Why the non-breaking space?

Notjohn · 06-07-2015, 06:05 AM

Over on the Kindle forum, there was a post from a would-be publisher who evidently convinced himself/herself that the non-breaking space was the way to insert a chapter break. I pondered this for a while, then realized that the default file that opens up when Sigil is opened reads like this:

<body>
 
</body>

I never really thought about that before, since I generally open an html file to start working on a book.

Is there a reason why that non-breaking space is there? Is it just a gentle reminder that we are supposed to add some text?

DiapDealer · 06-07-2015, 09:06 AM

It's just a placeholder--a blank line. And empty paragraph tags don't always render as blank lines in all readers.

It also serves to provide cursor placement (and a sane starting point) for Book View editing. Try removing the the non-breaking space (leaving just ) and see what happens when you try to edit in Book View. Also try removing the the entire line ( ) leaving nothing but the empty body tags and then switch to Book View and start typing. Then check Code View when you're done.

The bottom line is that something needs to be there, so why not make it something that properly "seeds" Book View AND will render appropriately if left unaltered?

Notjohn · 06-08-2015, 05:24 AM

Ah yes, I remember typing   to get a blank line in Kindle editions in 2008.

I will pass this wisdom on to the KDP inquirer.

06-07-2015, 06:05 AM	#1
Notjohn mostly an observer Posts: 1,515 Karma: 987654 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: Kindle	Why the non-breaking space? Over on the Kindle forum, there was a post from a would-be publisher who evidently convinced himself/herself that the non-breaking space was the way to insert a chapter break. I pondered this for a while, then realized that the default file that opens up when Sigil is opened reads like this: <body> <p> </p> </body> I never really thought about that before, since I generally open an html file to start working on a book. Is there a reason why that non-breaking space is there? Is it just a gentle reminder that we are supposed to add some text?

06-07-2015, 09:06 AM	#2
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 27,553 Karma: 193191846 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	It's just a placeholder--a blank line. And empty paragraph tags don't always render as blank lines in all readers. It also serves to provide cursor placement (and a sane starting point) for Book View editing. Try removing the the non-breaking space (leaving just <p></p>) and see what happens when you try to edit in Book View. Also try removing the the entire line (<p> </p>) leaving nothing but the empty body tags and then switch to Book View and start typing. Then check Code View when you're done. The bottom line is that something needs to be there, so why not make it something that properly "seeds" Book View AND will render appropriately if left unaltered? Last edited by DiapDealer; 06-07-2015 at 10:44 AM.

06-08-2015, 05:24 AM	#3
Notjohn mostly an observer Posts: 1,515 Karma: 987654 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: Kindle	Ah yes, I remember typing <p> </p> to get a blank line in Kindle editions in 2008. I will pass this wisdom on to the KDP inquirer.

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