Any way of adding fonts to PW2?

[HarryT]

I'm curious as to how many people are bothered about fonts. Personally I've never changed the font from whatever the default is!

[BookCat]

I think fonts are part of the experience of reading. I wouldn't want to read a horror in the same font as a comedy, for example. For general reading, my favourite font is Gentium. For Word, I always use Sylfean (sp?). On an ereader, bold fonts are fine for some books, but I'm using the Palatino on the PW2 and would like more variety.

AFAIK pbook publishers take a great deal of care over the font they choose for each book.

[VictoriaP]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm curious as to how many people are bothered about fonts. Personally I've never changed the font from whatever the default is!

In my case, none of the default Kindle fonts are dark/bold enough for my tastes. I started using font hacks with the K2, which desperately needed it. The PW2 needs it less as the contrast is obviously quite improved, but even so, I found reading on it much more comfortable once I installed JSWolf's most recent modified CharisSIL.

I'm not one to change fonts for different books or genres, though I've known quite a few others who do so. I just wish Amazon would allow for more fonts built-in. I'd gladly pay them for that option!

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by VictoriaP

In my case, none of the default Kindle fonts are dark/bold enough for my tastes. I started using font hacks with the K2, which desperately needed it. The PW2 needs it less as the contrast is obviously quite improved, but even so, I found reading on it much more comfortable once I installed JSWolf's most recent modified CharisSIL.

I'm not one to change fonts for different books or genres, though I've known quite a few others who do so. I just wish Amazon would allow for more fonts built-in. I'd gladly pay them for that option!

That's my issue too. I also use JSWolf's modified CharisSIL. I use the same font on my Kobo too. No font on the Paperwhite provided by Amazon comes even close to adequate.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm curious as to how many people are bothered about fonts. Personally I've never changed the font from whatever the default is!

Same here! But I suppose if people like it, then.... whatever floats their boat.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

That's my issue too. I also use JSWolf's modified CharisSIL. I use the same font on my Kobo too. No font on the Paperwhite provided by Amazon comes even close to adequate.

I agree. I use that font on all my devices. Using a good font really impacts my reading experience.

[snoeki]

JSWolf's modified CharisSIL is the best out there. I convert all the css files in my books to get the fonts exactly the way I like. It takes about one minute for a complete book to do so if you have some skills in using calibre.

[jgsmith]

Where can I find the latest version of JSWolf's modified CharisSIL font? Think I'd like to give it a try. Also, it sounds like the options are to either embed in each book or jailbreak to add to the PW2. Is that right?

[BookCat]

I was just about to ask the same question jg!

Also, does jailbreaking the PW2 harm it in any way? I've never jailbroke(!) a device before and would be very nervous about doing so.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by BookCat

Also, does jailbreaking the PW2 harm it in any way? I've never jailbroke(!) a device before and would be very nervous about doing so.

The jailbreak itself is not harmful in the slightest, but once you're jailbroken you can now run all kinds of things, which have permission to do pretty much anything up to and including harming the device.

Assuming you follow carefully in the footsteps of those who have gone before you, you should be safe.

[NiLuJe]

That said, font tweaking on the PW2 (especially, it's been wonky ever since the K3, but it's gotten more annoying on the PW2) is *NOT* for the faint of heart (unfortunately), so, er, as much as I'd like to tell you: "it's easy and safe, go for it!", I can't in good faith do that without warning you that wonderfully weird things might happen for no good reason if you go that route.

(I've already said this multiple times, but I completely get why the ALT_FONTS thing was killed on the PW2: it might have been nice, but it was also the fastest and easiest way to soft brick a Touch/PW1).

However, all the known issues and limitations, as well as advices on how to best approach the whole thing in the most painless way possible, are spelled out in the font hack thread. On the bright side, most of the potential issues are limited to the setup stage. Once you've got something working, it's pretty much solid [barring the usual havoc-wreaking of official updates].

TL;DR: While potentially rewarding, this is far from the easiest and safest thing you can do with a jailbroken PW2, and thus might be a bit harsh as a first foray into the Kindle customisation world .

EDIT: I'm mostly talking about the software approach here. You *can* experience some of the same issues (broken rendering and/or crash the reader/framework/device) with a "simple" KF8-with-embedded font file on a vanilla device, but at least it's limited to a specific file inside a specific application.

[dordale]

Personally, I think embedding fonts is the way to go on the KPW2. Calibre makes this really easy. You can even mass convert all your books with the embedded font of your choice. If you remember to check the option to "subset all embedded fonts" the size of the resulting AZW3 file usually isn't that much bigger. You'll still have the option of using the fonts already existing on the Kindle--choosing "publisher font" on the Kindle will use the font you've embedded in the file.

[VictoriaP]

Originally Posted by jgsmith

Where can I find the latest version of JSWolf's modified CharisSIL font? Think I'd like to give it a try. Also, it sounds like the options are to either embed in each book or jailbreak to add to the PW2. Is that right?

CharisSIL: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...7&postcount=67

My personal attitude is that these devices are so comparatively inexpensive nowadays that if I did manage to brick one totally, I'd still install the font hack on a new replacement PW2. Just having it turned off for the length of time it took to do the latest update was enough to make me cringe. The default fonts are too light! But I also jailbreak iPhones, so I may not be the right person to advocate for doing this kind of thing.

And I don't take the time to run ALL my books through Calibre, then sideload them onto the device. Obviously, if you already do that, then embedding fonts probably isn't a big deal. I generally download straight from Amazon over wifi, then archive a backup periodically via Calibre. The convenience factor of being able to do this is bigger than my fear of having to replace a device--which, knock on wood and thanks to following directions carefully, I have yet to have to replace anything following a jailbreak-related hack.


NiLuJe...a question for you: I know there's some risk involved in using the on device hack versus embedding fonts within individual books, and I accept that risk myself. But does it become even a bit less risky when using a known font that many of us have already used on both generations of Paperwhites?

[NiLuJe]

@VictoriaP: Yup, that's why I mentioned "once you got something working, it's pretty much solid" .

The main issue stems from the fact that the default renderer (Amazon's FreeType build) badly chokes on some fonts for no apparent reason. If you get through that, the hard part is over . (And if you don't, using an FT override is usually a pretty good workaround, but has other implications that need to be taken care of).

[radius]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

The main issue stems from the fact that the default renderer (Amazon's FreeType build) badly chokes on some fonts for no apparent reason. If you get through that, the hard part is over . (And if you don't, using an FT override is usually a pretty good workaround, but has other implications that need to be taken care of).

I'm actually kind of curious about Amazon's font rendering engine. On the software licenses page, they list both Monotype's iType and the open source Freetype. I wonder why they are paying Monotype if they are using Freetype already?