Is it possible to replace Sony font? [350 & 650] - Page 4

kartu · 01-04-2011, 07:04 AM

I wonder if there are free (!!!) serif/sans-serif/monospace fonts out there, that majority of users would find superior to standard Sony's.

I personally find Kindle's fonts to look better on e-ink (I'm talking about "easier to read" not "look nicer"), but those aren't free...

booktode · 01-04-2011, 10:40 PM

This is a fascinating discussion and I have read a number of related threads on Mobileread. The answer I am seeking for my 650, which I do not see in these threads, is how to change the default font for viewing generic public domain PDFs. I don't plan to use ebooks or DRM, I just plan to read public domain PDF files. I don't want to reprocess thousands of PDFs. I just want the default font to either 1) be changed permanently, or 2) to set "Small" to a better size in between Small and Medium. I would even be happy just to change to the sans font in the reader and not add another font. Is there not a simple way to do this by modifying a couple of system files?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. thanks jswinden for that great tutorial, but it was for ebooks. Maybe you have one for the defaults...?

ShaneR · 01-05-2011, 05:59 AM

Although I really had no problem with the default fonts from Sony, I can't help fiddling around with tech, so I did the boroda hack (no issues).

I just want to confirm something...The edits made to the userstyle css will only affect those book which do not have an embedded font, correct?

There are a few of my books where fonts did not change, so upon "exploding" the epub in calibre, there appears to a font embedded in the file along with the proper references to it in the file's css.

Assuming that's the case, is there a way to make all epubs default to a certain font regardless of an embedded font or not?

Thanks.

elemenoP · 01-05-2011, 10:05 AM

KARTU: you might want to take a look at this font:

http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/p...=CharisSILfont

This is the font that is used in many Overdrive books. It's free and although I haven't looked closely at the license, I imagine it's very liberal and that's why the library books are using it. It's very good and it also has all the extended characters, as far as I know.

BOOKTODE: there are two different ways to change the font on the Reader (but both ways are for epub, I think?). The first is to copy a font onto the reader, and then change the CSS for each epub file to refer to that font. The second is to install new firmware so that the default font on the reader actually changes. Personally, I have been too chicken to try the second method, but you can find it if you look at the link at the top of the Sony board that says "Dev Corner." I don't read PDFs on my Reader, so I'm not sure how they are affected. Mostly they have their own fonts embedded, don't they? If they don't have a font embedded, then I guess they would use the default font on the reader.

SHANE: I think the only way to make an epub with embedded fonts use the default font, is to explode the epub and strip all references to the embedded font.

eP

booktode · 01-05-2011, 10:24 AM

ElemenoP, thanks for the quick reply!
There are several threads about Boroda and other firmware changes. However, the instructions are fragmented and it does seem that the firmware changes are buggy and I don't want to spend time recovering my reader. I am puzzled because CSS was designed to allow people to set global and default system formatting options. I don't get it, why a master CSS file can't modify a default system font selection like it does with my browser on my PC. I have 14,000 public domain PDF books. None of them assert a default font so far - they come up using the default on the Sony PRS650. That's why I was hoping for a global CSS change that would do the trick. At least couldn't I make "bold" the default for the sans font? Or rename the sans font files to look like the serif font files? Alternatively, is there a program that will batch-convert my 14,000 books to use a specific font? I think this is crazy but maybe it's the only way? Yeah, I could also convert them one at a time since I am not reading them all at once, dragging code in an out of a GUI. Yuck.
Thanks for your help!
John

ShaneR · 01-05-2011, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elemenoP

SHANE: I think the only way to make an epub with embedded fonts use the default font, is to explode the epub and strip all references to the embedded font.

eP

I think so as well.

What I did, was explode the epub and quickly editied the "src: url" in the css so it pointed to my desired font. No need to edit anything else.

I wouldn't do this with all embedded fonts, of course, but for the odd ones that bother me it's a quick 2 minute edit.

Thanks

ShaneR · 01-05-2011, 10:31 AM

booktode:

I think you're running into what is called "CSS specificity". In other words, any fonts that are called from the pdf (or epub) file directly via its own css rules will take "priority" over what is called in a global rule.

It's a basic of CSS and one of the reasons for it's power in design and development.

I got to know css pretty well while building my blog, but am just now getting my head around how it applies to ereaders, their file formats, and use with programs like Calibre....

jackie_w · 01-05-2011, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShaneR

I just want to confirm something...The edits made to the userstyle css will only affect those book which do not have an embedded font, correct?

I believe this to be true. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. I usually remove embedded fonts from my epubs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShaneR

There are a few of my books where fonts did not change, so upon "exploding" the epub in calibre, there appears to a font embedded in the file along with the proper references to it in the file's css.

Assuming that's the case, is there a way to make all epubs default to a certain font regardless of an embedded font or not?

Assuming the epub does not have DRM, these are the 4 steps I've used to surgically remove embedded fonts. You need to explode the epub and

Examine the epub's CSS file for statements similar to
Code:
```
font-family:embedded_font_name;
```
and remove them.
Remove all the @font-face statements. Depending how the epub was created these may be (best case) in the epub's CSS file or (worst case) at the top of each and every one of the epub's HTML files.
Delete the actual font files (and directory) from the epub.
Edit the epub's .opf file and remove any references to the font filenames in the <manifest> section.

It's possible you may get away with just doing steps 1 and probably 2, but I always do all 4 steps.

Your customised userStyle.css should then take over.

ShaneR · 01-05-2011, 10:44 AM

ahhh. Thanks, Jackie.

So, the files may not be as convenient to work with as the one I mentioned a couple of posts above.

I'll need to watch out for that.

Thanks

booktode · 01-05-2011, 10:59 AM

Hi Shane, I checked the properties, and my PDFs are all set to "use local fonts"
JG

elemenoP · 01-05-2011, 01:29 PM

Booktode, I don't think you can replace the default font with your own. For what you want, you need to flash the firmware. I don't think the Boroda or Russified firmware is buggy, as those who have successfully done it, don't report problems. But there have been people who were not successful in "the flash." Maybe someone more technical than me can explain what the problem was, I don't know. Yes, the instructions seem a bit tricky, since you are working from a translated page.

Do you use Calibre? I believe it is possible in Calibre to convert from PDF to PDF so you could try that while adding your own font.

eP

ShaneR · 01-07-2011, 12:33 PM

I just discovered something a little interesting...

As I said above, I flashed my 650 with the baroda hack to play around and test the fonts.

As I also mentioned, editing the userstyle.css didn't seem to affect ebooks with embedded fonts.

However, I just purchased another book via Kobo with it's own embedded font and loaded it on my reader to begin reading. I was surprised to find that the font was actually the one I'm calling from my userstyle.css and not the embedded font.

So, to test, I opened up my userstyle.css and commented out the... body {}... tag I added manually calling that font. This reverted the ebook back to it's embedded font.

It appears that the "body" tag brute forced the css to my font and not the embedded. What's strange is it didn't have that effect on the other titles on my reader. Perhaps because they were already there before my tinkering? Dunno...I'll need to do some more tests and reviews of the epub structures.

Anyway...for what it's worth....

01-05-2011, 10:31 AM	#52
ShaneR Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Sony PRS-650; PW2	booktode: I think you're running into what is called "CSS specificity". In other words, any fonts that are called from the pdf (or epub) file directly via its own css rules will take "priority" over what is called in a global rule. It's a basic of CSS and one of the reasons for it's power in design and development. I got to know css pretty well while building my blog, but am just now getting my head around how it applies to ereaders, their file formats, and use with programs like Calibre.... Last edited by ShaneR; 01-05-2011 at 10:36 AM.

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01-04-2011, 07:04 AM	#46
kartu PRS+ author Posts: 1,637 Karma: 2446233 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Sony PRS-300, 505, 600, 650, 950	I wonder if there are free (!!!) serif/sans-serif/monospace fonts out there, that majority of users would find superior to standard Sony's. I personally find Kindle's fonts to look better on e-ink (I'm talking about "easier to read" not "look nicer"), but those aren't free...

01-04-2011, 10:40 PM	#47
booktode Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: PRS650	This is a fascinating discussion and I have read a number of related threads on Mobileread. The answer I am seeking for my 650, which I do not see in these threads, is how to change the default font for viewing generic public domain PDFs. I don't plan to use ebooks or DRM, I just plan to read public domain PDF files. I don't want to reprocess thousands of PDFs. I just want the default font to either 1) be changed permanently, or 2) to set "Small" to a better size in between Small and Medium. I would even be happy just to change to the sans font in the reader and not add another font. Is there not a simple way to do this by modifying a couple of system files? Thanks in advance. P.S. thanks jswinden for that great tutorial, but it was for ebooks. Maybe you have one for the defaults...?

01-05-2011, 05:59 AM	#48
ShaneR Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Sony PRS-650; PW2	Although I really had no problem with the default fonts from Sony, I can't help fiddling around with tech, so I did the boroda hack (no issues). I just want to confirm something...The edits made to the userstyle css will only affect those book which do not have an embedded font, correct? There are a few of my books where fonts did not change, so upon "exploding" the epub in calibre, there appears to a font embedded in the file along with the proper references to it in the file's css. Assuming that's the case, is there a way to make all epubs default to a certain font regardless of an embedded font or not? Thanks.

01-05-2011, 10:05 AM	#49
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	KARTU: you might want to take a look at this font: http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/p...=CharisSILfont This is the font that is used in many Overdrive books. It's free and although I haven't looked closely at the license, I imagine it's very liberal and that's why the library books are using it. It's very good and it also has all the extended characters, as far as I know. BOOKTODE: there are two different ways to change the font on the Reader (but both ways are for epub, I think?). The first is to copy a font onto the reader, and then change the CSS for each epub file to refer to that font. The second is to install new firmware so that the default font on the reader actually changes. Personally, I have been too chicken to try the second method, but you can find it if you look at the link at the top of the Sony board that says "Dev Corner." I don't read PDFs on my Reader, so I'm not sure how they are affected. Mostly they have their own fonts embedded, don't they? If they don't have a font embedded, then I guess they would use the default font on the reader. SHANE: I think the only way to make an epub with embedded fonts use the default font, is to explode the epub and strip all references to the embedded font. eP

01-05-2011, 10:24 AM	#50
booktode Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: PRS650	ElemenoP, thanks for the quick reply! There are several threads about Boroda and other firmware changes. However, the instructions are fragmented and it does seem that the firmware changes are buggy and I don't want to spend time recovering my reader. I am puzzled because CSS was designed to allow people to set global and default system formatting options. I don't get it, why a master CSS file can't modify a default system font selection like it does with my browser on my PC. I have 14,000 public domain PDF books. None of them assert a default font so far - they come up using the default on the Sony PRS650. That's why I was hoping for a global CSS change that would do the trick. At least couldn't I make "bold" the default for the sans font? Or rename the sans font files to look like the serif font files? Alternatively, is there a program that will batch-convert my 14,000 books to use a specific font? I think this is crazy but maybe it's the only way? Yeah, I could also convert them one at a time since I am not reading them all at once, dragging code in an out of a GUI. Yuck. Thanks for your help! John

01-05-2011, 10:44 AM	#54
ShaneR Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Sony PRS-650; PW2	ahhh. Thanks, Jackie. So, the files may not be as convenient to work with as the one I mentioned a couple of posts above. I'll need to watch out for that. Thanks

01-05-2011, 10:59 AM	#55
booktode Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: PRS650	Hi Shane, I checked the properties, and my PDFs are all set to "use local fonts" JG

01-05-2011, 01:29 PM	#56
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	Booktode, I don't think you can replace the default font with your own. For what you want, you need to flash the firmware. I don't think the Boroda or Russified firmware is buggy, as those who have successfully done it, don't report problems. But there have been people who were not successful in "the flash." Maybe someone more technical than me can explain what the problem was, I don't know. Yes, the instructions seem a bit tricky, since you are working from a translated page. Do you use Calibre? I believe it is possible in Calibre to convert from PDF to PDF so you could try that while adding your own font. eP

01-07-2011, 12:33 PM	#57
ShaneR Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Sony PRS-650; PW2	I just discovered something a little interesting... As I said above, I flashed my 650 with the baroda hack to play around and test the fonts. As I also mentioned, editing the userstyle.css didn't seem to affect ebooks with embedded fonts. However, I just purchased another book via Kobo with it's own embedded font and loaded it on my reader to begin reading. I was surprised to find that the font was actually the one I'm calling from my userstyle.css and not the embedded font. So, to test, I opened up my userstyle.css and commented out the... body {}... tag I added manually calling that font. This reverted the ebook back to it's embedded font. It appears that the "body" tag brute forced the css to my font and not the embedded. What's strange is it didn't have that effect on the other titles on my reader. Perhaps because they were already there before my tinkering? Dunno...I'll need to do some more tests and reviews of the epub structures. Anyway...for what it's worth....

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