Tabular Reflow
When formatting ePub or MOBI eBooks to look like their print cousins, there is one issue that often arises. The reflow of text is the wrapping of words to the next line based on variables such as text size. This issue makes matching print design almost impossible unless you are designing the eBook in a format that has a fixed layout option. One element that can be rendered useless due to reflow is a table. Take this table for instance:
| Descriptive Statistics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Description | Mean | St. Dev. | Source |
| Spending | Real state government spending per capita on education, welfare, hospitals, and public health | 1600 | 350 | Census |
| Education Spending | Real state government spending per capita on education | 800 | 150 | Census |
| Welfare Spending | Real state government spending per capita on welfare | 630 | 190 | Census |
| HospitalSpending | Real state government spending per capita on hospitals | 50 | 30 | Census |
| HealthSpending | Real state government spending per capita on public health | 70 | 35 | Census |
| AMT Share | Share of federal returns paying AMT > 0 | 0.027 | 0.015 | IRS |
| AMT Share 50k+ | Share of federal returns paying AMT > 0 for filers with incomes > $50,000 | 0.080 | 0.040 | IRS |
| AMT Share 75k+ | Share of federal returns paying AMT > 0 for filers with incomes > $75,000 | 0.140 | 0.060 | IRS |
| AMT Share 100k+ | Share of federal returns paying AMT > 0 for filers with incomes > $100,000 | 0.230 | 0.090 | IRS |
| AMT Share 200k+ | Share of federal returns paying AMT > 0 for filers with incomes > $200,000 | 0.610 | 0.165 | IRS |
| Income | Real state per capita GDP | 20,000 | 2667 | BEA |
This table will look good on most devices that have a width of 270 pixels or greater. If the size of the screen drops below this it can hurt the readability of the table. Isn't that why we put our data into tables in the first place? When creating our eBooks we must rethink our content to make sure it will work for casual readers on a phone as well as on our eReader tablet. Let's look at a way to restructure the tabular data so that it will work on smaller screens and still maintain readability.
Descriptive Statistics
Spending
Description: Real state government spending per capita on education, welfare, hospitals, and public health
Mean: 1600
St. Dev.: 350
Source: Census
Education Spending
Description: Real state government spending per capita on education
Mean: 800
St. Dev.: 150
Source: Census
Welfare Spending
Description: Real state government spending per capita on welfare
Mean: 630
St. Dev.: 190
Source: Census
Hospital Spending
Description: Real state government spending per capita on hospitals
Mean: 50
St. Dev.: 30
Source: Census
Health Spending
Description: Real state government spending per capita on public health
Mean: 70
St. Dev.: 35
Source: Census
Description: Share of federal returns paying AMT > 0
Mean: 0.027
St. Dev.: 0.015
Source: IRS
Description: Share of federal returns paying AMT > 0 for filers with incomes > $50,000
Mean: 0.080
St. Dev.: 0.040
Source: IRS
Description: Share of federal returns paying AMT > 0 for filers with incomes > $75,000
Mean: 0.140
St. Dev.: 0.060
Source: IRS
Description: Share of federal returns paying AMT > 0 for filers with incomes > $100,000
Mean: 0.230
St. Dev.: 0.090
Source: IRS
Description: Share of federal returns paying AMT > 0 for filers with incomes > $200,000
Mean: 0.610
St. Dev.: 0.165
Source: IRS
Income
Description: Real state per capita GDP
Mean: 20,000
St. Dev.: 2667
Source: BEA
Now we know that our data will be able to reflow and still be readable. This layout can also be of benefit to individuals using screen readers. While many readers handle tabular data in different manners most will handle the new restructured data in a similar and easy to understand manner.
