epub3 fixed-layout cover not showing in Digital Editions

[bedwyra26830452]

hi all - 

InDesign export to EPUB3 (Fixed-layout)
on export - 'Cover' > 'Choose image'

all works as expected on iBooks / Calibre / Kindle Previewer but on Adobe Digital Editions the cover shown in 'Library' is a section of the first '.xhtml' file in the book's reading sequence.

How can I get the cover image showing correctly on ADE?

I can get it to work by following - on export - 'Cover' - 'Rasterize first page', but only want the covers to show in 'Library' view!

any help would be appreciated - thanks

[BobLevine]

Adobe Digital Editions is garbage. Adobe should be embarrassed to even put their name on it.

Try Thorium Reader for non-Apple operating systems.

[bedwyra26830452]

thanks Bob -

I agree with you . . . but client has specified that they want ebooks to work on ADE - everything "works" except the cover on Library view -

'page-break' on reflowable epubs is a particular ADE bugbear of mine!

[BobLevine]

Well then, it's up to you tell them that ADE sucks. Otherwise, all I can offer is my sympathies.

But again, please show them Thorium...it's far superior to ADE but there's nothing out there as dependable as the Books app on iOS, iPad OS or Mac OS.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

And Bob is being polite. ADE was an attempt to create a universal reader that was half-finished and remains a current product. It shouldn't be used at all, for anything.

The reasons why the cover isn't showing almost certainly lie with the reader's faults, and might be correctable with enough hacking and workarounds. But the correct move here is to tell the client that ADE should not be recommended to their reader base, nor a requirement for the project. Really.

One possible cause, since we're here, is too-large of a cover image file. There is a persistent tendency of EPUB creators to use a print-resolution image, clipped from a print cover layout or the like, that is often 10X the size needed for EPUB. Even with ID's reduction of graphics to a standardized resolution, I am not 100% sure the cover image is fully processed according to these rules. (Makes note to check.) Try using a cover image no more than about 1000x1500 pixels in size, and RGB (not CMYK). That might work in ADE and will likely reduce the file size as well.

But that's just good practice in general and if it works in ADE, it doesn't change all of the above advice.

[platon_2642]

Make the cover image .png file. (Do not publish .jpg)

[Laura Brady]

The InDesign export — for reflowable or fixed layout — automatically sets the cover to non-linear meaning that it won't show up in the ebook but will show up on a library shelf. You can edit the setting in the <guide> in the OPF file to linear="yes" to fix the issue, if desired. 

Another note: if you set the EPUB export to rasterize the first page, and set all images to export as JPEGS, ID will export the image as 1.jpg but it will actually be a PNG file. You have to extract it from the EPUB, change the suffix to ".png", open it up in image editing software and re-save it as a JPEG to re-insert in the EPUB> 

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @Laura Brady,

Thank you for the detailed clarification on how InDesign handles cover images for EPUB exports! Your insights on managing the non-linear setting and the process for adjusting the image format are very helpful.

Thanks again for sharing this with the community!

Best,
Abhishek Rao