Koreader running on Kobos (all of them, hopefully!)

[Xen]

OK so I have the latest Kobo Aura H20 and firmware

I have Kobo Start Manager installed and running

And KoReader is being recalcitrant and I am in conditions that I have no idea how I got there.

First, I cannot get it to connect to Calibre. When it asked me for an inbox, I set it to My Notes under the KoReader directory because I could not find a way to create a new directory. Given that it would not allow selection of many of the other directories (most of which were pretty clearly related to KoReader functionality in direct and basic ways) I assumed that anything it WOULD let me select would be OK to use as the "inbox".

However it will not connect to the Calibre wireless. When I select "connect" from the Calibre wireless software on the Kobo, it just tells me it cannot connect to Calibre.

Second - I can't find a way to get it to recognize recently read books so that I don't have to sort through the entire directory every time I restart the device.

Third - I had the device set up so that a tap in the upper quadrant paged back and a tap in the lower quadrant paged forward. In the factory reader, this worked intermittently - often it ignored multiple taps and would page BACKWARDS when it was supposed to go forwards. So I loaded up KoReader hoping it would help with that.

But now KoReader seems to have reverted to the tap-right for page-up and tap-left for page-back, with the menu coming up if you tap at the top.

I hold the device in my left hand at the left-bottom corner. Now I can only page forward if I use both hands because my left thumb can't reach far enough across to get a right-tap. This is REALLY inconvenient - is there anyway for me to be able to change that?

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by Xen

OK so I have the latest Kobo Aura H20 and firmware

I have Kobo Start Manager installed and running

And KoReader is being recalcitrant and I am in conditions that I have no idea how I got there.

First, I cannot get it to connect to Calibre. When it asked me for an inbox, I set it to My Notes under the KoReader directory because I could not find a way to create a new directory. Given that it would not allow selection of many of the other directories (most of which were pretty clearly related to KoReader functionality in direct and basic ways) I assumed that anything it WOULD let me select would be OK to use as the "inbox".

However it will not connect to the Calibre wireless. When I select "connect" from the Calibre wireless software on the Kobo, it just tells me it cannot connect to Calibre.

You add folders using your PC, and add it with the same process you used to move and add the koreader folder to your device. With windows it would be using windows explorer. You can add an entire file structured "library" if you wish. For use with calibre and koreader, I would make it a folder inside a hidden folder. (Perhaps; .koreader/inbox, then long press on "inbox", in File Manager, and set it as your inbox folder, when asked.)

First your network must be one that your device recognizes (normally it is easiest to use the Nickel settings to do that) Then Koreader's "Network" menu should let you turn on the WiFi connection (used for several functions, as well as this). Then the "Calibre wireless connection" menu will let you "connect".

With that you can, on your PC, in caliber, you can select multiple library entries and "Send to device" which will put them into your "inbox". (Although it is not working for me right now. [koreader is loosing the WiFi connection]

But - I would rather just turn on calibre's content server and OPDS to it. This usually works fine, but not at the moment.

Originally Posted by Xen

Second - I can't find a way to get it to recognize recently read books so that I don't have to sort through the entire directory every time I restart the device.

The "History" menu item should be giving you that. You can have koreader start where you left off in your current book, when it starts, by setting the "Start with last opened file" menu option checked.

Originally Posted by Xen

Third - I had the device set up so that a tap in the upper quadrant paged back and a tap in the lower quadrant paged forward. In the factory reader, this worked intermittently - often it ignored multiple taps and would page BACKWARDS when it was supposed to go forwards. So I loaded up KoReader hoping it would help with that.

But now KoReader seems to have reverted to the tap-right for page-up and tap-left for page-back, with the menu coming up if you tap at the top.

I hold the device in my left hand at the left-bottom corner. Now I can only page forward if I use both hands because my left thumb can't reach far enough across to get a right-tap. This is REALLY inconvenient - is there anyway for me to be able to change that?

There are "DTAP_ZONE_" entries in the "Advanced Settings", including ones for BACKWARD, FORWARD, AND MENU. (There is also one for "FLIPPING" that I think is a page refresh.)

I usually use the USB cable to add books but I have used both wireless methods a few times and the OPDS with web sites also.

Luck;
Ken

[Xen]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

You add folders using your PC, and add it with the same process you used to move and add the koreader folder to your device. With windows it would be using windows explorer. You can add an entire file structured "library" if you wish. For use with calibre and koreader, I would make it a folder inside a hidden folder. (Perhaps; .koreader/inbox, then long press on "inbox", in File Manager, and set it as your inbox folder, when asked.)

Yes, but I was already trying to configure Calibre wireless via KoReader at the time, so I just picked a directory that it would allow me to pick. Does it matter WHICH directory you select? Does it HAVE to be named Inbox, and does it have to be in a particular place?

The problem is that now that I have selected a directory to use as the Inbox, it doesn't ask me any more. I can find no way to change this.

First your network must be one that your device recognizes (normally it is easiest to use the Nickel settings to do that)

This isn't mentioned on the Calibre wireless page at GitHub. I followed those directions. What are the Nickel settings and values that need to be set?

Then Koreader's "Network" menu should let you turn on the WiFi connection (used for several functions, as well as this). Then the "Calibre wireless connection" menu will let you "connect".

Well now I am really confused. I can't find any "network" menu in KoReader. I had the wireless enabled via KSM, but now when I check that status, where it was previously showing "enabled", it now shows

sdio wifi pwr.ko: not loaded
dhd.ko: not loaded

With that you can, on your PC, in caliber, you can select multiple library entries and "Send to device" which will put them into your "inbox". (Although it is not working for me right now. [koreader is loosing the WiFi connection]

But - I would rather just turn on calibre's content server and OPDS to it. This usually works fine, but not at the moment.

Well - not working for me at all atm, but I doubt I have it configured correctly yet.

As far as I can tell, OPDS is some sort of HTML based cataloging system. It seemed complicated and sort of not very direct.

However I already use and am more than satisfied with Calibre. If there is any way to get it to work directly through Calibre that would be my preference. I want to use it to sideload books out of my Calibre library - that is where I keep EVERYTHING readable from all sources.

Do you think the wireless issue you are having is software or hardware related? If its something about your hardware, then perhaps it might yet work for me if I can get it configured properly - which apparently is not the case yet.

The "History" menu item should be giving you that. You can have koreader start where you left off in your current book, when it starts, by setting the "Start with last opened file" menu option checked.

When I first installed KoReader, starting it ALWAYS started it in the file manager.

Even if I opened a book to read, the next time it came up in file manager in the directory where the factory software had put the books I have loaded. They are always sorted in alphabetical order by author as that is how the factory software organizes books - folder with the author's name, and inside books by title.

After I found the setting "start with last opened file", it was opening a file that I have finally figured out (by finding it in History) called "updatehistory.txt"

From there, I had a completely different menu when I tap at the top - this is where I finally found the settings to (apparently incorrectly) configure Calibre wireless. I could not get to this when KoReader was starting up in the File Manager, no matter what I did.

Now what it is doing is it is ALWAYS starting up in the last book I was reading and I can't find any way to get out of THAT state now. Feast or famine - I either can't get to last book read directly, or I can't get OUT of it, LOL!

Is there a way to get it to always open up in the History? A script, maybe?

There are "DTAP_ZONE_" entries in the "Advanced Settings", including ones for BACKWARD, FORWARD, AND MENU. (There is also one for "FLIPPING" that I think is a page refresh.)

It is my understanding - and I think its obvious at this point that "my understanding" doesn't really stretch all that far - that FLIPPING is used only for PDF files in some way. That is one of the few things I found documented at GitHub - I think it may have been in the Tips & Tricks section.

Assumptions about how the tap activation works under the spoiler

Spoiler:

I surmise that

• (x,y) = (0,0) is the top left corner of the screen;
• (x,y) coordinates are expressed in units as a percentage of the physical screen height and width
• x is the horizontal coordinate
• y is the vertical coordinate
• y is expressed as a positive value as you go DOWN
• x is expressed as a positive value as you move to the RIGHT
• height is expressed in a percentage of screen height, downward from the y coordinate
• width is expressed in a percentage of screen width, to the right from the defined x coordinate

In Advanced Settings, I find
DTAP_ZONE_CONFIG = {y = 0, x = 0, h = 0, w = 0}
DTAP_ZONE_FLIPPING = {y = 0, x = 0, h = 0.125, w = 0.125}
DTAP_ZONE_BOOKMARK = {y = 0, x = 0.875, h = 0.125, w = 0.125}
DTAP_ZONE_MENU = {y = 0, x = 0.125, h = 0.25, w = 0.75}
DTAP-ZONE_BACKWARD = {y = 0, x = 0, h = 1, w = 0.25}
DTAP_ZONE_FORWARD = {y = 0, x = 0.25, h = 1, w = 0.75}
DTAP_ZONE_MINIBAR = {y = 0.9375, x = 0, h = 0.0625, w = 1}

I don't know what "CONFIG" would do, but as defined, it can't be accessed as its activation zone has 0 width and 0 height.

Currently the "FLIPPING" activation zone overlaps the top left corner of the "MENU" activation zone, and the "BOOKMARK" activation zone overlaps the top right corner of the "MENU" activation zone. Each of these are 0.5" wide and approx 0.67" tall, in their respective corners, while the "menu" activation zone is approx 1.25" tall and extends across the entire width of the screen. Tapping anywhere in there that doesn't fall into one of the 2 overlapping zone will bring up the menu.

I believe what I want to do may be accomplished via the following settings:

DTAP_ZONE_MENU = {y = 0, x = 0.125, h = 0.125, w = 0.75}
DTAP-ZONE_BACKWARD = {y = 0.125, x = 0, h = 0.375, w = 1}
DTAP_ZONE_FORWARD = {y = 0.5, x = 0, h = 0.4375, w = 1}

I see no advantage to having the MENU activation area twice the height of the activation areas to its left and right; this gives me better access for the Page Back activation area as well.

Now the activation areas for PAGE BACK and PAGE FORWARD are fitted in between the 3 activation areas defined at the top and the one at the bottom, with tapping inside the top half effecting the PAGE BACK and tapping inside the bottom half (but above the minibar) will effect a PAGE FORWARD.

This seems to work - until I power the device down. When I power it back up again, those settings have reverted to their original values. Is that normal? Is there some step I am missing that would make these values persist across powerdowns?

I usually use the USB cable to add books but I have used both wireless methods a few times and the OPDS with web sites also.

Luck;
Ken

The issue for me is that a lot of my library is on the computer in the living room which is attached to the TV. This means that I am sitting a fair distance away from the actual computer - with a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Aside from the physical difficulty involved in getting up and plugging in/unplugging the device (I have some physical impairments, which is why I seem so picky about how I hold and page the reader), the space where the computer sits requires that I place the device, while plugged in, on what is essentially a cat launching area. Damage to the device is a risk if I have to physically plug into the USB and then manipulate everything from a distance, LOL!

So it would be REALLY, REALLY helpful to me to be able to use the wireless. This is, in fact, the sole useful purpose for having wireless in an e-reader as far as I am concerned - if it will allow me to connect to Calibre without having to physically get up and down and around.

Thank you for your continued help.

BTW - is there documentation somewhere for what all those settings under "Advanced Setting" do?

And is it possible to totally disable the dictionary? I have no use for it and its annoying that it keeps trying to define words when I'm a little slow to lift my finger after paging.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by Xen

Well now I am really confused. I can't find any "network" menu in KoReader. I had the wireless enabled via KSM, but now when I check that status, where it was previously showing "enabled", it now shows

sdio wifi pwr.ko: not loaded
dhd.ko: not loaded

When you select (in KSM > wifi) "wifi enable dhcp.sh" the modules sdio_wifi_pwr.ko and dhd.ko get loaded. When you select "wifi disable.sh", or you reboot or power off and on the device, those modules get unloaded. (Note: Before starting nickel, the modules should be unloaded. Maybe KSM should do this automatically.) In order to connect to the network, the network and the password must be known to the system. You can enter the password in KSM (wifi > wifi ap scan.sh), but this function has some limitations (as so many things in KSM): the network name and the password must not contain spaces, and the password must only contain numbers and English letters. You can enter the password (without those limitations) in nickel. Once this is done, Koreader should be able to connect to the network.

[Xen]

I will have to work on networking later - but I have once again experienced the weirdness of having my changed settings for paging activation areas switched back to default values.

This happened in the middle of reading a book. I'm sailing along, tapping low to page forward, and suddenly it starts going backwards again. Go to check the 3 values I changed - and they are back at default.

I set them again. Exited the Advanced Settings screen. Go check and they are working when reading a book in KoReader as expected.

I try to exit to KSM. I get a box that says "You have unsaved changes" and I select SAVE. Go all the way out to KSM. Reboot. Power all the way down to be on the safe side. Start back up. Changes are still in Advanced Settings.

This gets written out to a file, correct? I don't understand how it could change in the middle of reading, but this is the 2nd time its happened that way. I wasn't sure the first time - but it definitely stopped working mid-read this time.

Is there some mechanism by which this could revert to default, some timing issue - it doesn't save it unless you actually exit KoReader to KSM, maybe? If I power it down after making the changes, but before exiting to KSM (so that query box asking if I want to save doesn't get started) would that cause the changes to be lost?

I can't see anyway that this should change mid read though. I am perplexed!

EDIT: OK I am even MORE PERPLEXED! I just went in to check settings in Advanced Settings again - and it has reset 2 of the variables to default, the one for paging forward and the one for the menu activation area.

The third changed variable - for paging back - retains the settings I assigned.

This is after setting all 3, testing in a book, rebooting, powering down, and starting back up.

I am changing the other 2 variables YET AGAIN and will exit to trigger the "do you want to save" popup, reboot, power down, and start up again and see what I have then.

OK, once again I have gotten the "save successful" notification, exited, rebooted, powered off, powered back up. Checked in advanced settings and all 3 variables are still set the way I set them.

If this changes again, I think I will have to do a factory reset and start all over, reinstall KSM and KoReader, upload my books again - probably won't be all the same, but I'll try. And see if this nonsense continues.

This is too weird. I cannot imagine how this could be happening.

BTW - I just spent a good long while trying to power this down from the KSM home screen.

It ignores the power button altogether - is that normal? Could not power down using the power button.

Then, after having pressed and held the power button several times trying to power the device down, it appeared to be ignoring or very slow to respond to a tap on the "Power Down" option on the KSM menu.

Tried it again - this time attempting to power down resulted in the device starting up Nickel! I can only guess that it took longer than 20 seconds to process the shutdown request so it did the autostartup thing (defaults to start_nickel after 20 seconds).

I have errands to run, I'm going to have to put this aside for now. This all seems very bizarre ...

Also - in case I hadn't mentioned it - this device was acting wonky before I loaded up KSM and KoReader. I was hoping to solve the wonk by bypassing the need to maintain that database so you can use the factory software - but maybe its hardware wonk and not software wonk. Perhaps the device is Just Plain Bad.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by Xen

I will have to work on networking later - but I have once again experienced the weirdness of having my changed settings for paging activation areas switched back to default values.

This happened in the middle of reading a book. I'm sailing along, tapping low to page forward, and suddenly it starts going backwards again. Go to check the 3 values I changed - and they are back at default.

I set them again. Exited the Advanced Settings screen. Go check and they are working when reading a book in KoReader as expected.

I try to exit to KSM. I get a box that says "You have unsaved changes" and I select SAVE. Go all the way out to KSM. Reboot. Power all the way down to be on the safe side. Start back up. Changes are still in Advanced Settings.

This gets written out to a file, correct? I don't understand how it could change in the middle of reading, but this is the 2nd time its happened that way. I wasn't sure the first time - but it definitely stopped working mid-read this time.

Is there some mechanism by which this could revert to default, some timing issue - it doesn't save it unless you actually exit KoReader to KSM, maybe? If I power it down after making the changes, but before exiting to KSM (so that query box asking if I want to save doesn't get started) would that cause the changes to be lost?

I can't see anyway that this should change mid read though. I am perplexed!

After you finish making your Advanced settings options, poke the House icon and that should give you that message to save the settings.

Luck;
Ken

[Xen]

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[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by Xen

Yes, it does, and I've been doing that. Modified that last posting to include more ongoing loss of those settings. Again, maybe the device itself is at fault somehow.

I will try a factory reset and reinstallation when I get home and see if that fixes it. If not - my guess is I will have to send the device back.

Get a copy of the free "Notepad++" and use it to read and modify the script files. The "Advanced settings" are stored in the /.adds/koreader/defaults.lua file. It is much easier to make the changes using Notepad++, as the file includes plenty of comments describing the settings.

Luck;
Ken

[pickyaxe]

Is there a screen timeout setting somewhere? I've noticed while in Koreader, the device never sleeps (and in particular, turns off the frontlight) even after several hours of standby.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by pickyaxe

Is there a screen timeout setting somewhere? I've noticed while in Koreader, the device never sleeps (and in particular, turns off the frontlight) even after several hours of standby.

Well, since your device is "none", what can you expect?

Not that I am aware of, no inactivity timer.

Standby = Sleep. When I am reading a book in Koreader on my AuraHD, a simple flick of the power slider puts my device to "sleep", turning off the frontlight, if it was on. The book's cover is displayed or, if there is none, the image I have chosen.

Luck;
Ken

[justified]

Hello,

Here are mighty 144 pages, so I searched whole day but still couldn't find an answer.

Is it possible to re-define light button to make long press on it cause koreader go to standby? Or maybe it can be done via double-tap somewhere on the screen?

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by justified

Hello,

Here are mighty 144 pages, so I searched whole day but still couldn't find an answer.

Is it possible to re-define hard keys to make long press light button to make koreader go to standby? Or maybe it can be done via double-tap somewhere on the screen?

I take it your power slider switch is not working?

It is possible to turn double tap on in Koreader and assign an event to a double tap at a specified coordinate of the screen. Don't know how you would make it call the process that displays the book cover or image file, then calls the suspend function, but it should be do able.

Or you could fix your power switch.

Luck;
Ken

[justified]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

I take it your power slider switch is not working?

It is possible to turn double tap on in Koreader and assign an event to a double tap at a specified coordinate of the screen. Don't know how you would make it call the process that displays the book cover or image file, then calls the suspend function, but it should be do able.

Or you could fix your power switch.

Luck;
Ken

Thank you Ken!
Yes, my power switch broke and to fix it, I need to disassemble the device and do some soldering work, which I'm not really good at. So instead I'll better use a dedicated case with a magnet that should put my device to sleep.

And if I assign double tap to suspend, to wake the reader I'll still have to use a magnet right?

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by justified

Thank you Ken!
Yes, my power switch broke and to fix it, I need to disassemble the device and do some soldering work, which I'm not really good at. So instead I'll better use a dedicated case with a magnet that should put my device to sleep.

And if I assign double tap to suspend, to wake the reader I'll still have to use a magnet right?

You would need something that is still monitored while in the suspend mode. Attaching a powered USB cable should do it. I guess tapping the bottom right of the screen with a magnet might work, or using the magnetic "sleepcover", would work.

Luck;
Ken

[justified]

Thank you!