Wide tables on narrow screens

derangedhermit · 05-26-2013, 05:02 AM

I have a work with a lot of tabular data (hundreds of tables) that prints horizontally in landscape mode over a page and a half wide. I'm sure I can shrink it some, but never to where it will fit on a 600-pixel wide e-ink screen.

i have no idea how to deal with this. Repeating the table multiple times with the the same column-1 data but the "next set" of columns that will fit is unappealing. There's no sideways scrolling, and at least for the Nooks, there's no landscape that I know of.

Anyone dealt with this kind of problem before? I could use some suggestions.

Thanks,
Lee

mrmikel · 05-26-2013, 07:16 AM

Images are the way to go in this situation. You can rotate them 90 degrees and they will be useable on any viewer and also not explode in size when the text size is increased. The user simply turns the viewer.

But a 6" e-ink reader is hardly the ideal device to view tabular data, let alone a smartphone screen. In another thread we were discussing trying to put 25 lbs of text in a 5 lb viewing bucket and there just is no way to do it. Seems like there's a saying about not being big enough for one's hat...that's about the size of this.

If you are working on something for tablet computers this is less of an issue and you can simply use a pdf rather than epub to keep the tablet lined up and constrained.

A lot of tables don't have to be a large as the ambitious author made them, so you could break them into two. But if you are trying to preserve someone else's formatting you have my sympathy.

derangedhermit · 05-26-2013, 12:33 PM

Images for the tables would be 20-30 megabytes. Text format would be much less than 1% of that. I'm not going to use images for so many tables.

I may abandon the idea of converting the work for a 6" screen. I know I can make it work on my 12.5" landscape notebook screen. I think I will try for a 10" tablet in portrait mode as well.

Toxaris · 05-26-2013, 03:29 PM

Tables and ePUB are usually a nightmare, especially bigger ones or more complex ones.
Either use images or PDF...

mrmikel · 05-26-2013, 07:25 PM

There is no need for them to be 20-30 MB. They are probably black and white and black and white jpgs needn't take up much room.

derangedhermit · 05-27-2013, 06:28 PM

I have decided to either forgo the tables or move most of the data columns out of them into the following text. This will let me avoid dealing with complex tables or images.

atleon · 05-27-2013, 06:30 PM

Wrong post. Sorry.

SBT · 05-29-2013, 05:46 PM

SVG would be a possibility, I suppose.
Another option would be to add a line to the text "These tables are best viewed in landscape mode.

mrmikel · 05-30-2013, 09:08 AM

The problem is that even in landscape the user can blow them up by increasing the text size. They do not fail gracefully with making the rows taller so that the width can be maintained. They just get wider and wider.

It might not be necessary to get rid of tables altogether. You could create a series of them all leading to a summary table, rather than trying to list all of categories in one table. However the result could be what seems to the reader a series of endless tables without the text ever moving forward.

05-26-2013, 05:02 AM	#1
derangedhermit Addict Posts: 239 Karma: 1280000 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: USA Device: None	Wide tables on narrow screens I have a work with a lot of tabular data (hundreds of tables) that prints horizontally in landscape mode over a page and a half wide. I'm sure I can shrink it some, but never to where it will fit on a 600-pixel wide e-ink screen. i have no idea how to deal with this. Repeating the table multiple times with the the same column-1 data but the "next set" of columns that will fit is unappealing. There's no sideways scrolling, and at least for the Nooks, there's no landscape that I know of. Anyone dealt with this kind of problem before? I could use some suggestions. Thanks, Lee Last edited by derangedhermit; 05-26-2013 at 11:52 AM.

05-27-2013, 06:30 PM	#7
atleon Enthusiast Posts: 48 Karma: 60414 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Wrong post. Sorry. Last edited by atleon; 05-27-2013 at 06:32 PM.

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05-26-2013, 07:16 AM	#2
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	Images are the way to go in this situation. You can rotate them 90 degrees and they will be useable on any viewer and also not explode in size when the text size is increased. The user simply turns the viewer. But a 6" e-ink reader is hardly the ideal device to view tabular data, let alone a smartphone screen. In another thread we were discussing trying to put 25 lbs of text in a 5 lb viewing bucket and there just is no way to do it. Seems like there's a saying about not being big enough for one's hat...that's about the size of this. If you are working on something for tablet computers this is less of an issue and you can simply use a pdf rather than epub to keep the tablet lined up and constrained. A lot of tables don't have to be a large as the ambitious author made them, so you could break them into two. But if you are trying to preserve someone else's formatting you have my sympathy.

05-26-2013, 12:33 PM	#3
derangedhermit Addict Posts: 239 Karma: 1280000 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: USA Device: None	Images for the tables would be 20-30 megabytes. Text format would be much less than 1% of that. I'm not going to use images for so many tables. I may abandon the idea of converting the work for a 6" screen. I know I can make it work on my 12.5" landscape notebook screen. I think I will try for a 10" tablet in portrait mode as well.

05-26-2013, 03:29 PM	#4
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	Tables and ePUB are usually a nightmare, especially bigger ones or more complex ones. Either use images or PDF...

05-26-2013, 07:25 PM	#5
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	There is no need for them to be 20-30 MB. They are probably black and white and black and white jpgs needn't take up much room.

05-27-2013, 06:28 PM	#6
derangedhermit Addict Posts: 239 Karma: 1280000 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: USA Device: None	I have decided to either forgo the tables or move most of the data columns out of them into the following text. This will let me avoid dealing with complex tables or images.

05-29-2013, 05:46 PM	#8
SBT Fanatic Posts: 580 Karma: 810184 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Norway Device: prs-t1, tablet, Nook Simple, assorted kindles, iPad	SVG would be a possibility, I suppose. Another option would be to add a line to the text "These tables are best viewed in landscape mode.

05-30-2013, 09:08 AM	#9
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	The problem is that even in landscape the user can blow them up by increasing the text size. They do not fail gracefully with making the rows taller so that the width can be maintained. They just get wider and wider. It might not be necessary to get rid of tables altogether. You could create a series of them all leading to a summary table, rather than trying to list all of categories in one table. However the result could be what seems to the reader a series of endless tables without the text ever moving forward.

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