Problem with my Forma

[Strether]

I had occasion to try to download an epub version of another book to my Forma only to discover that what I was downloading was still a kepub version. Clearly I didn't understand what I needed to do to get the epub version. So I uninstalled appropriate plug-ins and configured my Forma to only accept epubs and I did then get an epub when I downloaded the book.

So I tried downloading an epub version of the Complete James Joyce and it does open without freezing the device.

Sorry for the confusion.

For future reference, is there one easy step you can take to configure Calibre so it will only download epubs to your Kobo reader?

Jim

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Strether

I had occasion to try to download an epub version of another book to my Forma only to discover that what I was downloading was still a kepub version. Clearly I didn't understand what I needed to do to get the epub version. So I uninstalled appropriate plug-ins and configured my Forma to only accept epubs and I did then get an epub when I downloaded the book.

So I tried downloading an epub version of the Complete James Joyce and it does open without freezing the device.

Sorry for the confusion.

For future reference, is there one easy step you can take to configure Calibre so it will only download epubs to your Kobo reader?

Jim

Change the extended driver to the ordinary driver (if you have it installed) and uncheck the kepub in the driver preferences.

[Readirect]

Originally Posted by Strether

Is there something I should know about loading a large file on a Kobo device, or is it just this file? I wonder if someone else has successfully loaded these books on their Kobo device.

Jim

Have you checked the book in Calibre? Convert the book to an editable format (.epub or .azw3), right-click on it and select edit book then click run check.

Calibre will list the errors it finds and will offer to fix them automatically. Do that.

Reconvert back to kepub when finished and re-upload to your Forma. It's worked for me in the past.

[rashkae]

Originally Posted by Strether

For future reference, is there one easy step you can take to configure Calibre so it will only download epubs to your Kobo reader?

With the Kobo connected, drop down the device button, and select "Configure This Device" find the "Extended" tab to the far right, (you might have to use the tab scroll buttons to move it there.) Uncheck the "Enable Extended Kobo Features" Click OK and you're done. (Obviously, turn the check mark back on if you to process and send and Kobo format.)

[Strether]

Originally Posted by rashkae

With the Kobo connected, drop down the device button, and select "Configure This Device" find the "Extended" tab to the far right, (you might have to use the tab scroll buttons to move it there.) Uncheck the "Enable Extended Kobo Features" Click OK and you're done. (Obviously, turn the check mark back on if you to process and send and Kobo format.)

Thank you for this; it worked quite well.

Jim

[Strether]

Originally Posted by Readirect

Have you checked the book in Calibre? Convert the book to an editable format (.epub or .azw3), right-click on it and select edit book then click run check.

Calibre will list the errors it finds and will offer to fix them automatically. Do that.

Reconvert back to kepub when finished and re-upload to your Forma. It's worked for me in the past.

I tried this on another book that I've never been able to format correctly on any Kobo, but it didn't work. Obviously something fundamentally wrong. Oddly, it displays OK on my Kindle.

Jim

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Strether

I tried this on another book that I've never been able to format correctly on any Kobo, but it didn't work. Obviously something fundamentally wrong.

What were the errors you fixed? And how exactly doesn't it format correctly on the Kobo device?

Oddly, it displays OK on my Kindle.

Which isn't really that unsurprising. To get a book to the Kindle, it has to be converted and that can clean up some errors. Or, if you convert to MOBI, it removes a lot of the more complicated formatting, and that can mean it works.

You can try an epub-to-epub conversion before sending the book to the Kobo, or an epub-to-kepub conversion and not use the extended driver.

[Strether]

Originally Posted by davidfor

What were the errors you fixed? And how exactly doesn't it format correctly on the Kobo device?

I did try an epub-to-epub conversion and was able to change the fonts, which I hadn't been able to do before. But I don't know how to get some line spacing. Lines are very close together and the Forma's line spacing controls don't affect the spacing at all. The lack of line spacing make the book very uncomfortable to read on the Forma (or my H2O2, for that matter.)

I tried loading the book as an epub and a kepub and it didn't change things at all.


Jim

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Strether

I did try an epub-to-epub conversion and was able to change the fonts, which I hadn't been able to do before. But I don't know how to get some line spacing. ...

Under "Look & Feel" you've got "Minimum Line Height" as a percentage. Its default is 120%. I usually change this to 125% and up to 130% (somewhere in that range). I have trouble with Kobos not changing line height also. I think it's an issue in the ePub conversion that I don't understand.

[Strether]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Under "Look & Feel" you've got "Minimum Line Height" as a percentage. Its default is 120%. I usually change this to 125% and up to 130% (somewhere in that range). I have trouble with Kobos not changing line height also. I think it's an issue in the ePub conversion that I don't understand.

Thank you for this. 135% worked. It's interesting that the line spacing controls don't work at all. Put at minimum, or at maximum, it doesn't change a thing. But this is much more readable now.

Jim

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Strether

Thank you for this. 135% worked. It's interesting that the line spacing controls don't work at all. Put at minimum, or at maximum, it doesn't change a thing. But this is much more readable now.

The line height can't be change as it is hard-coded in the book to a specific value. The line spacing controls are setting a scale to be used for the book. If the line heights in the book use relative values (em, %) they will be scaled by this. If they use absolute values (px), they will not be scaled. I'm pretty sure that if you set the minimum line height to 0 in the conversion, it will remove the existing line heights. And I think setting it to 120% tells the conversion to use whatever is in the book unchanged.

I'm not an expert on the conversion. If I find strangeness, I usually edit the book and fix it. For the line height, I usually remove it from the "normal" paragraph and body styles and change any others to em. That usually scales nicely. On the device, the line height is always at the minimum.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Strether

Thank you for this. 135% worked. It's interesting that the line spacing controls don't work at all. Put at minimum, or at maximum, it doesn't change a thing. But this is much more readable now.

For some reason Kobos don't work with ePubs the same way as other eReaders seem to. The exact same book in my Tolino will allow me to adjust line spacing, whereas the Kobo won't allow it. I think I've been told that this is because Kobos follow the ePub standard more closely. I would just as soon they loosened up a bit on these standards. But it is what it is.

[rashkae]

For those itnerested, if you are using calibre to convert books, you can try the following: Covnvert to Epub, Click "Look & Feel" Catagory from the left hand column, Click on Styling Tab, Scroll down a bit, and you should see a text box labeled "Enter Other CSS Properties" Type in "line-height" (without the quotes.) Convert to epub as you normally would.

That should remove any hard coded line-height, and the kobo sliders will work as advertised. I might think that would make a sensible default option for kobo users, but I haven't really tested all that much across a wide range of books/devices.

[Strether]

Originally Posted by rashkae

For those itnerested, if you are using calibre to convert books, you can try the following: Covnvert to Epub, Click "Look & Feel" Catagory from the left hand column, Click on Styling Tab, Scroll down a bit, and you should see a text box labeled "Enter Other CSS Properties" Type in "line-height" (without the quotes.) Convert to epub as you normally would.

That should remove any hard coded line-height, and the kobo sliders will work as advertised. I might think that would make a sensible default option for kobo users, but I haven't really tested all that much across a wide range of books/devices.

I don't encounter the problem that often. I think I have just two books that wouldn't allow me to change the fonts or the line spacing (both published by Penguin). I'd solved the font problem, and your suggestion does solve the other. Now both books allow different fonts and different line spacings. Thank you very much for your help on this.

Jim

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by rcentros

For some reason Kobos don't work with ePubs the same way as other eReaders seem to. The exact same book in my Tolino will allow me to adjust line spacing, whereas the Kobo won't allow it. I think I've been told that this is because Kobos follow the ePub standard more closely. I would just as soon they loosened up a bit on these standards. But it is what it is.

You win some, you lose some. I personally find it easier to remove those #$%^&*() absolute measurements from the CSS than to suffer through some of oddities generated when the renderer does not follow the stylesheet(s). You don't want all text starting at the left margin? Tough luck.