Epubs loaded to Kobo missing small bits of text

moxamoll · 02-10-2020, 09:00 PM

Hello,
I am currently using a Kobo Aura H2O Second Edition. I've gotten in the habit of downloading my ebooks from the seller and installing them on the device (rather than downloading them directly to the device), particularly since adding them from the device to the Calibre library seems like it will be problematic every time something changes.

However, I've discovered that for a few books, the entire text shows up in the Calibre reader, but when they are added to my Kobo, parts of sentences or whole paragraphs go missing - mostly at the end of chapters or before a scene break. I tried to search for other people posting this problem but couldn't find anything that seemed exactly the same. A few things seemed to suggest that the epub file downloaded from the Kobo site might not be exactly the same as the one loaded directly to my device? And that the downloaded file might have errors in the CSS?

I have very, very, very basic experience in editing CSS files, so if this is indeed the problem, explicit directions for potentially fixing the problem would be appreciated. Or if you think it might be something else entirely?

If I have missed any information that might be helpful in diagnosing the problem, please ask! Thank you in advance for any insights.

kovidgoyal · 02-10-2020, 09:13 PM

Try doing an EPUB to EPUB conversion that often fixes things.

davidfor · 02-11-2020, 07:29 AM

It probably means there is an unbalanced tag or incorrect nesting of tags towards the end of the chapter. As Kovid said, an epub-to-epub conversion will probably fix it. You can also open it in the calibre editor and run the error checking. That will probably show what it is.

As to the version downloaded from the Kobo library or to the device. They can be different versions of the book. It depends on how they get uploaded by the publisher. And the kepub version will have been through their processing. That might fix things. There are also two renderers. They handle errors in the book code in different ways.

DNSB · 02-11-2020, 06:13 PM

One other possiblity is I've seen epub3 ebooks created with Vellum that miss chunks of text around a graphic scene break (often seen at the end of chapter as well) when viewed with an RMSDK epub2 renderer.

As suggested an epub to epub conversion often fixes the issue. The other choice is get familiar with editing epubs.

moxamoll · 02-15-2020, 05:56 PM

Thanks for the thoughts. I opened the file and it had a bunch of errors, so I ran the Epub to Epub conversion. Now when I open the file in the editor, it doesn't find errors, but the same bits of text are missing.

I found the spot where three paragraphs are missing in front of an ornamental break, and I can't see anything wrong that's obvious to me (all the tags seem to have an open and a close, which is all that I'm 100% sure about.) I know this isn't as easy to read without all the colours, but if someone can point out to me what the problem is, so I know what to look for, that would be greatly appreciated.

FYI, if some "dirty" language will upset you, please skip this one.

Don’t suppose you’d send a selfie? He added the laughing emoji.
She didn’t respond and he figured he’d scared her off. But then a picture came across his phone and his heart practically stopped. 

Edit: Post truncated. MobileRead is a family friendly forum and explicit text isn’t allowed. A heads up doesn’t affect that.

DNSB · 02-16-2020, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moxamoll

Thanks for the thoughts. I opened the file and it had a bunch of errors, so I ran the Epub to Epub conversion. Now when I open the file in the editor, it doesn't find errors, but the same bits of text are missing.

I found the spot where three paragraphs are missing in front of an ornamental break, and I can't see anything wrong that's obvious to me (all the tags seem to have an open and a close, which is all that I'm 100% sure about.) I know this isn't as easy to read without all the colours, but if someone can point out to me what the problem is, so I know what to look for, that would be greatly appreciated.

FYI, if some "dirty" language will upset you, please skip this one.

Don’t suppose you’d send a selfie? He added the laughing emoji.
She didn’t respond and he figured he’d scared her off. But then a picture came across his phone and his heart practically stopped. 

Edit: Post truncated. MobileRead is a family friendly forum and explicit text isn’t allowed. A heads up doesn’t affect that.

I took a quick look at the sample of HOT Angel. In chapter 1, replacing

Code:

<hr class="ornamental-break ornamental-break-as-hr"/>

with

Code:

<p class="ornamental-break"><img alt="" style="width:3em; heigth:auto;" src="../OEBPS/images/break-block-screen.svg"/></p>

corrected the lost text issue.

moxamoll · 02-26-2020, 04:52 PM

My apologies, it's my first time posting here and I forgot to double check the censorship requirements. Thank you very much for offering a fix anyway.

Unfortunately, although (once I fixed the typo) the Calibre editor found no errors with the code you suggested, it didn't fix the problem reading the book on my Kobo. Now there are two ornamental breaks and the text is still missing.

This is the code around that area:

Brooke shoved her drink away though she badly wanted to down it. “Of course I do. Lead on, Mrs. Spencer.”
<img alt="" style="width:3em; height:auto;" src="../OEBPS/images/break-block-screen.svg"/>
Cade watched the game, but his mind wasn’t on it. No, his mind was back in that kitchen with the petite blonde sitting on the stool by the island. She’d been wearing a fitted olive-green shirt and faded jeans with spike-heeled boots. Her long hair tumbled down her back and her baby blues were captivating.

And this is what it looks like loaded onto my Kobo (I blacked out problematic text; hopefully that is acceptable.

Any further thoughts?

Lorraine P · 09-12-2020, 07:14 PM

I have just spent the morning troubleshooting missing paragraphs in my Kobo Libra H20's EPUBS. While Calibre's Check Book tool didn't fix it, it did help me explore the book's CSS code/text (I'm new to this!) in Edit Book.
My missing paragraphs were always prior to an "ornamental break".
Using CTRL+F to find <hr class="ornamental-break"/> all through the book's CSS, and replacing it with nothing, fixed the issue!
It takes a few minutes to go through every book like this, and I'm hoping there's a way to do this for a whole library at once, but that's where I'm up to.

davidfor · 09-12-2020, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorraine P

I have just spent the morning troubleshooting missing paragraphs in my Kobo Libra H20's EPUBS. While Calibre's Check Book tool didn't fix it, it did help me explore the book's CSS code/text (I'm new to this!) in Edit Book.
My missing paragraphs were always prior to an "ornamental break".
Using CTRL+F to find <hr class="ornamental-break"/> all through the book's CSS, and replacing it with nothing, fixed the issue!
It takes a few minutes to go through every book like this, and I'm hoping there's a way to do this for a whole library at once, but that's where I'm up to.

While that might have fixed it, removing the break is probably not a good idea. The break was there for a reason. It was probably indicating a scene break of some sort (such as the point of view, location or a jump in time). Removing them can cause some confusion. Just replacing the line with a simple "<hr/>" will work without loss of the context.

theducks · 09-13-2020, 03:55 AM

I agree with David. don't destroy everything without a fight to fix it properly

You might look at the CSS. It may have a Negative top Margin or something else stupid

that stomped on some of your text

JSWolf · 09-13-2020, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorraine P

I have just spent the morning troubleshooting missing paragraphs in my Kobo Libra H20's EPUBS. While Calibre's Check Book tool didn't fix it, it did help me explore the book's CSS code/text (I'm new to this!) in Edit Book.
My missing paragraphs were always prior to an "ornamental break".
Using CTRL+F to find <hr class="ornamental-break"/> all through the book's CSS, and replacing it with nothing, fixed the issue!
It takes a few minutes to go through every book like this, and I'm hoping there's a way to do this for a whole library at once, but that's where I'm up to.

Post the CSS code and the HTML code so we can see what's going on.

02-10-2020, 09:00 PM	#1
moxamoll Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2020 Device: Kobo Aura H20 Edition 2	Epubs loaded to Kobo missing small bits of text Hello, I am currently using a Kobo Aura H2O Second Edition. I've gotten in the habit of downloading my ebooks from the seller and installing them on the device (rather than downloading them directly to the device), particularly since adding them from the device to the Calibre library seems like it will be problematic every time something changes. However, I've discovered that for a few books, the entire text shows up in the Calibre reader, but when they are added to my Kobo, parts of sentences or whole paragraphs go missing - mostly at the end of chapters or before a scene break. I tried to search for other people posting this problem but couldn't find anything that seemed exactly the same. A few things seemed to suggest that the epub file downloaded from the Kobo site might not be exactly the same as the one loaded directly to my device? And that the downloaded file might have errors in the CSS? I have very, very, very basic experience in editing CSS files, so if this is indeed the problem, explicit directions for potentially fixing the problem would be appreciated. Or if you think it might be something else entirely? If I have missed any information that might be helpful in diagnosing the problem, please ask! Thank you in advance for any insights.

02-15-2020, 05:56 PM	#5
moxamoll Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2020 Device: Kobo Aura H20 Edition 2	Thanks for the thoughts. I opened the file and it had a bunch of errors, so I ran the Epub to Epub conversion. Now when I open the file in the editor, it doesn't find errors, but the same bits of text are missing. I found the spot where three paragraphs are missing in front of an ornamental break, and I can't see anything wrong that's obvious to me (all the tags seem to have an open and a close, which is all that I'm 100% sure about.) I know this isn't as easy to read without all the colours, but if someone can point out to me what the problem is, so I know what to look for, that would be greatly appreciated. FYI, if some "dirty" language will upset you, please skip this one. <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.170.1">Don’t suppose you’d send a selfie? </span></i><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.171.1">He added the laughing </span><span class="last-word"><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.172.1">emoji</span></span><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.173.1">.</span></p> <p class="subsq"><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.174.1">She didn’t respond and he figured he’d scared her off. </span><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.174.2">But then a picture came across his phone and his heart practically stopped. </span><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.174.3"> Edit: Post truncated. MobileRead is a family friendly forum and explicit text isn’t allowed. A heads up doesn’t affect that. Last edited by issybird; 02-16-2020 at 10:31 AM. Reason: Guideline violation

02-26-2020, 04:52 PM	#7
moxamoll Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2020 Device: Kobo Aura H20 Edition 2	My apologies, it's my first time posting here and I forgot to double check the censorship requirements. Thank you very much for offering a fix anyway. Unfortunately, although (once I fixed the typo) the Calibre editor found no errors with the code you suggested, it didn't fix the problem reading the book on my Kobo. Now there are two ornamental breaks and the text is still missing. This is the code around that area: <p class="subsq"><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.202.1">Brooke shoved her drink away though she badly wanted to down it. </span><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.202.2">“Of course I do. </span><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.202.3">Lead on, Mrs. </span><span class="last-word"><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.203.1">Spencer</span></span><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.204.1">.”</span></p> <p class="ornamental-break"><img alt="" style="width:3em; height:auto;" src="../OEBPS/images/break-block-screen.svg"/></p> <p class="first"><span class="first-phrase"><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.205.1">Cade watched the game,</span></span><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.206.1"> but his mind wasn’t on it. </span><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.206.2">No, his mind was back in that kitchen with the petite blonde sitting on the stool by the island. </span><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.206.3">She’d been wearing a fitted olive-green shirt and faded jeans with spike-heeled boots. </span><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.206.4">Her long hair tumbled down her back and her baby blues were </span><span class="last-word"><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.207.1">captivating</span></span><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="kobospan" id="kobo.208.1">.</span></p> And this is what it looks like loaded onto my Kobo (I blacked out problematic text; hopefully that is acceptable. Any further thoughts?

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02-10-2020, 09:13 PM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,300 Karma: 27111240 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Try doing an EPUB to EPUB conversion that often fixes things.

02-11-2020, 07:29 AM	#3
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	It probably means there is an unbalanced tag or incorrect nesting of tags towards the end of the chapter. As Kovid said, an epub-to-epub conversion will probably fix it. You can also open it in the calibre editor and run the error checking. That will probably show what it is. As to the version downloaded from the Kobo library or to the device. They can be different versions of the book. It depends on how they get uploaded by the publisher. And the kepub version will have been through their processing. That might fix things. There are also two renderers. They handle errors in the book code in different ways.

02-11-2020, 06:13 PM	#4
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 45,806 Karma: 168959602 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	One other possiblity is I've seen epub3 ebooks created with Vellum that miss chunks of text around a graphic scene break (often seen at the end of chapter as well) when viewed with an RMSDK epub2 renderer. As suggested an epub to epub conversion often fixes the issue. The other choice is get familiar with editing epubs.

09-12-2020, 07:14 PM	#8
Lorraine P Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra H20	I have just spent the morning troubleshooting missing paragraphs in my Kobo Libra H20's EPUBS. While Calibre's Check Book tool didn't fix it, it did help me explore the book's CSS code/text (I'm new to this!) in Edit Book. My missing paragraphs were always prior to an "ornamental break". Using CTRL+F to find <hr class="ornamental-break"/> all through the book's CSS, and replacing it with nothing, fixed the issue! It takes a few minutes to go through every book like this, and I'm hoping there's a way to do this for a whole library at once, but that's where I'm up to.

09-13-2020, 03:55 AM	#10
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,003 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	I agree with David. don't destroy everything without a fight to fix it properly You might look at the CSS. It may have a Negative top Margin or something else stupid that stomped on some of your text

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