issue with blank pages

iain robinson · 06-17-2011, 06:51 AM

Everyone has been very helpful on this forum! Hopefully you can help with another issue...

My ePub (exported from an Indesign CS5.5 book) has a cover file - the first document in the book. In ADE the first page of the ePub displays the cover image, and the next page is the first page of the next 'chapter' (which in this case is a contents page). Which is good. When I test the file in iBooks after the cover page is a blank page. Can't see where it is coming from. The code for the page;

Code:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
  "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
  <title>00_CnL21_6-cover_epub.html</title>
  <link href="../Styles/template.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
</head>

<body style="">
  <div id="x00_CnL21_6-cover_epub.html">
    <div class="image">
      <p class="para-style-override-1"><img alt="c%26l21_6-cover.indd" src="../Images/c%26l21_6-cover_fmt.jpeg" width="100%" /></p>
    </div>
  </div>
</body>
</html>

What am I missing?

Jellby · 06-17-2011, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iain robinson

What am I missing?

The fact that iBooks is not a compliant ePUB reader?

iain robinson · 06-17-2011, 07:57 AM

Okay, fair enough - no surprise there. I asked the wrong question.

I can't be the only one with this problem - what can I fix to make it not happen in iBooks?

shall1028 · 06-18-2011, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iain robinson

I can't be the only one with this problem - what can I fix to make it not happen in iBooks?

Unfortunately this is not like those forensic crime shows where they find the one blonde hair in a 2,500 square foot house that they then throw into the centrifuge and bingo-bango they know the name of the killer's first pet when he was 5 years old and his favourite Tele-tubby. We might need some more information.

This previous paragraph could be applied to 80% of the requests for help here.

Questions:

what are the dimensions of the jpeg file?
what is the CSS coding for the DIVs and P?
how about a copy of the epub file for forensic analysis?

iain robinson · 06-19-2011, 04:23 AM

I was sort of assuming that this was maybe common problem with iBooks and there was a wham-bam-thank-you-mam sort of answer! I'll post the ePub file when I get back to work tomorrow. Thanks.

shall1028 · 06-20-2011, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iain robinson

assuming that this was maybe common problem with iBooks

I thought about the blank page thing and all I could come up with was perhaps the iBook people thought it would be "kewl" to emulate a paper book by having the page following the title blank so that your first chapter starts on an odd-numbered page.

If so they are guilty of slavishly following the metaphor. This denies the benefits that software has over the represented item. People who write calculator programs are particularly guilty of this.

iain robinson · 06-20-2011, 03:16 AM

Okay, here's a copy of the ePub. Sorry about the size (~3MB).

shall1028 - that would not be good if they had decided to do that! I hope that's not the case.

shall1028 · 06-20-2011, 03:58 AM

1240 w by 1754 h with exceeds the size of the iPad screen this might be a problem depending on how iBooks displays the ePub file.

Three test files attached

Original file stripped of all but the cover and 1st chapter saved with Sigil
Original cover replaced with an image smaller than the screen of the iPad
Same 2nd file but with width="100%" remove from the IMG tag

Let's see if any of these work better than the original.

iain robinson · 06-20-2011, 04:12 AM

Thank you shall1028 - I won't have access to the iPad until tomorrow I'm afraid so I'll test them then. Hopefully we should be able to narrow down the problem then.

Adjust · 06-20-2011, 05:43 AM

Make your image 600x860 pixels.
This is the magic number for iPad, anything larger and it will put a black page in whether you have it set to 100% height or not.

iain robinson · 06-20-2011, 06:47 AM

Thanks - I'll try that. I knew about the 'magic number' but was hoping not to have to play around with the images too much. Seems like it is just one of the many "extra" things you have to do to get what you want (from Indesign)!

cheers

Adjust · 06-20-2011, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iain robinson

(from Indesign)!

cheers

As much as I love InDesign to bits...

They (Adobe) will NEVER fix it enough to output a validated ePub. You will always be required to edit it.

I like to think of InDesign as only providing an output file...providing the the necessary file and structure, to help you along...the first stage, if you will.

A bit like if you're baking a cake from a packet recipe. The packet contains all the ingredients you need...(content.opf, TOC.ncx etc etc) you still have to mix it all together (edit files, fix CSS, Fix Content.opf files )and put it in the oven to bake (run the ePub through validation)

iain robinson · 06-21-2011, 02:59 AM

Oh yeah - I'm under no illusions about having to edit the file! Exporting the ePub is barely half way through the process! CS5.5 is obviously a step-up from CS5 (which was underwhelming, on the ePub side of things) but there's still some way to go, but like you say it will always need editing I reckon.

Should be getting the iPad in the next hour or so so I'll test out the suggestions from yesterday. I've got two things left to sort out (the blank pages being one) from a very long list of problems - so I'm nearly there!

iain robinson · 06-21-2011, 07:27 AM

shall1028 - I've tested the files in iBooks now. File 1 (original file but shorter) still had the blank page after the cover image. File 2 (large cover image replaced with an image smaller than the screen of the iPad) had no blank page after it. File 3 (smaller image again but with width="100%" remove from the IMG tag) was also good.

Adjust - tried the magic number. I unzipped the file, got the cover image, changed it in Photoshop to the magic image size, opened the original ePub file in Sigil, deleted the cover original large cover image then added the new size cover (with exactly the same name) into the file and saved. Something weird happened - I ended up with a blank before the cover image and after!

I changed the image to 599x859px and tried again but had the same problem. Tried 550x789px and it was the same. Obviously I could find out what the maximum image size I can use without having a blank by trial and error but I think I'll just settle for a blank for the moment. The image shall1028 got it to work with was ~350px square! I also tested changing width="100%" to height="100%" in the ePub but I still end up with a blank.

Interestingly though, when I replaced an image in Sigil and resaved it the errors that I had been having in iBooks about entities had gone. I had been fixing that in Sigil by adding a space in the doctype, as described in this post on Indesignsecrets.com (http://tinyurl.com/3blntgq). Why substituting the cover image for a smaller one affects this I have no idea

!

Adjust · 06-21-2011, 07:59 PM

Sorry Iain.

I have never use Sigil, So I can't help you.

Have you tried something like this:

Code:

<body>
	<div id="title">
		<div class="image">
			<img src="images/Title.png" alt="Title.png" width="600" height="860" />	
		</div>
	</div>
</body>

06-17-2011, 06:51 AM	#1
iain robinson Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: UK Device: none	issue with blank pages Everyone has been very helpful on this forum! Hopefully you can help with another issue... My ePub (exported from an Indesign CS5.5 book) has a cover file - the first document in the book. In ADE the first page of the ePub displays the cover image, and the next page is the first page of the next 'chapter' (which in this case is a contents page). Which is good. When I test the file in iBooks after the cover page is a blank page. Can't see where it is coming from. The code for the page; Code: <?xml version="1.0"?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <title>00_CnL21_6-cover_epub.html</title> <link href="../Styles/template.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> </head> <body style=""> <div id="x00_CnL21_6-cover_epub.html"> <div class="image"> <p class="para-style-override-1"><img alt="c%26l21_6-cover.indd" src="../Images/c%26l21_6-cover_fmt.jpeg" width="100%" /></p> </div> </div> </body> </html> What am I missing?

06-21-2011, 07:27 AM	#14
iain robinson Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: UK Device: none	shall1028 - I've tested the files in iBooks now. File 1 (original file but shorter) still had the blank page after the cover image. File 2 (large cover image replaced with an image smaller than the screen of the iPad) had no blank page after it. File 3 (smaller image again but with width="100%" remove from the IMG tag) was also good. Adjust - tried the magic number. I unzipped the file, got the cover image, changed it in Photoshop to the magic image size, opened the original ePub file in Sigil, deleted the cover original large cover image then added the new size cover (with exactly the same name) into the file and saved. Something weird happened - I ended up with a blank before the cover image and after! I changed the image to 599x859px and tried again but had the same problem. Tried 550x789px and it was the same. Obviously I could find out what the maximum image size I can use without having a blank by trial and error but I think I'll just settle for a blank for the moment. The image shall1028 got it to work with was ~350px square! I also tested changing width="100%" to height="100%" in the ePub but I still end up with a blank. Interestingly though, when I replaced an image in Sigil and resaved it the errors that I had been having in iBooks about entities had gone. I had been fixing that in Sigil by adding a space in the doctype, as described in this post on Indesignsecrets.com (http://tinyurl.com/3blntgq). Why substituting the cover image for a smaller one affects this I have no idea!

06-21-2011, 07:59 PM	#15
Adjust Addict Posts: 351 Karma: 70000 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Australia Device: ADE, iPad	Sorry Iain. I have never use Sigil, So I can't help you. Have you tried something like this: Code: <body> <div id="title"> <div class="image"> <img src="images/Title.png" alt="Title.png" width="600" height="860" /> </div> </div> </body>

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06-17-2011, 07:57 AM	#3
iain robinson Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: UK Device: none	Okay, fair enough - no surprise there. I asked the wrong question. I can't be the only one with this problem - what can I fix to make it not happen in iBooks?

06-19-2011, 04:23 AM	#5
iain robinson Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: UK Device: none	I was sort of assuming that this was maybe common problem with iBooks and there was a wham-bam-thank-you-mam sort of answer! I'll post the ePub file when I get back to work tomorrow. Thanks.

06-20-2011, 04:12 AM	#9
iain robinson Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: UK Device: none	Thank you shall1028 - I won't have access to the iPad until tomorrow I'm afraid so I'll test them then. Hopefully we should be able to narrow down the problem then.

06-20-2011, 05:43 AM	#10
Adjust Addict Posts: 351 Karma: 70000 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Australia Device: ADE, iPad	Make your image 600x860 pixels. This is the magic number for iPad, anything larger and it will put a black page in whether you have it set to 100% height or not.

06-20-2011, 06:47 AM	#11
iain robinson Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: UK Device: none	Thanks - I'll try that. I knew about the 'magic number' but was hoping not to have to play around with the images too much. Seems like it is just one of the many "extra" things you have to do to get what you want (from Indesign)! cheers

06-21-2011, 02:59 AM	#13
iain robinson Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: UK Device: none	Oh yeah - I'm under no illusions about having to edit the file! Exporting the ePub is barely half way through the process! CS5.5 is obviously a step-up from CS5 (which was underwhelming, on the ePub side of things) but there's still some way to go, but like you say it will always need editing I reckon. Should be getting the iPad in the next hour or so so I'll test out the suggestions from yesterday. I've got two things left to sort out (the blank pages being one) from a very long list of problems - so I'm nearly there!

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