Kobo Bug thread

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by patrik

Hmm, I'm not sure really. When I do the highlight it may or may not cross a paragraph. What happens is that it all suddenly looks highlighted.

The problem I have seen is for sentences in the same paragraph. If the highlight covers part of the first or last sentence and any other in the same paragraph, I see what you described. Its a fault in how the kepub was generated and in how the reader app handles the highlighting.

Are the annotations/highlights for a book kept in Kobos own database? Shouldn't it be clean uped if a book is deleted? It doesn't. If I delete the book and then add it again, all annotations (including the errornous highlighting) is still there.

Yes and no. Annotations are stored in the internal database. But, for epubs on the main memory, they are also written to a file. This file is read when the epub is opened and replaces whatever is in the database. I am pretty sure the database is cleaned up up when the book is deleted, but I haven't checked recently. The file is left behind, so putting an epub on again with exactly the same path will reuse it.

Also, it seems that after I disabled the exended driver, removed the book, and then added it and sent it to the device, it still looks like "kepub" with the features only in kepub.

I see Peter got you sorted out on that one. I suspect he knew the answer from experience. I know I've fallen for it a few times.

Where can I read up on how Kobos database works?

In far to many of my posts I've been playing with the database for a year or so as I updated the driver in calibre and wrote my utilities plugin. The code for both of those will give you some hints. There are a few notes in them, but not many. And as the posts show, I'm always willing to discuss it.

[Amaterasu88]

No one still having the problem with zoomed PDF's on 2.6.1

[roger64]

Hi

Regularly seen on EPUB

Hyphenation bug

My Kobo Glo enjoys a line-break just before this kind of span, even if before the span there is an nnbsp-;. (narrow non breaking space)

<span class="Endnoteanchor"><a href="../Text/chap51.xhtml#ftn27" id="bodyftn27">27</a></span>

Line-height bug

Also, if I do not wish to see a white gap in the display, I need to use to change super with text-top in the CSS code. I only need to do this for Kobo...

span.Endnoteanchor {font-weight:bold;font-size:58%;vertical-align:super;}

[PinkET]

When in Dutch or French dictionary, Definition does not work.

Product: Glo and possibly others
Firmware: 2.6.1. and previous
Plugins: none
File types: not relevant
Sideloaded or from Kobobooks: not relevant
On external SD: not relevant
Steps to reproduce:
1. Open a book
2. tap on it in the middle
3. on the bottom bar press the book icon
4. chose definition
5. English and German dictionary work fine, Dutch and French don't.
(Dutch, English, German and French dictionaries are installed)

Current result:
Workaround:
1. Press and hold a word
2. chose the AZ book icon on the bottom
3. select dictionary
There is the definition.

Why there are two ways I don't understand, but I guess that's standard on Kobo.

[robko]

Originally Posted by PinkET

When in Dutch or French dictionary, Definition does not work.

Why there are two ways I don't understand, but I guess that's standard on Kobo.

This is due to licensing restrictions on those particular dictionaries, not a design choice or bug. The work around I guess would be for Kobo to license a different dictionary for these languages. Not sure what would be entailed in that or the cost difference to Kobo to license one that allows this in those languages.

[glezmen]

i don't know whether it was already mentioned, but the web browser can't open links which would open a new page/tab. When you click on the link, nothing happens

[samhy]

Originally Posted by PinkET

When in Dutch or French dictionary, Definition does not work.

I have never noticed Maybe that's because I always look up a word from a book.
The Japanese dictionary has the same behaviour, by the way.

[PinkET]

Originally Posted by robko

This is due to licensing restrictions on those particular dictionaries, not a design choice or bug.

Could you please elaborate? You mean the restriction is like a prohibition on free search? Only words in the book allowed?

Are they afraid a reader might become too literate?

Sounds Orwellian to me.

[robko]

Originally Posted by PinkET

Could you please elaborate? You mean the restriction is like a prohibition on free search? Only words in the book allowed?

Yep. Not going to say it makes sense, but Kobo have stated in past that licensing restrictions from the publisher(s) of those particular dictionaries mean that they can not allow free search, only search of specific words in the book.

[PinkET]

Originally Posted by robko

Yep. Not going to say it makes sense, but Kobo have stated in past that licensing restrictions from the publisher(s) of those particular dictionaries mean that they can not allow free search, only search of specific words in the book.

Thanks for the explanation.

So no bug then. Sorry for posting it as such.

[roger64]

Hi

TOC display bug

Here is an EPUB organized in four parts (h2 level). All in all, it's made of 175 letters (h3 level). The "Table of Contents" displayed on my Kobo Glo mixes unhappily all h2 and h3 titles without any hierarchical presentation. Messy.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by roger64

TOC display bug

Here is an EPUB organized in four parts (h2 level). All in all, it's made of 175 letters (h3 level). The "Table of Contents" displayed on my Kobo Glo mixes unhappily all h2 and h3 titles without any hierarchical presentation. Messy.

To clarify, are you talking about the display of the Table of Contents section of the book (displayed in HTML and traditionally using elements like H2 and H3 to mark up links) or the toc.ncx file (written in XML and used to build the navigation that you can pull up from anywhere in the book by using the Kobo's menus)?

Because, you see, the two are quite different things. Every EPUB should have a toc.ncx file, but an HTML version is strictly optional and frequently omitted.

[roger64]

Hi

Thanks for your interest.

I am speaking about this EPUB. As you will see, I even went as far as to provide a "Koboized" EPUB version. With this EPUB, I get a hierarchical TOC display on calibre, Sigil, ADE,...

But this last point seems to give some trouble to poor Kobo...

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by roger64

Hi

Thanks for your interest.

I am speaking about this EPUB. As you will see, I even went as far as to provide a "Koboized" EPUB version. With this EPUB, I get a hierarchical TOC display on calibre, Sigil, ADE,...

But this last point seems to give some trouble to poor Kobo...

It's not a bug, it's a feature. Or in this case, something that Kobo have not implemented. The TOC is displayed and works correctly. Kobo have simply not implemented the hierarchical display.

[roger64]

Originally Posted by davidfor

It's not a bug, it's a feature. Or in this case, something that Kobo have not implemented. The TOC is displayed and works correctly. Kobo have simply not implemented the hierarchical display.

Thanks for your answer. I realize Kobo has a lot of these so-called "features"... which, for my poor judgment, look tremendously like bugs (or weaknesses if you wish).

If one author decides to create a hierarchical set-up for his book, why render it differently? Kobo knows probably better?...

Once again, ADE, calibre, Sigil, whoever you may find manage correctly this hierarchical set-up... Only Kobo does not... Well we should call things by their proper name: it's a BUG!!!