Glo Most missed shortcuts

[ibu]

1. Brightness
   Control it without entering an GUI for it, just with a gesture (like in Stanza)
2. TOC
   Single step access to it
3. Library
   Single step access to it

Is there any hack to realize one of these missed shortcuts?

What are your 3 most missed shortcuts?

[paola]

Originally Posted by ibu

1. Brightness
   Control it without entering an GUI for it, just with a gesture (like in Stanza)
2. TOC
   Single step access to it
3. Library
   Single step access to it

Is there any hack to realize one of these missed shortcuts?

What are your 3 most missed shortcuts?

when you say "single step" do you mean something to go to from inside a book? If so, I'm not sure I'd like that, as it would mean having some icon to tap on while reading, and that would "eat" screen space, at least on the Mini which has no buttons. Or were you thinking of "special" places to tap, e.g. screen corners?

[ibu]

Originally Posted by paola

when you say "single step" do you mean something to go to from inside a book?

Yes, exactly.

Originally Posted by paola

Or were you thinking of "special" places to tap, e.g. screen corners?

Yep.

[paola]

Originally Posted by ibu

Yes, exactly.

Yep.

you may want to raise this issue in the "Developer's" subforum then.

[ibu]

@paola
I thought, the developers corner is only for developers. Are you really sure, they want to read feature wishes for hacks from non developers there?

[paola]

Originally Posted by ibu

@paola
I thought, the developers corner is only for developers. Are you really sure, they want to read feature wishes for hacks from non developers there?

ah, sure, I thought you were hoping somebody would implement it - had not realised this is something you would hope to have in the official firmware. I doubt this would be taken up anytime soon, but wish you luck!

[ibu]

@paola
I thought "developer corner" in this forum means "kobo firmware hacker" or "developer of an alternative software reader for Kobos". Or do employees from Kobo read and write here.

Uff, so many possibilities for missunderstandings.

No, I have no hope at all, that Kobo will integrate my wishes into their firmware, nor have I hope that anyone of Kobo with power of deciscion will ever really listen to suggestions of users.

[paola]

Originally Posted by ibu

No, I have no hope at all, that Kobo will integrate my wishes into their firmware, nor have I hope that anyone of Kobo with power of deciscion will ever really listen to suggestions of users.

ibu, I would not be so negative, but there are more obvious fixes needed that I suspect will be higher in Kobo's list of priorities.

It is for this reason that I thought that posting in the developers' forum may be more successful, in the sense that there may be people with the appropriate skills who may want to have a go at implementing your suggestions, and (I think) your comments have a better chance to be noted by these guys and gals if you post over there.

ibu: Kobo has implemented suggestions that were posted to these forums before (though I can't say whether it is because of these forums). That said, your suggestions may be outside of the market that Kobo's developing for.

That said, the developer forum has both mods for nickle (Kobo's interface) and there is an open source reader in the works (which will make it easier for people to implement your suggestion). The forum is also frequented by non-developers and developer wannabes (like me) too. Everyone seems to be welcome in there, and almost any contribution has been welcomed -- since things like bug reports and advice to new users are handy to the people who write the software.

[ibu]

@BWinmill
Thanks for the explanation of the character of the subforum. Good to know.

My pessimistic view comes from a mail correspondence I had a year ago with kobo.

I suggested some few features. Clearly and politely. The didn't answered at all. I asked again, telling them, that I wrote a mail some weeks ago.
I get the answer from a kobo associate, that he will remit my suggestion to a collegue who will comment my suggestions soon.
But I never heard anything again.

@you and paola
Which are your most missed shortcuts?
I'm curious

[paola]

Originally Posted by ibu

@you and paola
Which are your most missed shortcuts?
I'm curious

we could be here for hours you see, my first readers were Pocketbooks, where there is virtually nothing a dumb end user cannot do, including associating any function you can think of to the various buttons. But you have buttons, I presume with touchscreens is a whole different game.,

Anyhow the thing I'd like most to have is the ability to switch between open books - I read a lot of non-fiction, and this function is, for me, priceless.

But this is not really a shortcut to a function which is there already. Maybe the only thing I'd like is to be able to access the library in one go, as you suggested.

[ibu]

@paola
Switching between open books (precisely may be could talk about "books, which has been started to read" - "closed" is no category in ebook reading) would be very nice, ACK.
My 4th wish

It's very old usability stuff. Desktop PC operating systems offer such a feature (switching between active applications with a keyboard shortcut) since decades.

Originally Posted by ibu

Which are your most missed shortcuts?

I haven't thought about that too much, because I try to be happy with what I have. But I will think about it now ...

I like how some reading apps allow you to adjust the screen brightness by swiping up and down the left edge of the screen.

Automatically going to library view instead of the home screen when tapping the home icon, and when restarting after a forced shutdown (i.e. holding the slider for a few seconds).

Automatically returning to the last page read when restarting after an automatic shutdown (i.e. when it turns off after a specified period activity).

Regions or gesture for next/previous chapter while reading a book.

I'm sure that there are other things that could make life a bit easier, but I spend most of my time within an individual book: reading then flipping pages, plus a definition or two.

[ibu]

@BWinmill
Thanks for sharing your wishes.

To "automatically returning":
I disabled the automatic shutdown/standby in my reader.
It seems, that the extra energy drain of an active display versus one in standby or shutoff is not relevant.
But I found no measures of a laboratory about that.

Yes, a gesture for next/previous would be great.

Like you I spent most of my time with an individual book - when it's a novel.

But my needs are completly different, when I read a reference book. Or a news magazine. Or a ...

Than efficient operation modes are essential. It counts in fractions of seconds
If you perform a task or if you resign. And do not read reference books on an eInk.
IMHO.

Originally Posted by ibu

Than efficient operation modes are essential. It counts in fractions of seconds
If you perform a task or if you resign. And do not read reference books on an eInk.

Yeah, I tend to avoid reference books on eInk devices. The type I read tend to be poorly suited for small screens and eInk's slow refresh rate. They also tend to be in PDF format, which is one of Kobo's weaknesses.

If you can make it work for you, that's wonderful. But I suspect that it's because we have different tastes in reading materials.