Digital Workshop

Is there any way to create (for an HTML5 publication) reflowable text boxes: these text boxes would be on separate pages, and any text that begins in the first text box and doesn't fit would automatically flow into the next available text box on the next page?

Have a large amount of text (eBook with multiple chapters), constantly being revised/updated/added to. Reflowable text boxes would allow adding text without re-doing every box forward from where the text is added.

It would be even more more helpful if there could be separate reflowable text boxes for each chapter. (Chapter 1 would use reflowable text box 1 on multiple pages, chapter 2 would use reflowable text box 2 on its multiple pages-separate, not connected to reflowable text box 1, only connected to its own chapter's reflowable text boxes-, etc.)

Probably not possible?

Any suggestions appreciated.

I don't think I've seen anything HTML5 based that would allow text overflow between elements. Therefore, you'd probably need to decided on a solution based on how you want to start with the text.

A couple of examples:

1. If you want to store the text in Opus as a variable or some form of database, then it might be possible to use JS to divide the fixed text into segments based on paragraph length and container heights and insert dynamically.

2. If you are creating an SPA, then rather than use Opus overlay style of DIV based pages, you could create a superwide single page / DIV and use CCS columns to automatically split the fixed text into screen width segments.

3. Depending on where your text starts life, AJAX might be your best solution. If you can output the source to the correct manageable segments, then you build the book shell in Opus and use AJAX to swap between the external segments.

</mack>

Thank you, Mack, for these interesting suggestions.

Will do some further research using these.

Best Wishes,