MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Kobo-Adding alternative readers using Kobo Start Menu

tshering · 05-31-2014, 10:16 PM

Thank you for this tutorial, Ken! Thank you also for your continuous support of the Kobo Start Menu!

There are one ore two things I would like to add.

Regarding points 2 to 4: If any of the KoboLaucher, vlasovsoft, Koreader packages is already installed on the device, there is no need to remove it, before you install the Kobo Start Menu. That means you could start with point 8. The pngs you used for launching these applications from nickel however will not do these jobs any longer (if nickel is started via the Kobo Start Menu), but they also won't do any harm.
The advantage of leaving these things as they are is that if you don't like the Kobo Start Menu, you can just uninstall it and everything will work as it did before. That makes it easier for people who just want to try the Start Menu. Another effect is that if you select Options > Emergency Exit (on the top menu bar of the application) from the home menu, instead of selecting "start nickel," then nickel will be started as if the Kobo Start Menu would not be there. That means, you can start KoboLauncher and so on from nickel via the pngs as before, and you cannot return to the Kobo Start Menu (without a powering off and on again).
Warning: After you select Options > Emergency Exit, there will appear a box "... Continue? [No] [Yes]." If for some reason you cannot access the buttons [No] [Yes] (this happened to me once, way before I uploaded the Kobo Start Menu for the first time), you have to force the device to power down (Hold the power slider in the off position for 20 or more seconds).

At point 10: Not everybody likes editing configuration files. There is also the possibility to change the start settings via the menu. From the home menu select "scripts" > "activate" > "set runmenu settings.msh." There you will find the options "always," "once," etc. Choose "always" to make the Kobo Start Menu appear after each time you power the device on.

Since there are different ways to do things, it is difficult to describe the installation processes in a way that will appeal to everybody. One point, I would like to mention is that if you have the Kobo Start Menu on your device and you install anything via a KoboRoot.tgz file, there will appear a further menu item in the home menu, namely "handle update." If you poke it, you will be presented with the options "install partial update," "install update," and "delete update." For Koreader and KoboLauncher you can select "install update."

I guess the easiest way (although not the best for everybody) of installing alternative readers to work with Kobo Start Menu might be:
If the alternative reader is already installed, leave things as they are.
If the Kobo Start Menu is already installed, and you want to install an alternative reader newly, install it in the regular way (as described here, or in steps 4 to 7 of post #1 of the present thread), and additionally select "handle update" > "install update."

05-31-2014, 10:16 PM	#2
tshering Wizard Posts: 3,489 Karma: 2914715 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: kobo touch	Thank you for this tutorial, Ken! Thank you also for your continuous support of the Kobo Start Menu! There are one ore two things I would like to add. Regarding points 2 to 4: If any of the KoboLaucher, vlasovsoft, Koreader packages is already installed on the device, there is no need to remove it, before you install the Kobo Start Menu. That means you could start with point 8. The pngs you used for launching these applications from nickel however will not do these jobs any longer (if nickel is started via the Kobo Start Menu), but they also won't do any harm. The advantage of leaving these things as they are is that if you don't like the Kobo Start Menu, you can just uninstall it and everything will work as it did before. That makes it easier for people who just want to try the Start Menu. Another effect is that if you select Options > Emergency Exit (on the top menu bar of the application) from the home menu, instead of selecting "start nickel," then nickel will be started as if the Kobo Start Menu would not be there. That means, you can start KoboLauncher and so on from nickel via the pngs as before, and you cannot return to the Kobo Start Menu (without a powering off and on again). Warning: After you select Options > Emergency Exit, there will appear a box "... Continue? [No] [Yes]." If for some reason you cannot access the buttons [No] [Yes] (this happened to me once, way before I uploaded the Kobo Start Menu for the first time), you have to force the device to power down (Hold the power slider in the off position for 20 or more seconds). At point 10: Not everybody likes editing configuration files. There is also the possibility to change the start settings via the menu. From the home menu select "scripts" > "activate" > "set runmenu settings.msh." There you will find the options "always," "once," etc. Choose "always" to make the Kobo Start Menu appear after each time you power the device on. Since there are different ways to do things, it is difficult to describe the installation processes in a way that will appeal to everybody. One point, I would like to mention is that if you have the Kobo Start Menu on your device and you install anything via a KoboRoot.tgz file, there will appear a further menu item in the home menu, namely "handle update." If you poke it, you will be presented with the options "install partial update," "install update," and "delete update." For Koreader and KoboLauncher you can select "install update." I guess the easiest way (although not the best for everybody) of installing alternative readers to work with Kobo Start Menu might be: If the alternative reader is already installed, leave things as they are. If the Kobo Start Menu is already installed, and you want to install an alternative reader newly, install it in the regular way (as described here, or in steps 4 to 7 of post #1 of the present thread), and additionally select "handle update" > "install update." Last edited by tshering; 06-04-2014 at 09:32 PM.