Touch Kobo Touch future firmware feature request thread

[Peakcrew]

Originally Posted by PeterT

There are now GUI differences between the Touch / Mini, and the Glo / Aura HD / Aura devices.

It's probably time to start a new thread for those models then, to avoid further confusion. It doesn't need to be a moderator, though, does it? Perhaps arspr could repost his /her comment to start it off.

[arspr]

Originally Posted by Peakcrew

It's probably time to start a new thread for those models then, to avoid further confusion. It doesn't need to be a moderator, though, does it? Perhaps arspr could repost his /her comment to start it off.

I really don't mind starting a new one, but as I am pretty newbie here (and too lazy to read the whole thread), maybe it would be better if the thread were started by someone who "knows" the most common requests from several users...

OTOH I have a new request: Some kind of GUI to the hyphenating feature in order to enable/disable it or even tweaking its aggressiveness. I mean, I've just discovered that the epub renderer performs autohyphenation and the user has no control over it... Great, I love being treated as a child with no criteria over what I prefer or not...

More over, kepub renderer doesn't seem to perform hyphenation by default. That's what I call a coherent design...

[Pixelpuncher]

I would like to see more sorting and searching options.
Here are some suggestions:

For the Library menu:

- Add a Authors item that leads to a list of all the authors on the device.
- Add a Series item that leads to a list of all the book series on the device.

For the suggested Author menu:

- Selecting an author would lead to a list of titles by that author, but the first items on the list would be:

+ Series by author leading to a list of series by that author, which in turn lead to a list of books within that series
+ Shelves containing books by author leading to a list of shelves, which in turn lead to a list of books within that shelf. Maybe with an option to show just the books for that author or show everything on the shelf.

- A way to only show books that don't belong to a series might be to have another item called something like Standalone books or a toggle to show/not show books belonging to series in the list.

For the Search menu:

- Show sorting options for search results
- In addition to the general search option, add the option to search within current results. So for example if you have selected an author you only get results written by that author.
- Show shelves in search results (not just authors, titles and series)
- Add a visual cue to the results to show if it's an author title, series or shelf. Some possible ways to do this:

+ Icon in front of the result or aligned to the right
+ Just add text "title" "shelf" etc aligned tot the right
+ Order them by named categories preceded by the category name on its own line. So something like:

Authors:
list of authors
Series:
list of series
etc.

For Sorting options:

- Sort by series option
- Sort by date added (or is that the "recently read" option, I have unread books in there which seems counterintuitive)
- Maybe a general toggle option to show/not show read books

These are just some things I thought would make the experience of having a larger library on the device a bit more manageable. I know there are people who only have a few books on the device at a time because they feel dealing with a larger library is a hassle, which seems like a shame.

I've only had my Kobo for some days but these suggestions are based on some of the "why can't I do this?" moments I've had so far. Let me know if some things are already possible or don't make sense.

[arspr]

As the new FW 3.0.0 has demonstrated, there's absolutely no point in splitting this thread for newer models. Touch still keeps the pace.

So I'm going to copy my collection of requests from my pointless new models thread.

Nevertheless, what I do really think that some administrator/experienced user should do is closing this old thread and starting a brand new one (and sticky also). 84 pages of possibly obsolete requests don't seem really useful...

I start the copy (well, I've tweaked some small things):

Support for nested ToCs
Currently nested ToCs are flattened to one level. This behaviour causes that pretty detailed ToCs (with possibly a lot of effort spent in them) are converted to endless and meaningless lists of entries...


Hyphenation control interface
A good example of inconsistency here. Kepubs (ACCESS renderer) are not hyphenated by default but epubs (RMSDK renderer) are. Workarounds are possible for both if the user wants to change those behaviours (enabling hyphenation in kepubs in this thread, disabling hyphenation in epubs in this one). But they are somehow cumbersome and not suitable for an entry user of the eReader. You need some knowledge about CSS/Calibre/editing ebooks and I think this is a very important rendering option (more important than even Line Spacing available through GUI).


GoTo Page function
Even when page numbers are quite meaningless in ebooks, they are still pretty much more accurate and faster than the small sliding bar the current interface offers. (And page numbers are still shown in both kepubs and epubs).
More over, Kobo has a GoTo Page function implemented... but in collections/annotation lists...


"Soft" font type changing
Currently, if you choose a font setting but "Document Default", the WHOLE book is rendered with that font even if it has styles, embedded fonts or whatever. This behaviour is possibly OK for a lot of people, but I prefer changing fonts only where the ebook editor/author hasn't set them inside the ebook.
(Currently the font setting is like a CSS property with !important. I would like it without that flag too).
More over, because of the current behaviour you can lose information in books edited with two or more different font types.

Updated ---
Another inconsistency here. As posted here in the original pointless thread, in kepubs all the book is changed as I have just said. But in epubs it seems that only <p> contents are changed...


Control over footer/header size
(Or even being able to hide any of them). Aura HD screen is wonderful but I think that both footer and header are too big and they waste quite a lot of space in the screen. Options on their appearance would be great.


Full book management options on tiles (and inside book menu too)
If you long press on a Tile you can just open it or dismiss it. It would be really great if I could directly archive/delete/whatever the book.
More over, within the opened ebook you cannot perform some actions like deleting it. Why? I would add all the management options you have in library to the book menu.


Alphabetic scroll-bar in Library
I mean: a lateral scroll bar so you can easily jump to books with (name/author/whatever) starting by the letter xxxx. (Like in Sony book list or like your address-book in your Android smartphone).
The current available GoTo Page function is somehow quite meaningless here. Why should I want to jump to the 14th page of 37? What I really want is jumping to books (or authors or whatever) starting by "L".


Deleting books AND annotations
As posted in the Bug Thread (see this post and the next), when you delete an epub their annotations are kept stored within the device. I find this behaviour quite pointless, but, as davidfor says, other people may prefer it.
So would it be possible adding an option for "Delete (Annotations too)"?


Marking some items before performing an action
Imagine you want to archive/delete/whatever action some books/shelves/annotations. You must perform one each time and repeat the action n-times. (If you are lucky and that's what you want, sometimes you have a Delete/Archive/whatever all option).
Adding the ability to select several items before performing an action would be really great.


Sorting by Series in Library
Official kepubs, or if you use the option in Calibre KoboTouchExtended driver, allow storing series info for your books. Sorting by this info would be a great addition.
More over, Pixelpuncher has quite a good suggestions in the previous post about improvements in searches/sorting.


"Awesome" home screen search toolbar
"Awesome" as in Firefox.
Now seriously. Adding the next options (to Bookstore and Library) in the search toolbar would be great:

• Inside the currently reading book. It would search for text or annotations within the ebook. (You can already perform this action, at least for text, from the book menu. I'm just suggesting the ability of doing it from outside the ebook).
• Inside the whole library. Possible with a warning and asking for confirmation because I suppose it can be pretty slow with big libraries. It would work like the previous one but it will search in every single book you have.

Of course, sorting options on the results are pretty compulsory with these possible new features.


Subcollections/subshelves
As explained in this thread, the ability to create subcollections can be really interesting. In addition to their manual use, it could be used to port nearly your whole Calibre library categorization to the eReader.

Although as Helen (AKA speakingtohe ) and davidfor say, I do sadly fear that Kobo is never going to spend the effort in this feature ).


The return of the Dictionary link inside pdf book menu
With FW 3.0.0 we've lost the option to call the dictionary while reading a pdf. (At least in 2.10.0 it was available in the book menu - Bottom right corner). Now you have to go to Home > Extras menu > Dictionary and then return to your book while losing your previously set zoom ratio.

[speakingtohe]

@arspr
Still a well organized post.

You can get your books sorted by series using davidfor's kobo utilities plugin. It is actually pretty nifty. Other than that it is probably the flying pigs situation.

I often wonder why there is no landscape display mode for epubs.

Helen

[Peakcrew]

Originally Posted by arspr

Nevertheless, what I do really think that some administrator/experienced user should do is closing this old thread and starting a brand new one (and sticky also). 84 pages of possibly obsolete requests don't seem really useful...

Thanks for a great post, aspr. However, whilst I think this thread is a bit big, at least I get notifications when someone posts anything new without having to subscribe to a new one.

[Ethanaul]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

You can get your books sorted by series using davidfor's kobo utilities plugin.

Having the series sort option in library have been asked for years, why this feature is not added in the firmware ? I think it is more usefull than pocket integration, and simplier to add.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Ethanaul

Having the series sort option in library have been asked for years, why this feature is not added in the firmware ? I think it is more usefull than pocket integration, and simplier to add.

Simple to add for us maybe Kobo did have this option but it was poorly implemented in that you could no longer sort by title with a series book IIRC and strangely enough some people wanted to.

I am pretty good with Davidfor's option myself especially as it seems to set the default sort as well, but you may not like it for that reason.

Helen

[arspr]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

You can get your books sorted by series using davidfor's kobo utilities plugin. It is actually pretty nifty.

That's what I DO call a hack...

Yes, that's the way we have because Kobo doesn't sort by series...

[vernel1008]

Originally Posted by vernel1008

Hi Everyone,


This will be my first post and my first request with Kobo Glo.
I was very happy buying the device but there are some bumps along the way.
I don't know if this were requested before so you may correct me anytime.

1. Highlighting takes a lot of time and very tedious
Since the KG and KT uses infrared tech for the screen sensor, it is much more difficult to properly gauge your touch especially when there are foreign materials that obstruct the infrared receptors on the bezel. Since infrared touch in reality does not need calibration in comparison with capacitive or pressure sensors, it is much more difficult to actually pinpoint a certain pixel in the screen. This is because the four infrared receptors would beam out infrared in four direction to create a grid. Then the blocker which can either be your finger or your whole hand may register the touch. In turn, the blocker's size cannot be standardized making it difficult for the device to actually know what pixel on the screen you really want to touch.

Request: Since we cannot remove or change the infrared sensor on our KT and KG, we may employ a manual cursor on the touch so that we will know what letter or characters we want to highlight. Although it may tend to be slower, at least it would be more accurate


2. Going from one book to another takes a lot of time especially for those who has a Huge Library

I have a Huge Library of sideloaded epubs and PDFs. They tend to get messy nevertheless. But after reading a certain book and I want to switch to another, I have to get back to the Home Screen > Click Library > Click Books > Search Entire Library. The frustrating part of this is the book you wanted to read is just next to what you are currently reading.

Request: Back Button per books. The back button may either register towards the BOOK Section or the Shelves section. This way it would be easier to choose on what to read next.


3. Addition of Clock on books while reading
Request: This is a minor one. I think it would be more convenient to have a clock while reading the book instead of just seeing the Page Numbers. I usually read at night time and I tend to get too immersed with the book. When I look at the clock, it is already 4:00AM


4. Options on what 5 books to show on the Home Screen
The carousel is a very neat (I hope I called it correctly). However it tend to be troublesome especially when you add new books.
Request: Options on what to show on the carousel (based on categories, shelves, recent reads, or recent addition)


5. Official tutorial on how to create or convert EPUB to KEPUB
KEPUB is the best feature for Kobo. Although some of it are server side and DB-driven, if we can convert our EPUB correctly and easily, sideloading will be more efficient and worthwhile (sideloading is my reason for buying KOBO instead of Kindle Paperwhite). Although it is posted that you just need to add the extension .kepub.epub on every EPUB you have, annotation will not be usable. Some instructions are already posted to counter that but still an official instruction is very much appreciated.


Thank you very much

Sincerely,
~vernel

My Kobo Glo is now on 3.0.0.
Well I'm pleased with the update since some of the features I wished for happened.


Request 1. It is not incorporated but I found out that when you pressed a word for a long time, then drag to wherever in the screen, you can actually control the highlight. It is much more efficient than using the pointer when you highlight.

Request 2. The back button was originally with Kobo as I read some of the past thread. Then suddenly it vanished during updates. It returned last the 2.10.0 update and I was pleased with it. This is very helpful for people like me who have 1000+ books.

Request 3. The clock is not that important

Request 4. Updating the carousel is really welcomed. I liked the new look although I wish you can still have the option of choosing on what tile to show... even just for some of the tile. While the mid tile will be dedicated to the "Book Recommendations" of Kobo Team.

Request 5. Nevermind...

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by vernel1008

My Kobo Glo is now on 3.0.0.
Well I'm pleased with the update since some of the features I wished for happened.


Request 1. It is not incorporated but I found out that when you pressed a word for a long time, then drag to wherever in the screen, you can actually control the highlight. It is much more efficient than using the pointer when you highlight.

I didn't realise you didn't know about that. It's been there in all firmware versions. My problem is that I tend to drag when selecting a word and get a couple of lines.

Request 2. The back button was originally with Kobo as I read some of the past thread. Then suddenly it vanished during updates. It returned last the 2.10.0 update and I was pleased with it. This is very helpful for people like me who have 1000+ books.

Yes, a very welcome return.

Request 4. Updating the carousel is really welcomed. I liked the new look although I wish you can still have the option of choosing on what tile to show... even just for some of the tile. While the mid tile will be dedicated to the "Book Recommendations" of Kobo Team.

If you do a long press on the book, a menu opens which has a "Dismiss tile" on it. This works for all except the Sync tile. You can also use my Kobo Utilities plugin in calibre to dismiss any tile and prevent them from coming back.

[rostyvyg]

Originally Posted by Pixelpuncher

I would like to see more sorting and searching options.
Here are some suggestions:

For the Library menu:

- Add a Authors item that leads to a list of all the authors on the device.
- Add a Series item that leads to a list of all the book series on the device.

For the suggested Author menu:

- Selecting an author would lead to a list of titles by that author, but the first items on the list would be:

+ Series by author leading to a list of series by that author, which in turn lead to a list of books within that series
+ Shelves containing books by author leading to a list of shelves, which in turn lead to a list of books within that shelf. Maybe with an option to show just the books for that author or show everything on the shelf.

- A way to only show books that don't belong to a series might be to have another item called something like Standalone books or a toggle to show/not show books belonging to series in the list.

This is brilliant! And it so makes sense! I have over 461 eBooks loaded on my Kobo Aura HD and the mere thought of going through 77 (!!!) pages of the "Books" list to find the author I need is preposterous. This feature wouldl put Kobo so much ahead of other eReaders.

Kobo developers, - please make it happen!

[Peakcrew]

Out of interest, what is the latest Firmware number for the Touch? I've just synched for the first time in a couple of months, expecting an update. However, the firmware has resolutely stayed at 2.5.2.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by Peakcrew

Out of interest, what is the latest Firmware number for the Touch? I've just synched for the first time in a couple of months, expecting an update. However, the firmware has resolutely stayed at 2.5.2.

3.0 but its a new release that is still rolling out.

[Peakcrew]

Originally Posted by PeterT

3.0 but its a new release that is still rolling out.

Thanks, Peter. I'll synch again in a couple of weeks - perhaps after I've seen how many people have problems

Edit: Just found Murg's really useful thread (here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=185660, for anyone else that needs it). Don't know why I didn't find it earlier when I was searching to avoid asking the question ...