css question

[skil-phil]

Is it possible to include a text string into a css property?
For example:

p.break {
text-align: center;
text: "this is a break";
}

Then use:
<p class="break"></p>

Thanks

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by skil-phil

Is it possible to include a text string into a css property?
For example:

p.break {
text-align: center;
text: "this is a break";
}

Then use:
<p class="break"></p>

Thanks

What you want is to add in comments to the CSS. Here is the corrected CSS with a comment.

/* This is a break */
p.break {
  text-align: center;
  text-indent: 0;
}

[Brett Merkey]

Yes, it is possible to use CSS to insert text into content. Use a pseudo-element.

Example:

p.scenebreak::before {
display: block;
content: "❖ This is a scenebreak ❖";
font-size: 1.5em;
margin: .2em auto;
text-align: center;
text-indent: 0;
color: midnightblue;
}

Then insert <p class="scenebreak"></p> in the desired place.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Brett Merkey

Yes, it is possible to use CSS to insert text into content. Use a pseudo-element.

And which platforms does that work on?
I've never seen it used in actual ebooks.
What happens if Amazon converts the epub?
What does Calibre do on conversion to LRF, PDB, mobi/KF7, azw3/kf8? Logically the css should work like a macro and the conversion have the content text where the class is invoked.

But macros are one of the evil things in C and C++ with sometimes unexpected expansion. Unavoidable in Assembler.

[theducks]

I agree with @quoth.


Just because CSS allows way more features , becaue. it was set for WEB pages.

An e-book only uses a small subset. Even then, the 'we know better' folk that outfitted you device, chose to ignore, or took the code easy way out (User adjustable WITH Publishers settings being Algebraic)

(and Posters, please verify your general comments on coding are generally Industry supported on mainstream e-readers )

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What you want is to add in comments to the CSS. Here is the corrected CSS with a comment.

/* This is a break */
p.break {
  text-align: center;
  text-indent: 0;
}

And this is a 100% correct answer if the OP wants to insert a comment in CSS.
It works on everything.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Quoth

And this is a 100% correct answer if the OP wants to insert a comment in CSS.
It works on everything.

I read it as the OP wanted to be able to have the text displayed at the scene break specified in the stylesheet. I've seen this done with some image based scene breaks.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I read it as the OP wanted to be able to have the text displayed at the scene break specified in the stylesheet. I've seen this done with some image based scene breaks.

Actually: background-image might work for that case, but not text

[lomkiri]

Originally Posted by theducks

Actually: background-image might work for that case, but not text

The form with text works in the viewer of calibre, in Foliate (linux), koreader (android) and, about eReaders, in Touch Lux 5. But not in Touch Lux 3.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I read it as the OP wanted to be able to have the text displayed at the scene break specified in the stylesheet. I've seen this done with some image based scene breaks.

I wasn't sure what the OP wanted, which is why my comment has an "if".

I'd just put the actual text in the p tags, but I don't do that kind of ebook editing.

[lomkiri]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I'd just put the actual text in the p tags, but I don't do that kind of ebook editing.

I didn't know the solution Brett gave. It may be very interesting for all type of repeated features, as the "three stars", for example. It gives the same ability for small parts of text as the CSS for the styles, or as the macros in LaTeX : it's possible to change the visual of all the breaks of an ebook (for example) just changing a unique line.

The restriction Theducks gave may nevertheless point to a serious problem, in case it isn't recognized by parts of the eReaders, It is still to be tested on more devices :-).

BTW, this feature survives to a conversion epub -> azw3 or pdf (using calibre).

[Brett Merkey]

"...may be very interesting for all type of repeated features"
It certainly is. However, it is specially convenient in dealing with books that use whitespace alone for scene breaks. Whitespace is an irritating waste of space for me. The method of pseudo-elements can add a visual break without touching the HTML code or even altering the original CSS. This is easy when the whitespace is produced by adding space to any paragraph above or below where the break is wanted. Style a pseudo-element version of that paragraph and you are done. Presumably the original code will serve as a fallback if that is relevant. I've used the method only on Amazon and Samsung products for about 12 years so I do not know that range of support beyond that.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by lomkiri

It may be very interesting for all type of repeated features, as the "three stars", for example. It gives the same ability for small parts of text as the CSS for the styles, or as the macros in LaTeX : it's possible to change the visual of all the breaks of an ebook (for example) just changing a unique line..

No, since the class will indicate and asterism, you can simply search and replace. There is no need for this, which is for web pages fed by servers not a distributed ebook.

Also in the source wordprocessing each kind of scene break indication can have a different style. That will map 1:1 to CSS and HTML.

You are right that white space scene breaks don't work as well in ebooks, especially on phone screens, where most are read.

There is zero need to utilize CSS as macros to insert content. It's actually more complicated and no easier to maintain and harder to generate.

It's for web page server side programming, which I've done, never for ebooks.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Brett Merkey

"...may be very interesting for all type of repeated features"
It certainly is. However, it is specially convenient in dealing with books that use whitespace alone for scene breaks. Whitespace is an irritating waste of space for me. The method of pseudo-elements can add a visual break without touching the HTML code or even altering the original CSS. This is easy when the whitespace is produced by adding space to any paragraph above or below where the break is wanted. Style a pseudo-element version of that paragraph and you are done. Presumably the original code will serve as a fallback if that is relevant. I've used the method only on Amazon and Samsung products for about 12 years so I do not know that range of support beyond that.

Explain what you mean in plain English. Are you editing someone else's published ebooks, or creating/publishing ebooks for people, and if so what format of source are you given?

There is no "Samsung" ebook platform.

Style a pseudo-element version of that paragraph and you are done.

Frankly sounds more complicated and likely to fail than doing it the way most ebooks do it, with zero pseudo-elements.

There are many articles explaining why ebooks shouldn't slavishly copy printed books, especially novels. Replace white-space only scene breaks in the source is trivial as is reducing excessive white space that might be fine on a 9" hardback but not in an ebook.

[skil-phil]

Thanks to all for the comments and interesting discussion. Will try the suggestions later when back from work.
Thanks again.