Is there a way to globally convert all note cues in epub file to superscript?

[Liudprand]

I've been using Calibre for a few years, but I'm basically new to Sigil.

I'm trying to fix an epub file that I edited (perhaps that was a mistake!) in Word, and then converted back to epub within Calibre.

Most of the formatting went fine, but all of the superscript note cues are now just full size - and because there are passages with quite a lot of mathematical notation, that's particularly confusing. But, in any case, the client's style calls for all the note cues to be superscript.

I've worked out how, in PageEdit, to convert a single cue to superscript, but I'd really like to find out if there's a way of converting all of them at once. They are two-way hyperlinks, of course - so I'm wondering if there's a simple way to get Sigil/PageEdit to search for all hyperlinks within a chapter and convert them to superscript? There are TONS of notes, so that would be an enormous advance on doing it manually.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd be very grateful.

[Liudprand]

Follow-up query: I've done this manually for a few of the note cues, and it works fine when opened again in Calibre, except for one thing:

By default, Sigil/PE generates superscript figures that don't fit properly within the line of text, so that extra (unwanted) space is produced between the line with superscript and the line above.

It's an effect a little like if, in Word, you superscript a figure in a line of text, and then increase the point-size of just that figure. So, if the body text is 12pt, and you increase just the supersript figure to, say, 16pt, it (understandably) generates extra space above the line. But, at least in Word, typefaces behave themselves in this respect: the superscript figures are designed not to create that extra space as long as they're in the same point size - and I know this can be achieved in ePubs generally; there are plenty I've bought with my own money that behave properly in this respect.

So, is there any way of tweaking the superscript figures in Sigil/PE - in terms of size, positioning, or both - so that they behave themselves, and don't generate superfluous line-space above?

[KevinH]

To handle replacements use Sigil Find and Replace with the appropriate regular expressions.

You control line height, line margins etc through css.

But in general using subscripts or superscripts to indicate links to footnotes can make their use almost impossible on e-readers with small screens. It is much better to wrap them in square brackets which makes them much easier to detect and for people to actually click on.

Something like: blah blah blah.[1]

Using superscripts for footnote indicators are one of the most common mistakes made be people who think they must replicate the printed book exactly, especially when no one ever tries to click on a printed book footnote!

You need to adapt old print-only techniques to actually work in e-books and this is a bad one for limiting Accessibility of your ebook.

[Liudprand]

Thanks for the reply.

But I think you missed, in my original question, my point that my client requires footnote markers to be superscripted. Also, the vast majority of published nonfiction books - history, social science, etc. - from major presses, use superscripts in their ebooks. I happen to prefer that myself, too, as a reader; I think full-size figures with square brackets are clunky and ugly, and I've never had any trouble clicking on a superscript note cue in an ebook. I appreciate that some people might prefer what you suggest - but in the actual publishing world, that's very much a minority practice (though I've seen it in some textbooks). But I recognise that, over time, that may be the way things go! Just not yet.

I'll give your suggestion a try (though I'm not sure what "regular expression" I need to locate note cues). Thanks again.