EPUBTurnPDF to EPUB converter

How to fix missing spaces between EPUB words

By EPUBTurn · Updated

Distinguish absent spaces from stretched justification. Inspect a second reader and the copied text before making a replacement rule that could damage names or numbers.

On this page
  1. Missing spaces or stretched spaces?
  2. Check the PDF extraction
  3. Confirm a word boundary before inserting a space
  4. Avoid broad automatic splitting
  5. A worked reading example
  6. Try a phrase with numbers and a proper name
  7. Inspect word boundaries in an actual scan output

Missing spaces or stretched spaces?

If words are joined into one long string, the problem differs from large gaps caused by justification. Copy the affected sentence into a text editor to see whether actual spaces exist. Change the reader alignment or font size only as a diagnostic step, not as a way to declare the underlying text repaired.

Check the PDF extraction

Copy the same phrase from the PDF and compare it. Joined words in the copied source suggest a text-extraction problem before the reader displays anything. An apparently correct source phrase with joined output words points to another stage. Keep the exact phrase so you can check a revised conversion without relying on memory.

Confirm a word boundary before inserting a space

Copy the relevant phrase from the PDF and the EPUB into a plain-text note. Compare the visible source too: copied PDF text may already have joined words. Insert spaces only where the source establishes the intended boundary, using a copy of the EPUB. Check names, quantities and punctuation after saving. A global replacement can damage words that merely contain the same character sequence.

These are targeted repair steps for your own file, not a newly executed before-and-after demonstration. Keep the unchanged original, an edit log and the exact reader version. Validate the saved copy and compare the full passage with the PDF before relying on the result.

Avoid broad automatic splitting

Guessing word boundaries can damage proper names, identifiers and unfamiliar language. Where you repair text, compare each replacement with the source. Do not split numbers or specialist terms merely because they resemble two common words. Read the corrected sentence in context, then inspect several other passages to learn whether the issue was isolated or systematic.

A worked reading example

Copy the same phrase from the PDF into a plain text editor. If the words are already joined there, changing reader margins will not restore the lost word boundaries.

Try a phrase with numbers and a proper name

Choose a joined phrase containing an ordinary word, an identifier and a name. A human may split the ordinary word easily while the identifier needs to remain one unit. Compare every proposed separation with the PDF before applying it.

For stretched spacing, try left alignment or another text size as a display check. If actual spaces are present and another reader looks normal, changing the words may be the wrong remedy. If spaces are absent in both copied source and output, preserve the source image and correct only verified boundaries. Avoid a sweeping replacement across a multilingual document whose word rules you do not know.

Whitespace in tables and aligned figures can represent relationships rather than ordinary word gaps. Check whether the affected block is prose before trying to join or split it. A correction suited to a sentence may damage a table label or code sample. Match the remedy to the content’s actual role.

Inspect word boundaries in an actual scan output

The actual cookbook measures EPUB contains selectable measuring instructions you can compare with the page image. Use the precise sentence needed for your task, because copied source text can already be damaged. A new original-PDF conversion is one option when many words are joined; a small known spacing error can be repaired locally. No universal spacing correction is promised.

EPUBTurn starts from the original PDF. For a new conversion, compare spaces in a sentence containing a name or number.

Files used in this guide

Download the source files, conversion results or worksheets referenced here. Each label identifies the source document or the converter used.

EPUBTurn actual measures sample: source pages 2–4

Sources and further reading

Related guides