MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Kobo's font rendering problem... have they fixed it?

davidfor · 07-27-2015, 12:19 AM

I can see the differences, but I don't know how to describe them. And I don't know which I prefer.

I suspect the differences are in the font rendering engine. Kobo probably has changed that somewhere along the way, but I'm not sure. What I do know has changed is the advanced settings for the included fonts. With 2.8.1, there where two sliders for sharpness and weight. With 3.15.0, there is only one. If you have played with these at any time, you might want to reset them.

There have been other changes. For example, with 2.8.1, all the devices had the same list of font sizes. With 3.15.0, different devices get a different set of sizes. I don't think this is what you are seeing, but if you are relying on putting the font size slider in the same place with the different firmware, you might get a different size. There have been other changes such as how the line height gets interpreted, but again, that shouldn't affect this. Though that might be why there are a different number of lines per screen. Though why Georgia has one extra and Malabar has one less with 3.15.0, I'm not sure. Actually, I think Kobo has said something about reading the information from the fonts files differently or better or something.

Because of the above, it might be useful to check what is in the config file. These settings are in the "Reading" section. Removing all the lines in the section will reset them to defaults when a new book is opened. Or the individual settings can be removed or changed. The only catch with doing this is that when you change the settings, they are also stored in the database against that book. That means that reopening the book will use the settings from the database, but opening a new book will use the settings from the config file. The sharpness and weight settings always come from the config file.

Have you tried a sideloaded font? As there is some special handling for the included fonts, at least for the sharpness/weight settings, there might be other special handling. If a sideloaded font looks different between the two firmware, it suggests the rendering engine has changed. If they are the same, it is probably something about how the included fonts are handled.

07-27-2015, 12:19 AM	#14
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	I can see the differences, but I don't know how to describe them. And I don't know which I prefer. I suspect the differences are in the font rendering engine. Kobo probably has changed that somewhere along the way, but I'm not sure. What I do know has changed is the advanced settings for the included fonts. With 2.8.1, there where two sliders for sharpness and weight. With 3.15.0, there is only one. If you have played with these at any time, you might want to reset them. There have been other changes. For example, with 2.8.1, all the devices had the same list of font sizes. With 3.15.0, different devices get a different set of sizes. I don't think this is what you are seeing, but if you are relying on putting the font size slider in the same place with the different firmware, you might get a different size. There have been other changes such as how the line height gets interpreted, but again, that shouldn't affect this. Though that might be why there are a different number of lines per screen. Though why Georgia has one extra and Malabar has one less with 3.15.0, I'm not sure. Actually, I think Kobo has said something about reading the information from the fonts files differently or better or something. Because of the above, it might be useful to check what is in the config file. These settings are in the "Reading" section. Removing all the lines in the section will reset them to defaults when a new book is opened. Or the individual settings can be removed or changed. The only catch with doing this is that when you change the settings, they are also stored in the database against that book. That means that reopening the book will use the settings from the database, but opening a new book will use the settings from the config file. The sharpness and weight settings always come from the config file. Have you tried a sideloaded font? As there is some special handling for the included fonts, at least for the sharpness/weight settings, there might be other special handling. If a sideloaded font looks different between the two firmware, it suggests the rendering engine has changed. If they are the same, it is probably something about how the included fonts are handled.