are horrible to try and read....

08-27-2013, 12:04 PM	#4
doubleshuffle Unicycle Daredevil Posts: 13,923 Karma: 185041098 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Planet of the Pudding Brains Device: Aura HD (R.I.P. After six years the USB socket died.) tolino shine 3	While it's true that in justified text the occasional line looks ugly on an e-reader, left-aligned text is an aesthetic nightmare for me, every single page of it. So for me it's justified all the way - better one ugly line per page than a whole ugly page.

08-27-2013, 01:04 PM	#5
BobC Guru Posts: 691 Karma: 3026110 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Lancashire, U.K. Device: BeBook 1, BeBook Pure, Kobo Glo, (and HD),Energy Sistem EReader Pro +	Recently I've been going for Justified with Indent but for the first paragraph of a chapter no indent. It doesn't usually take long to modify imported EPUBS to get rid of any first para indents. BobC

08-27-2013, 01:12 PM	#6
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 35,418 Karma: 145525534 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Forma, Clara HD, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	My preference is ragged right with the first paragraph in a block flush left and the remaining paragraphs indented. Part of my editing changes when I get a non-DRMed epub. Regards, David

08-27-2013, 01:22 PM	#7
speakingtohe Wizard Posts: 4,812 Karma: 26912940 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet	I like left aligned no indent, a minority of one. I have a point 3 spacing between paragraphs. I tend to read in chunks I think, rather than a word at a time so this is more comfortable for me. Helen

08-27-2013, 02:32 PM	#9
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,574 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	Justified with an indent. My preference is the first paragraph of a chapter has no indent and after a blank line that denotes different time or scene, but I won't bother changing that if it's not, indented is ok. Once in awhile I've used .5 em spacing between paragraphs and that was surprisingly not annoying at all and pretty nice to read on. But always justified for me. I find the ragged right edge to be just visually disturbing for me.

08-27-2013, 02:51 PM	#10
2bits Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 40000 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Kobo Touch N905, Mini	Preference is an emotional response Feeling is not (in most cases) - thinking http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...491.x/abstract Abstract ... The present study investigated the effect of using a text format that might be predicted to disrupt reading. In this study 56 individuals were presented with reading material presented in right-justified format and in‘ragged’uneven line format. Subjects performed significantly worse on right-justified material. Subjects who were classified as good readers on the basis of a pretest were more affected than poor readers. ... What is "best" depends on your aim - to "feel" well or read well

08-27-2013, 03:58 PM	#12
glos Zealot Posts: 132 Karma: 1070185 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Italy Device: Kobo Aura HD	left aligned with no indents, and space between paragraphs, because it helps me... breath

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