Kobo future firmware feature request thread

[fxp33]

Hi,

For Gutenberg ebooks or converted files, the first page image is simply too small to be readable.

- in the 5 books home page, I can't read the title or the author ... choosing a book is a guess
- in sleep or power off mode the title is usually hidden behind the percent read bar

Proposal 1:
A switch in the reader settings:
if no cover, display kobo cover (with readable title and author) instead of first page

Proposal 2:
Have a "book information" button in the menu ... this way at least when I open a book I don't have to go to the end of the gutenberg copyright to find out the title.

Thank you to devs for the great job they make.

François

[Anak]

Currently font selection is roughly:
1 Use fonts settings from epub
* use embedded fonts
2. Device specific default generic font family settings:
* use device specific default generic font family settings (serif, sans-serif; when "hard coded" CSS font rules)
* let user select the default reading font

But there is no support of true small capitals, even when they are present in the font file itself or in a seperate small caps font file.
Maybe this can be fixed with a font configuration file, in which the font sub styles are defined. Which is basically the same as the current implementation by Kobo but only adding a reference to a specific "small cap font file".

2. Device specific default generic font family settings:
* use device specific default generic font family (serif, sans-serif) settings (when "hard coded" CSS font rules)
* let user select the default reading font

* check if there is a font configuration file, when true use these (additional) font settings, if not

* use the current generic font implementation by Kobo

A configuration file could look something like this:

Configuration file: Linux Libertine.conf

FontGenericFamily=serif/sans-serif/monospace (cursive, fantasy)
FontWeightRegular=Linux Libertine-Regular.ttf (.otf)
FontWeightItalic=Linux Libertine-Italic.ttf
FontWeightBold=Linux Libertine-Bold.ttf
FontWeightBoldItalic=Linux Libertine-BoldItalic.ttf
FontWeightSmallCaps=Linux Libertine-SmallCaps.ttf

The font configuration file and additonal small cap font files both should be placed in the default fonts folder.

Sure, the mentioned parameters can (should?) be read directly from the font files themselves.
In the example above the "FontGenericFamily" parameter is optional and only added to enable the user to select two default font families for serif sans-serif fonts.

In case there is a real small cap font file specified then some CSS selectors should probably being ignored or overruled.
Either <small> or the <span> tag where small caps are defined (e.g. <span class="smallcaps">).
So maybe something like this shoud be added:

IgnoreFontCSSselector=small
IgnoreFontCSSspanclass=smallcaps

A better solution would be (partial) XeTex support for small capitals and oldstyle figures.
Font configuration file example:

XeTexActicate=true (false)
XeTexSmallCaps=smcp, c2sc (c2sc as fallback)
XeTexNumerals=onum (use Oldstyle Figures instead of the default numerals)

Some XeTex references

XeTeX on the Web
The XETEX Companion (CERN)
Libertine-XeTex-Pakage

Or any other script or direct method that uses GSUB tables (GSUB: Glyph substitution data) in font files.
OpenType font files contain tables that contain either TrueType or PostScript outline font data and
the data in these tables are used by rendering programs to render the TrueType or PostScript glyphs.
Features provide information about how to use the glyphs in an OpenType or TrueType font to render a
script or language. All OpenType Layout features define data for glyph substitution, glyph positioning, or both.

Rendering Small Capitals

Feature	Description
smcp	Small Capitals
c2sc	Small Capitals From Capitals
c2pc	Petite Capitals From Capitals

Rendering Oldstyle numbers

Feature	Description
onum	Oldstyle Figures

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by fxp33

Hi,

For Gutenberg ebooks or converted files, the first page image is simply too small to be readable.

- in the 5 books home page, I can't read the title or the author ... choosing a book is a guess
- in sleep or power off mode the title is usually hidden behind the percent read bar

Proposal 1:
A switch in the reader settings:
if no cover, display kobo cover (with readable title and author) instead of first page

I understand the annoyance. I usually go and find a nice cover and add it to the book via calibre. For books from PG, you should look for a copy in the library here. If there is a copy, it will probably be in much better shape than the PG version.

Proposal 2:
Have a "book information" button in the menu ... this way at least when I open a book I don't have to go to the end of the gutenberg copyright to find out the title.

You can get the details of the book from the library list. Press the menu icon on the at the end of the line for the book and select "View details". But, I agree this should be on a menu when reading a book.

[0rchid]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I understand the annoyance. I usually go and find a nice cover and add it to the book via calibre. For books from PG, you should look for a copy in the library here. If there is a copy, it will probably be in much better shape than the PG version.

How do you get the cover to show up on the glo? The cover I select always looks perfect on Calibre but when I transfer the epub file to my kobo glo, it either doesn't work (and I get the default first page of the gutenberg books) or the cover is tiny and does not stretch across book even though the img jpeg is big enough to do so (eg. 525x700). I don't understand what I'm doing wrong since sometimes the cover is perfect and sometimes it doesn't even work at all

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by 0rchid

How do you get the cover to show up on the glo? The cover I select always looks perfect on Calibre but when I transfer the epub file to my kobo glo, it either doesn't work (and I get the default first page of the gutenberg books) or the cover is tiny and does not stretch across book even though the img jpeg is big enough to do so (eg. 525x700). I don't understand what I'm doing wrong since sometimes the cover is perfect and sometimes it doesn't even work at all

There is a couple of different problems here.

The first one is that when you add or change the cover in the calibre library, it doesn't actually update the book. The cover is stored separately in the library and you have to do something to update the book. The traditional way to do this is by a epub-to-epub conversion. This can insert the cover at the start of the book. And it inserts it in a way that it will size to fill the screen. But, recently a new function has been added to calibre. This is the "Polish books" option. It does a few things to clean or fix up books without a conversion. Adding/changing the cover image is one of them. The toolbar icon is a brush. If you don't see it and you are using the current version, then you will need to add the icon via the preferences.

The second problem is related to how the cover page is defined in the book and the Kobo devices use the first page of the book as the cover. Most epubs use code to fill the screen with the image or size it full screen in one dimension without changing the aspect ratio. But some display the image without resizing. If that is the case, a 525x700 image wouldn't fill the screen. In this case, I'm not sure what the best solution is. I normally edit the epub in Sigil and fix it there. But, the Polish books function might fix it. If the book already has a cover, I don't know if it simply replaces the image or replaces the page code with the default cover page code.

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by hreader

Why the dictionary is not working on pdf? There's some hope to the resolution of this bug?

Originally Posted by hreader

Well, when I read a book in the ereader I expect to use the dictionary regardless of the format, I think it's a lack of a basic feature.
I can say for example that on kindle it works as in the azw/mobi.

I don't know about azw but mobi is just like Kobo's kepub (or epub) in that it's a load of text formatted in a certain way – whatever way text is formatted, text is still selectable and therefore it's possible to look the selected text up in the dictionary.

PDFs are generally (originally) not formatted text. PDFs are "pictures" of a screen of text. So, the text is not selectable any more because it's a picture instead of the text itself. So if you can't select the text, you can't look the text up.

Having said that, I know that "nowadays" PDFs can be formatted in such a way that selectable text is superimposed on the picture, or however it works, in any case, these PDFs enable text selection. You just need a PDF reader that allows you to do so. And I admit, it would be nice if the Kobo PDF reader could do this. But then still, you'd need the richer PDF format that actually gives you selectable text.

[hreader]

Originally Posted by Mrs_Often

I don't know about azw but mobi is just like Kobo's kepub (or epub) in that it's a load of text formatted in a certain way – whatever way text is formatted, text is still selectable and therefore it's possible to look the selected text up in the dictionary.

OK, I want just say that I would like to have (need) something like the kindle behaviour where the use of dictionary is the same on pdf/azw and mobi and that it is possible.

Originally Posted by Mrs_Often

PDFs are generally (originally) not formatted text. PDFs are "pictures" of a screen of text. So, the text is not selectable any more because it's a picture instead of the text itself. So if you can't select the text, you can't look the text up.

I really don't think PDFs are "pictures", maybe some are a little "strange" (like some books on google) and I think it is visible specially zooming. In the application I use for pdf (evince but also sumatra/okular/maybe xpdf too!) I can select the text and copy like on text editor (es. double click selects a word, etc.), so I think it is possible to use dictionary.
I just tried evince on a book where characters are not well defined and also in this case is possible to select text but the behaviour is a little different.

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by hreader

OK, I want just say that I would like to have (need) something like the kindle behaviour where the use of dictionary is the same on pdf/azw and mobi and that it is possible.

Maybe you'd enjoy this then: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=203622

(Kindle PDF viewer running on Glo)

[Lucas Malor]

I hope this is the right place to ask this... HarryT wrote that kobo users reported many problems with firmware. Since I want to buy an e-reader and I'm undecided between a Kindle and a Kobo, I would ask you if there's a significant difference between Amazon and Kobo about firmware bugs, performance and feature, and in particular if Amazon firmware releases are faster and come out more often.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by Lucas Malor

I hope this is the right place to ask this... HarryT wrote that kobo users reported many problems with firmware. Since I want to buy an e-reader and I'm undecided between a Kindle and a Kobo, I would ask you if there's a significant difference between Amazon and Kobo about firmware bugs, performance and feature, and in particular if Amazon firmware releases are faster and come out more often.

I responded back in that thread, but to sum up in case people here want to discuss my assertions:

- I don't expect new features or fixes on my Kindle, so I don't talk about its deficiencies - why talk about something that doesn't change? I expect and get improvements on my Kobo, so I talk more about things I'd like to see added or improved. This is a sign of a healthy support community, not a buggy device.

- Amazon's done a great job integrating the Kindle with its website, and I wish Kobo would do a better job in that respect. However, since EPUB is a more standard and widespread format, I frequently buy ebooks for my Kobo from multiple stores.

When I bought my first e-reader, I knew I wanted an e-ink device; I want it to be an e-reader first and foremost. My three major options were Kobo, Kindle, and Nook. I scratched Kindle because I dislike its lack of an SD/microSD slot and its proprietary format. I scratched Nook because it's tied so closely to the B&N bookstore, which uses wonky DRM; however, in retrospect, that does mean it will handle everything a Kobo does and B&N books on top of that...but it still lacks a card slot. That left me with Kobo, which I've been very happy with; I've owned three different models so far.

[Lucas Malor]

Thank you for the reply. About release rates, it seems both Amazon and Kobo release about one per month. Sources: Kobo firmware releases, Paperwhite firmware 5.3.0 and 5.3.1
About reliability, it's true there was many problems but it seems now firmwares work (source).
Can you confirm?

[Francois_C]

Originally Posted by lsmod

My wishlist:
The browser should have the possibility to work with landscape format, because most of the websites are made for normal screens.

I miss an application for the simple check of my emails.

I disagree with this wish: I am a rater longtime user and I think the Kobo Touch is not a tablet; it is a kind of portable library. A very specialized gadget. Reading has nothing to do with checking one's mails. As you point it, it is already so slow, even to find a book or a word, so that one gradually gets out the habit of searching anything as it dramatically slows down reading.
Generally I switch off the WiFi, because it exhausts the battery. I use the browser only when I need a crucial information about my reading, which hardly happens once a quarter.
The Kobo Touch is not powerful enough to become an all-purpose device. The processor and the display can not allow it.

[samhy]

Originally Posted by Francois_C

I disagree with this wish: I am a rater longtime user and I think the Kobo Touch is not a tablet; it is a kind of portable library. A very specialized gadget. Reading has nothing to do with checking one's mails. As you point it, it is already so slow, even to find a book or a word, so that one gradually gets out the habit of searching anything as it dramatically slows down reading.
Generally I switch off the WiFi, because it exhausts the battery. I use the browser only when I need a crucial information about my reading, which hardly happens once a quarter.
The Kobo Touch is not powerful enough to become an all-purpose device. The processor and the display can not allow it.

But in order to access the Calibre server, one needs to use the browser. The same goes with access to Dropbox. Indeed, the websites are cumbersome to use with such small screens.

[Tachikoma]

Regarding the earlier discussion about PDF's, both are correct, a PDF can be just an image, or it can be images and text, it's up to the creator of the PDF to decide what they want (and of course the source material)

Sorry if this has been mentioned already, but I want a damn battery warning notification when the battery gets to a certain level, and more reliable battery reporting. Too many times now have I hit the menu icon, the battery has said "40%" but then an hour later it shuts down. You can test the real battery percentage by synching the device, it can drop anything up to 20% in a few seconds, and I know from testing the browser that it doesn't need that much when using WiFi.

[Francois_C]

Originally Posted by Tachikoma

Too many times now have I hit the menu icon, the battery has said "40%" but then an hour later it shuts down.

Same for me, and especially with firmwares since 2.3, Wifi always off. In the morning, battery displays 60%, device is set to "sleep", in the afternoon when I want to read, the battery is exhausted. I also noticed those fast and impossible drops of the battery level within seconds.

As my device is more than one year old now, and I know Li-ion batteries are the Achilles heel of handheld devices, I began to think my battery was already dead...