Formatting an eBook - Left justify or Justified

simonroyle · 08-29-2010, 11:18 PM

Hi MR's,

I've been doing a lot (too much) reading about formatting eBooks. One comment I hear from "professionals" is that;

"nothing screams amateur like ragged right text"

What do you guys think? You're the readers - does it make a huge difference, and, more importantly, what do you prefer?

Thanks,
Simon
Author of Tag - A thriller set in the near future
www.simon-royle.com

speakingtohe · 08-29-2010, 11:24 PM

Justified is generally not pleasant to read. I would rather have a gap at the end of the line then one in the middle. Looks neat at a glance, but especially ugly on ereader. Still all centered is worse

hgwlackey · 08-29-2010, 11:35 PM

Until e-readers can properly handle full justification, I'll prefer ragged right. (Though a more accurate answer is probably that I prefer whichever I notice least.)

ardeegee · 08-29-2010, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simonroyle

"nothing screams amateur like ragged right text"

Sounds about right. In the modern days of word processors, that is more or less unjustifiable.

Donnageddon · 08-30-2010, 12:04 AM

Poll needs a "too many variables" option so JeremyZ can call them outliers.

Marcy · 08-30-2010, 12:12 AM

Proper justification, which includes the ability to hyphenate on the fly, is always best. I agree that I'd rather have left-justify over a reader that full justifies simply by stretching the gap between words.

-Marcy

Luke King · 08-30-2010, 02:13 AM

Justified -- definitely. I think an ebook should look like a printed book. Em dashes, smart quotes, chapters and section beginnings not indented (a pet hate).

Readers want ebooks to look like printed books, or I would imagine so.

FizzyWater · 08-30-2010, 02:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke King

Readers want ebooks to look like printed books, or I would imagine so.

While I'd agree I'd like there to be obvious chapter breaks, section breaks and paragraphs (either indented or with extra space, I'm not picky), I don't necessarily want my eBook to look like the book.

I like having the ability to change the font size or face, for example. And given the current rendering of full justification on most eBook readers, I prefer left-justified text. I find the gaping spaces between words more distracting than "ragged right".

Ultimately, I want to get lost in the book, not distracted by the formatting!

Sweetpea · 08-30-2010, 02:26 AM

I find left justified horrible. It gives too many distractions. I can't, in one blink of an eye, see how long the paragraph is, unless there is an empty line between paragraphs (and I loathe those).

I'm a person that doesn't read word for word, but reads sentences and paragraphs (looking for structure). Maybe that's the reason why I can't stand left-justified texts..

AlexBell · 08-30-2010, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simonroyle

what do you prefer?

Thanks,
Simon
Author of Tag - A thriller set in the near future
www.simon-royle.com

I prefer justified text, but most of all I prefer to be able to choose for myself on the rare occasions fully justified text doesn't work - that is, I like to be able to toggle between fully justified and ragged right.

Regards, Alex

Ea · 08-30-2010, 04:24 AM

I generally much prefer full justification over left justification, but I have recently read a couple of books with left justification (error in formatting) and I was surprised that it bothered me a lot less than I thought it would - at least I didn't bother to do anything about fixing the problem.

Jellby · 08-30-2010, 04:28 AM

I prefer justified, no doubt. I also like rather small font size, so automatic justification has fewer problems (it's easier to find good break points).

But I prefer books created with no default alignment. Let the reader justify or not the text.

Nathanael · 08-30-2010, 10:27 AM

Fully justified -- there's just no comparison. However, I grok the comment about poor justification -- large whitespace gaps, improper hyphenation.

About a month ago I purchased a new reader -- a Sibrary -- and have been quite pleasantly surprised at just how well it handles justification. It's hyphenation algorithm is superb -- in a month of reading (ca. ten books) I've only seen it make two mistakes.

Another feature that the Sibrary really impresses with is text resizing. It has fourteen levels of resize, from 23 lines per screen / 10-12 words per line all the way up to 6 lines per screen / 3ish words per line. It's only at about the three largest settings that whitespace gaps start becoming noticeable.

Nathanael

SeaBookGuy · 08-30-2010, 10:34 AM

I don't mind left justified at all. As a matter of fact, I think full justification on a small screen would look like a big block of unvaried text to me.

brecklundin · 08-30-2010, 10:51 AM

I find it interesting so many prefer full-justification over left-justify as the natural way to right, in our right-to-left conventions anyway, is left-justify. How many hand written or typed papers have you ever wrote that were full-justified?

I find reading more natural when left justified with irregular line lengths...what I find annoying is the very odd kerning that can happen to satisfy full justification. Plus I just do not like reading in a box.

View Poll Results: What is your preferred justification
Left Justify	93	38.91%
Justified	120	50.21%
Don't care	26	10.88%
Voters: 239. You may not vote on this poll

08-29-2010, 11:18 PM	#1
simonroyle Addict Posts: 309 Karma: 500370 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bangkok Device: kindle	Formatting an eBook - Left justify or Justified Hi MR's, I've been doing a lot (too much) reading about formatting eBooks. One comment I hear from "professionals" is that; "nothing screams amateur like ragged right text" What do you guys think? You're the readers - does it make a huge difference, and, more importantly, what do you prefer? Thanks, Simon Author of Tag - A thriller set in the near future www.simon-royle.com

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08-29-2010, 11:24 PM	#2
speakingtohe Wizard Posts: 4,812 Karma: 26912940 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet	Justified is generally not pleasant to read. I would rather have a gap at the end of the line then one in the middle. Looks neat at a glance, but especially ugly on ereader. Still all centered is worse

08-29-2010, 11:35 PM	#3
hgwlackey Zealot Posts: 123 Karma: 9550 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tennessee, USA Device: Kindle Touch, HTC Thunderbolt	Until e-readers can properly handle full justification, I'll prefer ragged right. (Though a more accurate answer is probably that I prefer whichever I notice least.)

08-30-2010, 12:04 AM	#5
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	Poll needs a "too many variables" option so JeremyZ can call them outliers.

08-30-2010, 12:12 AM	#6
Marcy Guru Posts: 897 Karma: 950683 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kobo Libra2	Proper justification, which includes the ability to hyphenate on the fly, is always best. I agree that I'd rather have left-justify over a reader that full justifies simply by stretching the gap between words. -Marcy

08-30-2010, 02:13 AM	#7
Luke King Member Retired Posts: 173 Karma: 200000 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kindle 2	Justified -- definitely. I think an ebook should look like a printed book. Em dashes, smart quotes, chapters and section beginnings not indented (a pet hate). Readers want ebooks to look like printed books, or I would imagine so.

08-30-2010, 02:26 AM	#9
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	I find left justified horrible. It gives too many distractions. I can't, in one blink of an eye, see how long the paragraph is, unless there is an empty line between paragraphs (and I loathe those). I'm a person that doesn't read word for word, but reads sentences and paragraphs (looking for structure). Maybe that's the reason why I can't stand left-justified texts..

08-30-2010, 04:24 AM	#11
Ea Wizard Posts: 3,490 Karma: 5239563 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kindle 3\|iPad air\|iPhone 4S	I generally much prefer full justification over left justification, but I have recently read a couple of books with left justification (error in formatting) and I was surprised that it bothered me a lot less than I thought it would - at least I didn't bother to do anything about fixing the problem.

08-30-2010, 04:28 AM	#12
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,542 Karma: 19001583 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	I prefer justified, no doubt. I also like rather small font size, so automatic justification has fewer problems (it's easier to find good break points). But I prefer books created with no default alignment. Let the reader justify or not the text.

08-30-2010, 10:27 AM	#13
Nathanael Groupie Posts: 185 Karma: 1110435 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Shanghai, China Device: Sibrary G5	Fully justified -- there's just no comparison. However, I grok the comment about poor justification -- large whitespace gaps, improper hyphenation. About a month ago I purchased a new reader -- a Sibrary -- and have been quite pleasantly surprised at just how well it handles justification. It's hyphenation algorithm is superb -- in a month of reading (ca. ten books) I've only seen it make two mistakes. Another feature that the Sibrary really impresses with is text resizing. It has fourteen levels of resize, from 23 lines per screen / 10-12 words per line all the way up to 6 lines per screen / 3ish words per line. It's only at about the three largest settings that whitespace gaps start becoming noticeable. Nathanael

08-30-2010, 10:34 AM	#14
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,029 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	I don't mind left justified at all. As a matter of fact, I think full justification on a small screen would look like a big block of unvaried text to me.

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08-30-2010, 10:51 AM	#15
brecklundin Banned Posts: 1,906 Karma: 15348 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: mine	I find it interesting so many prefer full-justification over left-justify as the natural way to right, in our right-to-left conventions anyway, is left-justify. How many hand written or typed papers have you ever wrote that were full-justified? I find reading more natural when left justified with irregular line lengths...what I find annoying is the very odd kerning that can happen to satisfy full justification. Plus I just do not like reading in a box.