Introducing New tool: "Polish" Books

[jackie_w]

Thanks for introducing this feature of 'non-destructive updates' into calibre. Is the plan to migrate some of kiwidude's 'Modify Epub' features over into full calibre or are they now divergent projects?

Regarding Polish update cover, I think there is a bug.

I have Prefs - Output options - preserve cover aspect ratio unchecked, i.e. I want my covers edge-to-edge, no white bars. If I use Polish to update the cover then it is no longer edge-to-edge, but if I use Modify Epub it is. My understanding is that Modify Epub gives me the cover I would have got if I'd done an epub-epub conversion.

On looking more closely at the titlepage.xhtml svg code I see that with a new cover size of 987x1500:
Polish copies the fullsize 987x1500 jpg into the epub and outputs this svg code

<svg version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
    xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
    width="100%" height="100%" viewBox="0 0 600 800"
    preserveAspectRatio="none">
   <image width="600" height="800" xlink:href="cover.jpg"/>
</svg>

whereas Modify Epub scales down the 987x1500 jpg to 513x779 (probably because my output profile is Sony) and outputs this svg code

<svg version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
    xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
    width="100%" height="100%" viewBox="0 0 513 779"
    preserveAspectRatio="none">
    <image width="513" height="779" xlink:href="images/cover.jpeg"/>
</svg>

The problem would appear to be that Polish is setting fixed dimensions of 600, 800 in the viewbox and <image> settings. If the new cover does not have 3:4 aspect ratio then the Polish-ed epub will display the new cover with white bars. I checked this out by manually editing the Polish-ed svg code to match the actual jpg dimensions and indeed the cover is, once again, edge-to-edge.

To be honest, neither Modify Epub nor Polish currently produces my 'perfect result' which would be to update with the fullsize cover jpg and make the svg dimensions match it, but maybe there are reasons why that's not possible.

[kovidgoyal]

@meme: Thanks fixed.

@adrian1944: I'd like a book sample that produces this error. Can you open a bug report and attach a file.

@HarryT: This is not simple to do, the problem is that CSS needs to be modified. In a conversion that can be done relatively easily as all the CSS is "flattened". But for arbitrary CSS the only way to do something like this would be to use an !important rule or set a style attribute on every <p> tag or something along those lines. The problem is CSS is too expressive, there are too many ways to specify a match, which makes modifying it non-destructively very difficult.

@jackie_w: An excellent point, I think I should be able to get the svg to use the original image dimensions fairly easily. I think I just forgot to do it while writing the code (Polish is a whole new code base, so it involved rather a lot of work). I'd appreciate it if you could open a bug report about it so I dont forget.

Regarding the name, yes the confusion with Polish is unfortunate, but in all other respects the name is perfect. Both Tweak and Modify are taken, and the rest are not quite a match. This function isn't about cleaning/tidying a book alone (though that may be one of its functions) but more about performing various tweaks to make the book look better, be smaller, more performant, etc.

[HarryT]

Thanks for explaining, Kovid - I entirely understand.

[itimpi]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Regarding the name, yes the confusion with Polish is unfortunate, but in all other respects the name is perfect. Both Tweak and Modify are taken, and the rest are not quite a match. This function isn't about cleaning/tidying a book alone (though that may be one of its functions) but more about performing various tweaks to make the book look better, be smaller, more performant, etc.

Perhaps you should start a thread for coming up with a better name? For instance something like "burnish" or "shine" has similar connotations to "polish" although there are probably better ideas around.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

@jackie_w: An excellent point, I think I should be able to get the svg to use the original image dimensions fairly easily. I think I just forgot to do it while writing the code (Polish is a whole new code base, so it involved rather a lot of work). I'd appreciate it if you could open a bug report about it so I dont forget.

No problem. Bug #1127273

[kovidgoyal]

Originally Posted by itimpi

Perhaps you should start a thread for coming up with a better name? For instance something like "burnish" or "shine" has similar connotations to "polish" although there are probably better ideas around.

Feel free to create such a thread, I have no objections to renaming the feature if someone comes up with a better name. Since the feature is only a week old, theres not much disruption in renaming it.

[DoctorOhh]

Here are three suggestions Touchup, Smoothing or Finished. Although polish might be as good as anything.

[alanHd]

What about "adjust book"

[HarryT]

Improve Book?

I'm sure I'm not alone in assuming, when I first read it, that "Polish Book" referred to a book in the Polish language!

[theducks]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Improve Book?

I'm sure I'm not alone in assuming, when I first read it, that "Polish Book" referred to a book in the Polish language!

Finish has a similar problem with Finnish

Wax on... Wax Off

[theducks]

Originally Posted by DoctorOhh

Here are three suggestions Touchup, Smoothing or Finished. Although polish might be as good as anything.

I am leaning towards your 'Touchup'
+1

[GRiker]

Surgically enhance?

[GeoffR]

Refurbish?

[kovidgoyal]

I changed the thread title to make it clear that this thread is talking about a tool. None of the suggestions so far float my boat, I'm afraid.

[Billi]

I find "polish" very good. For me this implies the last and final cleaning. Perhaps "polishing" creates less confusion.

But maybe I just have the advantage of the "density" as a foreign language speaker.