Problem with page numbers when exporting epub from indesign

[Giorgio-IT]

I ask for your support because when I generate an epub file from indesign it happens that all the page numbers on the left are absent (as per the sample image here below).

I'm working on an Indesing Book made up of 8 different chapters/files and in the Master I seem to have entered the numbers correctly, in fact when I print in PDF everything goes perfectly.

Could you tell me how I can make the left numbers appear in the epub version?

I thank you in advance for your precious support and attention!

Giorgio

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

First, it looks as if you're exporting to fixed-layout EPUB (FXL), which is usually a huge mistake in itself. FXL is a problematic and largely obsolete format that should be avoided, especially for anything like flowing-text books; use reflowable EPUB to avoid the many limitations and hurdles of FXL. (That would also bypass the whole problem, as reflowable EPUB doesn't have page numbers.)

Second — what viewer are you using to review your EPUB? If it's not one of the standards-compliant, 'vanilla' ones like Calbre or Thorium, stop right there and install one or both for proofing your EPUB work. Nothing else is reliable for this purpose.

It looks as if you have a decorative triangle around your page number. This could be causing problems in several ways; if the export process is rasterizing the graphic bit and then stacking it on top of the page number, you'd get exactly the result you see. On your Parent pages, make sure the elements are stacked so that the page number text frames are on top of everything. It's not overkill to create a layer just for page numbers and make sure it's at the top of the Layer stack.

And finally, are the page numbers that are showing correct? Are you seeing 1–3–5–7 etc. on those right pages, or 1–2–3 etc.? That would indicate an export issue where you may be exporting spreads as EPUB pages and thus only getting one number per export page.

[Giorgio-IT]

Dear James,
thank you very much for your prompt response. Unfortunately this is the first time I have exported to epub and as you noticed I exported in (FXL) mode. 

For viewing I use Adobe Digital Editions 4.5. however I downloaded Calibre as you suggested to me, but lamentably  other problems occur with "reflowable EPUB"  export:
1) the text character is no longer the original one
2) all table structures disappear and only numbers and letters remain... sobh sobh...

I would pay to fix this situation!! The Adobe guides are not at all sufficient to explain in an understandable way what the correct steps should be followed "in a real life".

Anyway about the page number I make sure that all the number text frames are on the top of everything (in every chapter). But with"reflowable EPUB" export this problem is eliminated because they don't appear at all and that's not a problem for me.

I can't understand the last paragraph you wrote, sorry.
If you have any other suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

Giorgio

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

EPUB is a demanding format and there is regrettably very little good information about creating them. Most tutorials and references breeze through the process and make no allowance for problems or export faults, so they're of little help. Most of the "community" out there is stuck in the era of hand-building EPUBs from component files, using a variety of amateur/freeware/outdated tools. And there's just plain mountains of misinformation and information that is decades out of date.

The Adobe reader (ADE) is completely worthless, a broken and half-finished tool. Don't use it for anything.

Calibre is a good reader to do proof-testing; if your EPUBs work in it, you're done, unless you need to make sure the doc is Kindle or Apple Books compatible, in which case you need to adjust things and use those tools (Kindle Previewer, iBooks) for proofing.

Using FXL doesn't make anything easier. The problems you are seeing in reflowable are real faults in the document structure, which EPUB/FXL can sort of mask to some degree. If the book really "blows up" in reflowable, you've got major technical/structural faults in your source document that need to be fixed.

As for the page number issue, I don't know how to explain it better without some graphics. But try this: from a copy of your source file, delete those decorative triangles so that there's nothing else stacked with your page number text frames on your Parent pages. Re-export. If the left hand numbers reappear, it's the problem I suggested: your triangle graphcs are stacking above the number in the export and blanking it out.