Gospel Library "Real Page" formatting

[portb]

https://github.com/bradporter/OpenSticks

It works for scroll format on linux. I use it in Sunday School.

Real Page formatting was the goal. There was a snag when the new database format came out last year. Some html tags in the new database were switched around and it broke the conversion program. Easily fixable, but this is going to require some coordination with Church developers as to what will change and what will not so the conversion program will only have to be written once. Alternately, it would be amazing if there was a convenient way for them to add the required div's since the current method in bomconv.txt is rather tedious. (There might be some code out there that already knows where the column breaks are??).

[sbradshaw]

The scriptures content isn't marked up with column breaks, but it does have page breaks marked, because they're used to show page numbers in the right margin. You can see how it's marked up by going to this page and using the browser inspector to see the code for the page numbers (for example, the "2" in the right margin): https://www.lds.org/languages/eng/conte ... ofm/1-ne/1
You could get an approximation of column breaks by dividing the content between the page breaks in half, to the nearest word or verse. Is that how you're currently setting the column breaks?

[portb]

You could get an approximation of column breaks by dividing the content between the page breaks in half, to the nearest word or verse. Is that how you're currently setting the column breaks?

No, I was generating a script to modify the database by adding div open and close in a modified database on a per column basis. This script does not use the pagebreak span class. Using the pagebreak span class instead would still seem to be a considerable effort. Paragraphs would have to be closed prior the <span class='pageBreak' ...> I think bodyBlock would also have to be closed and reopened after the pageBreak. Probably, the span should be changed to a <div id="columns_2" ...> and then closed just before the next pageBreak tag, with column_2 being just #columns_2 { columns: 2 8em; }. Sometimes it appears inside the heading instead of the bodyBlock, a separate challenge. It might be difficult to get the chapter summary, which is in the heading, as part of the 2column format. I'm not sure it would be much easier than what I am doing and might be less similar, aside from whether the column break is in exactly the right place. I'll give it a little more thought.

[rdavis1]

Did anything ever come of this? I agree that it is essential

[portb]

Yes. I did take sbradshaw's advice to use page breaks and basically gutted the previous method. I made significant progress a few years ago on a cross country flight, but did not pick it up again until a few months ago. There is still at least one bug (who knows). I think it might be close. I should post what I have on github. I think it's really not that hard, just hard to to find time to focus on it.

When the tech dept asked for feedback in an email last year, I sent back the following in their form as a feature request. I didn't hear anymore.

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Time stamp on text file backup is Feb. 2, 2025, which is presumably the date I submitted the form ***********************
...

The following links are useful for the remaining notes.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog ... -e-readers
https://www.taylor.com/blog/printed-boo ... prehension
https://www.techlearning.com/news/ebook ... -takeaways

Scriptures in two column per page, left/right pages, with the same page breaks as the standard works print edition. Spatial indicators assist in memory recall. The common "scroll" format loses an important spatial indicator. This is a trivial matter if reading a novel which will never be read again, but with books which will be studied for a lifetime, page breaks are needed which are consistent with the printed version. An electronic book should be an opportunity to provide more spatial indicators, rather than less, to facilitate learning, searching, and retention. "An Ebook Can Outperform Print Version with the Right Enhancements" (https://www.techlearning.com/news/ebook ... -takeaways)

CSS Images to illustrate book gutter, column partitions, and page edges. "Reading from a printed page provides spatial and tactile cues that help the reader process the words, allowing for better concentration and understanding. One study showed that 92% of those surveyed found it easier to concentrate when reading print." (https://www.taylor.com/blog/printed-boo ... prehension)

Additional spatial indicators can be imagined, for example:
Edge of page markers which change size depending on how far along in the book you are, to simulate the feel of "half way through." Book tabs.
Flipping page turning.
User defined outline markers which may add a character, or optionally show the text in scroll format with indentation and outline headings.
Showing the entire book (Isaiah, for example) in tiny print, one chapter per column, showing where user specific markings are and/or user specified outline indicators.

Date stamp for highlighting, and selectable dates for showing highlights (a lifetime of highlights).

Addition of large notes to the database with added footnotes at the bottom of the page or as links. Could be
Javascript sticky notes in the margins. "As one example of focused engagement, readers of the printed page often write notes in the margin as they go." (https://www.taylor.com/blog/printed-boo ... prehension)
These "sticky notes" and other markings should be stored in the cloud only as an option. A local database should also contain these notes with the option to back them up in the cloud, but not necessarily. Scripture study is a very personal activity for some.

Needs to be easy to add new references to existing footnotes in addition to creating new footnotes.

Margin symbols to identify topics. (Temple, family, love, obedience, etc.)

Integration with a timeline app (to create your own timeline for personal study).
Javascript which could work on mobile devices: https://timeline.knightlab.com/docs/ins ... eline.html
Desktop python which works best as a stand alone app: https://www.maketecheasier.com/python-t ... tor-linux/

Please see:
Gospel Library "Real Page" formatting
viewtopic.php?t=16391

This discussion encouraged me to start writing some code which I published at
https://github.com/bradporter/OpenSticks

I have abandoned the method I started at the github link based on comment number 12 of
viewtopic.php?t=16391
Samuel Bradshaw offered some advice which I took. I last worked on it when I had a few focused hours on an cross country flight 5 years ago. I was encouraged, by the request for feedback, to open it up again today and made some good progress. Basically, the pagebreaks in the html database are searched for and used rather than the tedious task of telling it where the page breaks are.

A number of the requests above may not be so hard, like css additions of a book outline and page flipping. Others are very likely beyond the time I have to develope alone. That's not really the point I wanted to make though. It would be nice if I could interest others in an open source project, but the reality is that very few people will use it. I believe the main church app needs these enhancements. It's a tall order to overcome the disadvantages of eBooks in learning. I don't know if can even be done. Maybe. "An Ebook Can Outperform Print Version with the Right Enhancements" (https://www.techlearning.com/news/ebook ... -takeaways).

I have recently heard that seminary students are now required to bring scriptures to class, at least in my area of Utah. I'm doubting that is going to work out so well, and wondering if it is really an optimal solution. Maybe we can provide them with a better solution.

Finally, it would really be great if other books in the library, including the conference ensign, could also be marked up in the same way, with all the pagebreaks and multi-columns that the print versions have. All that is needed are page break markers in the databases.

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