Forum: Author Hangout

Thank you! I've previously used {block} rather than the HTML blockquote,

in the SoL tagged text { block } is it's equivalent of the html < blockquote > and the html code will be changed to the tagged text equivalent by the wizard.

In the past the tagged text { block } used to be displayed indented, aligned left in blue text. However, at some point that changed and it stopped being displayed in the same font as the general text in blue text and is now displayed in black text in a different font. I didn't like the way this displayed, so I changed how I set it out and stopped using the blockquote. or block command. In recent weeks I switch over to submitting to SoL in only html and it came out right - Play Ball was done that way in the last few days.

In the past the tagged text { block } used to be displayed indented, aligned left in blue text. However, at some point that changed and it stopped being displayed in the same font as the general text in blue text and is now displayed in black text in a different font. I didn't like the way this displayed, so I changed how I set it out and stopped using the blockquote.

Many of us preferred the blockquote command to be indented, as it set the text off to denote notes, broadcasts or other things which alerted readers it wasn't the narrator speaking. However, I suspect that Ernest is the only one that insists on duplicating the old-style (for SOL) blue text. Otherwise, he sample coding is your best bet, since it centers and single spaces the song lyrics. I've also used that technique for quotes at the beginning of the chapter (in books, since they haven't appeared on SOL as yet).

Personally, I suspect that Lazeez is seeking to emulate how Amazon handles blockquote commands, reducing the indents to only a single character, as many ebooks are now copying that technique (including Calibre, among them, though you can turn that off manually). Frankly, if authors wanted to indent by a single character, we'd do it ourselves. So now, when I submit to Amazon, I create a Style to indent 5 character spaces on either side (ex: "5em;"), which varies depending on each display so it's properly proportional, rather than ignoring the indent entirely.

However, I suspect that Ernest is the only one that insists on duplicating the old-style (for SOL) blue text.

Could be, CW, but I was using blue italics for blockquoted notes etc in my stories before I started to post at SoL. It was a good it did the same, but since it changed I still want the SoL display to mimic what I do in the base text, so I changed how to do that on SoL to get what i want.

open one of your stories and select the 'Night Time' theme from the scroller menu

First, I didn't know that option was available.

Second, I'll take your word some people prefer it, all that black makes me want to throw up. - (add typo edit)

BTW: My tablet has a simple setting I can activate to dim the display for night use and it adjusts the light levels of all the screens to suit the new setting I've chosen. I can adjust many aspects and then just have ti save it as 'Night Display' as against 'Day Display.'

The main reason I use blue for notes etc, is it stands out in most cases without standing out too much.

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One reason I use the colours in the titles is I like to give the readers a decent amount to read with each post. Using the colours allows me to indicate appropriate break points in the story based on the story line. Take Play Ball it posts on SoL as 9 parts and a foreword - but it consists of 15 chapters plus 26 sub-chapters and the foreword - that's 42 components that have their divisions shown by the headers with their colours. If I had to post each as a separate chapter to have that same division marked, that's a lot more work for everyone. Finding Home would blow out to over 120 posting chapters instead of the current 38 posting parts. It comes to the old saying: you can't please everyone.

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As to the gamut of features, would you call it a feature if it offers something you don't need or use. I amend the SoL display in the My Account - Display settings to show the way and colour I like. Thus I don't need to look at or use other themes or features that affect the display.

As to using all the available options, we need to know they're there before we can use them. If there isn't a help file telling us it's available, how are we supposed to know it's there to look for and use?

Didn't mean to pick on you, or to offend you. You were the only one that I remembered using colours.

It emphasizes my earlier points (several threads back), that using colors for emphasis is problematic for a variety of reasons. Not only can't many people see it, but they won't work under a wide variety of circumstances. That doesn't necessarily limit their use, but why limit who's allowed to read your stories?

The design of html and ePub is that you leave the format basic (in this case) straight black on white without stipulating font or font size, and let the user decide how to display it on their own device. There's no reason for the author to dictate how the information is read. Their main objective is simply delivering the words on paper (with or without the paper).

Their main objective is simply delivering the words on paper (with or without the paper).

Part of the information being delivered is the chapter title, and sub-chapter title. If they weren't differentiated in any way the reader wouldn't know which is a chapter and which is a sub-chapter.

I sue the colour and italics to get it across because I don't want to go down the track of going Chapter 1, Chapter 1A, Chapter 1B, Chapter 2.

As I said before, although the -book readers strip out different format code they only take either the color or the italics, and not both. The only reason the e-book readers don't use basic html or basic xhtml is because they want to try and collar readers and tie them to their devices.

While I tried to use your markup example, I discovered that it only works if crafting from a text file. Lazeez told me it does not work as I used it: Word saved as Web Page, Filtered.

I use WORD files saved as Web Page, Filtered, but since M$ puts in so much junk html code, it overwhelms the SOL (and many other) processors, so you have to go in and yank it all out. After years of doing so, I've finally managed to turn off all the WORD flags that cause the junk files, so I no longer have that problem, but I still review them. But yes, many users edit their WORD produced files using a text editor.

WORD tosses in links, definitions of terms, language definitions, color definitions and other extraneous information.

WORD tosses in links, definitions of terms, language definitions, color definitions and other extraneous information.

Every word processor does - that's why I love 'Replace All' but leave the space of what to replace with empty - that deletes all the instances of the excess code, and only takes a few seconds to do with each incident. But there's a lot of them.

But there's a lot of them.

As I've said, I've slowly whittled them down over the years. It's mostly a number of settings for what which word processor settings it saves in html (i.e. internal WORD settings vs. link settings vs. 'simple' html settings). Once you get everything turned off, you hardly make any changes. Now, the html code produced by WORD is almost perfect. Just don't ask me which settings, since I've turned them off, one by one, over the past several years. 'D

Just don't ask me which settings, since I've turned them off, one by one, over the past several years. 'D

Awwww, that's no fun. But I understand.

Awwww, that's no fun. But I understand.

If you want, we could probably compare screen shots of the various settings screens and figure it out, but I can't list them off the top of my head.

If you want, we could probably compare screen shots

nah, beinf different programs it may not work, anyway. I'll just play with the LO settings and see if they make a difference.

I apologize if I made you feel like I'm picking on you.

I didn't feel you were picking on me. I saw it as you providing a detailed explanation. Sorry if I sounded defensive, but the way that appeared when is witched off did make my stomach want to flip. But differnt people like different hings.

In the past the tagged text { block } used to be displayed indented, aligned left in blue text. However, at some point that changed and it stopped being displayed in the same font as the general text in blue text and is now displayed in black text in a different font.

In the ePub format generated by SOL such text appears in blue again, in the same font as the regular text, and indented from left and right margins and justified. It continues to appear on SOL itself in Courier (or a Courier-like) font.

bb

In the ePub format generated by SOL such text appears in blue again, in the same font as the regular text, and indented from left and right margins and justified. It continues to appear on SOL itself in Courier (or a Courier-like) font.

BB, I've not used the blockquote on SoL, and haven't for a over a year, so what shows in the downstream files they create won't be affected in my stories by the { block } command SoL uses. It should just show the text as blue italic text. I do know the actual e-pub files I create in Calibre show in some readers with the colours, but others don't show the colours, but they do show the standard blockquote indentation.