24 | Testing and Tweaking

In this section, we carefully examine projectx on an EPUB reader or app to check for any weirdness or rendering failures.

People new to this process probably won't believe this, but if the EPUB checks out okay on Adobe Digital Editions AND Nook/Nook Apps, the Kindle will be just fine. I swear you could write your CSS in crayon on the back of a passing dead leaf and Kindle would still render text as you intended. EPUB... not so much. So the emphasis here is on viewing the EPUB we've built so far in ADE and either a Nook, Nook for PC, Nook for Android, Nook for OSX, or preferably all of the above. ADE and Nook are the true test of a file's code and formatting.

File Version

We'll use passed_projectx.epub for the examination.

Check Things Out

Here’s the part where we finally get to see the result of all this work.

Boot up Adobe Digital Editions or whichever EPUB viewer you plan to use. Add our passed_projectx.epub file and look things over VERY CLOSELY to make sure everything is as it should be.

• • Pay especially close attention to everything tagged with a production slug.

  • Find and check any en or em dashes.

  • Remember: EPUB text will not be justified at this point. That doesn't happen until absolutely everything else is finalized.

NOTE: The Kindle™ and its apps automatically justify text. EPUB devices and its apps do not automatically justify text. We will justify the EPUB text in the next section, so if you're not seeing justified text yet, take a deep breath. It'll be there after we make a very simple change in the next section.

Revisions?

In the event of mistakes, revise the passed_projectx EPUB file until all issues are resolved.

ATTENTION! Users who slugged en or em dashes must go back into Sigil and remove any slugs marking those characters. (Once those marks have been checked and everything’s fine, of course.)

"Kindle" EPUB SaveAs

Once the EPUB is absolutely finalized, use SaveAs to rename the final, unjustified-text version: kindle_projectx.epub.

For the zillionth time, the producer's project’s title can be substituted for projectx, but keep it short and simple. You will see why in a couple minutes.

kindle_projectx.epub is the file we will ultimately use to create the MOBI.

Okay, so we've now laid all the groundwork necessary for a solid, fully functional MOBI file.

In the next steps, we'll get the EPUB version ready for its closeup.

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