How does one join epub files?

AlexBell · 04-17-2018, 09:56 PM

I am currently working on Cousin Pons by Honoré de Balzac for the MR library. This is one of Balzac's last books, and is not divided into chapters.

It is available from the University of Adelaide ebook library as an HTML file of 668kb, and from Wikisource as 17 smaller files.

I find the 668kb file hard to work with, and think my Sony PRS T3 reader will choke on a file that size anyway. Would it be possible to use the Wikisource files by producing smaller ePub files, and making them follow each other in the ebook without needing to start them on new pages?

Cousin Pons was initially published as a serial in the Constitutionel newspaper, so I presume that the Wikisource files are the translations of each episode. I could present them that way, but I'd much prefer to join them all together.

Turtle91 · 04-17-2018, 10:47 PM

I wouldn't recommend multiple epubs Alex. 700k is fairly small for an epub - I regularly work with 1.5 mb files with no problem as long as they are not on a single html page in the epub. You can make individual HTML files in the same epub for each of those serials.

BetterRed · 04-18-2018, 01:15 AM

@AlexBell - calibre has an EpubMerge plugin.

I've used it in a similar situations to yours, sticking newspaper/magazine serialised stories together, to good effect.

BR

PeterT · 04-18-2018, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turtle91

I wouldn't recommend multiple epubs Alex. 700k is fairly small for an epub - I regularly work with 1.5 mb files with no problem as long as they are not on a single html page in the epub. You can make individual HTML files in the same epub for each of those serials.

I think he's referring to multiple (x)HTML files as opposed to multiple epuns

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

AlexBell · 04-18-2018, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turtle91

I wouldn't recommend multiple epubs Alex. 700k is fairly small for an epub - I regularly work with 1.5 mb files with no problem as long as they are not on a single html page in the epub. You can make individual HTML files in the same epub for each of those serials.

Yes, that makes sense. But how do you get the HTML files to follow each other on the ereader screen without a gap of whitespace?

Are any of these epubs in the public domain, so I could download it and see how you did it?

AlexBell · 04-18-2018, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@AlexBell - calibre has an EpubMerge plugin.

I've used it in a similar situations to yours, sticking newspaper/magazine serialised stories together, to good effect.

BR

Thanks, I'll try to track that down and install it - though I don't use calibre to design ebooks.

AlexBell · 04-18-2018, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterT

I think he's referring to multiple (x)HTML files as opposed to multiple epuns

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Yes, of course. I didn't explain myself clearly. But I still need to learn how to stop each XHTML file from starting at the top of a new page, and leaving whitespace after itself.

Turtle91 · 04-18-2018, 09:01 AM

Well, if you don't want to use Calibre, then you can just copy/paste the contents between each of the file's <body> tags onto a single html file. Just make sure that any CSS styling is consistent.

You will have a large single file size which will cause some devices to choke.

You need to choose which you prefer, choking devices or some logical separation of the files where starting at the top of a page is not an issue.

edit:
warning: Sigil slows down quite a bit when working with a single large HTML file.

edit, edit:
Honestly it would be less work to just use the single University file...clean it up if necessary...then use Sigil's Split at Cursor function at logical separation points.

JSWolf · 04-18-2018, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBell

Yes, that makes sense. But how do you get the HTML files to follow each other on the ereader screen without a gap of whitespace?

You don't because you cannot. It's not possible.

Turtle91 · 04-18-2018, 09:56 AM

So...now that I have had some sleep and re-read your original post Alex... Jon's answer is correct for your question. You can't prevent a new HTML page from starting at the top of the next screen.

I've looked at the University version of the file...there is zero styling within the document itself - nice and clean! The title should be on its own page and the bit at the end about the University should be removed if you create your own version. The Wikisource version at least has the italics already added. I'm not familiar with the sharing policy of either source...just make sure you are allowed to use/change what you get from them.

If you are correct about the serial nature of the publication then those would be just as logical a split point as any. You could even add the print date as an editor's note at the top of each page to give it your personal flair.

Good Luck!

Notjohn · 04-18-2018, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turtle91

If you are correct about the serial nature of the publication then those would be just as logical a split point as any. You could even add the print date as an editor's note at the top of each page to give it your personal flair.

Good Luck!

The perfect solution, I would think!

As a reader, I appreciate logical places to stop, or rather to start again, instead of using the Notes feature to mark a SRL.

theducks · 04-18-2018, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBell

Yes, that makes sense. But how do you get the HTML files to follow each other on the ereader screen without a gap of whitespace?

Are any of these epubs in the public domain, so I could download it and see how you did it?

I use Sigil or Calibre's editor, when you split the files, the proper Spine entry is automatically made, which connects the manifest.

Code:

<spine toc="ncx">
    <itemref idref="titlepage"/>
    <itemref idref="calibre_jacket"/>
    <itemref idref="a02-title"/>
    <itemref idref="a03-copyright"/>
    <itemref idref="a04-toc"/>
    <itemref idref="a05-acknowledgments"/>
    <itemref idref="a06-foreword"/>
    <itemref idref="a07-writersroom"/>
    <itemref idref="a08-planning"/>
    <itemref idref="a09-finding"/>
    <itemref idref="a10-theme"/>

The manifest maps the file

Pablo · 04-19-2018, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

I use Sigil or Calibre's editor, when you split the files, the proper Spine entry is automatically made, which connects the manifest.

Code:

<spine toc="ncx">
    <itemref idref="titlepage"/>
    <itemref idref="calibre_jacket"/>
    <itemref idref="a02-title"/>
    <itemref idref="a03-copyright"/>
    <itemref idref="a04-toc"/>
    <itemref idref="a05-acknowledgments"/>
    <itemref idref="a06-foreword"/>
    <itemref idref="a07-writersroom"/>
    <itemref idref="a08-planning"/>
    <itemref idref="a09-finding"/>
    <itemref idref="a10-theme"/>

The manifest maps the file

What Alex wants is to prevent a page break in the reader display when you go from an html file to the next one, which is not possible.

AlexBell · 04-19-2018, 06:52 PM

Many thanks to all who responded, and I apologise again for the poor wording of my original post. Please find attached an early and unfinished version of the ebook I am trying to do. The HTML file Chapter02.html which makes up the story contains about a quarter of the original book. On my Sony and Kobo readers it breaks at

he is one of the kings of fashion in Paris.'</p>

<p>'But a wife changes everything

so that there is quite a bit of white space between the end of one paragraph and the start of the next paragraph. That is the problem I am fussing about, and want to know how to fix.

This material from an earlier post may be a solution,

<itemref idref="calibre_jacket"/>
<itemref idref="a02-title"/>
<itemref idref="a03-copyright"/>
<itemref idref="a04-toc"/>
<itemref idref="a05-acknowledgments"/>
<itemref idref="a06-foreword"/>
<itemref idref="a07-writersroom"/>
<itemref idref="a08-planning"/>
<itemref idref="a09-finding"/>
<itemref idref="a10-theme"/>

and I'll certainly try to find out what it means. I've never seen anything like that before; can anyone point me to where itemref and idref are discussed? I've never seen or used them before.

Tex2002ans · 04-19-2018, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBell

The HTML file Chapter02.html which makes up the story contains about a quarter of the original book. On my Sony and Kobo readers it breaks at

he is one of the kings of fashion in Paris.'</p>

<p>'But a wife changes everything

so that there is quite a bit of white space between the end of one paragraph and the start of the next paragraph. That is the problem I am fussing about, and want to know how to fix.

I think this seemingly random break is just due to the some quirk in RMSDK, or device-specific limitations. Not anything to do with your code.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turtle91

edit, edit:
Honestly it would be less work to just use the single University file...clean it up if necessary...then use Sigil's Split at Cursor function at logical separation points.

I agree. If it was originally published as 17 separate pieces, there MUST be some sort of logical breaking points.

And if not, then you'll just have to bring out the ol' chopper and chop it anyway (what was that old filesize warning limit again? 300 KB? 256KB?).

If the entire chapter is going to be 600 KBs, that is much too large.

And Alex, like JSWolf said, once you split those files into separate HTML files, there just isn't much you can do. Each HTML file starts on its own page, you don't have control over that. It just so happens to be one of the quirks of reading systems we have to live with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBell

This material from an earlier post may be a solution,

<itemref idref="calibre_jacket"/>
<itemref idref="a02-title"/>
[...]

and I'll certainly try to find out what it means. I've never seen anything like that before; can anyone point me to where itemref and idref are discussed? I've never seen or used them before.

That's just hidden away in the content.opf file... there's no need for you to go digging in there. That stuff is automatically generated for you by Sigil/Calibre.

It's how the Book Browser and EPUB-reader knows what files are a part of the EPUB + the logical reading order of the HTML files:

First comes the Cover
Then comes the Title Page
Then the Copyright Page
Chapter01
[...]
FinalChapterInBook

And then when you want to change the order the files are displayed in, you just go drag-and-dropping the files around in the Book Browser to a different order:

Click image for larger version

Name: SigilBookBrowser.png
Views: 185
Size: 58.9 KB
ID: 163570

If you open up your content.opf, you can see this:

Spoiler:

The <manifest> part just lists all the files in the EPUB and what kind of files they are (this JPG is a jpeg file, this CSS is a CSS file, this HTML file is XHTML, [...]).

The <spine toc="ncx"> part just explains what the reading order is.

If you want to read the technical details on it, it is explained in the MobileRead Wiki:

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/OPF

... but like I said, that's best left to just Sigil/Calibre. You never really have to go digging in there.

04-17-2018, 09:56 PM	#1
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	How does one join epub files? I am currently working on Cousin Pons by Honoré de Balzac for the MR library. This is one of Balzac's last books, and is not divided into chapters. It is available from the University of Adelaide ebook library as an HTML file of 668kb, and from Wikisource as 17 smaller files. I find the 668kb file hard to work with, and think my Sony PRS T3 reader will choke on a file that size anyway. Would it be possible to use the Wikisource files by producing smaller ePub files, and making them follow each other in the ebook without needing to start them on new pages? Cousin Pons was initially published as a serial in the Constitutionel newspaper, so I presume that the Wikisource files are the translations of each episode. I could present them that way, but I'd much prefer to join them all together.

04-18-2018, 09:01 AM	#8
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,093 Karma: 18727053 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	Well, if you don't want to use Calibre, then you can just copy/paste the contents between each of the file's <body> tags onto a single html file. Just make sure that any CSS styling is consistent. You will have a large single file size which will cause some devices to choke. You need to choose which you prefer, choking devices or some logical separation of the files where starting at the top of a page is not an issue. edit: warning: Sigil slows down quite a bit when working with a single large HTML file. edit, edit: Honestly it would be less work to just use the single University file...clean it up if necessary...then use Sigil's Split at Cursor function at logical separation points. Last edited by Turtle91; 04-18-2018 at 09:27 AM.

04-18-2018, 09:56 AM	#10
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,093 Karma: 18727053 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	So...now that I have had some sleep and re-read your original post Alex... Jon's answer is correct for your question. You can't prevent a new HTML page from starting at the top of the next screen. I've looked at the University version of the file...there is zero styling within the document itself - nice and clean! The title should be on its own page and the bit at the end about the University should be removed if you create your own version. The Wikisource version at least has the italics already added. I'm not familiar with the sharing policy of either source...just make sure you are allowed to use/change what you get from them. If you are correct about the serial nature of the publication then those would be just as logical a split point as any. You could even add the print date as an editor's note at the top of each page to give it your personal flair. Good Luck! Last edited by Turtle91; 04-18-2018 at 10:02 AM.

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04-17-2018, 10:47 PM	#2
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,093 Karma: 18727053 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	I wouldn't recommend multiple epubs Alex. 700k is fairly small for an epub - I regularly work with 1.5 mb files with no problem as long as they are not on a single html page in the epub. You can make individual HTML files in the same epub for each of those serials.

04-18-2018, 01:15 AM	#3
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 20,553 Karma: 26954694 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	@AlexBell - calibre has an EpubMerge plugin. I've used it in a similar situations to yours, sticking newspaper/magazine serialised stories together, to good effect. BR

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