Problem reading Asimov's & Analog Sci-Fi magazines

Mycroft88 · 12-11-2023, 08:04 AM

Amazon recently stopped selling magazine subscriptions, trying to rope people into their service where you can't own anything - just keep subscribing. Anyway, I can subscribe to the magazines on the Analog website and they provide both the epub and pdf versions for downloading. But the Viewer does not properly display the epub. If I upload the epub to my kindle via Amazon, it displays perfectly.

You can try it from here:

Moderator Notice
link removed

Maybe there's a setting in the viewer that I need to set?

Thanks.

kovidgoyal · 12-11-2023, 10:11 AM

It will be a fixed layout publication, switch the viewer to flow mode and it will likely render fine.

Mycroft88 · 12-12-2023, 08:48 AM

Thanks K. I'd never heard of or used "flow mode" before. Yes, I can read the magazine almost as well as Kindle this way.

DNSB · 12-12-2023, 02:55 PM

[QUOTE=Mycroft88;4379705]You can try it from here:

Moderator Notice
Also removed link from reply

You may want to remove that link since it allows downloading a copyrighted magazine.

salty-horse · 02-08-2024, 05:06 PM

I have the same issue and already created a redacted file to share, but I guess the mystery is solved.

Kovid, can you please help me understand how the ePub is defined as "fixed layout"? I couldn't find any of the meta tags mentioned in the wiki.

I can share the file if it helps (I prefer privately, even though I redacted all of the text).

DNSB · 02-08-2024, 06:59 PM

If you look in the OPF document, you will see in the meta properties, rendition:layout for a fixed layout document. In theory, it has two possible values, pre-paginated for fixed layout and reflowable. Though I've never seen reflowable used since that is the default. In the same area will be other meta properties such as page size in pixels, default viewing mode, etc. Some of these values can be specified in the <head>...</head> for individual files.

And then you have the mess inside each xhtml file where the positioning of everything is done. This can vary from images to individual letters. See the sample below for locating words that are part of a sentence.

Code:

<meta property="rendition:layout">pre-paginated</meta>

<meta name="fixed-layout" content="true"/>
<meta name="original-resolution" content="1216x1849"/>
<meta name="orientation-lock" content="none"/>
<meta property="rendition:orientation">portrait</meta>

Code:

  <div class="liw c44 c45 c46 c47 c48 c17A c6F c7 c70 cAC cAD cAE cAF cB0 c17D" style="top:1382px">
    <span class="w c76 c7F f22 c71"> holds </span><span class="w c18 f22 c71">a </span><span class="w cA5 c81 f22 c71">bag </span><span class="w c7F f22 c71" style="width:46px">of </span><span class="w cA3 c89 f22 c71">what </span><span class="w c7F c23 f22 c71">look </span><span class="w c21 c11F c18A f22 c71">like</span>
  </div>

On one occasion, I converted a fixed layout to a reflowable and will say never again. It was a total pain much like converting a PDF to ePub

salty-horse · 02-09-2024, 06:19 AM

I think I can share the redacted file, as it has no text beyond a few sentences. Will delete it once I get an answer:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qavob...91xf611yr&dl=0

None of these meta tags are in the epub. I see these:

Code:

$ ack -iw meta
OPS/section2_article1.xhtml
8:<meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />

OPS/section1_article2.xhtml
8:<meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />

OPS/pub.opf
10:    <meta xmlns="" name="PPContentKind" content="magazine"/>
11:    <meta name="cover" content="i-00001"/>

OPS/section1_article1.xhtml
8:<meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />

OPS/section2_article2.xhtml
8:<meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />

OPS/toc.ncx
4:    <meta name="dtb:uid" content="xxx"/>
5:    <meta name="dtb:depth" content="3"/>
6:    <meta name="dtb:generator" content="calibre (7.4.0)"/>
7:    <meta name="dtb:totalPageCount" content="0"/>
8:    <meta name="dtb:maxPageNumber" content="0"/>

DNSB · 02-09-2024, 02:48 PM

The ePub is not a fixed layout as such but it does attempt to use the CSS to come close to emulating a FLO ePub.

salty-horse · 02-10-2024, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

The ePub is not a fixed layout as such but it does attempt to use the CSS to come close to emulating a FLO ePub.

Can you be more specific?
Is it just the use of "overflow: hidden;" on articles?
If I remove it, the file displays fine with the Calibre viewer's Paged mode.

I can ask the publisher to remove it from future publications - I'm not sure what it is useful for (in this context), and how ePub readers usually handle it.

DNSB · 02-11-2024, 01:37 AM

Overflow:hidden basically says anything trying to display outside the defined box will not be visible and there will be no scrollbars. See Overflow on Mozilla's site for a fairly detailed explanation.

salty-horse · 02-11-2024, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

Overflow:hidden basically says anything trying to display outside the defined box will not be visible and there will be no scrollbars. See Overflow on Mozilla's site for a fairly detailed explanation.

I know what overflow: hidden does. I don't understand the purpose of using it in the context of an ebook - what is the effect they're trying to achieve with it? My Kobo ebook reader appears to ignore it.

Quoth · 02-11-2024, 08:58 AM

Overflow:hidden is really for web pages. I've never seen scroll bars on an ereader or epub app. They either reflow or clip (=Overflow:hidden) anyway.

salty-horse · 02-11-2024, 01:44 PM

It feels like a mistaken style rather than a deliberate choice.

I don't think it's correct to describe the epub as "fixed layout" or even "emulating fixed layout". There are no defined page dimensions, and there's no attempt to position text at specific areas of the page.

12-11-2023, 08:04 AM	#1
Mycroft88 Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2023 Device: Kindle Oasis	Problem reading Asimov's & Analog Sci-Fi magazines Amazon recently stopped selling magazine subscriptions, trying to rope people into their service where you can't own anything - just keep subscribing. Anyway, I can subscribe to the magazines on the Analog website and they provide both the epub and pdf versions for downloading. But the Viewer does not properly display the epub. If I upload the epub to my kindle via Amazon, it displays perfectly. You can try it from here: Moderator Notice link removed Maybe there's a setting in the viewer that I need to set? Thanks. Last edited by theducks; 12-12-2023 at 03:08 PM. Reason: removed link

12-12-2023, 02:55 PM	#4
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 40,516 Karma: 156983616 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	[QUOTE=Mycroft88;4379705]You can try it from here: Moderator Notice Also removed link from reply You may want to remove that link since it allows downloading a copyrighted magazine. Last edited by theducks; 12-12-2023 at 03:09 PM.

02-08-2024, 06:59 PM	#6
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 40,516 Karma: 156983616 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	If you look in the OPF document, you will see in the meta properties, rendition:layout for a fixed layout document. In theory, it has two possible values, pre-paginated for fixed layout and reflowable. Though I've never seen reflowable used since that is the default. In the same area will be other meta properties such as page size in pixels, default viewing mode, etc. Some of these values can be specified in the <head>...</head> for individual files. And then you have the mess inside each xhtml file where the positioning of everything is done. This can vary from images to individual letters. See the sample below for locating words that are part of a sentence. Code: <meta property="rendition:layout">pre-paginated</meta> <meta name="fixed-layout" content="true"/> <meta name="original-resolution" content="1216x1849"/> <meta name="orientation-lock" content="none"/> <meta property="rendition:orientation">portrait</meta> Code: <div class="liw c44 c45 c46 c47 c48 c17A c6F c7 c70 cAC cAD cAE cAF cB0 c17D" style="top:1382px"> <span class="w c76 c7F f22 c71"> holds </span><span class="w c18 f22 c71">a </span><span class="w cA5 c81 f22 c71">bag </span><span class="w c7F f22 c71" style="width:46px">of </span><span class="w cA3 c89 f22 c71">what </span><span class="w c7F c23 f22 c71">look </span><span class="w c21 c11F c18A f22 c71">like</span> </div> On one occasion, I converted a fixed layout to a reflowable and will say never again. It was a total pain much like converting a PDF to ePub

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12-11-2023, 10:11 AM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 44,539 Karma: 24495948 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	It will be a fixed layout publication, switch the viewer to flow mode and it will likely render fine.

12-12-2023, 08:48 AM	#3
Mycroft88 Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2023 Device: Kindle Oasis	Thanks K. I'd never heard of or used "flow mode" before. Yes, I can read the magazine almost as well as Kindle this way.

02-08-2024, 05:06 PM	#5
salty-horse Wizard Posts: 1,723 Karma: 17486146 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kobo Clara 2E	I have the same issue and already created a redacted file to share, but I guess the mystery is solved. Kovid, can you please help me understand how the ePub is defined as "fixed layout"? I couldn't find any of the meta tags mentioned in the wiki. I can share the file if it helps (I prefer privately, even though I redacted all of the text).

02-09-2024, 02:48 PM	#8
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 40,516 Karma: 156983616 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	The ePub is not a fixed layout as such but it does attempt to use the CSS to come close to emulating a FLO ePub.

02-11-2024, 01:37 AM	#10
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 40,516 Karma: 156983616 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	Overflow:hidden basically says anything trying to display outside the defined box will not be visible and there will be no scrollbars. See Overflow on Mozilla's site for a fairly detailed explanation.

02-11-2024, 08:58 AM	#12
Quoth the rook, bossing Never. Posts: 12,352 Karma: 92073397 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper11	Overflow:hidden is really for web pages. I've never seen scroll bars on an ereader or epub app. They either reflow or clip (=Overflow:hidden) anyway.

02-11-2024, 01:44 PM	#13
salty-horse Wizard Posts: 1,723 Karma: 17486146 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kobo Clara 2E	It feels like a mistaken style rather than a deliberate choice. I don't think it's correct to describe the epub as "fixed layout" or even "emulating fixed layout". There are no defined page dimensions, and there's no attempt to position text at specific areas of the page.