Formatting all books in library to same format

[deback]

Here are the rules I've added to the Transform section of Look and Feel:

Spoiler:

# If the property margin-left is 30px
# Change the value to0
query: 30px
match_type: is
action_data: 0
action: change
property: margin-left

# If the property margin-right is 30px
# Change the value to0
query: 30px
match_type: is
action_data: 0
action: change
property: margin-right

# If the property text-indent is greater than .01em
# Change the value to1.2em
query: .01em
match_type: >
action_data: 1.2em
action: change
property: text-indent

# If the property word-wrap is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: word-wrap

# If the property hyphens is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: hyphens

# If the property -epub* is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -epub*

# If the property word-break is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: word-break

# If the property -moz-hyphens is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -moz-hyphens

# If the property -webkit-hyphens is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-hyphens

# If the property adobe-hyphenate is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: adobe-hyphenate

# If the property text-indent is greater than .01%
# Change the value to1.2em
query: .01%
match_type: >
action_data: 1.2em
action: change
property: text-indent

# If the property text-indent is greater than or equal to .01px
# Change the value to1.2em
query: .01px
match_type: >=
action_data: 1.2em
action: change
property: text-indent

# If the property text-autospace is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: text-autospace

# If the property tab-stops is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: tab-stops

# If the property -aw-left-pos is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -aw-left-pos

# If the property -aw-rel-hpos is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -aw-rel-hpos

# If the property -aw-rel-vpos is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -aw-rel-vpos

# If the property -aw-wrap-type is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -aw-wrap-type

# If the property -aw-top-pos is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -aw-top-pos

# If the property -aw-bookmark-end is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -aw-bookmark-end

# If the property line-height is less than or equal to 1.2
# Change the value to1.2
query: 1.2
match_type: <=
action_data: 1.2
action: change
property: line-height

# If the property line-height is less than or equal to 1.2em
# Change the value to1.2
query: 1.2em
match_type: <=
action_data: 1.2
action: change
property: line-height

# If the property line-height is greater than or equal to 1.2em
# Change the value to1.2
query: 1.2em
match_type: >=
action_data: 1.2
action: change
property: line-height

# If the property line-height is greater than or equal to 1.2
# Change the value to1.2
query: 1.2
match_type: >=
action_data: 1.2
action: change
property: line-height

# If the property -epub-hyphens is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -epub-hyphens

# If the property -web-hyphens is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -web-hyphens

# If the property margin-top is 2 em
# Change the value to2em
query: 2 em
match_type: is
action_data: 2em
action: change
property: margin-top

# If the property margin-left is 2 em
# Change the value to1em
query: 2 em
match_type: is
action_data: 1em
action: change
property: margin-left

# If the property text-justify-trim is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: text-justify-trim

# If the property oeb-column-number is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: oeb-column-number

# If the property -webkit-text-fill-color is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-text-fill-color

# If the property box-shadow is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: box-shadow

# If the property so-language is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: so-language

# If the property punctuation-wrap is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: punctuation-wrap

# If the property letter-spacing is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: letter-spacing

# If the property adobe-text-layout is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: adobe-text-layout

# If the property -webkit-hyphenate-charactor is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-hyphenate-charactor

# If the property -webkit-hyphenate-limit is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-hyphenate-limit

# If the property -webkit-hyphenate-after is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-hyphenate-after

# If the property -webkit-hyphenate-before is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-hyphenate-before

# If the property -moz-box-sizing is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -moz-box-sizing

# If the property -o-box-sizing is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -o-box-sizing

# If the property -webkit-box-sizing is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-box-sizing

# If the property -o-hyphens is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -o-hyphens

# If the property -webkit-text-stroke is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-text-stroke

# If the property -webkit-tap-highlight is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-tap-highlight

# If the property -webkit-box-shadow is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-box-shadow

# If the property float is bottom
# Remove the property
query: bottom
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: float

# If the property page-break is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: page-break

# If the property -webkit-tap-highlight-color is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-tap-highlight-color

# If the property -ms-hyphens is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -ms-hyphens

# If the property -webkit-border-radius is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-border-radius

# If the property -webkit-hyphenate-lines is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-hyphenate-lines

# If the property hyphenate-after is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: hyphenate-after

# If the property hyphenate-before is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: hyphenate-before

# If the property hyphenate-lines is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: hyphenate-lines

# If the property max-height is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: max-height

# If the property max-width is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: max-width

# If the property text-align is middle
# Change the value tocenter
query: middle
match_type: is
action_data: center
action: change
property: text-align

# If the property -epub-line-break is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -epub-line-break

# If the property -epub-text-align-last is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -epub-text-align-last

# If the property color is windowtext
# Remove the property
query: windowtext
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: color

# If the property epub-hyphens is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: epub-hyphens

# If the property text-align is top
# Change the value tocenter
query: top
match_type: is
action_data: center
action: change
property: text-align

# If the property text-align is bottom
# Change the value tocenter
query: bottom
match_type: is
action_data: center
action: change
property: text-align

# If the property -webkit-line-break is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-line-break

# If the property -webkit-nbsp-mode is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-nbsp-mode

# If the property -webkit-font-kerning is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-font-kerning

# If the property -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before

# If the property -webkit-hyphenate-limit-after is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-hyphenate-limit-after

# If the property -webkit-hyphenate-limit-lines is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-hyphenate-limit-lines

# If the property text-align is justified
# Change the value tojustify
query: justified
match_type: is
action_data: justify
action: change
property: text-align

# If the property -adobe-float-keep is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -adobe-float-keep

# If the property break-before is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: break-before

# If the property break-after is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: break-after

# If the property text-align is start
# Remove the property
query: start
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: text-align

# If the property transition is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: transition

# If the property -epub-ruby-position is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -epub-ruby-position

# If the property -epub-text-combine is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -epub-text-combine

# If the property -webkit-text-combine is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-text-combine

# If the property text-decoration is normal
# Remove the property
query: normal
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: text-decoration

# If the property text-align is initial
# Remove the property
query: initial
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: text-align

# If the property cellspacing is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: cellspacing

# If the property height is 98vh
# Change the value to98%
query: 98vh
match_type: is
action_data: 98%
action: change
property: height

# If the property height is 99vh
# Change the value to99%
query: 99vh
match_type: is
action_data: 99%
action: change
property: height

# If the property height is 65vh
# Change the value to65%
query: 65vh
match_type: is
action_data: 65%
action: change
property: height

# If the property -webkit-background-size is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-background-size

# If the property background-size is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: background-size

# If the property list-style-type is normal
# Remove the property
query: normal
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: list-style-type

# If the property -aw-number-format is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -aw-number-format

# If the property font-kerning is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: font-kerning

# If the property line-height is normal
# Change the value to1.2
query: normal
match_type: is
action_data: 1.2
action: change
property: line-height

# If the property -epub-word-break is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -epub-word-break

# If the property -ms-word-break is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -ms-word-break

# If the property text-align is baseline
# Remove the property
query: baseline
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: text-align

# If the property text-align is left
# Change the value tojustify
query: left
match_type: is
action_data: justify
action: change
property: text-align

# If the property -qt-block-indent is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -qt-block-indent

# If the property -qt-paragraph-type is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -qt-paragraph-type

# If the property border-bottom-width is 1
# Change the value to1px
query: 1
match_type: is
action_data: 1px
action: change
property: border-bottom-width

# If the property border-left-width is 1
# Change the value to1px
query: 1
match_type: is
action_data: 1px
action: change
property: border-left-width

# If the property border-right-width is 1
# Change the value to1px
query: 1
match_type: is
action_data: 1px
action: change
property: border-right-width

# If the property border-top-width is 1
# Change the value to1px
query: 1
match_type: is
action_data: 1px
action: change
property: border-top-width

# If the property -khtml-hyphens is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -khtml-hyphens

# If the property border-bottom-color is initial
# Remove the property
query: initial
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: border-bottom-color

# If the property border-bottom-style is initial
# Remove the property
query: initial
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: border-bottom-style

# If the property border-top-color is initial
# Remove the property
query: initial
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: border-top-color

# If the property border-top-style is initial
# Remove the property
query: initial
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: border-top-style

# If the property webkit-line-box-contain is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: webkit-line-box-contain

# If the property width is intrinsic
# Remove the property
query: intrinsic
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: width

# If the property text-align-last is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: text-align-last

# If the property -webkit-transform is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-transform

# If the property text-rendering is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: text-rendering

# If the property -webkit-line-box-contain is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-line-box-contain

# If the property -webkit-hyphenate-character is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: -webkit-hyphenate-character

# If the property font-weight is light
# Change the value tonormal
query: light
match_type: is
action_data: normal
action: change
property: font-weight

# If the property box-decoration-break is slice
# Remove the property
query: slice
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: box-decoration-break

# If the property background-color is FFFFFF
# Remove the property
query: FFFFFF
match_type: is
action_data:
action: remove
property: background-color

# If the property line-spacing is any value
# Remove the property
query:
match_type: *
action_data:
action: remove
property: line-spacing

# If the property line-height is auto
# Change the value to1.2
query: auto
match_type: is
action_data: 1.2
action: change
property: line-height

Most of these entries will remove many or most of the CSS codes that Calibre says are invalid, so they are never listed when I check the book after running the conversion--which saves a ton of time.

[deback]

The Transform rules can be copied and pasted into a file called rules.txt and then imported into your Transform section by clicking the Import button at the bottom of that screen.

The Extra CSS codes can be copied and pasted into the Styling section.

These have all been added to my conversion settings periodically over the last several months, as I found each of them or thought of how to fix things, as I modified and converted thousands of files.

So, it would be very quick and easy to add all of the above to your conversion settings. Then I would be interested to hear from anyone who thinks this has helped them at all.

[JSWolf]

The extra CSS needs editing. There are things in it that most people won't need. Also, some of your rules need editing/deleting. Plus, your extra CSS is not going to work in a lot of cases. I've seen many eBooks where most of your extra CSS would be useless.This is why hand editing is easier. It works in ALL cases. Plus, once you know who to hand edit, it's not that difficult.

[deback]

Convert will ignore the classes that aren't in the current .css file, so if people don't need some of the things, then it doesn't matter, but most things that need to be fixed will be fixed by one or more of those extra CSS codes. As I've said before, there are times when something needs to be fixed manually, but mucho time can be saved by using all of these codes. The lists I posted are only to give people an idea of how to do things automatically and to save time. They can choose what they want and what they don't want.

Let me know what you think needs editing, please. I know of nothing that needs editing or deleting, since I've seen all of these things in books I've worked with in the past, and that's why they are included in the lists. Since I'm a perfectionist, I always proofread everything I do, so I'm fairly sure there are no errors in those two lists.

I figured you would post something negative and useless, though, since that's what you do and is why you are called a curmudgeon. Arguing seems to be your life (and I also don't think you actually have read everything I've said). On the other hand, I'm here to help others save lots of time and make all of this go much quicker.

[DyckBook]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But remember, DO NOT CONVERT!

But, I just discovered Kovid's comments about using convert to break books at chapter headings. Some books have huge files that are broken in mid chapter and I was wasting a lot of time splitting them manually. Do I have to go back to that?

[DyckBook]

Originally Posted by theducks

These are the common tasks I do. Automation (conversion) can't clean to these levels.

Surprisingly similar to the steps I go through. I also check spelling. It's surprising how many spelling errors I find; especially run-on words.

I also create a specific user dictionary, if I have several books from the same author on the same theme. (Name the dictionary for the author or the theme) They usually have specialized words repeated in more than one book. Oh, and I also update the default user dictionary to include properly spelled words such as contractions or common colloquialisms.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by DyckBook

Surprisingly similar to the steps I go through. I also check spelling. It's surprising how many spelling errors I find; especially run-on words.

Instead of fixing the css for the p tag what I do is delete the class="whatever" for the p tag, in all of the html files. It's very rare for me to get a book that uses css for an unadorned p (a p with no dot in the css, or a p with no class in the html); they all have some class they use for the vast bulk of the paragraphs. By deleting the class="whatever" I can then search for "p class=" and find any remaining p tags with a class that may need fixing.

[jospalau]

Originally Posted by deback

I'm here to help others save lots of time and make all of this go much quicker.

Cheers!

[theducks]

Originally Posted by DyckBook

But, I just discovered Kovid's comments about using convert to break books at chapter headings. Some books have huge files that are broken in mid chapter and I was wasting a lot of time splitting them manually. Do I have to go back to that?

That comment is for the No Effort user.
If your REGEX Foo is strong,
Right click the Chapter head code: split at Multiple locations

[capink]

Originally Posted by retiredbiker

But I keep finding old short stories from early mystery and sci-fi magazines that have all in-line styling and no CSS files--the only way I've found to deal with those is to convert, as it gets rid of the in-line stuff and creates a CSS file. The originals can be so dense with code it's migraine time to try and read it. No idea how else to do that.

The Editor Chains plugin has an action (Inline styles to CSS) that can transform inline styles to CSS. This process should be straightforward for books that contains only inline styles, as in your use case.

Note however, that in books that have both inline styles and CSS sheets (or style tags), this can lead to problems with formatting, because converting can clash with CSS rules of precedence, specificity .... etc which can make CSS cascade run different before and after conversion.

So to guard against this problem, the plugin will calculate the effective style for each element before and after the conversion to CSS, and if they are not the same for every element, it will not go ahead with the conversion (there is an option to partially override this for only for elements that won't be affected).

Originally Posted by retiredbiker

I have come to agree about not converting most of the time

For people who are averse to conversion, the plugin can also automate a lot of things without changing the epub code, this includes things like: transform html, transform css, remove unused CSS, beautify, embed, subset, smarten .... etc.

You can also run your automation on multiple books by using the Action Chains plugin together with Editor Chains.