@media queries for older kindles?

[emdashery]

Originally Posted by phillipgessert

Counterpoint, if you're open to it: I think all the font changes are a little fatiguing, personally. It's really just a heading, two opening quotations, body text, and a sort of aside. I think you could sufficiently keep everything distinct via e.g. a small symbol between the scripture passage and the quote, and perhaps a simple box around the affirmation. You could probably even do away with the symbol if you moved the scripture citation to the end of it instead of the beginning.

Yeah I hear ya. It's critical the quote and scripture are both before the body as they are discussed in the reflection each day, and I think adding a symbol individually to 365 days of files is more work than it's worth! But I think I've found a happy balance. Since the h1 and h2 are showing up fine in both embedded and system fonts, and the scripture was already just system font italicized, I'm just going to change the quote to 1.1em and change the affirmation to 1.2em bold and call it a day! Now time to test it on one million different platforms!

Thanks guys!!

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by emdashery

Yeah I hear ya. It's critical the quote and scripture are both before the body as they are discussed in the reflection each day, and I think adding a symbol individually to 365 days of files is more work than it's worth! But I think I've found a happy balance. Since the h1 and h2 are showing up fine in both embedded and system fonts, and the scripture was already just system font italicized, I'm just going to change the quote to 1.1em and change the affirmation to 1.2em bold and call it a day! Now time to test it on one million different platforms!

Thanks guys!!

Well...there aren't any media queries that can refine down to "if/then Publisher fonts are turned OFF, then do this," or the like.

The best you can do is to guesstimate, OR use screen-size or aspect ratio for older devices but honestly...that's a lotta lotta work.

You can change the media queries to address the font size, but it's questionably successful. You can use amzn-mobi and amzn-kf8, and that will get you about 90% of the way there. The default (non-MQ'ed code) assumes the Kindle eReaders (Voyage, Oasis, PPW). While MOBI uploads are no longer supported, there are still some of 'em out there, so...that's what I'd do. You can use Font-size as a supported attribute inside the CSS.

Not perfect and probably not better than your final solution, but...

Hitch

[emdashery]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Well...there aren't any media queries that can refine down to "if/then Publisher fonts are turned OFF, then do this," or the like.

The best you can do is to guesstimate, OR use screen-size or aspect ratio for older devices but honestly...that's a lotta lotta work.

You can change the media queries to address the font size, but it's questionably successful. You can use amzn-mobi and amzn-kf8, and that will get you about 90% of the way there. The default (non-MQ'ed code) assumes the Kindle eReaders (Voyage, Oasis, PPW). While MOBI uploads are no longer supported, there are still some of 'em out there, so...that's what I'd do. You can use Font-size as a supported attribute inside the CSS.

Not perfect and probably not better than your final solution, but...

Hitch

Hey Hitch, thanks for your detailed reply! From all the posts I've read you seem like the resident expert around here That all definitely sounds like more work than it's worth, and the author I'm working for was perfectly happy to give up the affirmation fonts in the end. Huzzah! So glad I spent two full days trying to figure it out though! Lolz.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by emdashery

Hey Hitch, thanks for your detailed reply! From all the posts I've read you seem like the resident expert around here That all definitely sounds like more work than it's worth, and the author I'm working for was perfectly happy to give up the affirmation fonts in the end. Huzzah! So glad I spent two full days trying to figure it out though! Lolz.

Oh, no, I'm not the resident expert. Really, JHowell probably is, around MOBI, but Diap and many of the others have MAD skills. They get down in the guts, coding and all that. I own a formatting business, so this is "stuff" that I deal with every day.

And sure, if you assume that no MQ=PPW family of devices, amzn-mobi=really old KF7 devices and/or KCR, etc. and amzn-kf8 covers many Fires, honestly, you've done all you can do, without making yourself insane over aspect ratios, screensizes, etc.

Good luck with it. Bear in mind that part of our job, aside from making customers "happy," is publisher education, explaining what eBooks do, how they work, what does and doesn't work. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for a customer is just saying no. :-)

Hitch

[emdashery]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for a customer is just saying no. :-)

Hitch

LOL truer words have never been spoken...but I was happy to test the limits of multiple fonts in a complex layout...even if it meant learning it's not always a great idea.

I'm currently in the process of starting my own typesetting/editing/and formatting business after a few years of running my own tiny publishing company (and publishing hundreds of ebooks, but none that required embedded fonts beyond a chapter heading) ....so I'm sure I'll be back in these forums many times in the future Love how helpful this community is, and I've already learned a LOT!

OFF TOPIC ALERT:

Out of curiosity...my normal workflow is MS Word (from author) layout in InDesign (for paperback) adjust for ebook where needed and export to epub, then edit any code in Calibre and test in Kindle Previewer/mobi export/ADE/Firefox ePUB... Any other magical tools I should know about from a seasoned pro? TIA!

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by emdashery

(snippage)

I'm currently in the process of starting my own typesetting/editing/and formatting business after a few years of running my own tiny publishing company (and publishing hundreds of ebooks, but none that required embedded fonts beyond a chapter heading) ....so I'm sure I'll be back in these forums many times in the future Love how helpful this community is, and I've already learned a LOT!

OFF TOPIC ALERT:

Out of curiosity...my normal workflow is MS Word (from author) layout in InDesign (for paperback) adjust for ebook where needed and export to epub, then edit any code in Calibre and test in Kindle Previewer/mobi export/ADE/Firefox ePUB... Any other magical tools I should know about from a seasoned pro? TIA!

Sooooo...lemme see if I understand this--you want me to educate you on how to directly compete with my company? Is that right?

Hitch

[Quoth]

Docx (without headers,footers,line heights) -> calibre -> epub
Then a COPY and add page styles for front matter, contents, body, rear matter, headers, footers. Then direct export to PDF.

Indesign is a historic package, best suited to magazine/ newspaper and kludged for ebooks. Produces terrible CSS & HTML. Waste of money.

Now, for novels, LO Writer is superior to Word. Import docx ONCE and fix styles, headings etc and edit/save in ODT. Do an extra Save As in docx for Calibre.

I used Word from version 2.0a in 1990s to Office 2007 and up till 2014, then LO Writer on Windows.

Always do ebook before paperback and then you can proof text on an ereader and copy back annotations. About 5 to 10 min to make paperback PDF from odt version for ebook creation. Going the other way is harder.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Sooooo...lemme see if I understand this--you want me to educate you on how to directly compete with my company? Is that right?

Hitch

Can't compete with you on experience, expertise and reputation for another 5 to 10 years!

[emdashery]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Sooooo...lemme see if I understand this--you want me to educate you on how to directly compete with my company? Is that right?

Hitch

Hahaa welllll....when you put it that way...nevermind then.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Can't compete with you on experience, expertise and reputation for another 5 to 10 years!

Honestly, and there's no way I can make this sound sincere, even though I mean it this way--I can't think of a worse time. The Covid-thing that affected everyone else is now, finally, hitting book formatting and conversion and I'm seeing a lot of shops close their doors. People are now hoarding what money they had--they spent it when the lockdowns were in place, etc. but...it's the Gobi Desert out here now, man.

But hell...(sigh), don't take my word for it. I wouldn't blame you for not.

Hitch

[emdashery]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Honestly, and there's no way I can make this sound sincere, even though I mean it this way--I can't think of a worse time. The Covid-thing that affected everyone else is now, finally, hitting book formatting and conversion and I'm seeing a lot of shops close their doors. People are now hoarding what money they had--they spent it when the lockdowns were in place, etc. but...it's the Gobi Desert out here now, man.

But hell...(sigh), don't take my word for it. I wouldn't blame you for not.

Hitch

Oh I'll take your word for it...I'm only trying to move into some freelance typesetting because I just had to shutter my publishing company after 5 good years (ok 3 good years and two shitty ones) and I'm just trying to figure out what the eff to do with my life! Figure I love fonts and making books (I also write and edit), I've been doing it for my own biz, why not really dig in to the other side?

Either way, you may hold on as tightly as you like to your industry secrets.

Thanks again for all the help guys, and @Quoth I'll look into what you mentioned as well for sure! The only downfall of being self-taught in everything is that there's no one to tell you when you're doing it wrong

[Quoth]

Is that the place with the giant (wo)man eating death worms? You just have prairie dogs and giant rooks in your local desert?

It's never easy being a start-up or a small business. I'd starve except I've a small pension and the mortgage is paid off.

Back in the days of dot com bubble and talk of online selling I thought of the goldrush era. The guys selling food & shovels did best, so if I'd had money I might have invested in shipping/delivery/couriers. Except the market power of the big sellers left means they squeeze the mail companies.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Is that the place with the giant (wo)man eating death worms? You just have prairie dogs and giant rooks in your local desert?

It's never easy being a start-up or a small business. I'd starve except I've a small pension and the mortgage is paid off.

Back in the days of dot com bubble and talk of online selling I thought of the goldrush era. The guys selling food & shovels did best, so if I'd had money I might have invested in shipping/delivery/couriers. Except the market power of the big sellers left means they squeeze the mail companies.

Yup, that's the place that gave Frank the idea for the Sandworms. (Ha, not really!). They pop their heads up here and eat local wildlife regular-like. :-)

Although, seriously, we have a lotta crap here that can kill you. Scorpions, which mostly can only hurt you and inflict pain, Tarantulas (infections from their mouths, not poisonous no matter what Telly tells you), rattlesnakes (the real deal and will kill you faster'n you can imagine), Gila Monsters...oh and a ton of flora that wants your death, too.

Being a small business, online, today, is brutal. It really is.

Hitch