Outer glow missing on EPub export

It is possible to rasterize the effect during export:

1) select the text with the glow effect

2) right-mouse click to open the Object Export Options, or use the Object menu.

3) change the Preserve Appearance From Layout to "Rasterize Container".

4) set the resolution to 72ppi

5) if the effect requires transparency to work on the background, set the format to PNG. Otherwise JPG

When exporting your epub, also make sure the resolution in the conversion settings is set to 72ppi. This means you are working at the resolution of the device IF you chose a mobile device template. If unsure what resolution works best, inspect the epub's images by unzipping the epub file and checking the images manually.

If you require the text to remain text (since the above method will convert the text to an image), place a copy of the text without the effect on top.

I always have to check the resolution of the generated images, because InDesign may mess things up regardless the settings used for export: for example, the text with a glow effect will NOT be rasterized to the actual required resolution (even though I set it up to 72ppi in the object export options) and generate a far too large graphic. For example, a 800x200px sized text object in the iPad Retina template should export at that size (plus some margin for the overflowing glow effect) when set to 72ppi.  But instead it generates a whopping 3831x1990px image, which is utterly unnecessary, blows up the file size of your ebook, and actually slows down the page as well as taxes a mobile device's video memory. Scaling this down in post to 25% of its original size and using a PNG optimization tool such as ColorQuantizer reduces it to a file size of 38kb (compared to 380kb of the InDesign generated version) and works at the exact resolution required for an iPad Retina screen.

InDesign's epub export has other issues: it will generate empty screen-sized PNG files under circumstances and these may be exported at ridiculous pixel resolutions as well, again causing performance issues.

Even a simple coloured background rectangle may be problematic. In the above one-page example I created a simple black background rectangle, a singular word and a rasterized glow effect. InDesign generated a black background PNG file at a humongous 8233x6121px size. This can cause issues on mobile device video hardware and gobbles up video ram like it's nothing. So again this should be fixed in post and re-saved, at a very low resolution like 16x16px since a black coloured png/jpg can be scaled and stretched without issues of course. This will have a dramatic positive impact on a book's file size (this background graphic was reduced from 207kb to 68 bytes) and performance when loaded and read.

Anyway, InDesign's epub export is a minefield in regards to image export. Don't rely on it, and always optimize the images before releasing the first release of your book.

In particular in your case: a colour kids picture book.

If you're experimenting with different formats, have a try with InDesign's Publish Online. It's relatively easy to produce interactive publications that can include animations of all kinds and more, and the books can be read on any device that has an HTML5 browser – computers, tablets and smart phones.

The only disadvantage is they can't be monetised.

Transparent effects including outer glow will not convert into a format for epub.

As for alternatives:

- You could create an image of the text and effect, but before suggesting this approach, I would have to see a visual example.

- You could use a bolder font instead of the glow
- You could edit the html after export

Not sure that effect will work in ePub.