Aura ONE Footnote Links

Ashjuk · 05-26-2022, 04:02 AM

I have edited a book using Sigil, and included some footnotes with links to them in the text. Unfortunately when I view the book on my Aura the links to the footnotes do not work.

They worked fine in the preview window of Sigil, and if I open the book in ADE they also work as intended, so I presume it's not my dodgy code.

Has anyone else had experienced links not working on a Kobo, and did you ever get them to work?

icallaci · 05-26-2022, 01:00 PM

Yes, I've had problems with this occasionally, but I've never been able to figure out why. Footnotes in some books always go to the cover page, even though they work in Sigil, Calibre, ADE, etc. I have no idea what causes this. (Hmmm... I haven't noticed it yet in my Elipsa, so maybe...)

davidfor · 05-26-2022, 10:42 PM

The question is what actually happens when you try to use the footnote? Is it ignored? Does it go somewhere else? What are you expecting to happen?

If you are using epubs, tapping the footnote link can be hard. This will always be the size of the link. If the footnote link is a single superscript character, try increasing the font size and seeing if you can tap that. When the footnote link does work, it will always navigate to the destination. Epubs do not use a popup for footnotes.

With kepubs, tapping the footnote link is easier. The renderer uses a larger size than the link. With kepubs, you can get a popup for the footnote. But, to a certain extent, the renderer is taking a guess about whether the link is for a footnote or is a link for navigation. Things can be done with the links to improve this.

Unfortunately, comparing what happens to other readers/apps is not always useful. Some, such as the calibre reader, are very forgiving for the code in books. Where as the RMSDK based ereader Kobo uses for epubs is very unforgiving. And the rules used to decide if a link is a footnote is different for each reader/app. Seeing the book will help. If it is something we can look at, then post a link to it, or if it is legal to attach the book, do so.

Ashjuk · 05-27-2022, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

The question is what actually happens when you try to use the footnote? Is it ignored? Does it go somewhere else? What are you expecting to happen?

Nothing happens. I had expected the focus to go to the specific footnote that I had placed at the end of the chapter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

If you are using epubs, tapping the footnote link can be hard. This will always be the size of the link. If the footnote link is a single superscript character, try increasing the font size and seeing if you can tap that. When the footnote link does work, it will always navigate to the destination. Epubs do not use a popup for footnotes.

I did think it might be that I was not actually clicking on the footnote character. I edited one of them to increase it's size, but still no luck. So far I have not managed to get a link to work on the Kobo. I did read that a long press was needed to get them to work, but again no luck getting it to work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

With kepubs, tapping the footnote link is easier. The renderer uses a larger size than the link. With kepubs, you can get a popup for the footnote. But, to a certain extent, the renderer is taking a guess about whether the link is for a footnote or is a link for navigation. Things can be done with the links to improve this.

I have yet to try a kepub. I installed the add-on for Calibre that allows you to save the book as a kepub, so I will give that a try later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

Unfortunately, comparing what happens to other readers/apps is not always useful. Some, such as the calibre reader, are very forgiving for the code in books. Where as the RMSDK based ereader Kobo uses for epubs is very unforgiving. And the rules used to decide if a link is a footnote is different for each reader/app. Seeing the book will help. If it is something we can look at, then post a link to it, or if it is legal to attach the book, do so.

Which is why I used ADE to check. I read somewhere that ADE was the least forgiving when it came to sticking to the rules. As I said previously, the links to the footnotes work as expected in ADE.
Sorry, I can't attach the book as it's copyrighted. I will extract a section with a footnote link and post it here.

davidfor · 05-27-2022, 11:06 PM

I tested the book on my Forma as that was nearest to had. There were no issues with the footnote. Tap the link and it went to the footnote.

But, as you have an Aura ONE, something else occurred to me. The calibration of the touch on the Aura ONE can be terrible. I have to tap a bit to the left of the icons in the menu bar to activate them. When I tried the book on it, the first try turned the page. I had to tap a little to the left of the link for it to work. There were no issues with the actual footnote, it was an issue with the Aura ONE and its touch.

Ashjuk · 05-28-2022, 03:25 AM

Thanks for checking for me.

I will try tapping around the link to see if I can find a spot where it works. Other than that it looks like I have two options - either replace my Aura or give up on footnotes.

It's not a huge issue as few of the books I read have footnotes anyway. I will probably just give up on footnotes, and edit the text to include the information in another form.

lensmann · 05-28-2022, 03:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ashjuk

Thanks for checking for me.

I will try tapping around the link to see if I can find a spot where it works. Other than that it looks like I have two options - either replace my Aura or give up on footnotes.

It's not a huge issue as few of the books I read have footnotes anyway. I will probably just give up on footnotes, and edit the text to include the information in another form.

I've tested it on my Aura One. The footnote link works, but there is an issue with the size of the link. If I set the font to a normal size, tapping the footnote link does nothing. If I increase the font size, however, tapping on the footnote link takes me straight to the end of the chapter.

If I convert the book to a Kepub, the link works flawlessly on normal font sizes and brings up a popup with the text of the footnote. I used kepubify rather than Calibre for the conversion, but the result should be the same with Calibre.

In summary: davidfor's diagnosis was spot on, and the issue is precisely one of the size of the link. To fix it, you'll either need to increase the size of the target, or convert the book from epub to kepub.

Ashjuk · 05-28-2022, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lensmann

I've tested it on my Aura One. The footnote link works, but there is an issue with the size of the link. If I set the font to a normal size, tapping the footnote link does nothing. If I increase the font size, however, tapping on the footnote link takes me straight to the end of the chapter.

If I convert the book to a Kepub, the link works flawlessly on normal font sizes and brings up a popup with the text of the footnote. I used kepubify rather than Calibre for the conversion, but the result should be the same with Calibre.

In summary: davidfor's diagnosis was spot on, and the issue is precisely one of the size of the link. To fix it, you'll either need to increase the size of the target, or convert the book from epub to kepub.

Thanks for that.

I will try increasing the font size and see how I get on.

I have never used kepub, and I'm not sure how it works.

I used Calibre to convert and save the book as kepub, which I then side-loaded to the kepub folder on my Aura, but the book does not appear in the list. I also created a kepub folder in the books location and copied the file to that, but again the book does not show in the list.

davidfor · 05-28-2022, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ashjuk

Thanks for that.

I will try increasing the font size and see how I get on.

I have never used kepub, and I'm not sure how it works.

I used Calibre to convert and save the book as kepub, which I then side-loaded to the kepub folder on my Aura, but the book does not appear in the list. I also created a kepub folder in the books location and copied the file to that, but again the book does not show in the list.

For a kepub to be recognised by the device, its extension must be ".kepub.epub". If you use calibre to send the kepub device, it will do the rename for you.

If you want to use kepubs all the time, you can use the KoboTouchExtended driver. This will do the kepupification when a book is sent to the device.

Ashjuk · 05-28-2022, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

For a kepub to be recognised by the device, its extension must be ".kepub.epub". If you use calibre to send the kepub device, it will do the rename for you.

If you want to use kepubs all the time, you can use the KoboTouchExtended driver. This will do the kepupification when a book is sent to the device.

Many thanks, I will try renaming the file and hopefully it will be recognised.

There are very few books that I come across that have footnote links, so manually doing the odd one would not be a chore.

05-26-2022, 04:02 AM	#1
Ashjuk Fanatic Posts: 500 Karma: 3498633 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Surrey, UK Device: Kobo Aura One, Sony PRS 600/650	Footnote Links I have edited a book using Sigil, and included some footnotes with links to them in the text. Unfortunately when I view the book on my Aura the links to the footnotes do not work. They worked fine in the preview window of Sigil, and if I open the book in ADE they also work as intended, so I presume it's not my dodgy code. Has anyone else had experienced links not working on a Kobo, and did you ever get them to work?

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05-26-2022, 01:00 PM	#2
icallaci Guru Posts: 817 Karma: 6528026 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: Kobo Elipsa	Yes, I've had problems with this occasionally, but I've never been able to figure out why. Footnotes in some books always go to the cover page, even though they work in Sigil, Calibre, ADE, etc. I have no idea what causes this. (Hmmm... I haven't noticed it yet in my Elipsa, so maybe...)

05-26-2022, 10:42 PM	#3
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	The question is what actually happens when you try to use the footnote? Is it ignored? Does it go somewhere else? What are you expecting to happen? If you are using epubs, tapping the footnote link can be hard. This will always be the size of the link. If the footnote link is a single superscript character, try increasing the font size and seeing if you can tap that. When the footnote link does work, it will always navigate to the destination. Epubs do not use a popup for footnotes. With kepubs, tapping the footnote link is easier. The renderer uses a larger size than the link. With kepubs, you can get a popup for the footnote. But, to a certain extent, the renderer is taking a guess about whether the link is for a footnote or is a link for navigation. Things can be done with the links to improve this. Unfortunately, comparing what happens to other readers/apps is not always useful. Some, such as the calibre reader, are very forgiving for the code in books. Where as the RMSDK based ereader Kobo uses for epubs is very unforgiving. And the rules used to decide if a link is a footnote is different for each reader/app. Seeing the book will help. If it is something we can look at, then post a link to it, or if it is legal to attach the book, do so.

05-27-2022, 11:06 PM	#5
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	I tested the book on my Forma as that was nearest to had. There were no issues with the footnote. Tap the link and it went to the footnote. But, as you have an Aura ONE, something else occurred to me. The calibration of the touch on the Aura ONE can be terrible. I have to tap a bit to the left of the icons in the menu bar to activate them. When I tried the book on it, the first try turned the page. I had to tap a little to the left of the link for it to work. There were no issues with the actual footnote, it was an issue with the Aura ONE and its touch.

05-28-2022, 03:25 AM	#6
Ashjuk Fanatic Posts: 500 Karma: 3498633 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Surrey, UK Device: Kobo Aura One, Sony PRS 600/650	Thanks for checking for me. I will try tapping around the link to see if I can find a spot where it works. Other than that it looks like I have two options - either replace my Aura or give up on footnotes. It's not a huge issue as few of the books I read have footnotes anyway. I will probably just give up on footnotes, and edit the text to include the information in another form.