calibre 4.* Viewer Changes

[Zandrof]

I am new and hopefully, this is the right forum section to post in.

I just recently updated calibre from 3.* to 4.*. I opened the program and found the book I wished to read and opened the viewer. Much to my dismay, the update included some changes that required serious getting-used-to, and after about a month, I still am not completely comfortable.

First, there are the margins of calibre's viewer. In 3.*, there were two separate (at least on my computer there were) margin styles available: one for full-screen view, and one for non-full-screen view. I didn't realize that when I set the margins in 4.* the whole viewer would respect that margin setting and it makes for terrible viewing in non-full-screen mode. How do I change this?

Second, after entering full-screen mode and reading for a while, I hit "escape" on the keyboard and nothing happened. I discovered that common functionality of hitting "escape" to exit out of full-screen from any other application I know of, videos or otherwise, has been removed. Instead, I have to hit a general button to open both views. I changed the keybinding to escape, thinking that it would just close out, but counterintuitive, the design of the viewer allows it to operate as both an enter and exit full-screen function. I grant that is what the keybinding field states, but there was no exit-full-screen-only field. How can I solve this to allow F11 or some other key to enter and exit full-screen mode, while "ESC" escape key allows only exiting full-screen mode?

Third, the scrolling functionality is different in 4.* viewer, than in 3.* viewer, and I dislike it something fierce! Is it at all possible to change those settings back to that scrolling feature?

Thank you!

[gbm]

Originally Posted by Zandrof

I am new and hopefully, this is the right forum section to post in.

I just recently updated calibre from 3.* to 4.*. I opened the program and found the book I wished to read and opened the viewer. Much to my dismay, the update included some changes that required serious getting-used-to, and after about a month, I still am not completely comfortable.

First, there are the margins of calibre's viewer. In 3.*, there were two separate (at least on my computer there were) margin styles available: one for full-screen view, and one for non-full-screen view. I didn't realize that when I set the margins in 4.* the whole viewer would respect that margin setting and it makes for terrible viewing in non-full-screen mode. How do I change this?

Second, after entering full-screen mode and reading for a while, I hit "escape" on the keyboard and nothing happened. I discovered that common functionality of hitting "escape" to exit out of full-screen from any other application I know of, videos or otherwise, has been removed. Instead, I have to hit a general button to open both views. I changed the keybinding to escape, thinking that it would just close out, but counterintuitive, the design of the viewer allows it to operate as both an enter and exit full-screen function. I grant that is what the keybinding field states, but there was no exit-full-screen-only field. How can I solve this to allow F11 or some other key to enter and exit full-screen mode, while "ESC" escape key allows only exiting full-screen mode?

Third, the scrolling functionality is different in 4.* viewer, than in 3.* viewer, and I dislike it something fierce! Is it at all possible to change those settings back to that scrolling feature?

Thank you!

Please see this post it may have all you need.

bernie

P.S.:
this is my viewer in both full screen and not full screen.

F11 works for me.

[Zandrof]

^ This last is supposed to print screen in full screen, however, this is what I get when I attempt to print screen and I have attempted it multiple times. The point in the full screen is I want text to span the WHOLE screen, not have a "page" look as in the photo you linked. I want the margins at 100 or ** left/right with the text wrapping the WHOLE screen.

|| You said, "F11 works for me".
Yes, it works for me, too. ESCAPE is non-functioning which makes no sense.

Scrolling settings are set, they still do not act like 3.* version of the viewer. They seem set to scroll...slowly?...as in, fluid?, I don't know how to describe it. I don't know what the purpose of "second" in the field description of the viewer settings is for, but if that is to make it appear to be fluid, it should have an option to stop it.

Further, on scrolling, when I get to the top of a chapter page/new html file in epub (I don't know if it's only epub?) in full or not full screen, it automatically goes to the previous page in the structure of the ebook instead of stopping. It shouldn't do that.

[Zandrof]

Ah, I can live with a setting of 20, as the main and frustrating part of scrolling was having it jump back to the previous file/page. I saw the fix in that photo on the post you linked and I can live with it! So thank you for that!

That leaves having a keybinding to exit only out of full screen mode, as well as solving the margins problem, if you can help.

[BetterRed]

@Zandrof - F11 was the toggle between full screen view and window view on the old viewer, interestingly it is also the toggle for full screen/window view in the Edge Epub viewer. I can't find a way of reassigning Esc from its pop the 'context menu' functionality.

BR

[gbm]

Originally Posted by Zandrof

Attachment 178689

Spoiler:

Attachment 178690

Attachment 178691

Attachment 178692
^ This last is supposed to print screen in full screen, however, this is what I get when I attempt to print screen and I have attempted it multiple times. The point in the full screen is I want text to span the WHOLE screen, not have a "page" look as in the photo you linked. I want the margins at 100 or ** left/right with the text wrapping the WHOLE screen.

|| You said, "F11 works for me".
Yes, it works for me, too. ESCAPE is non-functioning which makes no sense.

Scrolling settings are set, they still do not act like 3.* version of the viewer. They seem set to scroll...slowly?...as in, fluid?, I don't know how to describe it. I don't know what the purpose of "second" in the field description of the viewer settings is for, but if that is to make it appear to be fluid, it should have an option to stop it.

Further, on scrolling, when I get to the top of a chapter page/new html file in epub (I don't know if it's only epub?) in full or not full screen, it automatically goes to the previous page in the structure of the ebook instead of stopping. It shouldn't do that.

Is this what you want in full screen?

If it is go to viewer--preferences--page layout--chanage the landscape orientation to1.

bernie

[Zandrof]

@BetterRed - To reassign ESC, I set it as a keybind in the preferences menu for full screen, where the F11 is set as the toggle. I get the F11 to toggle, most applications use that as the toggle. ESC is used only as the exit full screen mode in most applications, like VLC or in your browser when watching a full screen video. I prefer F2 as the preferences menu and F1 as the help menu opener.

@gbm - Yes, that is what I want, and it gets accomplished for me without landscape setting to 1. However, I want the beginning and end of the lines to be 100 or more...i.e., the left/right margins set to 100. That works better and looks better in full screen than a setting of 50 or 20. However, I don't want that to apply when NOT in full screen mode as is visible in the photo I posted. That's terrible, and I would love a 20 setting or so there, as I think you have set, if I remember right, cause that non full-screen view you had was perfect.

[Zandrof]

Also, why can I not get a full screen snapshot of the viewer?

I want what you showed, with margins left and right set to 100. Like a full sheet of paper in Word or OpenOffice, looks when printed. Like I said, setting it works for full screen, just not when not in full screen. I don't think, in my opinion anyway, that a lot of people would like that look in non full-screen. Can you set your margins to 100 left and right to see what I mean?

How hard is it for me to modify the calibre viewer files to add an option to have only an Exit Full Screen keybinding?

EDIT: My previous post has to be moderator approved.

[Zandrof]

So, I just found the fix to margin problem. I didn't understand the last settings in the Page layout settings pane. Set the max width to 200 less than complete screen width, and 40 less than the complete screen height: 1166 and 728. That solved it. Also, it allowed the margins I want in not full-screen to appear correctly.

On the escape key to exit out...is it possible to keep the toggle full-screen keybind, but add an exit full-screen only keybind?

[kovidgoyal]

The F11 key already both enters and exits fullscreen, use it.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Zandrof

On the escape key to exit out...is it possible to keep the toggle full-screen keybind, but add an exit full-screen only keybind?

The calibre website and manual have info on downloading and running from source.

I've always loathed F1 Help, back in the day I had 'arguments' about it at XeroxParc. and then with some IBM SAA dudes. When Help started to move from CHM files to web pages I physically removed the F1 key - I could up put with the chm viewer popping if I missed F2, but opening a web page - no way. I can customise it away in most of the programs I use today

BR