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Old 09-20-2010, 01:05 PM   #1
NiLuJe
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Changing the reader font without a hack [K3/K4]

Hello again! In this quick little post I'll explain how to change the font used in the reader to use a custom font, without having to use the proper full-fledged font hack.

Note: FW 3.x/4.x only.

It's not as complete/powerful as the full hack, you'll only be able to change the reader font, exactly the same way as the official font switch in the [Aa] menu.

First, make sure your Kindle is on the Home screen before plugging it to your computer.

You'll have to edit the reader config file, which is located, once your Kindle is plugged to your computer, in the system\com.amazon.ebook.booklet.reader folder. (Att, Windows users: depending on your Windows Explorer settings, this folder might be hidden. To workaround this without messing with Windows Explorer settings, just enter the folder name in the address bar). Once you're there, open the reader.pref file in your favorite UNIX-aware text editor. (Yes, it's the same file where you can tweak the horizontal margins)

In there, just before the
Code:
FONT_FAMILY=
line, add:

Code:
ALLOW_USER_FONT=true
and replace the FONT_FAMILY= line with:

Code:
FONT_FAMILY=alt
Once that's done, we'll have to put our custom fonts where the Kindle expects them...

In the root of your Kindle, create a folder named fonts. In this new folder, you'll have to put your custom fonts with very specific names, according to their style, kinda like with the Fonts hack.

Regular: alt-Regular.ttf
Bold: alt-Bold.ttf
Italic: alt-Italic.ttf
Bold Italic: alt-BoldItalic.ttf

And that's it! Eject your Kindle, and Restart it. (Or, if you can, just restart the framework).

You Kindle should now be using your custom font instead of the usual Serif/Serif Condensed/Sans Serif .

As always with this kind of tinkering, it won't survive if you try to change this specific setting (font choice) in the [Aa] menu. But every other setting (ie. font size) in the menu should be fine .

On a sidenote, Amazon also has user screensavers ready under their sleeves, but I haven't been able to enable this without a jailbreak... (Cf. this & that).

Note that the Kindle software now uses TrueType bytecode hinting instructions, and hint at the strongest level possible. (In terms of FT/FC settings: hintstyle=hintfull, hinting=true & autohint=false).

OpenType CFF fonts work fine too, without converting them .

Last edited by NiLuJe; 11-04-2011 at 02:40 PM. Reason: Yep, they do.
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Old 09-20-2010, 01:34 PM   #2
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Thank you!

This works great, even allows you to change back to default fonts very easy.
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Old 09-20-2010, 01:55 PM   #3
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Works.

You don't even have to stay away from the aA-menu. Changing font size etc works perfectly fine. Only changing the fonts will revert the change.

edit: Now I just have to find a good looking Garamond that comes as a TTF.

Last edited by [Ahmed]; 09-20-2010 at 02:08 PM.
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Old 09-20-2010, 02:22 PM   #4
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merci beaucoup !
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Old 09-20-2010, 04:13 PM   #5
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You continue to amaze NiLuJe!!! Going font shopping now...

P.S. I like the K3's sans-serif font quite a bit, but the customizer in me has to at least give this a try! =)
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Old 09-20-2010, 05:36 PM   #6
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thanks for this, I might try this out thouh I like the san serif fine. But it's still wonderful to have this option.
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Old 09-20-2010, 07:01 PM   #7
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This one isn't working for me. I used notepad++ to edit the file. After adding the fonts in the new font folder, ejecting and restarting I had the same font (which I could not change via Aa) and none of my content would open.

Even after reverting back to the original version of reader.pref file, I still could not open any content. I've just done a factory reset and all is well again.

Here are some images, maybe someone could tell me where I made my misstep.
Attached Thumbnails
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Name:	fonts in folder.PNG
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ID:	58538  
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Old 09-20-2010, 08:38 PM   #8
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Old 09-20-2010, 09:35 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by daffy4u View Post
Here are some images, maybe someone could tell me where I made my misstep.
Hyphens, not underscores, chief.
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Old 09-20-2010, 10:01 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flandroid View Post
Hyphens, not underscores, chief.
Ah-ha! Thanks, I'll give it another try.
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Old 09-20-2010, 10:52 PM   #11
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Still no font changing love.
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Old 09-21-2010, 04:40 AM   #12
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Hmm, a few things to check:

* Make sure you're on the Home screen before plugging the Kindle
* Yep, hyphens, not underscores ;P
* Make sure the font is valid.
* Restart your Kindle afterwards, *without* trying to open a book before that.

Last edited by NiLuJe; 10-11-2010 at 11:07 PM.
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Old 09-21-2010, 05:07 AM   #13
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Trying this.

Thanks again, NiLuJe.

(P.S. I couldn't find K:\system/com.amazon.ebook.booklet.reader , might be an idea to change the OP to reference system\com.amazon.ebook.booklet.reader .)

Yup, my scripting abilities extend about as far as proofreading .

Edit: Working. You can even use normal Notepad to edit the profile - you just need to press enter so that FONT_FAMILY=alt and ALLOW_USER_FONT=true are on their own lines in the file.

Amazon's font isn't pretty (to my eyes), but is readable at a tiny size. Don't think I'll go back, though.

Last edited by Richey79; 09-21-2010 at 05:42 AM.
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Old 09-21-2010, 05:08 AM   #14
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@Richey79: Argh, damn Windows path separators. I'll never get used to that. Thanks .
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Old 09-21-2010, 10:16 AM   #15
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Blegh, finding a nice TTF is harder than I thought. Theoretically I'd have a nice TTF Garamond, but it's either too small and thin (bad contrast then) or too big for my taste.

What fonts do you guys use?
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