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Participant
May 26, 2020
Answered

Fixed Layout EPub - Problems exporting...

  • May 26, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 3661 views

Hello,

 

I've created a comic in InDesign 2020, in which every page is a single image. Just under 100 pages of nothing but a large image on each page. I'm trying to export it as a Fixed Layout Epub. I set all the images to the lowest quality (to reduce file size), and left mostly everything on default.

 

So, to the problem at hand. I open my Epub in Sumatra, and encounter some unusual things.

- Certain pages will display twice (in the ereader, where there's two pages displaying at once, the same page will be shown on both sides at the same time.)

- There's always a non-existent page after my Page 14 (After I turn Page 13, there will be a blank on the left, and Page 15 on the right. I turn again, and Page 14 will display on the left with 15 on the right as it should)

- One page at the end of the document doesn't appear at all

 

When exporting, I DO have all-pages selected, and I initially had spread control set to "Based on document set-up", and experimented having "Disable Spreads", but it didn't make much difference.

 

I was at first getting an export error message about a text anchor, but I've since deleted that and no longer get the error. Still the same problem, so I don't think the anchor had anything to do with it.

 

If it makes a difference, this was originally a different .idd file for a different comic I'd created; I just changed the image links. The previous file had been converted to a Fixed Layout Epub using CS6 1-2 years ago. However, the page which doesn't appear in my new one is added on a new page later in the document.

 

Really hoping I can get to the bottom of this, and what things can possibly be causing this. I had no problem converting this same file to PDF.

 

Thanks in advance.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer rayek.elfin

Stop using Sumatra reader: it is incapable of rendering fixed layout epubs properly. Disable spreads when exporting to FXL epubs - ideally work on single pages in InDesign.

 

Test your file in Thorium reader instead, and report back to us.

https://www.edrlab.org/software/thorium-reader/

2 replies

rayek.elfin
rayek.elfinCorrect answer
Legend
May 27, 2020

Stop using Sumatra reader: it is incapable of rendering fixed layout epubs properly. Disable spreads when exporting to FXL epubs - ideally work on single pages in InDesign.

 

Test your file in Thorium reader instead, and report back to us.

https://www.edrlab.org/software/thorium-reader/

Participant
May 27, 2020

Thanks for recommending Thorium; it certainly displays the file better. The missing page is there now, thankfully, though there were some pages which displayed beside the next or previous page. I figured this one out on my own though; these particular images in my original InDesign file were overlapping the page beside it slightly. I tidied them up and re-exported it, and don't get the problem anymore. Thanks!

 

Anyway, one last issue. As this is a comic, there are certain pages which are double-page spreads, which I want displayed side-by-side. Does Thorium have a setting to display dual pages? Or is this something that needs to be configured during export?

Derek Cross
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 26, 2020

If you're on a Mac have a look at CircularFLO: 

https://www.circularflo.com

Participant
June 7, 2020

Worked like a charm! Thanks!