Exporting to epub from Pages (v.15.3.1), tabbed lines with leader dots display in epub (in Books.app v.8.5) as just a space. All other formatting is perfect, including TOC, in 400+ page doc.
Here's how it looks in Pages:
In Books:
MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 26.5
Leader dots are not supported because an EPUB is no longer a word processing document. I briefly see leader dots (only with Reflowable) when I open an EPUB displaying the TOC, and then they are automatically removed because modern EPUBs do not use them.
You might be able to edit the EPUB in the free Calibre application and tweak the underlying HTML/CSS3 code in the EPUB, but the styling exercise to introduce leader dots between text objects is non-trivial and the Books reader may just remove them again.
Tested: Pages v15.3.1, Tahoe 26.6.2, Books application.
Other than a deep dive into editing the EPUB with a third-party tool, there is no work around that comes to mind.
I just exported a Pages document as a PDF and then used that in Calibre to generate an EPUB3 document. When opened in Books, it behaved exactly as if the EPUB had been created in Pages - the leader dots were removed.
Thank you, Viking! You're always so quick. I will experiment, but do you know offhand a workaround? It's for a glossary. Just a plain tab? Multiple tabs with dots or dashes? Any ideas?
Other than a deep dive into editing the EPUB with a third-party tool, there is no work around that comes to mind.
Yeah, even using multiple empty tabs isn't working. I'll experiment a little more. Thank you.
Using spaces and dots for a nice, unprofessional look.
Pages ePub export: Tabbed lines with leader dots show as spaces
