converticus repairus!

[luisdent]

Originally Posted by DNSB

What operating system and version of calibre are you running? Using 5.11 under Windows, Linux and MacOS Big Sur, I do not get an unsupported firmware error with the latest firmware installed on any of my Kobo readers.

This suggests that you are not running the latest version of calibre.

As for the custom fonts, if the CSS for an epub lists a font or type of font, i.e, font-family: Georgia, serif;, since the Georgia font is present, it will be used.

For font names, there have been many discussions over the years. The internal font name must match the font file name, the correct -Regular, -Italic, -BoldItalic or -Bold (-R, -I, -Z and -B also work) must be appended to the font-file name, etc.

I'll look into this tonight.

I'm running windows 10 which automatically updates all the time. i download calibre from the official site as the app brought me to the page automatically. I'm not at home, but it is the brand spanking new version as of a day or two ago when i did it. as for all the plug-ins, i went into the preferences and told it to check for all updated plugins and installed any it said weren't up to date.

i can verify the version numbers when i get home. I'm not an epub expert, but i am a technical supprt specialist very knowledgeable about all things computer, so I've done a fair bit of the expected troubleshooting before posting here. in fact many other sites shared similar epub vs kepub issues. kepub apparently simply adds its custom formatting via additionally span tags. but that additional formatting is supposedly what makes the typographical settings more fine tuneable.

I've even read that the kobo seamlessly initiates a completely different reader application for kepub vs epub. so the issues that i, and others, are seeing, seem less likely to simply be where i got the epub from. as i said I've obtained them from many sources. enough, in fact, that if the oasis worked perfectly with every book, and the kobo works with none, I'd argue the software is trash if it can't cope with common formatting quirks the oasis easily handles. but i don't want to jump to conclusions. i love my kobo with kepubs. wouldn't trade it for an oasis the scren is so nice and os more open. but i would simply like to figure this out so i could just use epubs or successfully convert and load kepubs when something like this happens.

[Sirtel]

You might look into patching your Kobo. There are lots of patches dealing with formatting quirks (advanced font control, font sizes, margins, line height) for both epubs and kepubs. I've found them to be very useful.

Still, if all your custom fonts display as bold in your epubs, then there's something wrong with the font metadata. That can be fixed with FontForge. I dimly remember having the same issue with one of my fonts (I think it was Bookerly) when I first got my Libra. Changing the metadata for this font fixed that.

Edit: here are very useful instructions for fixing fonts:
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kob...play_Correctly

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

You might look into patching your Kobo. There are lots of patches dealing with formatting quirks (advanced font control, font sizes, margins, line height) for both epubs and kepubs. I've found them to be very useful.

Still, if all your custom fonts display as bold in your epubs, then there's something wrong with the font metadata. That can be fixed with FontForge. I dimly remember having the same issue with one of my fonts (I think it was Bookerly) when I first got my Libra. Changing the metadata for this font fixed that.

The fix for Bookerly only needed to be done if you are tying to use with with KePub. With ePub, Bookerly works as is without needing to be fixed.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The fix for Bookerly only needed to be done if you are tying to use with with KePub. With ePub, Bookerly works as is without needing to be fixed.

Not the one I have, it didn't. Then again, perhaps it wasn't Bookerly. I may not remember correctly.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Not the one I have, it didn't. Then again, perhaps it wasn't Bookerly. I may not remember correctly.

I did use Bookerly some with ePub and it worked. I hadn't used Bookerly with KePub before reading about the metadata mistakes in Bookerly.

[luisdent]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

You might look into patching your Kobo. There are lots of patches dealing with formatting quirks (advanced font control, font sizes, margins, line height) for both epubs and kepubs. I've found them to be very useful.

Still, if all your custom fonts display as bold in your epubs, then there's something wrong with the font metadata. That can be fixed with FontForge. I dimly remember having the same issue with one of my fonts (I think it was Bookerly) when I first got my Libra. Changing the metadata for this font fixed that.

Edit: here are very useful instructions for fixing fonts:
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kob...play_Correctly

thanks. I'll check this out at home.

I've already got the latest firmware on my libra h2o. i had assumed that was the only way to "patch" a kobo?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by luisdent

thanks. I'll check this out at home.

I've already got the latest firmware on my libra h2o. i had assumed that was the only way to "patch" a kobo?

See the Instructions for patching firmware 4.26.16704 thread in the Kobo Developer's Corner.

So if your Kobo is running 4.26.16704 (More => Settings => Device information) and your computer has calibre 5.11 (check the bottom left corner of the main calibre window) and you are getting the "calibre, version 5.11.0
WARNING: Failed: Kobo database version unsupported - See details", I'd suspect that your Kobo has corruption issues.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by luisdent

I'm not an epub expert, but i am a technical supprt specialist very knowledgeable about all things computer, so I've done a fair bit of the expected troubleshooting before posting here. in fact many other sites shared similar epub vs kepub issues. kepub apparently simply adds its custom formatting via additionally span tags. but that additional formatting is supposedly what makes the typographical settings more fine tuneable.

1. If you're having problems getting your epubs to respond correctly when you make changes in the Kobo's [Aa] font menu it's almost certain that the problem is with the HTML/CSS in that particular epub.
   
   The reason you see style differences between epub and kepub is that the 2 different (epub and kepub) reading apps on the Kobo use a different set of CSS override rules when you change the [Aa] settings. I won't go into detail here, but basically the epub app uses a delicate touch to use your settings to override the existing book CSS whereas the kepub app uses a sledgehammer. Which is the "better" approach depends on your personal point-of-view and the state of the HTML/CSS in your books. Various Kobo patches are available to make one more like the other.
   
   I don't know much about Kindles but I suspect Amazon also uses a sledgehammer approach. However, they also have lots of rules about what a book should/shouldn't do style-wise for the book to be sold in their Store. Some of the Amazon-specific stuff is a PITA if you're planning to read it as epub/kepub on a Kobo.
   
   
2. The special koboSpans in kepubs are normally used for annotations, bookmarks and book progress. I've never bought one which used them for styling.
   
3. As @Sirtel said, if you're having problems (bold and/or italic where it shouldn't be) with a sideloaded font the problem can usually be fixed by the info in that link. Pay particular attention to the info about panose weight. If you need to see some additional screenshots see this post from the original MR thread used for the Wiki.

[luisdent]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

1. If you're having problems getting your epubs to respond correctly when you make changes in the Kobo's [Aa] font menu it's almost certain that the problem is with the HTML/CSS in that particular epub.
   
   The reason you see style differences between epub and kepub is that the 2 different (epub and kepub) reading apps on the Kobo use a different set of CSS override rules when you change the [Aa] settings. I won't go into detail here, but basically the epub app uses a delicate touch to use your settings to override the existing book CSS whereas the kepub app uses a sledgehammer. Which is the "better" approach depends on your personal point-of-view and the state of the HTML/CSS in your books. Various Kobo patches are available to make one more like the other.
   
   I don't know much about Kindles but I suspect Amazon also uses a sledgehammer approach. However, they also have lots of rules about what a book should/shouldn't do style-wise for the book to be sold in their Store. Some of the Amazon-specific stuff is a PITA if you're planning to read it as epub/kepub on a Kobo.
   
   
2. The special koboSpans in kepubs are normally used for annotations, bookmarks and book progress. I've never bought one which used them for styling.
   
3. As @Sirtel said, if you're having problems (bold and/or italic where it shouldn't be) with a sideloaded font the problem can usually be fixed by the info in that link. Pay particular attention to the info about panose weight. If you need to see some additional screenshots see this post from the original MR thread used for the Wiki.

this all makes sense, except that all the same books on my oasis were the epubs, not Amazon approved books. of course i converted them with calibre just like i do on my kobo. but they weren't store bought books. just interesting. the idea of corruption seems possible just weird that the one book doesn't show up but every other book does.hmm

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by luisdent

this all makes sense, except that all the same books on my oasis were the epubs, not Amazon approved books.

If you were reading epubs on a Kindle, presumably you were using a 3rd-party reading app - KOReader, perhaps??? I expect KOReader employs yet another different set of override CSS rules to try to apply your custom settings.

[luisdent]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

If you were reading epubs on a Kindle, presumably you were using a 3rd-party reading app - KOReader, perhaps??? I expect KOReader employs yet another different set of override CSS rules to try to apply your custom settings.

no i converted them to kfx. my point was just that the source files in both situations were epub. but i never had any issues, that's all.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by luisdent

i drop fonts in the font folder per kobo instructions. not sure how that could be wrong?

Did that include making sure the file names of the fonts was correct? And that you dropped all of the files? As stated, the described problem suggests that you have not done this. I don't know which instructions you followed, but, the ones here https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=204363 are definitely correct.

I see in a later post you did not rename any files, so the fonts will not work.

what were you asking me to check? i can't send to device with my kobo.the kobo utilities say the database version is too new so device management funtions don't work. i copy books into my reader directly to the folder. all of my kobo and calibre stuff is fully up to date, so again not sure what else to do?

Yes you can. The warning message only applies to actions that updated the database on the device. Sending a book does not. And you would have seen that if you tried. Plus, the warning message clearly explains what to do to avoid the problem. And all you have to do is visit the Kobo forum here to see exactly what the status of calibre and the device firmware is.

But, if you have not been "copy books into my reader directly to the folder", did you name the files correctly? In the calibre library, kepubs will have the extension ".kepub". On the Kobo devices, they must be ".kepub.epub". If you have not changed the extenstion the device will completely ignore the books.

And the fact that you weren't actually using calibre to put the books on the device is a fairly major omission in your problem report. If you had said that in the first post, guess what my first reply would have been? (Hint: just look at this post)

[luisdent]

OK, here we go...

Yes, my font names are case sensitive and perfectly correct according to that instruction. And yes, I know you need to rename the books to .kepub.epub. I use calibre to convert the books and then open the containing folder and copy the files onto the device with the correct extensions. This has always worked. This is the only book that hasn't and still doesn't work manually coping to the device.

I used to send to the device via the kobo utility, but that function broke some time ago. I tried it tonight and yes, it does send books to the device. So I assume that was resolved in a recent update. I apologize for not testing that part further. I had recently had the issue and assumed nothing had changed in the short time between now and then. Apparently I was wrong.

The database error however, was not the firmware issue, it was saying the database couldn't be found. It wasn't obvious, but I checked windows, and the path to the database file didn't exist. I created the directory in windows manually, and reconnected the kobo, and it appears to have solved the database error as all the functions work and no errors.

FYI my version are as follows:

My reader is 4.26.16704 (0af09acc53, 2/10/21)
Calibre is 5.12.0
Kobo Utilities v2.12.3

I believe I found the issue with the fonts as well. Thank you Sirtel for the link

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kob...play_Correctly

It was not an issue of epub formatting, name of fonts, or any of that. Apparently, as per that article you can only have the 4 primary variants of a font (regular, italic, bold, bold italic). I have never seen that specifically written anywhere, so never thought to restrict a font to only those (how would I know a book wouldn't contain other weight variants :-P hehe). The Alegreya and multiple other fonts all had other variants. I simply deleted all the variants except the main four and loaded an epub and the font immediately looked correct.

It also fixed the line-height issue. I assume it was loading the font variant and the font somehow changed the spacing either through the font properties or the fact that it couldn't understand the abnormal font variant. I'm not sure. But set at the lowest setting, the line height was roughly 1.5 as someone mentioned earlier and jumped up quickly with each setting step. But without changing the ebook styles at all, simply fixing the font issue now shows expected minimum and maximum line height adjustments.

So thanks for all the help and patience. It's been hard not being home a lot with access to do more testing. :-o But it feels great knowing i can have my fonts now. Bitter is amazing. You should give it a good while reading with it.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by luisdent

OK, here we go...

Yes, my font names are case sensitive and perfectly correct according to that instruction. And yes, I know you need to rename the books to .kepub.epub. I use calibre to convert the books and then open the containing folder and copy the files onto the device with the correct extensions. This has always worked. This is the only book that hasn't and still doesn't work manually coping to the device.

I used to send to the device via the kobo utility,

No you didn't. The Kobo Utilities plugin has absolutely nothing to do with sending books to the Kobo devices. You do not need it for that.

but that function broke some time ago. I tried it tonight and yes, it does send books to the device. So I assume that was resolved in a recent update. I apologize for not testing that part further. I had recently had the issue and assumed nothing had changed in the short time between now and then. Apparently I was wrong.

Yes, it is very wrong. Calibre will happily send a book to Kobo devices when the firmware version doesn't match. But, it cannot do other stuff, such as update metadata on the device.

The database error however, was not the firmware issue, it was saying the database couldn't be found. It wasn't obvious, but I checked windows, and the path to the database file didn't exist. I created the directory in windows manually, and reconnected the kobo, and it appears to have solved the database error as all the functions work and no errors.

And guess what is the first problem you should have started with? If calibre, or more specifically, the KoboTouch driver could not find the database, then you are in big trouble. And creating the directory to manually to fix it is absurd. It is more likely that the directory was hidden as it is normally marked as a system directory and the OSes tend not to show it. But, that wouldn't have helped as calibre will not create the database. It will only use an existing one.

Honestly, with the problems you are having, I am surprised the device was working at all. At the least I would have expected that it wasn't remembering your books when you added them or read them. And I am a bit surprised that it wasn't rebooting when you disconnected the device and taking you through the setup each time.

FYI my version are as follows:

My reader is 4.26.16704 (0af09acc53, 2/10/21)
Calibre is 5.12.0
Kobo Utilities v2.12.3

I believe I found the issue with the fonts as well. Thank you Sirtel for the link

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kob...play_Correctly

It was not an issue of epub formatting, name of fonts, or any of that. Apparently, as per that article you can only have the 4 primary variants of a font (regular, italic, bold, bold italic). I have never seen that specifically written anywhere, so never thought to restrict a font to only those (how would I know a book wouldn't contain other weight variants :-P hehe). The Alegreya and multiple other fonts all had other variants. I simply deleted all the variants except the main four and loaded an epub and the font immediately looked correct.

Every version of the instructions I have seen is pretty clear about what the files names are. The lack of any other file names should have told you what want going on.

And as you said, the rest is because of this mistake.

[luisdent]

Originally Posted by davidfor

No you didn't. The Kobo Utilities plugin has absolutely nothing to do with sending books to the Kobo devices. You do not need it for that.

Yes, it is very wrong. Calibre will happily send a book to Kobo devices when the firmware version doesn't match. But, it cannot do other stuff, such as update metadata on the device.

And guess what is the first problem you should have started with? If calibre, or more specifically, the KoboTouch driver could not find the database, then you are in big trouble. And creating the directory to manually to fix it is absurd. It is more likely that the directory was hidden as it is normally marked as a system directory and the OSes tend not to show it. But, that wouldn't have helped as calibre will not create the database. It will only use an existing one.

Honestly, with the problems you are having, I am surprised the device was working at all. At the least I would have expected that it wasn't remembering your books when you added them or read them. And I am a bit surprised that it wasn't rebooting when you disconnected the device and taking you through the setup each time.

Every version of the instructions I have seen is pretty clear about what the files names are. The lack of any other file names should have told you what want going on.

And as you said, the rest is because of this mistake.

i assumed it was the kobo utility sending the books, but it is irrelevant, it worked once and then stopped working. after a recent update it is now working again.

regarding the database, my experience says you are wrong or don't understand why it resolved the issue. the log showed me the folder path and it was not hidden or a system file. it didn't exist. once i created the folder in explorer manually and reconnected the device the functions starting working with no errors and files appeared in that folder. and why is it the first problem i should have started with? if, as you say, sending the book doesn't require kobo utilities, then i was using a completely normal and supported method of everything i was doing. load properly named fonts, drag books onto device directly. and it was working, so i believe these were separate issues.

forgive me, but i read everything about the font file names, and verified they all were case sensitive and had the correct formatting. it never dawned on me, nor seems clear even now, that any of those instructoon (except the wiki link that ultimately helped) indicated anything about extra variants being bad. some fonts have more than others, so i assumed the naming simply had to be consistent.

anyhow, i honestly do appreciate the help, so thank you. things are working now.