any usable epub reader?

[janw]

Hi, could you recommend some good epub reader for the iliad?

I did test fbreader 0.10.7 (http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/ILiad_FBReader), it can read epub, but maybe needless to say the program has so many issues it is practically not usable :/ While there is the very nice http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Book_Designer to convert many input formats into mobipocket, epub is not one of these input formats.

Maybe there is some other better epub viewer program for the iliad? Or other conversion program?

[ericshliao]

Originally Posted by janw

it can read epub, but maybe needless to say the program has so many issues it is practically not usable :/

What are the issues? Could you give some brief description? And, maybe you should inform the author of FBReader about the issues that you found.

[HarryT]

The Windows version of Mobipocket Reader does a nice job of converting ePub to Mobi.

[janw]

Thanks HarryT, using Mobipocket Reader the "import" conversion works!

FBReader, well the program itself is not that bad - on a desktop.

But it does not seem to be made for ebook devices, wrt the user interface. The iliad port is "okay", but doesn't auto-open the previous book, does not remember the last page, arrow buttons instead of scrolling will cause the led to blink indefinitely (at least it does not hang the iliad), body text at page top is clipped by the toolbar, the library tree-view can be expanded only via clicking a microscopic '+', ...

I read three Stanislaw Lems with the iliad port, but it is really a pain to use... Thanks for the mobipocket conversion tip! :-)

[ericshliao]

Originally Posted by janw

but doesn't auto-open the previous book, does not remember the last page

If you modify registry.xml on iLiad, you can open your ebook from contentlister and FBReader will remember the last open page.

Originally Posted by janw

arrow buttons instead of scrolling will cause the led to blink indefinitely (at least it does not hang the iliad

Button setting is configurable. you can set FBReader to treat arrow keys as pagflip. Search some xml file in the install path of FBReader and you'll find it. As to the blinking led, it's because the creator who port FBReader to iLiad did not add led control code in proper places. It's fixable.

Originally Posted by janw

body text at page top is clipped by the toolbar

Strange, I tried with a epub file and did not found the problem. Maybe your (or mine) epub file is quite peculiar.

Originally Posted by janw

the library tree-view can be expanded only via clicking a microscopic '+', ...

That should not be an issue. FBReader on every platform is the same.

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by ericshliao

If you modify registry.xml on iLiad, you can open your ebook from contentlister and FBReader will remember the last open page.

Do we have a link to how to do this? I've found it quite tricky in the past, even using helper utilities.

Regarding the tiny "+" symbols, I think that's an icon that can be replaced. I agree with the problem, though. In general, the latest FBreader port feels very incomplete to me. I tend to use the previous version, because I prefer to have menus. But both have usability issues. Unfortunately, I'm not skilled in porting apps, so I can't help address the problems.

[ericshliao]

Here is an example for djvu. You should know how to replace some chars in that example. I think it's best to use a text editor capable of dealing with UTF-8 encoding and modify it manually.
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...79&postcount=6

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by nekokami

Regarding the tiny "+" symbols, I think that's an icon that can be replaced.

I looked into it when the tiny + issue first came up, and the + is drawn by the app (it is not an icon). My impression was that this issue had been fixed in 0.10.X, but I switched to OpenInkPot on a Hanlin V3 (also FBReader by the way) for most of my reading before upgrading my iLiad to that version. Perhaps it was fixed on the DR1000S, but not the iLiad?

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

I looked into it when the tiny + issue first came up, and the + is drawn by the app (it is not an icon). My impression was that this issue had been fixed in 0.10.X, but I switched to OpenInkPot on a Hanlin V3 (also FBReader by the way) for most of my reading before upgrading my iLiad to that version. Perhaps it was fixed on the DR1000S, but not the iLiad?

I remember that conversation now. We were both surprised it wasn't an icon.

[ericshliao]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

I looked into it when the tiny + issue first came up, and the + is drawn by the app (it is not an icon). My impression was that this issue had been fixed in 0.10.X, but I switched to OpenInkPot on a Hanlin V3 (also FBReader by the way) for most of my reading before upgrading my iLiad to that version. Perhaps it was fixed on the DR1000S, but not the iLiad?

Are you sure that you saw the tiny "+" of FBReader being replaced on any platform? Maybe you have mixed up your experience with some other application. For most GTK+ apps, we usually see a triangle, when collapsed pointing to right and pointing downward when expanded. It's unique that FBReader uses a tiny "+" instead of a triangle.
Besides, I think that the tiny "+" is not provided in FBReader source package. It's highly possible that FBReader uses stock item provided by GTK+.

Added:
I think I was wrong about thinking FBReader uses stock item provided by GTK+ to draw the tiny "+". Another look in the UI of FBReader on Linux desktop makes me guessing FBReader draw the "+" with drawLine api, not using any prepared image file. The mystery should lie in "ZLTextDrawTreeLines.cpp".

[amgoforth]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The Windows version of Mobipocket Reader does a nice job of converting ePub to Mobi.

Thanks Harry I had forgotten that, and it works very well.