Updated Contentbrowser with FBReader support

[Viacheslav]

Here is a patched new version of Irex DR1000 Content Browser for firmware-1.5. This build is based on the new v.1.5 source and supports file associations for FBreader installed on an SD card. It also features a better set of file icons.

[whopper]

thanks for that Viacheslav

[Adam B.]

Originally Posted by Viacheslav

Here is a patched new version of Irex DR1000 Content Browser for firmware-1.5. This build is based on the new v.1.5 source and supports file associations for FBreader installed on an SD card. It also features a better set of file icons.

Thanks for updating this with the 1.5 sources. I'll post it to the first post.

[daruking]

I'm having a problem: I name a file from .txt to .zip. When I click on that file, fbreader will launch, but the last file that I openned with fbreader shows up...not the file I just clicked on.

[Viacheslav]

Originally Posted by daruking

I'm having a problem: I name a file from .txt to .zip. When I click on that file, fbreader will launch, but the last file that I openned with fbreader shows up...not the file I just clicked on.

It simply means that FBReader does not recognise the file. If it fails to open the one requested, it just reverts to the last opened file.

[Gwaihir]

Hi,

Do I understand correctly that this package includes a replacement of part of the firmware (specifically: the content browser)? My brand new DR1000S is at 1.6, so should I wait for a 1.6 build?

Is this a repeating cycle? I.e. will this FBReader acces dissapear with each next firmware update, afther which I need to download a new build here to re-enable it?

Also, is this download the complete package I need, or do I go get the FBReader program itself from elsewhere?

Pardon my ignorance, I'm a brand new DR1000S owner looking to get .chm going.

[Mackx]

The memory of the DR is split in two parts, the internal flash of the DR itself and the SD-card(s) that you insert yourself. Until now, every firmware update replaces the complete content of the internal flash and thus erases everything installed on it.
The programs written/ported by 3rd party developers can be installed on SD only, on flash only or a combination (like FBReader). So when you upgrade the firmware the parts that are on internal flash need to be re-instelled.
It is possible that iRex will provide a method in the future so that user-installed programs on flash will 'survive' but until now this is not possible.
FBReader has a special thing, it also updates a 'core component' of the DR firmware, the Content Browser (ctb). iRex has published (most of) the code of the firmware, so anyone can make extensions to it. The change made to the ctb, adds the functionality that files associated with FBReader will automatically start the FBreader when you tap on them in the Content Browser (the Content Browser is what you see after you started the DR).

To come to your questions:

My brand new DR1000S is at 1.6, so should I wait for a 1.6 build?

I think you should wait for changed ctb (if needed) for R1.6, since some small changes are made in the code that you will not have when you are using the changed R1.5 version.

Is this a repeating cycle?

See above, currently it is (for the ctb part), although there is a change in R1.6 which seems to make the link between extension and application configurable without compiling code.

Also, is this download the complete package I need, or do I go get the FBReader program itself from elsewhere?

You you need to install both the FBReader and the Content Browser (ctb) patch. Without Content Browser patch, you need to start FBReader and open the files you want to read manually, with the patch you can tap on the file and it will open in FBReader. See also here for info on other programs.

Pardon my ignorance, I'm a brand new DR1000S owner looking to get .chm going.

Lets hope I made you a little wiser .

[Gwaihir]

Excellent. Thanks for all the info. So, better safe than sorry with this new toy, for the CTB I'll wait for a 1.6 build. I suppose that won't be long .

[yingwu]

there is still not a 1.6 build?

[Mackx]

In R1.6 the link between extension and app-to-start is not fixed anymore in the ctb. See here in the Xournal thread for a quick way to link entensions to an application.
It 're-uses' the newpaper entry. There is also a way to add new filetypes, but I am not sure how safe that is. I currently use the newspaper to link some documents to FBreader like this:

/apps/er/sys/ctb/filetypes/doc-newspaper/descr=Newspaper
/apps/er/sys/ctb/filetypes/doc-newspaper/icon_name=newspaper
/apps/er/sys/ctb/filetypes/doc-newspaper/template_descr=Newspaper Template
/apps/er/sys/ctb/filetypes/doc-newspaper/extensions=htm;html;xhtml;chm;fb2;
/apps/er/sys/ctb/filetypes/doc-newspaper/viewer_cmd=/media/mmcblk0p1/Programs/_fbreader/bin/FBReader

I am not sure if I got all extensions.

[allovertheglobe]

Good tip. I ended up using the .mobi related setting instead, since FBReader displays .mobi files much better formatted than the integrated reader (UDS), and for that matter all the other formats too: .txt, .rtf, .epub (plus the html ones in Mackx' post)

The only drawback would perhaps be the inability to open protected .mobi files, but who (voluntarily) uses those anyway

This also keeps the NewsReader setting free to associate with Xournal files if so desired, as per the original post.

P.S.: I removed my dr1000.ini file to start with a clean slate (not just for file associations) and no new one was created initially. Only after I ran the PC Companion did it put together a new one with all the internal settings etc. Could that be a potential issue for non-Windows users?

[Mackx]

Originally Posted by allovertheglobe

P.S.: I removed my dr1000.ini file to start with a clean slate (not just for file associations) and no new one was created initially. Only after I ran the PC Companion did it put together a new one with all the internal settings etc. Could that be a potential issue for non-Windows users?

If I looked good in the published code, I expect the dr1000.ini file to be written when you shutdown the DR. Did you do a shutdown? That is why can only change the dr1000.ini file when the DR is off. (I.e. remove card and use card-reader to modify the content of dr1000.ini on your PC.) Otherwise the settings that are in memory are written back to dr1000.ini when you shutdown.

PS: The problem of deleting the dr1000.ini file is that you also use the stylus calibration data and the icons you dragged to your toolbar. So better rename the dr1000.ini file so you will be able to merge-back the parts that you want to keep, incase you want to delete your dr1000.ini file (which I do not advice )

[allovertheglobe]

Originally Posted by Mackx

If I looked good in the published code, I expect the dr1000.ini file to be written when you shutdown the DR. Did you do a shutdown? That is why can only change the dr1000.ini file when the DR is off. (I.e. remove card and use card-reader to modify the content of dr1000.ini on your PC.) Otherwise the settings that are in memory are written back to dr1000.ini when you shutdown.

Hmm, I thought so too. I did that before resorting to the PC companion, and it didn't seem to do it. But maybe it didn't shut down cleanly... it's sometimes hard to tell, and the reason I started the whole process was because it was starting to act funny (*) I also noticed the PC companion adds its own settings, like the Inbox login etc. (Will the Inbox ever be used for anything? )

(*) Like locking up after a few minutes of inactivity (i.e. related to the power management?) I re-installed 1.6 too, for good measure.

PS: The problem of deleting the dr1000.ini file is that you also use the stylus calibration data and the icons you dragged to your toolbar. So better rename the dr1000.ini file so you will be able to merge-back the parts that you want to keep, incase you want to delete your dr1000.ini file (which I do not advice )

That's the reason I did it in the first place: I redid every setting, incl. calibration, without the card inserted and I wanted to make sure it would write those values back into a fresh dr1000.ini. Anyway, the ability to re-assign the file associations is a great find.

[Mackx]

Originally Posted by allovertheglobe

This also keeps the NewsReader setting free to associate with Xournal files if so desired, as per the original post.

Well there is also a trick to add new filetypes, but that is a little more tricky then changing a dr1000.ini file. The problem is that I do not understand the complete 'theory' behind it, but I know the steps you need to do. (I do also not know if there is a more official way to do this.)
1. Open the latest port of leafpad (with the new BIG file dialog).
2. Browse to ~/.gconf/apps/er/sys/ctb/filetypes
3. Create a new map (e.g. doc-xoj for Xournal)
4. go to doc-txt and open %gconf.xml
5. save it in the new map
6. change the "extensions"-entry in the file from "txt" to e.g. "xoj" and save again. (you can also change this later in the dr1000.ini-file.)
7. close everything and shutdown
8. from now on you can also edit this entry in dr1000.ini and your changes will be remembered.
I am not sure if you need to create the entries for the new filetype in dr1000.ini yourself or if they are created after an extra boot-cycle. I created it myself, but it might also be created after an extra reboot-cycle.

Be casefull you are playing with system files, you might need to re-install the firmware again if you do something wrong.

[Gertjan]

Changes you make in the dr1000.ini are imported into the gconf registry of the device when you insert the card, but it will not create keys which are added to dr1000.ini but don't exist there.

By changing %gconf.xml files, you basically add keys to the gconf (XML based) backend directly. While this probably works fine when you don't make any mistakes, the proper way to do this is with gconftool (/usr/bin/gconftool-2). Using this tool, you can add new registry keys to the device. See gconftool-2 manpage here

An even better approach is to edit the gconf schema file which holds the extension associations (somewhere in /etc/gconf/schemas), or - better yet - create a separate one for FBReader. When you "install" the schema file (#gconftool-2 --install-schema-file=FILENAME), the appropriate keys are created in the XML files in ~/.gconf/. In an ideal world, the installation of the gconf schema would be part of the application's install process.

Now, the next time you shut down the device, connect to USB or 'safely remove' the SD card, dr1000.ini is updated with the new keys. Mind that the schema file in /etc will be lost on installation of new firmware images, but the gconf registry itself (in ~/.gconf) will stay. In case you run into troubles, you can revert to the original gconf registry by choosing "Reset to factory defaults" in Settings/SD Card.