PW5 Leafpad text editor for KUAL

kbarni · 02-22-2025, 06:50 PM

Hello,

Here's my second extension for KUAL, targeted for newer Kindles (fw 5.16+).

It's a simple but handy text editor, the Leafpad, similar to the classic Notepad. It's based on baf's work.

Hope that somebody might find it useful.

kaspar · 02-22-2025, 09:58 PM

Excited to try this soon. Have you looked into external keyboard support at all? Whether via Bluetooth or OTG USB? I was looking into all of this and using Alpine Linux chroot with a VNC client for writing before I bricked my Scribe a few months ago. I just fixed it last night, so I'll be getting back into this stuff. If we had native external keyboard support on modern Kindles so many possibilities would open up.

kbarni · 02-23-2025, 09:05 AM

It seems that Kindle lacks USB-host drivers. Nothing appears when I connect a USB device (I tested a keyboard or external storage). My Kindle has no BT, so I couldn't test that.

Anyway, this is such a basic text editor (basically an old Windows Notepad clone), so personally, I would prefer some better terminal based text editor (like vim or nano) to write more than just some notes. Unfortunately the included GTK 2.10 toolkit is very old (released in 2006), so it won't run any modern text editors.

kbarni · 02-23-2025, 11:04 AM

I checked and Kindle doesn't have any drivers for USB host mode. So not possible to connect a USB keyboard

Anyway, Leafpad is quite simple (very similar to the old Windows Notebook, so probably not the best app for serious writing.

mergen3107 · 02-23-2025, 08:23 PM

FYI, there is now a working nano in the terminal for Kindles:
https://discord.com/channels/1083603...70821368201226

PigDan · 04-28-2025, 03:53 PM

This is a cool idea, I certainly welcome and would use even more sophisticated text editor tools if they become available but this is nice for the time being. I have reports on what I'm guessing are graphical bugs. I'm uncertain if these apply to just my device and its specific screen resolution..

• On the Kindle Oasis 3 (2019), the text editor sometimes shows a fragment of the home screen and the keyboard disappears -- this seems to be triggered by selecting the different top menu options.
• I noticed right away that saving a note makes a text box pop up that is zoomed in & goes off-screen for this model. There may be more pop-ups that have the same visual issues, I have to test further.

Not sure if this can be tweaked? Would be nice to have a fully functional e-ink note taker!

kbarni · 04-28-2025, 05:10 PM

I rebuilt baf's sources, with minimal adaptations. I admit that GTK2 is not working so well on the Kindles. It's a very old and unmaintained framework, and it doesn't work well with the kindle API (com.lab126) - keyboard disappearing when menu opens, etc.
More, I find Leafpad really really limited text editor - a bit like the old windows notepad.

I personally also prefer nano on kterm, and as a second option koreader's text editor. Anyway, I find it slow to type on the touch kindles (I have a PW5). It might be better on keyboard variants.

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02-22-2025, 09:58 PM	#2
kaspar Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2024 Device: Kindle Scribe	Excited to try this soon. Have you looked into external keyboard support at all? Whether via Bluetooth or OTG USB? I was looking into all of this and using Alpine Linux chroot with a VNC client for writing before I bricked my Scribe a few months ago. I just fixed it last night, so I'll be getting back into this stuff. If we had native external keyboard support on modern Kindles so many possibilities would open up.

02-23-2025, 09:05 AM	#3
kbarni Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 106 Join Date: Feb 2025 Device: Kindle PW5	It seems that Kindle lacks USB-host drivers. Nothing appears when I connect a USB device (I tested a keyboard or external storage). My Kindle has no BT, so I couldn't test that. Anyway, this is such a basic text editor (basically an old Windows Notepad clone), so personally, I would prefer some better terminal based text editor (like vim or nano) to write more than just some notes. Unfortunately the included GTK 2.10 toolkit is very old (released in 2006), so it won't run any modern text editors.

02-23-2025, 11:04 AM	#4
kbarni Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 106 Join Date: Feb 2025 Device: Kindle PW5	I checked and Kindle doesn't have any drivers for USB host mode. So not possible to connect a USB keyboard Anyway, Leafpad is quite simple (very similar to the old Windows Notebook, so probably not the best app for serious writing.

02-23-2025, 08:23 PM	#5
mergen3107 Wizard Posts: 1,497 Karma: 5000046 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Cape Canaveral Device: Kindle Scribe	FYI, there is now a working nano in the terminal for Kindles: https://discord.com/channels/1083603...70821368201226

04-28-2025, 03:53 PM	#6
PigDan Member Posts: 17 Karma: 100 Join Date: Jan 2025 Location: USA Device: KOA3	This is a cool idea, I certainly welcome and would use even more sophisticated text editor tools if they become available but this is nice for the time being. I have reports on what I'm guessing are graphical bugs. I'm uncertain if these apply to just my device and its specific screen resolution.. • On the Kindle Oasis 3 (2019), the text editor sometimes shows a fragment of the home screen and the keyboard disappears -- this seems to be triggered by selecting the different top menu options. • I noticed right away that saving a note makes a text box pop up that is zoomed in & goes off-screen for this model. There may be more pop-ups that have the same visual issues, I have to test further. Not sure if this can be tweaked? Would be nice to have a fully functional e-ink note taker!

04-28-2025, 05:10 PM	#7
kbarni Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 106 Join Date: Feb 2025 Device: Kindle PW5	I rebuilt baf's sources, with minimal adaptations. I admit that GTK2 is not working so well on the Kindles. It's a very old and unmaintained framework, and it doesn't work well with the kindle API (com.lab126) - keyboard disappearing when menu opens, etc. More, I find Leafpad really really limited text editor - a bit like the old windows notepad. I personally also prefer nano on kterm, and as a second option koreader's text editor. Anyway, I find it slow to type on the touch kindles (I have a PW5). It might be better on keyboard variants.