Work In Progress: File Browser UI Plugin (based on Cover Browser)

joshuacant · 12-23-2024, 01:38 PM

Hi everyone, I'd like to share a plugin that me and a friend have been making, on and off for the last 6 months. It's so unfinished that it doesn't even have a name yet, we're just calling it "ProjectTitle" as a placeholder for now.

It started by adding in a progress bar that's based on the length (page count) of the book and grew from there. I attached a single screenshot but the video does a better job of showing what it looks like.

Here's a link to the github repo: https://github.com/joshuacant/ProjectTitle where you can find a WIP release, instructions to install it, and a whole bunch of caveats. We're not experts and had never programmed Lua before, so you will have to forgive us if things don't work perfectly. We also couldn't get it working on Android, and didn't spend any time on RTL or translations, so keep your expectations in check.

I want to make it very clear that this would not have been possible without the existing Cover Browser plugin. We started by modifying that, and it's still the foundation for all the changes we made.

Anyway, let us know what you think. Unless you hate it, in which case you don't really have to share that with us.

GreyFox · 12-23-2024, 07:05 PM

This is AMAZING!

I switched to the Pocketbook Era Color over the Libra Color because the PB KOreader can open from the library. I love KOReader but hate the dated file browserish "library".

I will be keeping an eye on this. Might just have to pick up a Libra Color again because I found it slightly more comfortable to hold than the era.

Alan_S · 12-23-2024, 09:53 PM

It does look nice.

hius07 · 12-23-2024, 11:38 PM

Thanks for sharing!
Anyone who wants to try, please stick to the 2024.11 release.
It won't work on the recent nightly builds because of
https://github.com/koreader/koreader/pull/12845
https://github.com/koreader/koreader/pull/12857

joshuacant · 12-24-2024, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hius07

Thanks for sharing!
Anyone who wants to try, please stick to the 2024.11 release.
It won't work on the recent nightly builds because of
https://github.com/koreader/koreader/pull/12845
https://github.com/koreader/koreader/pull/12857

Chasing after changes made to KOReader has been a challenge. We originally built it around 202407 and had to do a bunch of unexpected work to fix it for 202411. I'm sure the fault lies with us, we're probably not doing things the "right" way, and as a result the plugin is more fragile. Part of getting this initial WIP release out is to see if anyone has feedback on what we could be doing differently.

I added checks in the plugin to try to prevent a situation where someone is locked out of KOReader due to the plugin crashing, by checking for a version number and then not loading the plugin. However right now it's only checking for a minimum, not a maximum. I will probably change that going forward so that each version of the plugin is limited to a single version of KOReader.

joshuacant · 12-24-2024, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshuacant

I will probably change that going forward so that each version of the plugin is limited to a single version of KOReader.

Change made, and release zip updated on github. Plugin will not load unless version is exactly "202411000000".

hius07 · 12-25-2024, 07:02 AM

Not your fault, there is no "right" way. The program is going forward, and we cannot guarantee the backward compatibility for such intrusive plugins as yours.
The above mentioned changes simplify the CoverBrowser plugin a lot, making unnecessary all tricks like
https://github.com/joshuacant/Projec....lua#L266-L269

pazos · 12-30-2024, 08:26 AM

Good to see a project like that handled elsewhere

When you consider your plugin polished please ping back. We might want to steal some ideas to implement https://github.com/koreader/koreader/issues/8472

The idea upstream is having a model/view of library items and let plugins provide its own "scan" methods.

That way the calibre plugin within KO could populate the view using calibre metadata. Or a "zotero" kind of plugin could create a "library view" for its articles and stuff.

As far as I can see it everything is fun except crafting UI widgets for the library view. That's what I plan to steal from you

djull · 01-06-2025, 07:20 AM

Hi . Your work seems amazing. But as a kindle PW5 with recent firmware owner, it seems only HF koreader version work for me, and kindle HF version seems only available in nighlty folders for a unknown reason. That's why I installed one of the latest nightly... you don't support yet

Where to find exact 2024.11 kindle HF version of koreader ?

joshuacant · 01-08-2025, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pazos

Good to see a project like that handled elsewhere

When you consider your plugin polished please ping back. We might want to steal some ideas to implement https://github.com/koreader/koreader/issues/8472

The idea upstream is having a model/view of library items and let plugins provide its own "scan" methods.

That way the calibre plugin within KO could populate the view using calibre metadata. Or a "zotero" kind of plugin could create a "library view" for its articles and stuff.

As far as I can see it everything is fun except crafting UI widgets for the library view. That's what I plan to steal from you

I have a local branch (not on github) where I was experimenting with parsing the calibre json into an sqlite db and generating all the views from there but didn't get very far. I had more fun making the UI elements than working with the data objects, and set it aside for now. Perhaps some day we could collaborate.

Uphantom89 · 03-20-2025, 10:00 AM

This looks so promising to bring a total fresh view and really change UI of KoReader, I hope that Koreader dev take a look and integrated this project into Core of Koreader.

Ebookus · 03-22-2025, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djull

Where to find exact 2024.11 kindle HF version of koreader ?

There isn’t one. In short, you currently cannot run this on devices that use hard floats.

mergen3107 · 03-23-2025, 10:00 AM

Just grab the latest one from here: http://build.koreader.rocks/download/nightly/

Uphantom89 · 05-03-2025, 07:23 AM

Is this project dropped with new Koreader version?

joshuacant · 06-01-2025, 09:24 PM

Hi, I'm looking for some brave Kindle owners to test out a version of the plugin that is compatible with 2025.04, as I don't have access to one.

https://github.com/joshuacant/Projec...ent-2927912668

If you have a jailbroken Kindle with KOReader 2025.04 installed (and ideally a github account so you can leave feedback at that link) give it a try.

12-23-2024, 01:38 PM	#1
joshuacant Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 5662 Join Date: Jan 2023 Device: none	Work In Progress: File Browser UI Plugin (based on Cover Browser) Hi everyone, I'd like to share a plugin that me and a friend have been making, on and off for the last 6 months. It's so unfinished that it doesn't even have a name yet, we're just calling it "ProjectTitle" as a placeholder for now. It started by adding in a progress bar that's based on the length (page count) of the book and grew from there. I attached a single screenshot but the video does a better job of showing what it looks like. Here's a link to the github repo: https://github.com/joshuacant/ProjectTitle where you can find a WIP release, instructions to install it, and a whole bunch of caveats. We're not experts and had never programmed Lua before, so you will have to forgive us if things don't work perfectly. We also couldn't get it working on Android, and didn't spend any time on RTL or translations, so keep your expectations in check. I want to make it very clear that this would not have been possible without the existing Cover Browser plugin. We started by modifying that, and it's still the foundation for all the changes we made. Anyway, let us know what you think. Unless you hate it, in which case you don't really have to share that with us. Attached Thumbnails

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12-23-2024, 07:05 PM	#2
GreyFox Militaires Sans Frontière Posts: 23 Karma: 32 Join Date: May 2024 Device: PocketBook Era Color	This is AMAZING! I switched to the Pocketbook Era Color over the Libra Color because the PB KOreader can open from the library. I love KOReader but hate the dated file browserish "library". I will be keeping an eye on this. Might just have to pick up a Libra Color again because I found it slightly more comfortable to hold than the era.

12-23-2024, 09:53 PM	#3
Alan_S Evangelist Posts: 446 Karma: 1084584 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sisak, Croatia Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Aura ONE	It does look nice.

12-23-2024, 11:38 PM	#4
hius07 Wizard Posts: 1,164 Karma: 3592925 Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Ukraine Device: Kindle	Thanks for sharing! Anyone who wants to try, please stick to the 2024.11 release. It won't work on the recent nightly builds because of https://github.com/koreader/koreader/pull/12845 https://github.com/koreader/koreader/pull/12857

12-25-2024, 07:02 AM	#7
hius07 Wizard Posts: 1,164 Karma: 3592925 Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Ukraine Device: Kindle	Not your fault, there is no "right" way. The program is going forward, and we cannot guarantee the backward compatibility for such intrusive plugins as yours. The above mentioned changes simplify the CoverBrowser plugin a lot, making unnecessary all tricks like https://github.com/joshuacant/Projec....lua#L266-L269

12-30-2024, 08:26 AM	#8
pazos cosiñeiro Posts: 1,406 Karma: 2451781 Join Date: Apr 2014 Device: BQ Cervantes 4	Good to see a project like that handled elsewhere When you consider your plugin polished please ping back. We might want to steal some ideas to implement https://github.com/koreader/koreader/issues/8472 The idea upstream is having a model/view of library items and let plugins provide its own "scan" methods. That way the calibre plugin within KO could populate the view using calibre metadata. Or a "zotero" kind of plugin could create a "library view" for its articles and stuff. As far as I can see it everything is fun except crafting UI widgets for the library view. That's what I plan to steal from you

01-06-2025, 07:20 AM	#9
djull Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2025 Device: kindle PW5	Hi . Your work seems amazing. But as a kindle PW5 with recent firmware owner, it seems only HF koreader version work for me, and kindle HF version seems only available in nighlty folders for a unknown reason. That's why I installed one of the latest nightly... you don't support yet Where to find exact 2024.11 kindle HF version of koreader ?

03-20-2025, 10:00 AM	#11
Uphantom89 Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2018 Device: Kobo Touch	This looks so promising to bring a total fresh view and really change UI of KoReader, I hope that Koreader dev take a look and integrated this project into Core of Koreader.

03-23-2025, 10:00 AM	#13
mergen3107 Wizard Posts: 1,500 Karma: 5000046 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Cape Canaveral Device: Kindle Scribe	Just grab the latest one from here: http://build.koreader.rocks/download/nightly/

05-03-2025, 07:23 AM	#14
Uphantom89 Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2018 Device: Kobo Touch	Is this project dropped with new Koreader version?

06-01-2025, 09:24 PM	#15
joshuacant Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 5662 Join Date: Jan 2023 Device: none	Hi, I'm looking for some brave Kindle owners to test out a version of the plugin that is compatible with 2025.04, as I don't have access to one. https://github.com/joshuacant/Projec...ent-2927912668 If you have a jailbroken Kindle with KOReader 2025.04 installed (and ideally a github account so you can leave feedback at that link) give it a try.

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