Kobalt: an alternative reader app for Kobo devices

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by fogice

https://github.com/nicoverbruggen/kobalt/discussions/79 is on the list for the 1.0 release, but hasn't been tagged for a beta yet (see https://kobalt-dev.nicoverbruggen.be/tracker )

If we have the swipe down, I'd like to be able to pin any of the books in the swipe down list.

[Acopdegarrotix]

@MrSilverstrike

Thank you for the thought given to my request. I’m a bit puzzled, though, as to what your solution really does and how to trigger it, as I don’t seem to find any settings for it.

At any rate, I was hoping that Kobalt could manage this code

CSS
figure {
  margin: 1em 0;
  padding: 0;
  display: inline-block;
  float: left;
  width: 100%;
  text-align: center;
  -webkit-column-break-inside: avoid;
  -webkit-page-break-inside: avoid;
  page-break-inside: avoid;
  break-inside: avoid;
}

img {
  max-width: 100%;
  max-height: 90vh;
}

.imgCaption {
  max-height: 60vh;
}

img.W30 {
  max-width: 30%;
}

figcaption {
  font-size: 0.9em;
  text-align: center;
  margin: 0 2em;
  text-indent: 0;
}

HTML
<p>… we transfer the entry to these pages.</p>

  <figure>
    <img class="imgCaption" alt="img_002" src="../Images/img_002.jpg"/>

    <figcaption>Mr. Pickwick Addresses the Club</figcaption>
  </figure>

  <p>“Mr. Pickwick observed …</p>

(which I borrowed from this post from @RbjJrg) like the Calibre viewer (and other apps, including Kobo’s Reader for Android) does:



Unfortunately, it doesn’t work in Kobalt.



For comparison, here’s what Nickel does. It’s not ideal, but definitely better




Apologies for the long post. Oh! and I'm most eager to try your experimental new renderer!

[fogice]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Kobalt rotated the screen and when it rotated back to normal, it then locked up.

Kobo Libra 2, 4.38.23852

What do you mean by "locked up"? I have sometimes had to tilt my device around a few times in order to get rotations working again, but the screen has never locked. Did you have to reboot in order to make it work again?

Kobo Libra 2, 4.38.23828

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by fogice

What do you mean by "locked up"? I have sometimes had to tilt my device around a few times in order to get rotations working again, but the screen has never locked. Did you have to reboot in order to make it work again?

Kobo Libra 2, 4.38.23828

I had to reboot to get it working again. I don't use landscape on my Libra 2. So I have no need for any sort of rotation which is why I asked for rotation to be able to be turned off.

[JSWolf]

@Acopdegarrotix, one problem with your code is it uses webkit and no ePub code should ever use webkit code. If what you want to do does not work without webkit code, then you cannot do it.

Does your code work without the webkit code with KePub?

[JSWolf]

@Acopdegarrotix, you have to dump the webkit code. No webkit could should ever be used in an ePub. Does your code still work if the webkit code it deleted?

Also, you have a different screen on your Android device. It just happens to the text fits the first column. And your image is a lot larger on the Kobo device then the Android app.

[Acopdegarrotix]

It does work exactly in the same way. In fact, it's an ePub3 kepub and the webkit thing was an attempt to persuade Nickel to honor the page-break avoid property. As, for some reason, Nickel doesn't recognize these, it does nothing.

[fogice]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I had to reboot to get it working again. I don't use landscape on my Libra 2. So I have no need for any sort of rotation which is why I asked for rotation to be able to be turned off.

Under the Layout bottom tab, you can set Rotation to Portrait Only, Landscape Only, or Both. This doesn't prevent a vertical rotation flip, so you can still read buttons-left and buttons-right in Portrait.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by fogice

Under the Layout bottom tab, you can pick Portrait Only, Landscape Only, or Both. This doesn't prevent a vertical rotation flip, if that matters to you, so you can still read buttons-left and buttons-right.

But I want no rotation at all. I don't read my Kobo upside down. I already had Kobalt lock because of a rotation.

I put my Kobo down with the cover open. I then picked it up and the screen rotated back to normal and then it locked. But then thing is, I have no need for rotation.

[fogice]

Has anyone found a book (preferably a free download) that displays on-screen with the new "footnotes below the text" setting? I know this requires a certain method of footnote styling, and none of my books seem to do this properly.

[Dal Bhat]

Originally Posted by Dal Bhat

When the settings menus open after touching center screen, I see a banner showing how many highlight links there are on that page. Can that be turned off? I don't know why I'd ever use it.

I see in the notes for B9 that you've already done this.

Thank you!

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

More granular font and line height would be very good.

Thickness AKA font weight (IMHO) needs improving. It's does not go dark enough. each click of the slider should go darker. starting from 0, it's 4 clicks before I nice the font weight increase and it's only very minior. Try doubling and/or tripling maybe triple until the first 1/2 and then from there doubling. the amount of weight added to each click of the + and that might do it. I should find the maximum weight should be too dark and it's not. I can see some finding it too light. My font of choice is ChareInk7SP if you want to test what I am seeing. You can get the ChareInk7SP here.

For the light, can we have a default setting so we can just turn it on to our light choice and then off.

Personally I find the weight settings quite adequate. Ditto for line-height. But yes, I'd prefer more granular font sizes too.

[MrSilverstrike]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I had to reboot to get it working again. I don't use landscape on my Libra 2. So I have no need for any sort of rotation which is why I asked for rotation to be able to be turned off.

That almost sounds like a hang. Any crash logs by any chance in the .adds/kobalt/diagnostics folder?

[MrSilverstrike]

Originally Posted by fogice

Has anyone found a book (preferably a free download) that displays on-screen with the new "footnotes below the text" setting? I know this requires a certain method of footnote styling, and none of my books seem to do this properly.

It's a subset of footnotes that are supported:

- EPUB notes explicitly marked as footnotes, endnotes or similar, using epub:type or document roles.
- Individual InDesign footnote blocks.
- Recognized, labeled Gutenberg footnote paragraphs.

For an example, try Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, translated by George Long. That one should be supported, for example.

[fogice]

Originally Posted by MrSilverstrike

That almost sounds like a hang. Any crash logs by any chance in the .adds/kobalt/diagnostics folder?

I had a hang about an hour ago. I've attached the most recent log.

And I'll check out that book, thanks. Footnotes are a pain in the butt.