Does the MOBI file format for Kindle use the same CSS standards as browsers?

Question

I am working with a designer who is helping me format a .MOBI file for Kindle devices.

We're having a little trouble with a table of contents, where the indentation of lines is not being placed correctly. He claims that the problem can not be solved.

I work with CSS and web design for my job, so I know that in a browser based CSS environment, the issue he is talking about can absolutely be fixed. But what I don't know if there are any differences between how a MOBI file interprets CSS and how CSS is interpreted by browsers.

Are there differences or limitations in how MOBI renders or interprets CSS?

Answer 1

Are there differences or limitations in how MOBI renders or interprets CSS?

In a word - yes. The CSS support for modern browsers is much much more extensive than the CSS support for e-readers. There simply has not been the same level (or expectation) of standardization for the epub format, in general. It used to be because of hardware limitations but now that mostly every e-reader has enough power it can really only be attributed to the negligence of the e-reader manufacturers.

This site provides metrics for specification support by e-reader including the Kindles http://epubtest.org/rs/14/ and you can go specifically this page to see the stlyling support for the Kindle Fire http://epubtest.org/rs/14/.

Also, in reference to your specific issue, the TOC is more difficult to style than the regular body matter because it is automatically generated and adds one more layer of obfuscation when trying to find out the code that is generating the style.