zoom in pictures in epub

vice-versa · 03-14-2012, 03:04 PM

I've read some books that had maps at the beginning. Unfortunately I wasn't able to read them due to the smallness of them. It would have helped to understand the story afterward or to be able to refer to them in the middle of the plot... At the moment, I read Sarum, and being from France, and not exactly familiar with Britain Geography, so I'm to stand near my computer, on internet to search maps at moments to understand the topography... Is there a way to zoom in the pictures set in epub books with the Kobo touch or would it be an option in a future firmware ?

Arefkay · 03-18-2012, 03:38 PM

I would like this kind of feature as well. Some fantasy books have maps of fantasy worlds that would be nice to be able to reference and zoom in on.

plib · 03-18-2012, 10:11 PM

I haven't managed to zoom in on a map as a function in actually reading a book. However it is possible to zoom on graphics files, for example this map of the Honorverse which I have loaded on my Kobo.

Maps in the book should be included as .jpgs in the "resources" folder I think. If you extract the map as a graphics file from the .epub (which is only a renamed .zip file) then you could load it as a graphics file and zoom on that. This is something I've done on the noted Honorverse map a lot - as I decided to christen my KT by rereading the entire series

- and it's been very useful. You just have to jump between the book file and the graphics file when you need to refer to the map. Not as handy as jumping to a bookmark in the book, but not too difficult or time consuming either. I keep the map file in my "Shortlist" so it's easy to find and load.

Xennex1170 · 03-19-2012, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plib

I haven't managed to zoom in on a map as a function in actually reading a book. However it is possible to zoom on graphics files, for example this map of the Honorverse which I have loaded on my Kobo.

Maps in the book should be included as .jpgs in the "resources" folder I think. If you extract the map as a graphics file from the .epub (which is only a renamed .zip file) then you could load it as a graphics file and zoom on that. This is something I've done on the noted Honorverse map a lot - as I decided to christen my KT by rereading the entire series

- and it's been very useful. You just have to jump between the book file and the graphics file when you need to refer to the map. Not as handy as jumping to a bookmark in the book, but not too difficult or time consuming either.

Ah, so basically you made a copy of the image file and just loaded that on your KT? It would actually be a lot more useful if you could just long press on a image in an epub and have it enter some kind of image viewing mode that allowed shrinking (for images that are larger/wider than the screen) and zooming (for those that are smaller).

plib · 03-19-2012, 05:48 AM

Yup, it would. But as far as I can see the KT doesn't support anything like that - so far anyway. So yes, I just made a copy of the image file and loaded that. When you do a centre press on the image file it brings up the bottom menu as usual, but on image files that includes a zoom function.

androm · 03-19-2012, 05:49 AM

It's a good idea for every epub maker. You can make every image - a link to a larger image.

rashkae · 03-19-2012, 01:23 PM

I think the Sony T1 is the only e-ink reader that does this. It would be a really cool (I would say, killer) feature. Unfortunately, the vast majority of published e-books are released with images already shrunk to be useless, even if zoomed. (There are probably performance problems with older e-reader models and images of any significant resolution. Big problem for images that have important details, like small print text on maps.)

Xennex1170 · 03-19-2012, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rashkae

I think the Sony T1 is the only e-ink reader that does this. It would be a really cool (I would say, killer) feature. Unfortunately, the vast majority of published e-books are released with images already shrunk to be useless, even if zoomed. (There are probably performance problems with older e-reader models and images of any significant resolution. Big problem for images that have important details, like small print text on maps.)

There is an star map image embedding in the beginning of the "On Basilisk Station" epub (you can get your free copy at baen.com) that seems to be wider than the screen.. If I could rotate or shrink the image (zoom would be nice too with scrollbars to allow viewing different parts of the image) that would be great! As it is the right edge gets cut off.

clsdclsd · 03-20-2012, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xennex1170

There is an star map image embedding in the beginning of the "On Basilisk Station" epub (you can get your free copy at baen.com) that seems to be wider than the screen.. If I could rotate or shrink the image (zoom would be nice too with scrollbars to allow viewing different parts of the image) that would be great! As it is the right edge gets cut off.

A quick help for this particular book:

- rename it to .zip
- replace the jpg file in the zip file with the one attached to this post
- rename back to .epub

Click image for larger version

Name: 074343571001.jpg
Views: 1019
Size: 28.2 KB
ID: 84254

plib · 03-21-2012, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clsdclsd

A quick help for this particular book:

That's a good idea. I hadn't considered removing, tweaking and reinserting the image file. It wouldn't work for the complete star map referenced above, the text would just be too small without zooming, but it would probably work for standard maps/images in most books.

Do you happen know what pixel count and size give the best fit for a KT page? I'm guessing a vertical orientation, as you've done the the Basilisk map, would give the most available real estate.

Xennex1170 · 03-21-2012, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clsdclsd

A quick help for this particular book:

- rename it to .zip
- replace the jpg file in the zip file with the one attached to this post
- rename back to .epub

Attachment 84254

Thanks, I guess that could do for the meantime till they decide they want to add image viewing capabilities. The mobipocket app for my Palm TX actually has the image viewing mode allowing you to view the image in it's full size and also allow scrolling around for large images. Thought it might be nice for my Kobo also.

Another feature I miss from my mobipocket days was the auto scrolling. Though probably energy prohibitive on the eInk devices, it might be a nice addition to the Vox or the apps for Android/iOS.

03-14-2012, 03:04 PM	#1
vice-versa whippet addict Posts: 391 Karma: 689884 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: France, Normandy, Gisors Device: Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra Colour	zoom in pictures in epub I've read some books that had maps at the beginning. Unfortunately I wasn't able to read them due to the smallness of them. It would have helped to understand the story afterward or to be able to refer to them in the middle of the plot... At the moment, I read Sarum, and being from France, and not exactly familiar with Britain Geography, so I'm to stand near my computer, on internet to search maps at moments to understand the topography... Is there a way to zoom in the pictures set in epub books with the Kobo touch or would it be an option in a future firmware ?

03-18-2012, 10:11 PM	#3
plib Guru Posts: 777 Karma: 6356004 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kobo Touch	I haven't managed to zoom in on a map as a function in actually reading a book. However it is possible to zoom on graphics files, for example this map of the Honorverse which I have loaded on my Kobo. Maps in the book should be included as .jpgs in the "resources" folder I think. If you extract the map as a graphics file from the .epub (which is only a renamed .zip file) then you could load it as a graphics file and zoom on that. This is something I've done on the noted Honorverse map a lot - as I decided to christen my KT by rereading the entire series - and it's been very useful. You just have to jump between the book file and the graphics file when you need to refer to the map. Not as handy as jumping to a bookmark in the book, but not too difficult or time consuming either. I keep the map file in my "Shortlist" so it's easy to find and load. Last edited by plib; 03-21-2012 at 04:06 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
zoom pictures etc on Kindle 4 NT ???	sheffieldsteve	Amazon Kindle	9	11-11-2011 10:10 AM
zoom in, epub	yuxi_kelly	ePub	1	03-23-2011 08:07 AM
Epub reader with zoom?	gardefjord	Apple Devices	14	01-12-2011 01:11 AM
Why would epub software not let me zoom?	ficbot	ePub	10	04-07-2010 07:26 AM
Can eink readers zoom in on pictures?	miki	Which one should I buy?	2	11-04-2008 12:07 PM

03-18-2012, 03:38 PM	#2
Arefkay Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Touch	I would like this kind of feature as well. Some fantasy books have maps of fantasy worlds that would be nice to be able to reference and zoom in on.

03-19-2012, 05:48 AM	#5
plib Guru Posts: 777 Karma: 6356004 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kobo Touch	Yup, it would. But as far as I can see the KT doesn't support anything like that - so far anyway. So yes, I just made a copy of the image file and loaded that. When you do a centre press on the image file it brings up the bottom menu as usual, but on image files that includes a zoom function.

03-19-2012, 05:49 AM	#6
androm Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: none	It's a good idea for every epub maker. You can make every image - a link to a larger image.

03-19-2012, 01:23 PM	#7
rashkae Wizard Posts: 1,268 Karma: 5935030 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Aura HD	I think the Sony T1 is the only e-ink reader that does this. It would be a really cool (I would say, killer) feature. Unfortunately, the vast majority of published e-books are released with images already shrunk to be useless, even if zoomed. (There are probably performance problems with older e-reader models and images of any significant resolution. Big problem for images that have important details, like small print text on maps.)