Converting epub to epub

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Not sure if I would call myself a perfectionist but most of the p tags I use are simple <p> tags with the stylesheet supplying the style for a basic text body paragraph. I then use modifying styles such as text-indent: 0; for the first paragraph in a chapter or after a scene break. After all, CSS is cascading style sheet.

For my personal use epubs, I'd estimate about 10 minutes to run the appropriate items from my saved search collection. For ebooks I work on for others, I will spend more time but that also generally involves testing on multiple platforms. Did I mention I am really beginning to hate media queries?

I've seen some eBooks from Amazon that the CSS was mostly media queries. It was an awful mess.

[deback]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When these publishers create new classes, they add them to the existing house style and it just adds more and more bloat. The idea of keep it simple doesn't seems to apply to most of the big publishers.

Thing is, I could take most of the publisher eBooks and clean up the code so it's well formatted with clean and simple code. It would mean when you buy an eBook, it would be ready to read with no eed for changes (in most cases).

I've noticed that most publishers don't keep it simple and use weird class names, when it could all be so simple for them. And they use <span> way too often, and also complex lines to add line spaces, in addition to adding codes that do absolutely nothing.

I could do the same, as far as cleaning up the publishers' codes. I should be working for a publisher, but I really have no desire to do so, since I'm retired and do this editing for something to do when I'm not doing other things.

[theducks]

I don't have as much issue with weird names, because they probably match the House rules of style and they wanted to make it easy for the semi-trained coders.
What I find about many of these is the coders still have no clue and code the first thing they find ((eg entire book: class="front_matter" )

Personally, I would rather see multiple style sheet (allows the House rules) , with those mostly boilerplate applied ONLY to the relevant pages.
Next the main body has its standard stylesheet and lastly, Overrides (for a specific book/series).

And why not clean the finished product of excess. If you need to edit, you simply restore the FULL SET of house sheets. Do the edits (and Quality checks), then clean up. Leaving the unused scraps is like a tradesman that replaced your carpet leaving all the trimmings and packaging in the middle of you new carpet.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by theducks

I don't have as much issue with weird names, because they probably match the House rules of style and they wanted to make it easy for the semi-trained coders.
What I find about many of these is the coders still have no clue and code the first thing they find ((eg entire book: class="front_matter" )

Personally, I would rather see multiple style sheet (allows the House rules) , with those mostly boilerplate applied ONLY to the relevant pages.
Next the main body has its standard stylesheet and lastly, Overrides (for a specific book/series).

And why not clean the finished product of excess. If you need to edit, you simply restore the FULL SET of house sheets. Do the edits (and Quality checks), then clean up. Leaving the unused scraps is like a tradesman that replaced your carpet leaving all the trimmings and packaging in the middle of you new carpet.

The publishers do some really funky stuff. They have no idea how to make proper eBooks. I could teach them how to do it correctly.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The publishers do some really funky stuff. They have no idea how to make proper eBooks. I could teach them how to do it correctly.

I think any long term MR member could teach them the MECHANICS better.
Layout is ART.
Code is the MECHANICS that makes it reproducible.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by theducks

I think any long term MR member could teach them the MECHANICS better.
Layout is ART.
Code is the MECHANICS that makes it reproducible.

Most layouts for the average novel are very simple. Very easy to code for. Very easy to make look good. But one thing I would not do is try to duplicate the pBook layout. I would do it so it works on a Reader because duplicating the pBook layout is where the publishers really let the shit hit the fan and then get splattered all over themselves.

To be serious, why doesn't someone at the publishers tell the eBooks makers that the are doing it all wrong?

[Redshifter]

I spent half the day making changes to an ePUB and then needed to reconvert it. I didn't realize that it would reconvert the original and delete the edits I made. Is there a way I can recover the deleted format? It doesn't show up in the recycle bin like I was hoping it would.