ePub page breaks/centering

You can have any number of page breaks in an ePub document - they are called 'Chapters'.

So in the Pages template Apple have just released with the update, if you use the 'Chapter Name' style to highlight the start of a new chapter it will insert a page break in the exported ePub document (but confusingly not in the Pages document itself) and add an entry to the TOC.

It's kind of explained in the template, but it helps to know a little about how ePub documents work - all the text is reflow-able for example, and all the graphics are in-line. Layout and text size can be configured in the reader programme the end-user uses. iBooks itself doesn't have many options currently, but Stanza has many.

I'd like to be able to specify page-breaks without that page appearing in the TOC, but I'm not sure if its possible to tweak the template to do this!

Apple delivered a technote about Pages and epub.

It would be a good idea to read it :

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4168

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) dimanche 29 août 2010 00:04:07

Regarding Chapters and Page Breaks, I ran a few tests but the results are not consistent. It seems like in order to activate a page break you need to:
1) Start a new section
2) Type a line using the Chapter Number style
3) Type a line using the Chapter Name style

This sequence will produce a page break above the Chapter Number (it works 80% of the time).

Regarding the chapter appearing in the TOC, if you go to the Inspector Palette, click on the first icon on the top left (Document), select the TOC tab, then deselect that style you don't want to appear in the TOC.

I have also tried to copy the "Chapter Name" style, rename it and reduce the font size (Chapter Name small) but it doesn't produce a page break.

I believe it is the addition/inclusion of a "Section Break" that actually creates the "page break" in an ePUB file created by pages. Paragraph styles included in the automated TOC generation list add these sections to the TOC as specifically named TOC entries (e.g., a "Title" paragraph style creates a "Title Page" TOC entry, a "Chapter Name" paragraph style creates a named chapter TOC entry, a "Caption" paragraph style will add a named TOC entry for an image/figure/illustration set off on on its own page if this paragraph style is added to the automated TOC generation list, etc.) while other paragraph styles not included in the automated TOC generation list create a generic numbered "Section" entry in the ePUB TOC that points to the "top" of the section terminated by the Section Break.

I find the results to be unreliable as well. I can produce centered text at the end of my book if there are "returns". If the returns are moved the text is justified left.

Similar problems here--not only with centering but also with text line spacing and the use of empty lines at the top of various sections. Have found work-arounds for some but not all situations. Frankly, Legend Maker still seems more stable and has the advantage of simultaneously creating both ePUB and Kindle readable files from the same project source but it is appealing that Pages can now export ePUB directly with limited support of line shapes, picture frames, etc., as well as, including the graphics directly rather than having to use reference tags and an intermediate file format.

I wish Apple would come out with a more complete set of rules and methods for producing an ePub with Pages.

Best solution is likely to just sit down and "play" with Pages for a week or two in order to see just what it can actually do. I am learning something new almost every time I make some small change and test the results. Plan to take one of my public domain Legend Maker projects (e. E. "Doc" Smith's Skylark of Space) and re-do it as a Pages ePUB for comparison purposes today. It should be interesting since I think I've finally figured out how to include illustrations in the TOC.

How to use break page without being in the TOC?

1. Insert > Page Break
2. Inspector > Document Inspector > TOC > Select or Unmark
3. Mark the "Title of the Page", be sure to be in "free form" under Paragraph Style on the left side of the toolbar (only if you don't want to be shown in the TOC)

Hope this helps.

I managed to export a document in ePub format by exporting from Pages. It was great. I will try and publish a tutorial soon with examples to download in both pages and epub formats.

I'm not sure what you mean with your third point. How does one mark the "Title of the Page" ?

The current ePUB export module is somewhat inconsistent and unstable. His third point here indicated how to create a page break but not have the new page following the break show up in the TOC--i.e., using a "Free Form" paragraph style, for instance, the new page following the inserted break will not be included in the TOC. However, in your case, you probably want the title of your poem to show up in the TOC, so you would likely want to use a "Chapter Name" style here instead.

If you also use line spaces to move the poem title down on the page, you may wish to use blank "Chapter Number" style lines since "Free Form" style line spaces sometimes are ignored during export. Also be aware, that "building" a book "chapter by chapter" (or in your case, "poem by poem") is sometimes more stable than copying/opening an entire book in Pages and then setting the format styles. I also tend to prefer to start from scratch with a standard word processing page rather than using the "template" file provided by Apple as wierd things sometimes happen when I use it. (For instance, if I use the "Add Section" option in the sample file, I can usually create a four separate XHTML files, each of which opens as a new page, but sometimes when I add a fifth, the first four are merged together as the "cover.xhtml" file, and I end up with only 2 XHTML files in the ePUB package, each of which starts on a new page when reading.

I'm trying to format a book of poetry and I want each poem to start on a new page but I don't want to format the title of each poem with the default Chapter Heading style provided in the epub template. The default style for the Chapter Heading is too large for my liking. I know that when the book is exported the reader will be able to adjust font size in iBooks on the iPad - but the Chapter Heading will still remain relatively much larger than the body text.

Simple solution. If you don't like the "Chapter Nmae" style, then change it. I.e., select/highlight any of your poem titles which have been set it to the default "Chapter Name" style, change it as you see fit, then, with the text still selected, mouse click the "triangle" on the active "Chapter Name" style in the "Style Drawer" to display/slect the "Redefine Style from Selection" option. Your modified style will then be applied to all paragraphs currently using the same paragraph style and also be used thereafter for any text you set to that modified paragraph style. I usually use something in the 24-28 point range for a "Chapter Name," but this is entirely up to you.

Open the sample Pages document that Apple supplies and use their styles.

Peter

Not really.

Apparently the ePub is exported as one mass of text in a single DIV with very basic CSS formatting.

Peter

Finally, There are certain fonts I'd like to use (i.e. Edwardian Script.) Short of them being made as a picture element is there any way they can be imbedded into a book?

Only if you use PDF or something instead. You can't call any fonts that aren't already in the reader.

Arturus

It's the usual design by committee.

I have been doing this for as long as DTP has existed, even before that I was trying to do it without the tools being available.

I am constantly amazed at how when the programmers turned to design on the web, they threw everything we had learnt out and came up with this mess.

Peter

Thanks Yvan. I read the document, but I think that the part about page breaks is a bit confusing: "Documents exported to the ePub format automatically appear with page breaks before every chapter." That's it. What is that supposed to mean? How does Pages identify a "Chapter?" I tried to rename my Styles like the ones in the "ePub Best Practices" document ("Chapter Name," "Chapter Number," etc.) but the results are still uneven. There seems to be something else that triggers the page break (e.g., a combination of "chapter name" and "chapter number" in a specific order and/or without empty lines in between).

The template is a good start but to be honest, the styling results in text-size that is much smaller than the standard ePubs found on the iBookstore.

I have to crank the font size in iBooks for iPhone to have it resemble the font-size of other eBooks. Shouldn't the font-size be determined by iBooks (different versions for iBooks and iPad).

I have to crank the font size in iBooks for iPhone to have it resemble the font-size of other eBooks. Shouldn't the font-size be determined by iBooks (different versions for iBooks and iPad).

The size is at the descretion of the person creating the ePub file (I.e., relative to the size of the font face used to create the ePUB file and not automatically selected by the viewing device). My guess would be that Apple used the 12 default in the template/sample file to maximize the range of selectable fonts when using the iPad. For me, it is necessary to view 12 point "Body" fonts at setting 4-5 (with glasses) or 5-6 (without glasses) when reading on the iPad.

On the other hand, the Legend Maker software is based on use of a 18 point "Body" font style with other style scaled as desired in relation to the "Body" style. For me, this has the advantage of making the project text readable when viewed at 100% scaling on a high-density monitor and allows me to read the iPad text at viewing settings of 1-2 (with glasses) or 3-4 (without them).

So basically, you can either opt to create personal files to match the size of commercial ePUB files, use a size that maximizes use of all available iPad viewing size options, or use something in-between that suits your own individual tastes. To better give you some idea as to as to the comparisons I am currently making/testing for my use, here are some screen capture comparisons from my iPad:

Initial Test Comparisons

1. Insert > Page Break
2. Inspector > Document Inspector > TOC > Select or Unmark
3. Mark the "Title of the Page", be sure to be in "free form" under Paragraph Style on the left side of the toolbar (only if you don't want to be shown in the TOC)

Can you kindly explain this more clearly? For some reason I'm not following your explanation. Much thanks!
- robjohn33