Instructions for patching firmware 3.3.x, 3.4.x, 3.5.x

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

It would be nice, but I'd have to learn what all that means first, and then work out how to do it. :-)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the logic is something like

if first 3 bytes of patch file are '\xef\xbb\xbf':
    remove first 3 bytes of patch file before processing

[tshering]

And maybe reject files that start with \xfe\xff or \xff\xfe.

[GeoffR]

OK so that wasn't too hard. I've updated patch_kobo_330.zip in post #1 with patch32lsb v0.7, which discards any utf-8 byte order mark added to the patch file by editors such as Notepad/Wordpad, and rejects the file if it is utf-16/32.

I've included new Windows and Linux executables, the Mac executable still needs recompiling. (chrisdd can you help? :-)

[chrisridd]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

OK so that wasn't too hard. I've updated patch_kobo_330.zip in post #1 with patch32lsb v0.7, which discards any utf-8 byte order mark added to the patch file by editors such as Notepad/Wordpad, and rejects the file if it is utf-16/32.

I've included new Windows and Linux executables, the Mac executable still needs recompiling. (chrisdd can you help? :-)

Whoops, I only just spotted this update. Attached is the 0.7 executable built as before for 10.8 and 10.9, and for 32-bit and 64-bit Intel processors.

No compiler warnings this time :-)

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by chrisridd

Attached is the 0.7 executable built as before for 10.8 and 10.9, and for 32-bit and 64-bit Intel processors.

Thanks very much, I've added it to patch_kobo_330.zip attached to post #1.

[DNSB]

I had a quick look at the 3.3.1 firmware and found a few changes that I could quickly implement.

The kpg.conf.txt file attached to this message has those changes made for metazoa's kpg.exe patcher. Rename to kpg.conf before using.

Changes implemented were:

Unitless ePub line height
Custom reading footer style
Custom Font Sizes
Custom Right and left margins
Brightness Fine Control

All the other patches should be left as patch_enable = `no`.

Regards,
David

[GeoffR]

I've updated the instructions in post #1 for firmware version 3.3.1. The updated patch_kobo_33.zip contains patches for both versions 3.3.0 and 3.3.1, just use the appropriate batch/script file and source/target subdirectories for whichever version your device is running.

[GeoffR]

I've added a new patch to post #2 which allows the Reading Settings "Refresh the page every:" menu options to be changed. This should avoid the need to edit the device's configuration file to set values higher than 6.

The patch has three replacement values: Base, Increment, and Maximum. Base is the value of the first menu option, Increment is the value that is added to get each successive menu option, and the menu will end when the value of Maximum is exceeded.

For example: Base=2, Increment=2, Maximum=20 will give a menu that allows you to select any of the following values: 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20. The values in the original firmware are Base=1, Increment=1, Maximum=6 which gives the menu options 1,2,3,4,5,6.

This patch seems to work okay on my Glo, but it hasn't had a lot of testing yet, so treat with caution and let me know if you discover any problems.

[erikssenmar867]

Hi GeoffR! Could you create the refresh option patch also for fw 3.2.0? Thank u very much

[violent23]

Okay, I hope this is the appropriate place to post this. I have just recently purchased a Kobo Aura and have installed this patch. I have a question regarding the custom left right margins.

<Patch>
patch_name = `Custom left & right margins`
patch_enable = `yes`
# Values for replace
replace_int = FE673C, 02, 01
replace_int = FE6740, 04, 02
replace_int = FE6744, 06, 03
replace_int = FE6748, 08, 04
replace_int = FE674C, 10, 05
replace_int = FE6750, 12, 06
replace_int = FE6754, 14, 07
replace_int = FE6758, 16, 08
</Patch>

I have found a bug in the stock lowest margin setting (slider all the way to the left) that also is present in these custom margin settings. Being that the custom margin setting allows for more options to the width I was wondering how I could edit this code to start with the second setting (replace_int = FE6740, 04, 02) but still allow eight settings. What would the new eighth line of code be? Basically I would like to hide the lowest margin setting from the sytem (as it cuts off text) and start with what is the second smallest custom margin setting and then have seven more values that move up from that.

I also have a second question regarding the "Custom reading footer style". When "Decrease footer example for Glo/Aura" is selected the fonts left behind when using the "Remove system fonts in Reader list" such as "Document Default" and "Gothic" place the footer half way below the screen, cutting off text. There is no problem with the footer when using custom fonts. What I was wondering is if there was a way to do the opposite of what the "Remove system fonts in Reader list" does and have only custom fonts show in the list while hiding all of the fonts such as "Document Default" that have the footer cut off problem. This I feel would result in a much cleaner system font menu that would only show fonts that work correctly with the "Decrease footer example for Glo/Aura".

[PeterT]

<Patch>
patch_name = `Custom left & right margins`
patch_enable = `yes`
# Values for replace
replace_int = FE673C, 02, 02
replace_int = FE6740, 04, 03
replace_int = FE6744, 06, 04
replace_int = FE6748, 08, 05
replace_int = FE674C, 10, 06
replace_int = FE6750, 12, 07
replace_int = FE6754, 14, 08
replace_int = FE6758, 16, 09
</Patch>

I think is what you need. The first value Fe673c is the location in the file being patched, the second 02 is the OLD value, and the third 02 is the new value.

So all I have done is shift the replacement values up by 1

[violent23]

Originally Posted by PeterT

<Patch>
patch_name = `Custom left & right margins`
patch_enable = `yes`
# Values for replace
replace_int = FE673C, 02, 02
replace_int = FE6740, 04, 03
replace_int = FE6744, 06, 04
replace_int = FE6748, 08, 05
replace_int = FE674C, 10, 06
replace_int = FE6750, 12, 07
replace_int = FE6754, 14, 08
replace_int = FE6758, 16, 09
</Patch>

I think is what you need. The first value Fe673c is the location in the file being patched, the second 02 is the OLD value, and the third 02 is the new value.

So all I have done is shift the replacement values up by 1

Okay I tried this but the Margin at it's smallest is still the same as what is available on stock and this Patch. The second step up now has a bigger margin. I even tried this.

<Patch>
patch_name = `Custom left & right margins`
patch_enable = `yes`
# Values for replace
replace_int = FE673C, 02, 03
replace_int = FE6740, 04, 04
replace_int = FE6744, 06, 05
replace_int = FE6748, 08, 06
replace_int = FE674C, 10, 07
replace_int = FE6750, 12, 08
replace_int = FE6754, 14, 09
replace_int = FE6758, 16, 10
</Patch>

But it still has the stock setting for the smallest margin, Moving onto the next margin size it is even larger than your code so it would appear that it works for the rest of the sizes just not the first one.

Do you have any more thoughts on how I can exclude the first margin size from the device?

[GeoffR]

I have found a bug in the stock lowest margin setting (slider all the way to the left) that also is present in these custom margin settings. Being that the custom margin setting allows for more options to the width I was wondering how I could edit this code to start with the second setting (replace_int = FE6740, 04, 02) but still allow eight settings. What would the new eighth line of code be? Basically I would like to hide the lowest margin setting from the sytem (as it cuts off text) and start with what is the second smallest custom margin setting and then have seven more values that move up from that.

The margins slider actually has nine values, zero plus the eight that are set in the patch. I haven't tested this but you could try extending the patch to replace the zero margin too (note the added replace_int line at the beginning):
Firmware 3.3.0:

<Patch>
patch_name = `Custom left & right margins`
patch_enable = `yes`
# Values for replace
replace_int = FE6738, 00, 01
replace_int = FE673C, 02, 02
replace_int = FE6740, 04, 03
replace_int = FE6744, 06, 04
replace_int = FE6748, 08, 05
replace_int = FE674C, 10, 06
replace_int = FE6750, 12, 07
replace_int = FE6754, 14, 08
replace_int = FE6758, 16, 09
</Patch>

I also have a second question regarding the "Custom reading footer style". When "Decrease footer example for Glo/Aura" is selected the fonts left behind when using the "Remove system fonts in Reader list" such as "Document Default" and "Gothic" place the footer half way below the screen, cutting off text. There is no problem with the footer when using custom fonts. What I was wondering is if there was a way to do the opposite of what the "Remove system fonts in Reader list" does and have only custom fonts show in the list while hiding all of the fonts such as "Document Default" that have the footer cut off problem. This I feel would result in a much cleaner system font menu that would only show fonts that work correctly with the "Decrease footer example for Glo/Aura".

Gothic and one or two other fonts sit unusually low on the line, I think it is a fault with the font metrics. Unfortunately Gothic seems to be the default font used for the footer, so it is a bit of a problem, I think all you can do is increase the height of the footer, removing the font from the selection list won't prevent it being used as a default.

On my Glo the example footer is just high enough (40px) to avoid cutting off the footer text when Gothic font is used, so there must be somehing different about the Aura.

Below is a version of the footer patch which makes editing the different values a bit easier, just make sure to keep the replacement strings the same length. Edit the replacement strings and change the "min-height: 40px;" and "max-height: 40px;" to a larger value.

firmware 3.3.0:

Spoiler:

<Patch>
patch_name = `Custom reading footer style`
patch_enable = `yes`
replace_string = DAAC44, `ReadingFooter {\n\tmin-height: 70px;\n\tmax-height: 70px;\n\tqproperty-footerMargin: 40;\n}\n\nReadingFooter[qApp_deviceCodeName="kraken"], \nReadingFooter[qApp_deviceCodeName="phoenix"] {\n\tmin-height: 82px;\n\tmax-height: 82px;\n\tqproperty-footerMargin: 15;\n}\n\nReadingFooter[qApp_deviceCodeName="dragon"] {\n\tmin-height: 120px;\n\tmax-height: 120px;\n\tqproperty-footerMargin: 20;\n}\n\n* {\n\tfont-size: 16px;\n}\n\n[qApp_deviceCodeName="kraken"], \n[qApp_deviceCodeName="phoenix"] {\n\tfont-size: 20px;\n}\n\n[qApp_deviceCodeName="dragon"] {\n\tfont-size: 26px;\n}\n\n[qApp_localeName="ja_JP"] {\n\tfont-family: A-OTF Gothic MB101 Pr6N;\n}`, `ReadingFooter {\n\tmin-height: 70px;\n\tmax-height: 70px;\n\tqproperty-footerMargin: 40;\n}\n\n* {\n\tfont-size: 16px;\n\tpadding-bottom: 0px;\n\tmargin-top:  0px;\n}\n\n[qApp_localeName="ja_JP"] {\n\tfont-family: A-OTF Gothic MB101 Pr6N;\n}`
#
# Uncomment the replace_string lines of one of the examples below, comment out
# the rest. If you choose to make further changes to the examples, BE CAREFUL
# NOT TO ALTER THE LENGTH OF THE REPLACEMENT STRINGS! (Add or remove spaces if
# necessary to keep the total length the same.)
#
# Example for Touch/Mini:
#replace_string = DAAC55, `min-height: 70px;`, `min-height: 32px;`
#replace_string = DAAC68, `max-height: 70px;`, `max-height: 32px;`
#replace_string = DAAC85, `footerMargin: 40;`, `footerMargin: 40;`
#replace_string = DAAC9F, `font-size: 16px;`, `font-size: 16px;`
#replace_string = DAACB1, `padding-bottom: 0px;`, `padding-bottom: 4px;`
#
# Example for Glo/Aura:
replace_string = DAAC55, `min-height: 70px;`, `min-height: 40px;`
replace_string = DAAC68, `max-height: 70px;`, `max-height: 40px;`
replace_string = DAAC85, `footerMargin: 40;`, `footerMargin: 15;`
replace_string = DAAC9F, `font-size: 16px;`, `font-size: 20px;`
replace_string = DAACB1, `padding-bottom: 0px;`, `padding-bottom: 5px;`
#
# Example for Aura HD:
#replace_string = DAAC55, `min-height: 70px;`, `min-height: 50px;`
#replace_string = DAAC68, `max-height: 70px;`, `max-height: 50px;`
#replace_string = DAAC85, `footerMargin: 40;`, `footerMargin: 20;`
#replace_string = DAAC9F, `font-size: 16px;`, `font-size: 26px;`
#replace_string = DAACB1, `padding-bottom: 0px;`, `padding-bottom: 8px;`
</Patch>

[tshering]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

Gothic and one or two other fonts sit unusually low on the line, I think it is a fault with the font metrics. Unfortunately Gothic seems to be the default font used for the footer, so it is a bit of a problem, I think all you can do is increase the height of the footer.

If I remember correctly, the footer uses the font that is selected in the font selection menu, only if the user language is set to Japanese Gothic is used. One could hard code the font for non-Japanese too.

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by tshering

If I remember correctly, the footer uses the font that is selected in the font selection menu, only if the user language is set to Japanese Gothic is used. One could hard code the font for non-Japanese too.

Gothic seems to used if Document Default is selected though. Another font can be hard coded for the footer, but then there will be a mismatch with the header which will still be using Gothic if Document Default is selected, or something else if a font different from the hard coded font is selected.