Epub help

Poopsey · 07-08-2019, 06:27 PM

I used Indesign to convert a children's book into a fixed-layout Epub. I used Calibre to edit it page by page. This is going to be a read-along epub. I have the audio all done and marked in the epub and I have to work on putting everything together, I am having a few issues.

1. Calibre took the first letter if the first word in a paragraph and separated it form the rest of the word. Now that letter is smaller than the rest of the word and looks strange. I don't know Css well enough to fix the problem.

2. I set up the recommended viewport of each page to 2048 px wide and 1536 px long. This was recommended because of the variety of sizes of IPads. Calibre kept doing very strange things like not using graphic scenes for the pages and replacing them with other scenes. I decided after fixing the order many times to switch to Dreamweaver which seems to be working out. However, I am wondering why the dimension of the scenes supposedly have huge dimensions in the code like 3600x 3700 but appear to fit just fine,

3. On one page there was a misspelled word.. When I corrected it, it stuck to the next word and I couldn't get a space between them.

These kind of errors are making me crazy because I want to get done with this already so I can work on the code for the audio.

Help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Janis

DNSB · 07-08-2019, 10:06 PM

Since calibre's ebook-viewer does not currently support fixed layout, I'd recommend looking at a different program to edit/view FLO epubs. In your case, I'd suggest biting the bullet and finishing the epub in InDesign despite it's learning curve. Dreamweaver can be used, sort of, to edit epubs if you don't mind unpacking and repacking, adding bits here and there to allow editing ncx and opf files, etc.

I've attached a snip of calibre's viewer and a commercial FLO epub.

jhowell · 07-08-2019, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poopsey

3. On one page there was a misspelled word.. When I corrected it, it stuck to the next word and I couldn't get a space between them.

A fixed-layout EPUB is generally not editable. Typically each word is placed individually at a particular position on the page by the HTML coding.

Changing the text will not cause the rest of the words to reflow to make room for the edit, so if you want to change something you have to go back and edit the original source and regenerate the fixed-layout EPUB again.

Tex2002ans · 07-09-2019, 05:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

Since calibre's ebook-viewer does not currently support fixed layout, I'd recommend looking at a different program to edit/view FLO epubs.

Yep, Calibre doesn't support Fixed Layout EPUBs.

You would most likely have to test on a physical device itself (iBooks on an iPad).

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhowell

Changing the text will not cause the rest of the words to reflow to make room for the edit, so if you want to change something you have to go back and edit the original source and regenerate the fixed-layout EPUB again.

Yep, if you wanted to work from InDesign, that's the way that would be recommended.

Fixing the source document and reexporting from there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhowell

A fixed-layout EPUB is generally not editable. Typically each word is placed individually at a particular position on the page by the HTML coding.

InDesign's Fixed Layout EPUBs wraps each, and, every, single, word, in a span and specifies the absolute pixel position.

Back in 2015, I posted a code example out of InDesign and a few things on Fixed Layout:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...50#post3063050

Absolutely horrifying code that thing outputs.

Hitch · 07-09-2019, 11:03 AM

As everyone here has already explained, you're trying to bake a cake with a hot rock and dirt and leaves. You're using the wrong tools for the job and unfortunately for you, every single iota of work you've put in has been wasted.

IF you are going to edit your fixed-layout ePUB--which you really should not attempt, until you've done a few more hundred books--you risk really screwing up the layout. On top of that, you need proper software to do that with; I guess Dreamweaver is okay, but it's not meant for eBooks, either.

Lastly, do you know how to make an SMIL file? And what you're going to need to do, to make a read-along for iBooks, which I presume is the intended vendor? That's a rather massive task, especially if you don't have any existing clips, programs, etc. to assist you.

I'm sorry that you've wasted so much time on this, because what you've done isn't salvageable. Make your edits in INDD, not in the HTML. You change a single word, a single letter and you can wreak havoc on the entire book, having not done this before.

I have to ask--why on earth were you editing the layout, anyway? What was it you were trying to achieve that you didn't do in INDD?

Hitch

Poopsey · 10-06-2019, 05:22 PM

Thanks all.
I fixed the code which is a pain. It looks good now. I am using Sigl and have weird things happening.. I will do another post now. I don't know if I can ask other things a reply.

Janis

Hitch · 10-07-2019, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poopsey

Thanks all.
I fixed the code which is a pain. It looks good now. I am using Sigl and have weird things happening.. I will do another post now. I don't know if I can ask other things a reply.

Janis

Janis,

I'm not sure what you mean, when you say that you "fixed the code," but if you're trying to do a fixed-layout ePUB, you may find that you've inadvertently fixed or removed that which is needed, for the book to work in the read along.

You say that "weird things are happening," but...you seem, from what you've said, to be going in the wrong direction. For a read-along, the code that you should be modifying wouldn't already be in the fixed-layout ePUB; you would need new code, for the SMIL and all that.

I hope you post what you've done so that hopefully, someone here can aid you.

Hitch

Notjohn · 10-07-2019, 04:03 PM

Janis, would it be too cruel of me if I said you shouldn't be attempting this? I've been formatting Kindle editions since November 2007, starting in Word, then in html files, and since January 2012 in Sigil-built epub2s. And I have been throwing html files onto the web since very early days, 1993 I think it was, when (as we used to say) "Yahoo! was still a hillbilly cheer."

But I wouldn't attempt to do what you're trying to do.

(It is of course true that I don't do kids' books, let alone read-along kids' books.)

DNSB · 10-07-2019, 04:37 PM

One tool that might be of interest, if you are a Mac user, is CircularFLO which one author of my acquaintance now swears by for her kidlit books. OTOH, she also loves Vellum.

07-08-2019, 06:27 PM	#1
Poopsey Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: IPAD	Epub help I used Indesign to convert a children's book into a fixed-layout Epub. I used Calibre to edit it page by page. This is going to be a read-along epub. I have the audio all done and marked in the epub and I have to work on putting everything together, I am having a few issues. 1. Calibre took the first letter if the first word in a paragraph and separated it form the rest of the word. Now that letter is smaller than the rest of the word and looks strange. I don't know Css well enough to fix the problem. 2. I set up the recommended viewport of each page to 2048 px wide and 1536 px long. This was recommended because of the variety of sizes of IPads. Calibre kept doing very strange things like not using graphic scenes for the pages and replacing them with other scenes. I decided after fixing the order many times to switch to Dreamweaver which seems to be working out. However, I am wondering why the dimension of the scenes supposedly have huge dimensions in the code like 3600x 3700 but appear to fit just fine, 3. On one page there was a misspelled word.. When I corrected it, it stuck to the next word and I couldn't get a space between them. These kind of errors are making me crazy because I want to get done with this already so I can work on the code for the audio. Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Janis

07-08-2019, 10:06 PM	#2
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 35,401 Karma: 145435140 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Forma, Clara HD, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	Since calibre's ebook-viewer does not currently support fixed layout, I'd recommend looking at a different program to edit/view FLO epubs. In your case, I'd suggest biting the bullet and finishing the epub in InDesign despite it's learning curve. Dreamweaver can be used, sort of, to edit epubs if you don't mind unpacking and repacking, adding bits here and there to allow editing ncx and opf files, etc. I've attached a snip of calibre's viewer and a commercial FLO epub. Attached Thumbnails

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07-09-2019, 11:03 AM	#5
Hitch Bookmaker & Cat Slave Posts: 11,462 Karma: 158448243 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Phoenix, AZ Device: K2, iPad, KFire, PPW, Voyage, NookColor. 2 Droid, Oasis, Boox Note2	As everyone here has already explained, you're trying to bake a cake with a hot rock and dirt and leaves. You're using the wrong tools for the job and unfortunately for you, every single iota of work you've put in has been wasted. IF you are going to edit your fixed-layout ePUB--which you really should not attempt, until you've done a few more hundred books--you risk really screwing up the layout. On top of that, you need proper software to do that with; I guess Dreamweaver is okay, but it's not meant for eBooks, either. Lastly, do you know how to make an SMIL file? And what you're going to need to do, to make a read-along for iBooks, which I presume is the intended vendor? That's a rather massive task, especially if you don't have any existing clips, programs, etc. to assist you. I'm sorry that you've wasted so much time on this, because what you've done isn't salvageable. Make your edits in INDD, not in the HTML. You change a single word, a single letter and you can wreak havoc on the entire book, having not done this before. I have to ask--why on earth were you editing the layout, anyway? What was it you were trying to achieve that you didn't do in INDD? Hitch

10-06-2019, 05:22 PM	#6
Poopsey Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: IPAD	Thanks all. I fixed the code which is a pain. It looks good now. I am using Sigl and have weird things happening.. I will do another post now. I don't know if I can ask other things a reply. Janis

10-07-2019, 04:03 PM	#8
Notjohn mostly an observer Posts: 1,515 Karma: 987654 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: Kindle	Janis, would it be too cruel of me if I said you shouldn't be attempting this? I've been formatting Kindle editions since November 2007, starting in Word, then in html files, and since January 2012 in Sigil-built epub2s. And I have been throwing html files onto the web since very early days, 1993 I think it was, when (as we used to say) "Yahoo! was still a hillbilly cheer." But I wouldn't attempt to do what you're trying to do. (It is of course true that I don't do kids' books, let alone read-along kids' books.)

10-07-2019, 04:37 PM	#9
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 35,401 Karma: 145435140 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Forma, Clara HD, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	One tool that might be of interest, if you are a Mac user, is CircularFLO which one author of my acquaintance now swears by for her kidlit books. OTOH, she also loves Vellum.