Register Guidelines E-Books Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book Readers > Amazon Kindle

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 03-06-2012, 10:22 AM   #1
ruddell
Enthusiast
ruddell began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 43
Karma: 20
Join Date: Jul 2009
Device: Kindle
Page numbers on the Kindle Touch

This may be a question that's been covered in the past, but I can't find an answer so I'll post it here. On my Kindle Touch (v.4) it shows the location number on the bottom left of the screen and the progress on the bottom right. If I hit the menu button, it shows me the page number as well, at the bottom middle. Is it possible (presumably through some type of hack) to force the Kindle to show the page number by default (instead of or in addition to the location number), rather than having to hit menu every time? I know some books don't have page numbers, but for me personally, I don't find location numbers all that useful and would rather see page numbers or nothing.
ruddell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2012, 12:51 PM   #2
HarryT
eBook Enthusiast
HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
HarryT's Avatar
 
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
No, there's no way to do that. The concept of "page number" is pretty meaningless in an eBook.
HarryT is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 03-06-2012, 01:17 PM   #3
ruddell
Enthusiast
ruddell began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 43
Karma: 20
Join Date: Jul 2009
Device: Kindle
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT View Post
No, there's no way to do that. The concept of "page number" is pretty meaningless in an eBook.
Who's to say what is meaningful or meaningless? Page numbers have both meaning and value to me, whether that be in a paperback or an e-book. If they were truly meaningless, why would Amazon bother adding the option?
ruddell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2012, 02:13 PM   #4
soulfuldog
I ♥ Calibre
soulfuldog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soulfuldog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soulfuldog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soulfuldog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soulfuldog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soulfuldog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soulfuldog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soulfuldog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soulfuldog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soulfuldog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soulfuldog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
soulfuldog's Avatar
 
Posts: 2,073
Karma: 5678911
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis, Voyage, Sony PRS-350, Hudl2
I think meaningless because unlike a physical book, the pages aren't fixed. The page size & layout are fluid and dependent on what e-reader they are read on, so page numbers don't work. Added to that, if you change the font size or layout yourself, the pages change again.
soulfuldog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2012, 02:23 PM   #5
howyoudoin
how YOU doin?
howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
howyoudoin's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,100
Karma: 7371047
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: India
Device: Kindle Keyboard, iPad Pro 10.5”, Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Libra 2
The OP wasn't looking for a discussion on whether page numbers in ebooks are meaningless or not.

Amazon has created a system of numbering blocks of text with what they refer to as 'page numbers', and all the OP wants to know is whether he can get those to display by default without resorting to the menu button.
howyoudoin is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 03-06-2012, 02:25 PM   #6
ruddell
Enthusiast
ruddell began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 43
Karma: 20
Join Date: Jul 2009
Device: Kindle
Quote:
Originally Posted by howyoudoin View Post
The OP wasn't looking for a discussion on whether page numbers in ebooks are meaningless or not.

Amazon has created a system of numbering blocks of text with what they refer to as 'page numbers', and all the OP wants to know is whether he can get those to display by default without resorting to the menu button.
Thank you
ruddell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2012, 03:50 PM   #7
HarryT
eBook Enthusiast
HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.HarryT ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
HarryT's Avatar
 
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
Quote:
Originally Posted by howyoudoin View Post
all the OP wants to know is whether he can get those to display by default without resorting to the menu button.
Which I answered very clearly in post #2 - "no". Given that this question has been put to bed we can now discuss more interesting philosophical matters such as "do page numbers have any meaning in an eBook" .
HarryT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2012, 06:03 PM   #8
RDaneel54
Aging Positronic Brain
RDaneel54 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.RDaneel54 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.RDaneel54 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.RDaneel54 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.RDaneel54 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.RDaneel54 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.RDaneel54 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.RDaneel54 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.RDaneel54 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.RDaneel54 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.RDaneel54 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
RDaneel54's Avatar
 
Posts: 633
Karma: 2155452
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Aurora (when off-Earth)
Device: Amazon Oasis; iPhone, iPad Mini
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT View Post
Which I answered very clearly in post #2 - "no". Given that this question has been put to bed we can now discuss more interesting philosophical matters such as "do page numbers have any meaning in an eBook" .
I think both page numbers and location numbers give more beneficial information than the percentage. Why?
Because they give comparative information as to the size of the ebook relative to other ebooks.

That said, I like the percentage because I'm used to it.
RDaneel54 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2012, 06:09 PM   #9
ruddell
Enthusiast
ruddell began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 43
Karma: 20
Join Date: Jul 2009
Device: Kindle
There's also a psychological benefit to page numbers. If I know I only have 20 pages left in the chapter, I am much more likely to finish the chapter before putting the book down. However, if I know I have 10% of the book left before I finish the chapter, I have no way of knowing what that means and therefore am more likely to put the book down for the day. With locations, it can be even worse. If I have 500 locations left in the chapter, it can seem daunting.

I know some people will argue that if I were a "true" reader I wouldn't care about petty things like progress. But, in reality, our minds do care - whether we like it or not. I consider myself an avid read (I've finished 16 books so far in 2012, 15 of which were non-fiction). But the more I can wrap my mind around the progress I have to make, the more I will read in a sitting. Page numbers help me do that.
ruddell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2012, 06:38 PM   #10
nynaevelan
eBook Junkie
nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
nynaevelan's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,526
Karma: 1464018
Join Date: May 2010
Location: USA
Device: Kindle Fire 2020, Kindle PW2
Quote:
Originally Posted by ruddell View Post
There's also a psychological benefit to page numbers. If I know I only have 20 pages left in the chapter, I am much more likely to finish the chapter before putting the book down. However, if I know I have 10% of the book left before I finish the chapter, I have no way of knowing what that means and therefore am more likely to put the book down for the day. With locations, it can be even worse. If I have 500 locations left in the chapter, it can seem daunting.

I know some people will argue that if I were a "true" reader I wouldn't care about petty things like progress. But, in reality, our minds do care - whether we like it or not. I consider myself an avid read (I've finished 16 books so far in 2012, 15 of which were non-fiction). But the more I can wrap my mind around the progress I have to make, the more I will read in a sitting. Page numbers help me do that.
You have a good point, while I have grown used to locations and judging where I am in a book, page numbers would be more helpful when you are limited in time and you are trying to judge whether to stop or continue reading, page numbers are easier to use. At this point I am just used to using a calculator to judge the percentage point of what I have left and I pretty much can estimate how long it will take me to finish locations, but I am also one who does not mind stopping in the middle of chapters. Though I do not understand how page numbers will help you with chapters, the page numbers just give you the number in the book, not how many are in the chapter. Unless of course you go to the TOC but if you are doing that anyway, page numbers or locations will do the same thing.

On a side note, what type of reader am I, I've finished 37 so far in 2012??

If I am not mistaken, Calibre has a plugin to add page numbers to books, though I am not sure if it will work as the default or not, though I don't think so. I am also not sure if it works on the Touch since the touch puts its accompanying files in a folder rather than in the main directory of the book.
nynaevelan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2012, 06:55 PM   #11
Stingo
Fanatic
Stingo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stingo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stingo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stingo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stingo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stingo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stingo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stingo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stingo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stingo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Stingo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Stingo's Avatar
 
Posts: 559
Karma: 1334691
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Miami
Device: KH2O, KPW2, KDXG, KPW1, K3, S505
More useful than either for me would be the progress bar with the chapter nubs that the k3 has. Then you know exactly were you are in the chapter and the book.
Stingo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2012, 07:33 PM   #12
ruddell
Enthusiast
ruddell began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 43
Karma: 20
Join Date: Jul 2009
Device: Kindle
Quote:
Originally Posted by nynaevelan View Post
Though I do not understand how page numbers will help you with chapters, the page numbers just give you the number in the book, not how many are in the chapter. Unless of course you go to the TOC but if you are doing that anyway, page numbers or locations will do the same thing.
On my Kindle Touch, I can simply swipe up to quickly go to the next chapter, then hit the menu area to see what page number that is. I try to keep that number in my head as I'm going through a chapter.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nynaevelan View Post
If I am not mistaken, Calibre has a plugin to add page numbers to books, though I am not sure if it will work as the default or not, though I don't think so. I am also not sure if it works on the Touch since the touch puts its accompanying files in a folder rather than in the main directory of the book.
Yes, Calibre lets you do this - and quite well. But it functions the same as the page numbers Amazon provides on the Kindle books you purchase from them directly. The problem is not that page numbers are or are not included. It is that I have to hit a button to see the page number, then hit a button to go back to reading.
ruddell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2012, 08:28 PM   #13
ixtab
(offline)
ixtab ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ixtab ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ixtab ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ixtab ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ixtab ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ixtab ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ixtab ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ixtab ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ixtab ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ixtab ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ixtab ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
ixtab's Avatar
 
Posts: 2,907
Karma: 6736092
Join Date: Dec 2011
Device: K3, K4, K5, KPW, KPW2
Screenshot ahead...



So much for the statement "no, this is absolutely impossible and totally useless". It took me 20 minutes to find what needs to be changed to enable this.

The real problem is that (and here, HarryT is right) this is not initially supported by Amazon. This means that some patching of the framework files is necessary. Which means jailbreak, potential update troubles etc. If it's worth this for you, let me know.
ixtab is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-07-2012, 05:23 AM   #14
nynaevelan
eBook Junkie
nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.nynaevelan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
nynaevelan's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,526
Karma: 1464018
Join Date: May 2010
Location: USA
Device: Kindle Fire 2020, Kindle PW2
Quote:
Originally Posted by ruddell View Post
On my Kindle Touch, I can simply swipe up to quickly go to the next chapter, then hit the menu area to see what page number that is. I try to keep that number in my head as I'm going through a chapter.



Yes, Calibre lets you do this - and quite well. But it functions the same as the page numbers Amazon provides on the Kindle books you purchase from them directly. The problem is not that page numbers are or are not included. It is that I have to hit a button to see the page number, then hit a button to go back to reading.
Aah, thanks for the explanation, I guess that is something I never considered doing because as I stated I do not mind stopping in the middle of chapters so it never really bothered me. The only time I concern myself with chapters is if I happened to be reading on one of my tablets and I want to easily sync with my Touch.
nynaevelan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-07-2012, 06:56 AM   #15
uporny
Junior Member
uporny began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 2
Karma: 10
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Moscow
Device: Amazon Kindle Touch, Pocketbook 360
Quote:
If it's worth this for you, let me know.
Such hack will be very useful! Before Kindle Touch I used Pocketbook and there were no positions, but pages. And I should say, that's it is very comfortable to see number of page. Explanation is simple - i nearly know how much it takes to read one page (with certain font & size) => i know how many time it will take to finish a chapter or book. Reading in transport it is especially useful, because when you stop reading at the center of chapter, you lose narrative thread
uporny is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Kindle Page Numbers goaspy Devices 124 01-18-2019 01:55 PM
Page numbers not functional on Kindle Touch kindleuser Amazon Kindle 26 01-04-2012 03:35 PM
Touch & Page Numbers 93terp Amazon Kindle 12 11-21-2011 05:53 PM
Kindle page numbers JaneFancher Calibre 3 03-17-2011 04:12 AM
Kindle page numbers foghat Devices 6 02-20-2011 12:01 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:07 AM.


MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.