Page x of y: total or per section?

franklekens · 09-19-2013, 08:15 AM

What determines whether Kobo (the Aura, in my case) displays the total number of pages at the bottom of the page, or only the total number of the current section or chapter?

I much prefer the first (total number of pages), to get an idea of where I am in the book.
But suddenly many if not all of the books I've recently added to the device display only the total number of the chapter.
I've loaded the books via Calibre. And it's a new install of Calibre on a new computer, with a new Kobo plugin, Kobo Utilities.

I'm wondering: could it be a setting in this Kobo Utilities plugin, that causes this?
If so which?
Or is it a setting in one of the Kobo device driver plugins? I have the Kobo Reader Device 2.1.2 and KoboTouch 2.1.2 and KoboTouch Extended 2.2.7 installed.
Don't know if that's necessary or whether it's harmful to have all of them, and which to prefer. Which does Calibre use if you install all of them?
And do they have a setting that can affect this?

I haven't converted or edited the (commercial) epubs in anyway, except removing drm, obviously. And I add shelf info to the metadata.

eXistenZ · 09-19-2013, 09:36 AM

When reading ePub format the reader displays total number of pages, when reading KePubs it displays Chapter number of pages.

There is a little tweak to make the reader display total number also for Kepubs.
You need to find the file Kobo eReader.conf
It is located in .kobo/Kobo/ which is an hidden directory.
Open the Kobo eReader.conf file with a text editor and add the following text

Quote:

[FeatureSettings]
FullBookPageNumbers=true

(making a backup of the file before is a good idea)

Save, close and disconect the reader

franklekens · 09-19-2013, 09:53 AM

Thanks for the tip.

Rather silly, but everytime I saw the term kepub here, I thought it simply was short for something like "epubs with DRM key". Never realized it was Kobo's proprietary format.
So I guess converting from epub to epub with Calibre would do the trick as well. But the conf thing looks easier, I'll try that.

davidfor · 09-19-2013, 10:07 AM

No, the easiest thing is not to use the extended driver. You had to install and enable that. If you just send the epubs to the device as epubs, they will automatically have what you want. And, there shouldn't be a need for a conversion either.

franklekens · 09-19-2013, 10:27 AM

Yes, it works! Thank you.

franklekens · 09-19-2013, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

No, the easiest thing is not to use the extended driver. You had to install and enable that. If you just send the epubs to the device as epubs, they will automatically have what you want. And, there shouldn't be a need for a conversion either.

You mean Calibre automatically changes this pagination setting? And the Extended driver fouled it up?
I'll uninstall it then.

jgoguen · 09-19-2013, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franklekens

You mean Calibre automatically changes this pagination setting?

Nope.

Quote:

Originally Posted by franklekens

And the Extended driver fouled it up?

Nope.

Calibre doesn't touch the device's configuration. The KoboTouch driver (and my extended driver) touch the database, but not for configuration items.

The extended driver doesn't touch the pagination settings. the per-chapter display is the default that Kobo has decided is appropriate for everyone without giving us a way to change it from their interface. That's all it is. No fouling, no fudging, no contortions, no dastardly plans (unless you count world domination, I'm all in favour of dastardly world domination plans that put me in charge

) just the way Kobo devices work.

paola · 09-19-2013, 03:37 PM

yet, as a kepub fan, let me stress that if you read books with endnotes, the engine that renders Kepub books (i.e. hte software called when you open a kepub) will allow you to see the notes in a pop-up, which you will not be able to do with an Epub, that is rendered by a different software.

Ripplinger · 09-19-2013, 04:03 PM

When I made that change to my Kobo eReader.conf file, it did fix the page display on kepubs as they said.

But on regular epubs (which is my preference always, I stay away from kepubs), it displayed only the page number you're on and not Page X of Y. So it would read "Page 351" for instance. It could be just on the older firmware I'm using, but just so you're aware that might happen.

So I just avoid kepubs. Since I won't purchase from the Kobo store (for several reasons), it's not an issue for me. But if you do purchase from Kobo and they send you a kepub with DRM, I don't think you have a choice to convert it to epub, it's not possible to do, and you'll have to live with the kepub.

paola · 09-19-2013, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

So I just avoid kepubs. Since I won't purchase from the Kobo store (for several reasons), it's not an issue for me. But if you do purchase from Kobo and they send you a kepub with DRM, I don't think you have a choice to convert it to epub, it's not possible to do, and you'll have to live with the kepub.

well, as of late this summer, it appears Kepubs can be liberated, too.

franklekens · 09-21-2013, 07:52 AM

But now this is strange. I understand that the "chapter x of y" per chapter instead of per book is something that the reader only does with kepubs. I started having this with a number of books I recently bought, so I assumed I'd bought kepubs instead of epubs.

From another thread, I now gather that a kepub is what you get if you buy a book at Kobo and download it to the device directly, through wifi.

But if I buy books from Kobo, I always do so on my PC. I download them in Adobe Digital Editions, import them into Calibre and sideload them onto the Aura.

So does the fact that I suddenly have page counting per chapter instead of per book have to do with Calibre after all? (Of course Calibre does *something* with the book when importing it, if only to remove the DRM in order to be able to handle the book.)

I've already edited the conf file so it doesn't bother me anymore. But I'm still at a loss as to what's happening.

PeterT · 09-21-2013, 07:53 AM

If you use the KoboTouchExtended driver in calibre, this will have converted books from ePub format to kEpub format.

Take a look at the LIBRARY view on the Kobo and see what format it shows the book has.

franklekens · 09-23-2013, 02:24 AM

Oh, that's it then. I see a few books that are listed as Kobo Epub in the library.
But does the extended driver only do that for books that you bought at Kobo anyway? Because some other books I sideloaded at the same time, from other sources, are not kepubs.

Now it may have been unwise of me to just install all of the Kobo device interface plugins I could find, thinking I'd decide later which to use.
So now I have three plugins. But where can you specify which of these Calibre is to use? Or does it always use the last plugin listed in the list of plugins?

jgoguen · 09-23-2013, 04:38 AM

It's more complicated than "last one in the list". The only Kobo plugin that you can install from the plugin list that's relevant to sending books to the device is KoboTouchExtended, which calibre will always use if it's installed and enabled. You can't really even say "use KoboTouchExtended for these books but not these"; the closest you can come requires a lot of changing settings and restarting calibre and selecting specific books each time.

franklekens · 09-23-2013, 05:43 PM

Okay thanks. Then it's KTExtended that's converting books into Kobo epubs when sending them to the device. I just noticed it again today, with some out of copyright free books from other sources.
And now that I go into the plugin's options, I see the kepub listed. Should have thought of that before.

This never happened before because I probably didn't have it installed on the computer I worked with until last week. Mystery solved.

09-19-2013, 08:15 AM	#1
franklekens Addict Posts: 392 Karma: 3421956 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Kobo Forma, Sage, Elipsa, Onyx Note2, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Keyboard	Page x of y: total or per section? What determines whether Kobo (the Aura, in my case) displays the total number of pages at the bottom of the page, or only the total number of the current section or chapter? I much prefer the first (total number of pages), to get an idea of where I am in the book. But suddenly many if not all of the books I've recently added to the device display only the total number of the chapter. I've loaded the books via Calibre. And it's a new install of Calibre on a new computer, with a new Kobo plugin, Kobo Utilities. I'm wondering: could it be a setting in this Kobo Utilities plugin, that causes this? If so which? Or is it a setting in one of the Kobo device driver plugins? I have the Kobo Reader Device 2.1.2 and KoboTouch 2.1.2 and KoboTouch Extended 2.2.7 installed. Don't know if that's necessary or whether it's harmful to have all of them, and which to prefer. Which does Calibre use if you install all of them? And do they have a setting that can affect this? I haven't converted or edited the (commercial) epubs in anyway, except removing drm, obviously. And I add shelf info to the metadata.

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09-19-2013, 09:53 AM	#3
franklekens Addict Posts: 392 Karma: 3421956 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Kobo Forma, Sage, Elipsa, Onyx Note2, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Keyboard	Thanks for the tip. Rather silly, but everytime I saw the term kepub here, I thought it simply was short for something like "epubs with DRM key". Never realized it was Kobo's proprietary format. So I guess converting from epub to epub with Calibre would do the trick as well. But the conf thing looks easier, I'll try that.

09-19-2013, 10:07 AM	#4
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,907 Karma: 47303748 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	No, the easiest thing is not to use the extended driver. You had to install and enable that. If you just send the epubs to the device as epubs, they will automatically have what you want. And, there shouldn't be a need for a conversion either.

09-19-2013, 10:27 AM	#5
franklekens Addict Posts: 392 Karma: 3421956 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Kobo Forma, Sage, Elipsa, Onyx Note2, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Keyboard	Yes, it works! Thank you.

09-19-2013, 03:37 PM	#8
paola Wizard Posts: 2,824 Karma: 5843878 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: UK Device: Pocketbook Pro 903, (beloved Pocketbook 360 RIP), Kobo Mini, Kobo Aura	yet, as a kepub fan, let me stress that if you read books with endnotes, the engine that renders Kepub books (i.e. hte software called when you open a kepub) will allow you to see the notes in a pop-up, which you will not be able to do with an Epub, that is rendered by a different software.

09-19-2013, 04:03 PM	#9
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,574 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	When I made that change to my Kobo eReader.conf file, it did fix the page display on kepubs as they said. But on regular epubs (which is my preference always, I stay away from kepubs), it displayed only the page number you're on and not Page X of Y. So it would read "Page 351" for instance. It could be just on the older firmware I'm using, but just so you're aware that might happen. So I just avoid kepubs. Since I won't purchase from the Kobo store (for several reasons), it's not an issue for me. But if you do purchase from Kobo and they send you a kepub with DRM, I don't think you have a choice to convert it to epub, it's not possible to do, and you'll have to live with the kepub.

09-21-2013, 07:52 AM	#11
franklekens Addict Posts: 392 Karma: 3421956 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Kobo Forma, Sage, Elipsa, Onyx Note2, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Keyboard	But now this is strange. I understand that the "chapter x of y" per chapter instead of per book is something that the reader only does with kepubs. I started having this with a number of books I recently bought, so I assumed I'd bought kepubs instead of epubs. From another thread, I now gather that a kepub is what you get if you buy a book at Kobo and download it to the device directly, through wifi. But if I buy books from Kobo, I always do so on my PC. I download them in Adobe Digital Editions, import them into Calibre and sideload them onto the Aura. So does the fact that I suddenly have page counting per chapter instead of per book have to do with Calibre after all? (Of course Calibre does something with the book when importing it, if only to remove the DRM in order to be able to handle the book.) I've already edited the conf file so it doesn't bother me anymore. But I'm still at a loss as to what's happening.

09-21-2013, 07:53 AM	#12
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,143 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	If you use the KoboTouchExtended driver in calibre, this will have converted books from ePub format to kEpub format. Take a look at the LIBRARY view on the Kobo and see what format it shows the book has.

09-23-2013, 02:24 AM	#13
franklekens Addict Posts: 392 Karma: 3421956 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Kobo Forma, Sage, Elipsa, Onyx Note2, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Keyboard	Oh, that's it then. I see a few books that are listed as Kobo Epub in the library. But does the extended driver only do that for books that you bought at Kobo anyway? Because some other books I sideloaded at the same time, from other sources, are not kepubs. Now it may have been unwise of me to just install all of the Kobo device interface plugins I could find, thinking I'd decide later which to use. So now I have three plugins. But where can you specify which of these Calibre is to use? Or does it always use the last plugin listed in the list of plugins?

09-23-2013, 04:38 AM	#14
jgoguen Generally Awesome Person Posts: 1,061 Karma: 2178845 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: /dev/kmem Device: Kobo Clara HD, Kindle Oasis	It's more complicated than "last one in the list". The only Kobo plugin that you can install from the plugin list that's relevant to sending books to the device is KoboTouchExtended, which calibre will always use if it's installed and enabled. You can't really even say "use KoboTouchExtended for these books but not these"; the closest you can come requires a lot of changing settings and restarting calibre and selecting specific books each time.

09-23-2013, 05:43 PM	#15
franklekens Addict Posts: 392 Karma: 3421956 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Kobo Forma, Sage, Elipsa, Onyx Note2, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Keyboard	Okay thanks. Then it's KTExtended that's converting books into Kobo epubs when sending them to the device. I just noticed it again today, with some out of copyright free books from other sources. And now that I go into the plugin's options, I see the kepub listed. Should have thought of that before. This never happened before because I probably didn't have it installed on the computer I worked with until last week. Mystery solved.

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