Tabs fail when exporting to epub

[Paul_Anthony]

When I export to ePub my formatting breaks down because the left indents don't hold up. How can I get indents to work in ePub document?

 

Thanks,

 

Paul

[marguerite]

Paul:

Are you using tabs to set the indents? I think they don't export, as you say. Better to set the first-line indent through the style (it should be done for you already if you are using the novel template, but if you want to change the default, you can).

 

To change any paragraph formatting, the easiest way is to select a paragraph that has no underlining or other style changes; use the Inspector (blue button in the toolbar) to set the font, indents, etc., as you want; then, with the text still selected, choose Format > Style > Redefine Style from Selection from the menu bar. (You can also redefine a style through the Inspector if you want.) If you do this with a paragraph styled as Body Text, every paragraph of Body Text in your document will take on the new formatting, but italics and underlining and bold will remain.

 

To create a new style, do the same but choose Format > Style > Create New Style from Selection. Then apply the new style wherever you want it (you will need to reapply your italics, etc., in this case).

Best,

Marguerite

 

P.S. Should have mentioned that I use first-line indents and have had no trouble with them: they show up in ePub, although Kindle for Mac can be quirky. So if you are using them instead of tabs and they are not working, the problem lies somewhere else.

[Steve]

Hi Paul,

 

ePub doesn't really work well with tab stops. In general you want to avoid using whitespace (tabs, returns, spaces) to position text in ePub files.

 

Marguerite's suggestion (using style to control spacing) is the easiest approach, and you can use the Edit > Tools > Convert Tabs to First Line Indents to automate the conversion from tabs to indents.

 

-Steve