kobopatch request thread

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by John F

Jon, how sure are you of this?

I ask, because there is no header for the first page of a book, and there is no page number displayed if there only one page in a chapter. This for for kepub.

The first page is the cover and the header shows Cover.
Second page is the titlepage and the header shows Title.
Third page is the copyright and the header shows Copyright.
Fourth page is the frontmatter and shows Frontmatter.

It's the single page sections that the page number doesn't show. What could be happening is that there is no ToC entry in the NCX for the Cover.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The first page is the cover and the header shows Cover.
Second page is the titlepage and the header shows Title.
Third page is the copyright and the header shows Copyright.
Fourth page is the frontmatter and shows Frontmatter.

It's the single page sections that the page number doesn't show. What could be happening is that there is no ToC entry in the NCX for the Cover.

Well, no. The first file is assumed to contain a cover and is treated differently to other files. It doesn't matter if there is a ToC entry for it not. All pages in the first file will not have a header or footer. And the formatting is different.

And none of what you said has any relationship to anything other than custom. Plenty of ebooks don't bother with a separate title page. A lot put the copyright at the end. And the only way to make those determinations is to make the book as an epub 3 and use the appropriate markup.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Well, no. The first file is assumed to contain a cover and is treated differently to other files. It doesn't matter if there is a ToC entry for it not. All pages in the first file will not have a header or footer. And the formatting is different.

And none of what you said has any relationship to anything other than custom. Plenty of ebooks don't bother with a separate title page. A lot put the copyright at the end. And the only way to make those determinations is to make the book as an epub 3 and use the appropriate markup.

The book I am reading now does show Cover as the header and the book's name as the footer. Neither header or footer have page numbers. it does have the Cover as the first ToC (NCX) entry. This eBook is in ePub and not KePub.

Most eBooks I've looked at have the cover code in one file and the titlepage code in another. Yes, most do have the copyright at the end.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The book I am reading now does show Cover as the header and the book's name as the footer. Neither header or footer have page numbers. it does have the Cover as the first ToC (NCX) entry. This eBook is in ePub and not KePub.

Most eBooks I've looked at have the cover code in one file and the titlepage code in another. Yes, most do have the copyright at the end.

The post you quoted before explicitly stated kepubs. Hence your comment must have been for kepubs. As were mine.

But, as you were apparently are doing your usual change of topic mid-conversation...

As has been well discussed, the kepub renderer and the epub renderer are different. They work in different ways. The epub renderer has no differentiation between parts of the book. And doesn't have any real understanding of what a cover its. It just renders all parts.

The kepub renderer, as I stated above, treats the first file differently. After that they are treated all the same.

[JSWolf]

delete post

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The post you quoted before explicitly stated kepubs. Hence your comment must have been for kepubs. As were mine.

But, as you were apparently are doing your usual change of topic mid-conversation...

As has been well discussed, the kepub renderer and the epub renderer are different. They work in different ways. The epub renderer has no differentiation between parts of the book. And doesn't have any real understanding of what a cover its. It just renders all parts.

The kepub renderer, as I stated above, treats the first file differently. After that they are treated all the same.

The original post that started all of this did not mention ePub or KePub. The second post did mention KePub and I did miss that. But I'm still thinking maybe no as the header/footer do share some of the same code between ePub & KePub.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The original post that started all of this did not mention ePub or KePub. The second post did mention KePub and I did miss that. But I'm still thinking maybe no as the header/footer do share some of the same code between ePub & KePub.

So good to know that you have such an understanding of the Kobo codebase. That should help with a lot of questions people ask.

And yes, that was sarcasm.

Yes, it is likely that there is shared code. But, there will be a lot of non-shared code involved. Changing something like this is probably not possible with simple patches. But, it's probably a relatively simple change for Kobo if someone wants to convince them it is a good idea.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by davidfor

So good to know that you have such an understanding of the Kobo codebase. That should help with a lot of questions people ask.

And yes, that was sarcasm.

Yes, it is likely that there is shared code. But, there will be a lot of non-shared code involved. Changing something like this is probably not possible with simple patches. But, it's probably a relatively simple change for Kobo if someone wants to convince them it is a good idea.

I'm all for it if Kobo wants to make it an option.

[codychan]

Hi there, as we know, there are three types of info about the reading progress can be displayed in the header/footer:
1. Pages left in chapter/book
2. Percent of chapter/book read
3. Time remaining in chapter/book

I'm wondering is it possible to show more than one type in the header/footer such as:
ChapterName 10 mins to go, 10 / 100 or ChapterName 10 % read, 10 / 100
or even three types in it at the same time?

[allanahk]

Hi all, love all the kobo patches, they've made my kobo experience much more enjoyable. There are a couple of things that would be great to have included as a patch (if they are possible at all):

1. Adjust Title font size in the My Books browsing list. I think it's needlessly large and results in long book titles being cut off within the first few words

2. Remove (or reduce size of) the file format/size info in the browsing list. I really don't need to know every single book filetype and size - 99% of the time for me they are KOBO EPUB and this info takes up a large section of the list, reducing the book title area. Ideally I'd like to have the book title in a smaller font and extending further to the right. It just seems silly to have a solid third of the text space taken up by the filetype/size info!

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by allanahk

Hi all, love all the kobo patches, they've made my kobo experience much more enjoyable. There are a couple of things that would be great to have included as a patch (if they are possible at all):

1. Adjust Title font size in the My Books browsing list. I think it's needlessly large and results in long book titles being cut off within the first few words

2. Remove (or reduce size of) the file format/size info in the browsing list. I really don't need to know every single book filetype and size - 99% of the time for me they are KOBO EPUB and this info takes up a large section of the list, reducing the book title area. Ideally I'd like to have the book title in a smaller font and extending further to the right. It just seems silly to have a solid third of the text space taken up by the filetype/size info!

To digress a little, British Estate Agents sometimes used the phrase "Would suit enthusiast" when trying to sell a house most of us would describe as "don't even think about buying this house unless DIY is your main hobby"

OK, I'm exaggerating a little, but I'd definitely describe these patches as "Would suit enthusiast". In this context I mean they may be OK for someone who understands the detail of how a nickel patch is constructed and customised, but would probably not be OK for someone whose only practical experience of kobopatch is changing 'Enabled: no' to 'Enabled: yes'.

A bit of background detail, the patches you've requested require patching some of the most basic GUI widgets. As such a simple change may be reflected in more of the GUI than you originally intended. This is unlikely to be dangerous but if you're picky enough to want to change parts of the GUI you may also be picky enough to complain when a patch has unintended consequences. Patching some GUI basics is a bit like trying to do keyhole surgery with a butter knife.

Maybe you can see where I'm heading with this. New "official" patches need documenting and ongoing detailed support for the technically-less-able. Realistically, ATM that's all likely to land on my desk. Unfortunately, my current home situation is not conducive to spending a lot of time hand-holding.


TL;DNR Yes they are possible. The real question is whether they are supportable.

However, if there are technically-able users of kobopatch who are interested in what you've proposed and are also prepared to commit to helping out with any ongoing support, I could be persuaded to post some beta patches.

[Skydog]

I, for one, would like to have the ability to reduce the ridiculously ENORMOUS font size of "My Words." (One of the very few things superior on Kindle)

Is this possible without being a major production?

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Skydog

I, for one, would like to have the ability to reduce the ridiculously ENORMOUS font size of "My Words." (One of the very few things superior on Kindle)

Is this possible without being a major production?

At first glance that looks a much more straightforward patch than the previous requests.

Check back here later for a first attempt at a beta patch. Although I have enabled MyWords on my own devices (just because I could), it's not a feature I've really needed so I'll have to leave it to you to assess its usefulness to others.

[jackie_w]

@Skydog,

Good News: It's pretty easy to reduce the font-size of the added words.
Bad News: It doesn't change the number of rows/columns per page.

Would this make the patch a bit pointless?

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

@Skydog,

Good News: It's pretty easy to reduce the font-size of the added words.
Bad News: It doesn't change the number of rows/columns per page.

Would this make the patch a bit pointless?

Ah, the caveat. Yes, the reduction in size should allow a proportionate increase in the number of rows/columns per page. I'll submit yet another request to Kobo <sigh>.