Freda - ebook reader program for Windows Mobile

[hakan42]

Originally Posted by Jim Chapman

Hi all,

Version 1.1 of Freda is now released, so please go to http://www.turnip.demon.co.uk/jim/freda to find documentation, download links and so forth.

Please let me know of any problems.

Thanks,

Jim

A little bit late to the game, but I just installed 1.1 on my Phone (Sony XPeria X1).

Over and above all kudos for the main purpose of Freda, reading books, I'd like to send you a big big "thank you" for including AppToDate support :-)


Regards,
Hakan

[Jim Chapman]

Folks,

I have been looking at ways to get Calibre's library to sync with Freda, and I think I have an approach that may work (basically, use the 'file/folder syncrhonisation' feature of ActiveSync, or some other tool like EasySync). See this post for details.

I myself am not a hardcore Calibre user - but I know many of you are, and I'd be interested to have your feedback as to whether this setup works. Certainly it worked for me as a one-off, but maybe it isn't suitable for regular use ...

Thanks,

Jim

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by Jim Chapman

Yes there have been a few changes between the 1.1 beta and the 1.1 release. Actually, if you've been using the beta, you should clear out your temp files before starting up the release version (just delete the folders under Freda's temp folder).
Jim

Got it installed. Nice! On first test, it seems to change pages much better than the beta, for which that was sometimes a problem. I had to delete my bookshelf, because its display had gone all wonky in the beta.

The library display is easier to read (larger font) than before. The option of using folders is nice. It would be nice, too, if one could minimize that display if not using folders.

One thing I've been meaning to ask:

Is it possible to change the universal settings so that it will default to Align Left and Always Indent when new books are opened? As it is, I need to go into the book options for each book I open, to change that. Not a big problem, but it would be nice not to have to do that.

Also, a suggestion for the interface on installation. I used the Desktop msi file, which worked just great. The only thing is, I couldn't tell if I was installing a desktop app or using this app to install to the device (which was what I wanted). A slight tweaking of the text that appears when one starts up the msi file would make that clear to the user.

Thanks!

[Jim Chapman]

Originally Posted by starrigger

Is it possible to change the universal settings so that it will default to Align Left and Always Indent when new books are opened?

That should work if you select those two options in the Book Properties screen, then also tick the 'Set as default for new books' option, and tap the 'OK' button on the screen. Then, whenever you open a new book (i.e. one that isn't in your bookshelf) it will format with Align Left and Always Indent. If that isn't working for you, please let me know, because it's a bug.

Originally Posted by starrigger

Also, a suggestion for the interface on installation. I used the Desktop msi file, which worked just great. The only thing is, I couldn't tell if I was installing a desktop app or using this app to install to the device (which was what I wanted).

I agree it isn't very clear; this is because the actual behaviour is kinda strange. The way that ActiveSync install works is:
- first you have to install an app (the installer app) onto the desktop PC
- then when ActiveSync runs, the installer app will push Freda onto the device.

I'll try to make the behaviour a bit less bewildering - but it is really Microsoft's fault

Thanks for using Freda,

Jim

[carmelra]

Hi Jim,

Any plans to support Hebrew in the near future?
I tried to upload an Hebrew ePub to Freda and although the fonts displayed properly, it seems like the software does not support RTL languages. As a result, the characters were presented Left to Right which require some mirroring capabilities while attempting to read Hebrew ;-)

Thanks,

Carmel

[Jim Chapman]

Hebrew support (and indeed support for Arabic, and other languages where simple left-to-right ordering doesn't work) will probably have to wait for a few months. It might, in fact, have to wait until version 2.0 (the putative Freda version for WinPho 7).

Jim

[carmelra]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I assume that a few months are actually 2-3 months ;-)
so, it's not so far away...

Anyway, your application looks great and it will be great to read with it Hebrew eBooks.

Thanks and good luck!

Carmel

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by Jim Chapman

That should work if you select those two options in the Book Properties screen, then also tick the 'Set as default for new books' option, and tap the 'OK' button on the screen. Then, whenever you open a new book (i.e. one that isn't in your bookshelf) it will format with Align Left and Always Indent. If that isn't working for you, please let me know, because it's a bug.

It works perfectly. I don't know how I missed seeing that checkbox before.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by Jim Chapman

Folks,

I have been looking at ways to get Calibre's library to sync with Freda, and I think I have an approach that may work (basically, use the 'file/folder syncrhonisation' feature of ActiveSync, or some other tool like EasySync). See this post for details.

I myself am not a hardcore Calibre user - but I know many of you are, and I'd be interested to have your feedback as to whether this setup works. Certainly it worked for me as a one-off, but maybe it isn't suitable for regular use ...

Thanks,

Jim

I took a look at that thread and decided that it looked like more trouble than simply copying files in Windows Explorer from the Calibre library folders to the SD card on my device. The real trick to make it easy would be for Calibre to recognize my PDA and its SD card. I haven't a clue how that would be accomplished.

[starrigger]

I'm still having some problems with the Bookshelf. Often when I open it, I find parts of the display scrambled--title lines turned to a hash of small marks, and titles sometimes overlapping. I've cleared it a couple of times, but the problem always seems to return.

This is on a Dell Axim running WM 6 (a ROM I got from the xda developer site). I suppose it could be a buggy OS.

[Jim Chapman]

Originally Posted by starrigger

The real trick to make it easy would be for Calibre to recognize my PDA and its SD card. I haven't a clue how that would be accomplished.

It needs changes to the code of Calibre, because Calibre assumes that any book-reader device will, when plugged into the desktop PC, show up as a 'Removable Drive'. WinMo devices plugged into the USB port don't generally show up as removable drives (rather, they show up as 'Mobile Devices'), and even for models that have an option that makes them look like a removable drive, it isn't done in a consistent way (by which I mean that different WinMo devices look like different types of removable drive). Someone submitted the relevant feature request to Calibre a month or two back, but it was rejected by the developer.
Jim

[Jim Chapman]

Originally Posted by starrigger

I'm still having some problems with the Bookshelf. Often when I open it, I find parts of the display scrambled--title lines turned to a hash of small marks, and titles sometimes overlapping. I've cleared it a couple of times, but the problem always seems to return.

Sounds like a problem (possibly running out of resources or memory) in the GDI DLL. There may not be much I can do about that (I am already as parsimonious as I reasonably can be with graphics resources). It certainly is something that will vary from device to device and ROM to ROM. One thing is fairly certain: if you get this problem, you won't be able to clear it effectively by just restarting Freda; it will need a soft-reset.
Please keep me posted though, particularly if you find a series of actions that repeatedly makes this problem appear. And I'd be interested to hear if these problems are affecting other devices.
Thanks,
Jim

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by Jim Chapman

Sounds like a problem (possibly running out of resources or memory) in the GDI DLL. There may not be much I can do about that (I am already as parsimonious as I reasonably can be with graphics resources). It certainly is something that will vary from device to device and ROM to ROM. One thing is fairly certain: if you get this problem, you won't be able to clear it effectively by just restarting Freda; it will need a soft-reset.
Please keep me posted though, particularly if you find a series of actions that repeatedly makes this problem appear. And I'd be interested to hear if these problems are affecting other devices.
Thanks,
Jim

Soft-resetting the device doesn't clear it. CleanRAM reports about 28MB free. The only thing that seems to clear it is emptying the bookshelf.

My other Axim does not appear to have the problem. (Though I haven't tested it as much.) It has a different ROM version, so that would tend to implicate the ROM on the first device.

Ordinarily I wouldn't care very much. But it's time for reading the Nebula nominees, so I've been trying to line them up on the bookshelf to make it easier to keep track of them.

[Jim Chapman]

Originally Posted by starrigger

Soft-resetting the device doesn't clear it. CleanRAM reports about 28MB free. The only thing that seems to clear it is emptying the bookshelf.

This is very odd. The next time this happens, can you send me:
1) the logfile (from \program files\freda\logfile.txt)
2) the bookshelf file (from \program files\freda\settings\freda.fbs)
Email to home@jim-chapman.net

Thanks,

Jim

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by Jim Chapman

This is very odd. The next time this happens, can you send me:
1) the logfile (from \program files\freda\logfile.txt)
2) the bookshelf file (from \program files\freda\settings\freda.fbs)
Email to home@jim-chapman.net

Thanks,

Jim

Sent.