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Gusgsm
Gusgsm
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Text cannot be resized or selected? :(

May 23, 2012 1:13 AM

Tags: #size #text #ipad #selectable

Hi, folks

 

I have been parachuted for an exploration into this brave new world of e-publishing. Though I have some experience in the layout of magazines and newspapers with the tools of the trade, some things amaze me and I am in that starting point where the too many answers to too many questions make you feel a bit overdrowned. So bear with me with a little of patience, please if I make some naïve questions. Here comes the first one (CS6 W7 version):

 

I have made my first trial in InDesign with the alternative layout for the Ipad. So far, so good. The thing rotates and changes and I have used the most ¡default' folio values I found.

 

However, I have been asked "Cannot the user/reader change text size or copy it to paste it somwhere else?" I have seen this (text not resizeble) happens everywhere I look in magazines in the shelves of the app store. If I choose PDF format when building the thing in folio... Well, everything can be resized but the text is not selectable and it does not reflow... so it's not 'really text'.

 

Is this a thing I have to live with? Is it impossible to make text resizable and selectable in a magazine for ipad made with InDesign CS6?

 

(As I said, more basic questions to come in the near future)

 

Thanks a lot.

 

Gustavo (posting from Madrid)

1027 Views   11 Replies   Latest reply: Bob Bringhurst, May 23, 2012 7:13 AM
 
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  • tim.hughes
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    1. tim.hughes,
    May 23, 2012 1:39 AM   in reply to Gusgsm
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    I think you would have to use HTML for that? but then again I don't particularly know how that works!

     

    Good luck on your brave exploration!

     

    Tim

     
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  • Johannes Eckert
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    2. Johannes Eckert,
    May 23, 2012 1:40 AM   in reply to Gusgsm
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    It is impossible to make text resizable ("reflowable") and selectable in a

    magazine for ipad made with DPS.

    Some things might change because they are on the roadmap, but a completly

    reflowable format might be there actually (it is even hard in HTML).

     

    —Johannes

     
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  • deivisali
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    3. deivisali,
    May 23, 2012 1:43 AM   in reply to Gusgsm
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    Yes...Only html text is actually text.

    You can create html content and import to a box –Web Content option in Ovelay creator.

    also entire html pages and import them as articles –Import in Folio Builder.

    David (from Barcelona)

     
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  • Gusgsm
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    4. Gusgsm,
    May 23, 2012 1:48 AM   in reply to deivisali
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    Thanks a lot (Moltes gràcies)

     
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  • Bob Levine
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    5. Bob Levine,
    May 23, 2012 5:31 AM   in reply to Gusgsm
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    I actually demonstrated this as PePCon last week. A full article made completely in Dreamweaver.

     

    It works very well and is clearly the future (HTML, not doing this in Dreamweaver).

     

    Bob

     
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  • Gusgsm
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    6. Gusgsm,
    May 23, 2012 5:39 AM   in reply to Bob Levine
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    Hi, Bob

     

    (Nice to see you, It's been a long time). You don't have a video, link or anything uploaded somewhere to see that, have you?

     

    Thanks : )

     

    Gustavo

     
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  • Bob Levine
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    7. Bob Levine,
    May 23, 2012 5:47 AM   in reply to Gusgsm
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    No, sorry.

     

     

     

    But it’s really as simple as creating a new site in Dreamweaver and creating the article. You add it to the folio the same way you’d add an InDesign article, by navigating to the folder containing the HTML file.

     

     

     

    Bob

     
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  • Gusgsm
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    8. Gusgsm,
    May 23, 2012 5:49 AM   in reply to Bob Levine
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    Oh, Well.

     

    You've given me a good track to follow. We'll see.

     

    Thanks a lot

     
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  • Johannes Eckert
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    9. Johannes Eckert,
    May 23, 2012 6:12 AM   in reply to Bob Levine
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    hehe, I actually wanted to write that a reflowable format isn't possible at all. This is a hard standpoint against HTML and responsive formats. But the I want to elaborate the discussion on this. Reflow works if you ignore the canvas the content is displayed on. current editorial design and designing magazines for tablets rely on a specific canvas where you can set things in. you can reflow elements if you can make the canvas as big as you like, a.k.a the scrolling browser window.

     

    Of course we have smooth scrolling in DPS, but we rely the design on a given layout/width. The reason why HTML webdesign is so good at responsivety is the data structure of the things displayed, that can easily follow rules: Logo, Menu, Headlines, Bodytext, floating images.

     

    Good Editorial Design is much more complex, too complex to be addressed by current tools with a managable effort.

     

    —Johannes

     
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  • Bob Levine
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    10. Bob Levine,
    May 23, 2012 6:43 AM   in reply to Johannes Eckert
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    I did one article in Dreamweaver and set the contain div with min and max widths. It reflowed just fine when rotating the iPad.

     

     

     

    Of course doing this is only suitable for certain situations.

     

     

     

    Bob

     
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  • Bob Bringhurst
    3,436 posts
    May 29, 2007
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    11. Bob Bringhurst,
    May 23, 2012 7:13 AM   in reply to Gusgsm
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    Gustavo, I believe you are confusing DPS with EPUB. DPS is used for highly interactive content in which each page is carefully designed. EPUB is used for flowing books onto any ebook reader. Both formats are evolving and crossing into the other's territory, but if you want the ability to let users control text size, look into ePub. Of course, it's possible to use HTML with DPS to let users change text size. There is an example in the Effects article in the free DPS Tips app.

     
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