KOBO Rocks!!!

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

Is it possible to change this in any way? To have, say, a range of 20-40 but no gaps. I only have 8 font sizes on my Kindle but have them set to increase at 1 point intervals. After all I will never use either the very large or very small fonts. Yes, I had to jailbreak to get this functionality, is it possible to tweak the Aura in this way?

If there is I'm not aware of it, otherwise I'd have been using it on my Glo However, anyone comfortable with SQL table editing could easily set a 'missing' value. In fact if you choose to only ever read in one font at one size you could set any 'missing' value in the config file and never need to touch the size slider again.

FYI when I first got the Glo the available values were 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58. I spent a l-o-n-g tedious evening going through them all. It's quite likely these are still the available values but I only re-checked the min. and max. on the Aura fw2.5.1

On the Glo my preferred font-size was in the 26-32 range, depending on chosen font. Since getting the Aura, using the same fonts, I found that what looked to me like similar sizes as on the Glo, seem to be in the 20-24 range. Lucky for me this range has better coverage in 1-point increments.

[Lyn2012]

Thanks for sharing this info Jackie_w. Unfortunately, SQL table editing is rather beyond me, I can just about manage to follow instructions when other people have developed ways to tweak the device! I would love to try the Aura for a few days to see if I get on with it but am uncertain about the Kobo (or WH Smith) return policy. Maybe I'll wait and see what Sony has to offer later this year before making a decision - I wonder how strong minded I can be?

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

Unfortunately, SQL table editing is rather beyond me, I can just about manage to follow instructions when other people have developed ways to tweak the device!

I'm sure something could be arranged should it become necessary It's less scary than the Sony hacks I installed which required 'flashing' the device.

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

I would love to try the Aura for a few days to see if I get on with it but am uncertain about the Kobo (or WH Smith) return policy.

I bought my Kobo Glo from the local WHSmith. They said I had 28 (or was it 30?) days to return it if I didn't like it. I never did, so can't say what the experience would have been like. If you order via their website I think the UK Distance Selling Regulations would apply which (I think) gives you 7 working days to cancel, starting from the day following receipt of item.

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

Maybe I'll wait and see what Sony has to offer later this year before making a decision - I wonder how strong minded I can be?

Can't help you there. My willpower was non-existent

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

In my testing, when I increase the font size, the line-height stays the same relative to the font size.

Doing it your way of using a fixed value, when I increased the font size, the lines overlapped. em is the best value to use.

Interesting. I always use 1.1 for the line-height and checking with my Kobo collection and ADE, when I increase the font size. the line spacing remains the same relative to the font size. Using your WotW v4 with line-height set to 1.1, the gap between the lines remained the same fraction -- if I doubled the font size (measured by my trusty calipers using the width of the capital M in Mars), the gap between the descender in one line and the ascender in the line below also doubled (I played with the margins slider on the Kobos to force them to line up closely enough to measure). There was never any overlap from the smallest to the largest font size setting. Text for the start of Chapter One went from 'Chapter One ... years of the' at the largest setting to 'Chapter One ... apostles of mercy as to' at the smallest setting on the Kobo Aura.

Again line-height: 1.1 is not a fixed value -- it is saying to use 1.1 times the current font size.

<pedantic mode on>

To quote from the definition I've seen used in almost every line-height tutorial:

Possible Values

Value Description

inherit Explicitly sets the value of this property to that of the parent.

normal Sets the line height to a ‘reasonable’ value relative to the element’s font face. Browser dependent results. CSS2 recommends a computed value between 1.0 and 1.2.

[length] This sets the ‘line-height’ to an explicit length value. Negative values are not allowed.

[number] This number is a multiplier to determine the line height as a factor of the current element font-size. To determine the line height from the [number], multiply the current element font-size by the [number]. Child elements will inherit the multiplying factor. Negative values are not allowed.

[percentage] This number is also a multiplier (like [number]) used to determine the line height as a factor of the current element font-size. To determine the line height from the [percentage], multiply the current element computed ‘font-size’ by the [percentage]. Negative values are not allowed.

<pedantic mode off>

Regards,
David

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What is the factory set default font size?

Other than saying it is somewhere between 22 and 28, I can't say. I keep meaning to check when I do a reset, but don't remember until to late.

I think this is a bug to not have a default font size once the font size slider has been moved. It means you lose a fixed value which is a good place to start.

I disagree. When I open a new book, the most likely font that I want to use is the same as the one for the last book. This works for me because most of the books don't set the font size anywhere. And because of this, I can go several books without opening the settings dialog at all.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I disagree. When I open a new book, the most likely font that I want to use is the same as the one for the last book. This works for me because most of the books don't set the font size anywhere. And because of this, I can go several books without opening the settings dialog at all.

I like the way Sony does it on the T1. You have a default font size. You can keep that as the default font size or you can change the default font size. You can also just as easy set it back to the original default font.

If I set the font size in CSS to be 1em, will it be 1em when the ePub is opened regardless of what it was set to for the previous eBook? If not, that IS a bug.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If I set the font size in CSS to be 1em, will it be 1em when the ePub is opened regardless of what it was set to for the previous eBook? If not, that IS a bug.

font-size: 1em means 100% of the value default font size (actually, the font size of the parent element, but I'm going to simplify). The "default font size" is whatever default font size the client (in this case, your ereader) decides it is. That could be 10px, 12px, whatever the programmer decides is a good default size. Of course, a good programmer lets the user change the default size to what the user likes.

So, if you, the user, set the default font size to 14px, then the next time, when you open a book and it has font-size: 1em, then it's going to be displayed as 14px. That is the correct behavior. It is not set to "1em," because "1em" is a relative value and has no meaning in itself.

I don't have a Sony, but maybe it has a global default font size value that you can set for all books, and additionally saves the font size for each individual book if you change font size in the reading screen. That would be a nice feature that most readers don't have.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I like the way Sony does it on the T1. You have a default font size. You can keep that as the default font size or you can change the default font size. You can also just as easy set it back to the original default font.

If I set the font size in CSS to be 1em, will it be 1em when the ePub is opened regardless of what it was set to for the previous eBook? If not, that IS a bug.

1 em is NOT a physical font size. It was originally the size of a capital M in a font (or a quad-em as the block was a square). The physical size of the em depended on the point size of the font -- a 144 point capital M is 1 em, a 6 point capital M is 1 em. It has now come to mean the point size of the font since many fonts do not have a capital M in them.

In the sense it is used in an epub book, web browser, etc., 1 em means the system font size whatever that may be. If I set the display font on my system to 72 point, that's what a 1 em will mean. If I set the display font to 4 point, that's what 1 em will mean.

Saying your default font size is 1 em is a meaningless noise. Much like saying that yesterday was 3 metres wide or giving a direction such as turn east at next Tuesday.

And yes, I do have an em ruler from the days when I got to type on ETAION SHRDLU keyboards and leading meant real lead -- well, type metal.

Perhaps this discussion would be better in a different thread? Typography and style sheets for geeks anyone?

Regards,
David

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I like the way Sony does it on the T1. You have a default font size. You can keep that as the default font size or you can change the default font size. You can also just as easy set it back to the original default font.

If I set the font size in CSS to be 1em, will it be 1em when the ePub is opened regardless of what it was set to for the previous eBook? If not, that IS a bug.

I suppose the way to put it is that when I adjust the font settings for a book, they become the default settings for all books. And if you are using relative font sizes in the book, then it is relative to the selected font size on the reader.

[samhy]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I disagree. When I open a new book, the most likely font that I want to use is the same as the one for the last book. This works for me because most of the books don't set the font size anywhere. And because of this, I can go several books without opening the settings dialog at all.

I agree with you. When the settings are good, there is no need to fiddle for each and every book. I really like that

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Barty

font-size: 1em means 100% of the value default font size (actually, the font size of the parent element, but I'm going to simplify). The "default font size" is whatever default font size the client (in this case, your ereader) decides it is. That could be 10px, 12px, whatever the programmer decides is a good default size. Of course, a good programmer lets the user change the default size to what the user likes.

So, if you, the user, set the default font size to 14px, then the next time, when you open a book and it has font-size: 1em, then it's going to be displayed as 14px. That is the correct behavior. It is not set to "1em," because "1em" is a relative value and has no meaning in itself.

I don't have a Sony, but maybe it has a global default font size value that you can set for all books, and additionally saves the font size for each individual book if you change font size in the reading screen. That would be a nice feature that most readers don't have.

What I would expect is that if your eBook has a font size set in CSS of 1em and you want it changed, you change it. You exit the eBook and when you next go back to that eBook, the font is as you set it. But if you go into a different eBook with a font size set at .9em, you get .9em and not the size you last used. Then from there you get to change it. Now if you have an eBook that has no font specified, you can have the last used font size or an option to use the default size.

That's logical and makes a lot of sense.

[bookwurm70]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

I'm sure something could be arranged should it become necessary It's less scary than the Sony hacks I installed which required 'flashing' the device.


I bought my Kobo Glo from the local WHSmith. They said I had 28 (or was it 30?) days to return it if I didn't like it. I never did, so can't say what the experience would have been like. If you order via their website I think the UK Distance Selling Regulations would apply which (I think) gives you 7 working days to cancel, starting from the day following receipt of item.


Can't help you there. My willpower was non-existent

I ordered directly from Kobo U.S. , my only option in the U.S. and I can only return for a factory defect. I tried. I don't like the smooth case and would rather have something like the Glo, but kobo said, you bought it, too bad

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What I would expect is that if your eBook has a font size set in CSS of 1em and you want it changed, you change it. You exit the eBook and when you next go back to that eBook, the font is as you set it. But if you go into a different eBook with a font size set at .9em, you get .9em and not the size you last used. Then from there you get to change it. Now if you have an eBook that has no font specified, you can have the last used font size or an option to use the default size.

That's logical and makes a lot of sense.

And that is what the Kobo does when I open a book that has not been previously opened -- it inherits the font settings from the previous book. That is the reason why I tend to edit my ebooks so all of them have specify the body font as 1 em. If I open an ebook with with the font size specified as 109% (same as 1.09 em), I have to reduce the font size to give me the size on screen that I'm comfortable reading.

Yet more fun when the publisher specifies the font size in pixels. I had one of those that was comfortable to read on the Touch with it's 600x800 screen, a bit small on the Glo with it's 758x1024 screen and uncomfortable to read on the Aura with it's 1080x1440 screen. After editing it to change all the pixel size references to em's, it now looks much the same on all three.

Regards,
David

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by bookwurm70

I ordered directly from Kobo U.S. , my only option in the U.S. and I can only return for a factory defect. I tried. I don't like the smooth case and would rather have something like the Glo, but kobo said, you bought it, too bad

So you contacted them and tried to do a return? If so I'd try again as their return policy is 30 days...

What is the Return Policy for eReaders?

Getting a refund for your Kobo eReader


If you purchased your eReader from Kobo.com and would like to return it, please contact Customer Care. The return policy is as follows:

Items that can be returned may be refunded up to 30 days from their shipment date.

Promotional discounts have no cash value and are not refundable.

We reserve the right to verify return product information before issuing a return credit (i.e. confirming damaged product).

We are not responsible for any damage that may occur during the return shipment of your order.

Unless we made an error in order processing or shipping, return-shipping fees will apply. For your convenience, shipping charges will be automatically deducted from your refund amount.

Note: Kobo eGift Cards and Kobo Protection Plans are not returnable.

If you did not purchase your eReader from Kobo, please return to the store where you purchased your eReader and complete their refund process.

I returned a Vox I didn't like and had to prod them for the refund once UPS tracking showed they had it for five days and still hadn't refunded, but other than that the process went ok.


I wonder if some type of skin on the back could give you the surface you want. Or maybe that's not an option?

[jackie_w]

@JSWolf,

But that's exactly what you do get. Once you've set the font-size for a particular book it stays set, unless you want to change it again. It doesn't matter what you do in a different book. It's only when opening a book the first time that it opens at the size you chose the last time you touched the slider. I'd rather have an on-device size changer than to have to recode css.

Perhaps it's time to accept you're not to be happy with anything that doesn't work exactly like the PRST1. As a long-time Sony fan myself I'll leave you with these thoughts:

• What changed the Sonys from being good, solid, reliable readers into great readers was the hacking community. Without kartu's PRS+ on the PRS505-x50 or morkl's work on the PRST1, Sony customisation options would have been very limited indeed.
  
• It was only morkl's hack which gave me anything like the font-size control I wanted on the PRST1. Without it I had 8 standard options so widely spread that I was lucky if liked even one of them - it was usually none.
  
• And who can forget that the PRST1 out-of-the-box wouldn't display italics/bold reliably unless you used the default font (totally useless IMO) or embedded your own (beyond the capabilty of many owners at the time). Sony were so aware of this that they documented it in the User Guide! Despite 4 or 5 firmware upgrades Sony chose never to fix it for PRST1 owners, instead saving the fix for the PRST2. We know from morkl's hack work that all it required was something like a 2-line fix. I call this cynical in the extreme.
  
• All other community hacking on the PRST1/T2 was centred around rooting the device into an e-ink android device. This made many people very happy. Personally I could never see the point of turning an ereader into a 3rd-rate android device when I had a first-rate phone which did a better job. Besides that, to me, the Sony epub renderer seemed better than any of the few android epub readers which could be made to run on the T1.
  
• The most recent PRST2 firmware update completely closed the door on the hackers. Now it's the out-of-the-box features or nothing.

Despite those negative points I really hope Sony come back with a truly great device, but if they're determined to keep out the community hackers... well... all I can say is they must have a death-wish. In the meantime I've tried Kobo's offerings and found them a very pleasant epub reading experience with excellent calibre integration. Yes they have minor annoyances that I didn't have on my Sonys but nothing that wasn't fixed by turning the page and carrying on with the book.