Instructions for patching firmware 3.16.0

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Are there going to be patches for 3.16.10?

I'll update the patches for 3.16.10 soon, I've just been a bit busy. I don't know if anyone has tried 3.16.10 on a Glo though, which is all I have to test with, so someone else might have to be the first tester.

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by jupiter276

Hi everyone. I am using kobo glo HD.

I am trying to see the structure differences between .Patch files from GeoffR and the .txt files from others (like tshering) and don't know how they are structured. I am new to both the kobo firmware and the forum.

What I am trying to do is to fix the Vietnamese font appreance in book titles, Pocket article titles like huuduc1kk2 did here. Though I managed to add more Vietnamese fonts and read books in those fonts (Arial, Times New Roman)

Because the firmwares are different (I am using 3.16.0), so my effort to copy Patch content from huuduc1kk2 to GeoffR's was failed.

Any help is highly appreciated.

Thanks.


P/S: I follow the guidelines from tshering for the patch 3.15.0 and I could now see Book titles, Pocket article titles in Vietnamese, though the Sleeping mode, Pocket title is not in Vietnamese yet. If I could understand the structures of the patch, I would have figure it out.

To update from one firmware version to another you will need to find the addresses of the strings you want to change in the new firmware. The addresses change with each new firmware version.

You can find the addresses using a hex editor or the 'strings' command which comes with the GNU binutils package.

Alternatively, if the strings are unique, you can let the patch locate them automatically by using find_base_address and then using adresses relative to the base address. for example if you want to change the string abcdef to abcxyz then this patch would do it automatically for any firmware version where the string was unique:

<Patch>
patch_name = `Example`
patch_enable = `yes`
find_base_address = `abcdef`
replace_string = 0003, `def`, `xyz`
</Patch>

The adress 0000 is the start of the base string, so 0003 is the address of the d character. The addresses are in hexdecimal.

However if the strings are compressed then you need to use tsherings tools, because I haven't added that feature to the patch32lsb program yet.

Here is an example of one of the patches you linked to (firmware 3.12.1):

<patch>
name=Header (Touch)
enabled=true
action=replace_string
position=E163FC
oldpart=* {\nfont-size: 16px;\nfont-family: Avenir;\nbackground-color: transparent;\npadding-top:3px;\n}\n\n
oldpart=[qApp_localeName="ja_JP"] {\nfont-family: A-OTF Gothic MB101 Pr6N;\nqproperty-leading: 0;\n}
newpart=* {\nfont-size: 28px;\nfont-family: Arial;\nbackground-color: transparent;\npadding-top:3px;\n}\n\n
newpart=[qApp_localeName="ja_JP"] {\nfont-family: A-OTF Gothic MB101 Pr6N;\nqproperty-leading: 0;\n}
combineparts
</patch>

converted to work with the tools in this thread (but still for firmware 3.12.1):

<patch>
patch_name = `Header (Touch)`
patch_enable = `yes`
replace_string = E163FC, `* {\nfont-size: 16px;\nfont-family: Avenir;\nbackground-color: transparent;\npadding-top:3px;\n}\n\n[qApp_localeName="ja_JP"] {\nfont-family: A-OTF Gothic MB101 Pr6N;\nqproperty-leading: 0;\n}`, `* {\nfont-size: 28px;\nfont-family: Arial;\nbackground-color: transparent;\npadding-top:3px;\n}\n\n[qApp_localeName="ja_JP"] {\nfont-family: A-OTF Gothic MB101 Pr6N;\nqproperty-leading: 0;\n}`
</patch>

To update to another firmware version you would need to find the new address to replace E163FC, or if the string is unique then use find_base_address. However often the string itself has changed, as it has in firmware 3.16.0, in which case you need to find the equivilent string in the new firmware which can be much more difficult and not something that is easy to explain (there is not really an exact procedure to follow, it is a matter of guessing and testing.)

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

I'll update the patches for 3.16.10 soon, I've just been a bit busy. I don't know if anyone has tried 3.16.10 on a Glo though, which is all I have to test with, so someone else might have to be the first tester.

Thanks. I'm trying to decide if I want to go with 3.16.0 or 3.16.10. But without the patches, 3.16.10 is a no go. I'm not in a hurry.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

I'll update the patches for 3.16.10 soon, I've just been a bit busy. I don't know if anyone has tried 3.16.10 on a Glo though, which is all I have to test with, so someone else might have to be the first tester.

If you want any help testing, I've put 3.16.10 on a Glo (original). Not much difference in operation from 3.16.0.

[Nick_1964]

Wrong topic,delete please.

[Tangy]

I get confused like "outlandos" before. I have the Kobo Glo Hd with 3.15.0. I want update to 3.16.0. But why I need 3.16.0 before I install 3.16.0? Need I install another 3.15.0 before? Or what this mean?

[tshering]

Originally Posted by Tangy

I get confused like "outlandos" before. I have the Kobo Glo Hd with 3.15.0. I want update to 3.16.0.

On how to currently update to 3.16.0 see this post.

Originally Posted by Tangy

But why I need 3.16.0 before I install 3.16.0? Need I install another 3.15.0 before? Or what this mean?

You need firmware 3.16.0 before you can install/apply a patch to firmware 3.16.0.

[Tangy]

Originally Posted by tshering

On how to currently update to 3.16.0 see this post.

This works.

[GeoffR]

The EPUB reader tries to use the Adobe "CourierStd" font when font-family:monospace is encountered, but it uses the wrong pathnames and that font is not supplied with Kobo devices anyway, and so the default reading font gets used even if it is not monospaced (i.e. Georgia is used if "Publisher Default" is selected.)

This patch makes the EPUB reader use a font named "Courier" (or beginning with "Courier") as the default monospace font. You can change "Courier" in the replacement string to another name if you wish, but it must be no more than 7 characters long.

For example the free Courier Prime font can be used, just rename the files "Courier Prime.ttf" "Courier Prime-Italic.ttf" "Courier Prime-Bold.ttf" "Courier Prime-BoldItalic.ttf" as usual for sideloaded fonts.

This patch should work on any firmware from version 3.3.0 onwards, but I've only tested it with firmware version 3.16.0.

`Default ePub monospace font (Courier)` patch (paste into librmsdk.so.1.0.0.patch):

Spoiler:

<Patch>
patch_name = `Default ePub monospace font (Courier)`
patch_enable = `yes`
# Multi-version patch: 3.3.0 - 3.16.0+
#
find_base_address = `CourierStd.otf`
replace_string = 0000, `CourierStd.otf`, `normal/Courier`
find_base_address = `CourierStd-Bold.otf`
replace_string = 0000, `CourierStd-Bold.otf`, `bold/Courier`
find_base_address = `CourierStd-Oblique.otf`
replace_string = 0000, `CourierStd-Oblique.otf`, `italic/Courier`
find_base_address = `CourierStd-BoldOblique.otf`
replace_string = 0000, `CourierStd-BoldOblique.otf`, `bolditalic/Courier`
</Patch>

Edit: After further testing it appears that the font names don't have to match exactly, they just have to start with the name in the patch. So the patch above will work with any sideloaded font that has a name beginning with "Courier", I've edited the description above to reflect this discovery.

Below is the same patch modified to work with HP's free "Dark Courier" font.

`Default ePub monospace font (Dark Courier)` patch (paste into librmsdk.so.1.0.0.patch):

Spoiler:

<Patch>
patch_name = `Default ePub monospace font (Dark Courier)`
patch_enable = `yes`
# Multi-version patch: 3.3.0 - 3.16.0+
#
find_base_address = `CourierStd.otf`
replace_string = 0000, `CourierStd.otf`, `normal/Dark`
find_base_address = `CourierStd-Bold.otf`
replace_string = 0000, `CourierStd-Bold.otf`, `bold/Dark`
find_base_address = `CourierStd-Oblique.otf`
replace_string = 0000, `CourierStd-Oblique.otf`, `italic/Dark`
find_base_address = `CourierStd-BoldOblique.otf`
replace_string = 0000, `CourierStd-BoldOblique.otf`, `bolditalic/Dark`
</Patch>

Edit2: The patch itself seems to work okay if there are multiple fonts beginning with "Courier", whichever one the Kobo firmware happens to choose gets used as the default monospace font. However the EPUB reader seems to have problems selecting a font from the dropdown menu if it has a name that is the prefix of another font name. I found that if I had both "Courier Prime" and "Courier Prime Sans" fonts on my Glo, I could not select "Courier Prime", I just got "Courier Prime Sans" when I tried. Both fonts worked fine if the other was not present.

[Nick_1964]

I know the Lean and mean function is disabled in 3.16, does this one still counts in ?
ShouldDither=true

[BeeTee-Ess]

I am running FW 3.16.0 and the latest patch set on my Mini, and I just wanted to say thank you to the developer(s), who have turned it into a well-nigh perfect reading device for me.

[DNSB]

[QUOTE=GeoffR;3148112]The EPUB reader tries to use the Adobe "CourierStd" font when font-family:monospace is encountered, but it uses the wrong pathnames and that font is not supplied with Kobo devices anyway, and so the default font gets used instead (i.e. Georgia if "Publisher Default" is selected.)</QUOTE>

Thanks muchly! It also works for 3.16.10.

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by Nick_1964

I know the Lean and mean function is disabled in 3.16, does this one still counts in ?
ShouldDither=true

No. I answered that here.

[Nick_1964]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

No. I answered that here.

Excuse me, I didn't remember that I asked it before, to many topics to follow.
Then again,maybe only for myself..why adding it.. work arounds that are tried,unsuccesful and abandoned ??

[jackie_w]

@GeoffR,

Re: Default ePub monospace font

I've only just spotted this new patch for librmsdk.so.1.0.0.patch, so I just wanted to say

In addition I was able to extrapolate to give myself a different default sans-serif font for standard ePubs. Personally I've always found the default Avenir a bit too chunky and I prefer my sideloaded Trebuchet for sans-serif. For anyone else who may be interested I include the extra patch I used below. Although it's early days it seems to work equally well on:
- GloHD with fw 3.16.0
- AuraH2O with fw 3.15.0

Spoiler:

<Patch>
patch_name = `Default ePub sans-serif font`
patch_enable = `yes`
# Multi-version patch: 3.3.0 - 3.16.0+
#
find_base_address = `/normal/Avenir`
replace_string = 0000, `/normal/Avenir`, `/normal/Trebuc`
find_base_address = `/bold/Avenir`
replace_string = 0000, `/bold/Avenir`, `/bold/Trebuc`
find_base_address = `/italic/Avenir`
replace_string = 0000, `/italic/Avenir`, `/italic/Trebuc`
find_base_address = `/bolditalic/Avenir`
replace_string = 0000, `/bolditalic/Avenir`, `/bolditalic/Trebuc`
</Patch>