Aura HD Highlighting and Note-taking

Johann Cat · 08-10-2015, 10:31 PM

I have seen a similar thread on this issue, but it is two years old, and my problem seems to relate to new firmware.
I have a Kobo Aura HD. It has always been a bit balky in its highlighting/ note-taking functions.
(I beg Kobo: make these functions better in the next generation!! They are the key to your device being really useful to serious readers--you already have great visual quality, fonts, adjustments, etc.)

After firmware upgrade 3.15, this syndrome developed:

If I open a book, the first three highlights or so work as well as the function ever did (i. e., slow, but functional). Then subsequent highlights are slower--it is as though a cache is filling up (?). Then, after about the fifth highlight in a particular book, a touch that is meant to highlight : : turns a page. Then, if I go back to the page, I can highlight, and the cycle resumes: I get one-to-three "free" highlights, then balkiness, then page-turns in response to highlighting attempts.

I called Kobo and they recommended, and I performed a hard factory reset (the one that wipes all contents from the machine--so I had to reload the books, etc.). This reset had no effect on the highlighting problem at all.

Does anyone else experience this? Anyone know of a solution?
Thanks.

DNSB · 08-10-2015, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johann Cat

I called Kobo and they recommended, and I performed a hard factory reset (the one that wipes all contents from the machine--so I had to reload the books, etc.). This reset had no effect on the highlighting problem at all.

Does anyone else experience this? Anyone know of a solution?
Thanks.

I've seen the pretty much the same behaviour. 3.16.10 makes it even more fun since sickel can reboot the Kobo if it takes too long to pop up the highlight box. I've found sitting my finger on the first word I want to highlight and waiting for the underline to start and moving my finger slowly works best. Since I only highlight to mark text for later editing, it's not the problem for me that it is for someone who is doing the digital equivalent of marking up their textbooks for later studying.

The behaviour seems to change with different firmware revisions so I keep hoping for one that fixes the problem. Of course, if that firmware revision comes along, then I'll be hoping the next version doesn't break it

If you are using kepubs downloaded from Kobo, highlighting does seem to work better but I prefer epub for my personal uses.

davidfor · 08-10-2015, 11:53 PM

And for me, it isn't happening at all. Like the other David, I mainly highlight to fix errors, but I recent short story I was reading probably averaged an error per paragraph. Marking these (well most, of them as I tend not to mark repeated errors) worked with no issues. This was on my Aura H2O. A quick test on my Glo HD and I have 10 highlights and annotations on the first page of the book with no problems.

Maybe it is something strange with the Aura HD. Long presses barely work in 3.15 discusses other annotation problems with 3.15.0. From memory of that thread, it seemed to be a lot more common with the Aura HD than any other device.

Two things missing from your report:

- Book format - epub or kepub or both.
- Does it happen for annotations or highlights? The selection is the same, but adding the note might change the behaviour.
- Is this single word or selecting multiple words?

I probably should add that I am not using 3.15.0 or 3.16.0 on either device. I have a "later" firmware version. But, I haven't noticed any real changes in the annotation behaviour recently. There was a bug added in 3.15.0 that affected the last word of a paragraph going over a page, but nothing else.

Johann Cat · 08-11-2015, 12:08 PM

@davidfor:
The format involved is epubs.
The behavior is the same for highlighting and for note-making; the balky behavior (mistaking a highlighting/ notemaking finger gesture for a page turn) is the same for one word or a string of words.

Before this problem developed (I think with 3.15), the technique of a long press and methodical drag (recommended by DNSB above) worked a bit better than a more abrupt gesture. Now it doesn't matter what technique I use. [ Kobo needs to study and digest how Kindle performs highlights and notes: if there is one area that Kindle is much better at, it is highlighting and note-taking. ]

08-10-2015, 10:31 PM	#1
Johann Cat Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo Aura HD; Kindle III; Kindle PWII; Boyue T62D; Onyx Boox i86	Highlighting and Note-taking I have seen a similar thread on this issue, but it is two years old, and my problem seems to relate to new firmware. I have a Kobo Aura HD. It has always been a bit balky in its highlighting/ note-taking functions. (I beg Kobo: make these functions better in the next generation!! They are the key to your device being really useful to serious readers--you already have great visual quality, fonts, adjustments, etc.) After firmware upgrade 3.15, this syndrome developed: If I open a book, the first three highlights or so work as well as the function ever did (i. e., slow, but functional). Then subsequent highlights are slower--it is as though a cache is filling up (?). Then, after about the fifth highlight in a particular book, a touch that is meant to highlight : : turns a page. Then, if I go back to the page, I can highlight, and the cycle resumes: I get one-to-three "free" highlights, then balkiness, then page-turns in response to highlighting attempts. I called Kobo and they recommended, and I performed a hard factory reset (the one that wipes all contents from the machine--so I had to reload the books, etc.). This reset had no effect on the highlighting problem at all. Does anyone else experience this? Anyone know of a solution? Thanks.

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08-10-2015, 11:53 PM	#3
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	And for me, it isn't happening at all. Like the other David, I mainly highlight to fix errors, but I recent short story I was reading probably averaged an error per paragraph. Marking these (well most, of them as I tend not to mark repeated errors) worked with no issues. This was on my Aura H2O. A quick test on my Glo HD and I have 10 highlights and annotations on the first page of the book with no problems. Maybe it is something strange with the Aura HD. Long presses barely work in 3.15 discusses other annotation problems with 3.15.0. From memory of that thread, it seemed to be a lot more common with the Aura HD than any other device. Two things missing from your report: - Book format - epub or kepub or both. - Does it happen for annotations or highlights? The selection is the same, but adding the note might change the behaviour. - Is this single word or selecting multiple words? I probably should add that I am not using 3.15.0 or 3.16.0 on either device. I have a "later" firmware version. But, I haven't noticed any real changes in the annotation behaviour recently. There was a bug added in 3.15.0 that affected the last word of a paragraph going over a page, but nothing else.

08-11-2015, 12:08 PM	#4
Johann Cat Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo Aura HD; Kindle III; Kindle PWII; Boyue T62D; Onyx Boox i86	@davidfor: The format involved is epubs. The behavior is the same for highlighting and for note-making; the balky behavior (mistaking a highlighting/ notemaking finger gesture for a page turn) is the same for one word or a string of words. Before this problem developed (I think with 3.15), the technique of a long press and methodical drag (recommended by DNSB above) worked a bit better than a more abrupt gesture. Now it doesn't matter what technique I use. [ Kobo needs to study and digest how Kindle performs highlights and notes: if there is one area that Kindle is much better at, it is highlighting and note-taking. ]

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