Best tool for checking epub formatting?

Nathanael · 09-07-2010, 02:10 AM

I've been creating ebooks for several years. Previously, my target format was PDF, but since I bought my first ereader I've been doing a lot of epub.

My (presumably fairly typical) workflow is as follows: Create a rough draft. View it. Note a few errors. Correct them. Check for more. Repeat ad infinitum.

The problem is, which viewer should I use? I'll often find myself fiddling around with my CSS for an hour to get the formatting right in FBReader only to discover my ebook reader doesn't support MARGIN-LEFT. I feel like I'm back in the 90s, fighting the browser wars all over again, with my epubs crammed full of hacks to compensate for viewer incompatibilities.

Is there an epub viewer out there that could be considered anything close to a gold reference standard? I don't care whether my epubs display correctly in any particular viewer. I'd just like to know at the end of the day that I didn't waste half my time trying to format around viewer idiosyncracies.

Or maybe I should just check my epubs with Firefox.

--Nathanael

pholy · 09-07-2010, 07:35 AM

Liza Daly over at threepress.org had an article about the major types of reader software - basically ADE-derived or Webkit-derived. I think that both FBReader and CoolReader are outside that model however, and I haven't much experience with either of those.

There is a thread (which should be stickied) describing bugs and quirks in the ADE sofware, we need similar threads for the other readers.

But most of all we need a conformance testing organization, probably outside of IDPF (since its major principals are the worst offenders).

Nathanael · 09-07-2010, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholy

Liza Daly over at threepress.org had an article about the major types of reader software

Thanks a lot. No, I mean it. Thanks a LOT.

Ran over to ThreePress to see if I could find it. I didn't. But I did just spend the last three hours -- hours I could have been otherwise productive with -- reading the ThreePress site. Lots of fascinating stuff there.

So really. Thanks. A lot.

--Nathanael

paulpeer · 09-09-2010, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathanael

Ran over to ThreePress to see if I could find it. I didn't.

Here it is: http://blog.threepress.org/2010/04/0...ading-engines/

eping · 09-09-2010, 09:34 AM

I think we have to wait.

Nathanael,
You are right, current eReaders are very backward and in chaos, just like browsers in 90's.

I think ADE, SONY and Nook are better previewers than FBReader.
And ePub Reader plug-in for Firefox have the same problem as FBReader.
I have an article about this on my blog
http://epingsoft.com/blog/?p=64
hope it will help you.

charleski · 09-09-2010, 11:09 AM

All current readers have problems, but Adobe's version comes closest to a standard simply because it's so widely used. FBReader ignores so much of the standard that it can barely even be considered epub-compatible. Apple's iBooks extends the standard in certain ways (though merely as a side-effect of its use of webkit) and fails abjectly in others (such as font-embedding or page-control)

f4b10b · 09-11-2010, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholy

There is a thread (which should be stickied) describing bugs and quirks in the ADE sofware, we need similar threads for the other readers.

Hi, I'm not able ti find this thread

, may you help me?

GeoffC · 09-11-2010, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f4b10b

Hi, I'm not able ti find this thread

, may you help me?

Welcome to mobileread ....

The thread is here https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...light=ADE+bugs

09-07-2010, 02:10 AM	#1
Nathanael Groupie Posts: 185 Karma: 1110435 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Shanghai, China Device: Sibrary G5	Best tool for checking epub formatting? I've been creating ebooks for several years. Previously, my target format was PDF, but since I bought my first ereader I've been doing a lot of epub. My (presumably fairly typical) workflow is as follows: Create a rough draft. View it. Note a few errors. Correct them. Check for more. Repeat ad infinitum. The problem is, which viewer should I use? I'll often find myself fiddling around with my CSS for an hour to get the formatting right in FBReader only to discover my ebook reader doesn't support MARGIN-LEFT. I feel like I'm back in the 90s, fighting the browser wars all over again, with my epubs crammed full of hacks to compensate for viewer incompatibilities. Is there an epub viewer out there that could be considered anything close to a gold reference standard? I don't care whether my epubs display correctly in any particular viewer. I'd just like to know at the end of the day that I didn't waste half my time trying to format around viewer idiosyncracies. Or maybe I should just check my epubs with Firefox. --Nathanael

09-09-2010, 09:34 AM	#5
eping ePub Maker Posts: 120 Karma: 16 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Mordor Device: iPad,Kindle 3, Nook 2	I think we have to wait. Nathanael, You are right, current eReaders are very backward and in chaos, just like browsers in 90's. I think ADE, SONY and Nook are better previewers than FBReader. And ePub Reader plug-in for Firefox have the same problem as FBReader. I have an article about this on my blog http://epingsoft.com/blog/?p=64 hope it will help you. Last edited by eping; 09-09-2010 at 09:45 AM.

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09-07-2010, 07:35 AM	#2
pholy Booklegger Posts: 1,801 Karma: 7999816 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Device: BeBook(1 & 2010), PEZ, PRS-505, Kobo BT, PRS-T1, Playbook, Kobo Touch	Liza Daly over at threepress.org had an article about the major types of reader software - basically ADE-derived or Webkit-derived. I think that both FBReader and CoolReader are outside that model however, and I haven't much experience with either of those. There is a thread (which should be stickied) describing bugs and quirks in the ADE sofware, we need similar threads for the other readers. But most of all we need a conformance testing organization, probably outside of IDPF (since its major principals are the worst offenders).

09-09-2010, 11:09 AM	#6
charleski Wizard Posts: 1,196 Karma: 1281258 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505	All current readers have problems, but Adobe's version comes closest to a standard simply because it's so widely used. FBReader ignores so much of the standard that it can barely even be considered epub-compatible. Apple's iBooks extends the standard in certain ways (though merely as a side-effect of its use of webkit) and fails abjectly in others (such as font-embedding or page-control)

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