MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Hacks Changing the reader font without a hack [K3]

NiLuJe · 09-20-2010, 01:05 PM

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

.

09-20-2010, 01:05 PM	#1
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	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.