Can I split chapters with CSS?

Question

I'm learning to create epubs with InDesign. If you want a particular element inside a chapter (e.g. a subheading) to appear at the top of the next page, you can assign it a CSS style that has been designated for that purpose.

However, the CSS is really just a gimmick; the file is literally split, with the text you want to appear at the top of the next page beginning the new file.

I have separate files for each of my chapters. But imagine a chapter that has several subheadings that are supposed to appear at the top of different pages. I don't want to create a separate file for each subheading.

So is there a CSS style that will remove an element from the normal flow and force it to appear at the top of the next page, so I don't have to literally split my file into separate files?

Answer 1

It can be accomplished with the page-break-after (link) or page-break-before (link) CSS properties. Pretty obviously, these create a page break after or before the element that they are applied on.

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Here are a couple of examples of their use:

page-break-after

CSS style

.newpage {
    page-break-after:always;
}

HTML code

<p class="newpage">This text is on a page. The text will be split after this paragraph.</p>

<p>This text is on the following page, after the split.</p>

page-break-before

CSS style

.newpage {
    page-break-before;
}

HTML code

<p>This text is on a page. The text will be split after this paragraph.</p>

<p class="newpage">This text is on the following page, after the split.</p>

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As you can see, they accomplish the same thing with a small difference (where you should put the property itself); depending on the situation, one could be more appropriate than the other.

I tested it with Calibre internal reader and on a Kobo Glo device, and it works in both of them.