Two questions about the Marvin reader

[AlexBell]

I hope this is the place to ask for help with the Marvin ereader. If this is not the right place could you tell me where to go?

The background to my questions is that I design ebooks as a hobby, always make sure that the ePubs validate, and test them on my Sony, with iBooks, and on my Kobo Touch. I also convert most of them to azw3 with calibre, and test them on my upgraded Kindle Keyboard.

I have tested one of these ebooks with Marvin, and have two major problems.

Problem 1
I the config.opf file I always enter the author's name as creator, and the illustrator's and markup designer's name as contributors. With the Marvin reader I get the three names displayed across the top of the page - though only the author's name is displayed on my iPad2 with iBooks.

Problem 2
I use pagebreak-after always to force a page break within a longer file, and rely on the end of the file to force a page break for chapters and so on. Marvin completely ignores both forms of page break, though they work perfectly well in the same ebook read on my Sony, iPad2/iBooks, and Kobo.

Is there anything I can do to fix these problems while still writing standards compliant markup which will work on my other ereaders?

[kguil]

@AlexBell

Could you send me a copy of the OPF file and a sample with the page break? If the book is in the public domain or you own it's copyright, would you send me a copy of it to have a look at? support[at]marvinapp.com

[AlexBell]

Thanks for your response, but I'm having another major problem - though perhaps it's my ignorance about the iPad.

Because the ebook I tested with Marvin was an unfinished version I thought I'd test the final version before responding to your kind offer. I was able to delete the old file, but though I could add the new version to Marvin and can see it on the list of ebooks that iTunes shows on my computer I can't see it on the iPad when it's disconnected from the computer.

Just to test myself I added the ebook to Bluefire using the same standard procedure, and can read it on my iPad. It has at least one problem also, but at least I can read it.

Anyway, the ebook is in the MobileRead library; it is The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain.

To summarise the procedure I use:
- I connected the iPad to my Windows 7 computer, and waited till iTunes had connected and synchronised.
- I selected the iPad, and then Apps.
- I selected Marvin, saw the list of books on it, and deleted the old version - the title no longer showed on the list.
- I selected Add, navigated to the folder which contained the ebook, and selected it. The ebook appeared on the list with the right date.
- I synchronised the iPad
- I selected Control and ejected the iPad.
- I opened Marvin, and looked for the ebook but it wasn't there.

This is the same technique as I used to load the ebook into the Bluefire reader.

[Faterson]

AlexBell, there's a "refresh/reload button" in Marvin's Library. It looks like an arrow in the shape of a circle. Try hitting that to see if the book appears. It should.

And please, don't refer to the outrageously obsolete iTunes method of loading books as "standard". It is anything but that, for 2013. There are numerous easier, faster, more comfortable ways of loading books into Marvin, such as:

• e-mail the book to yourself
• load the book from your Dropbox account (directly integrated within Marvin)
• load the book from a 3rd-party iOS cloud app (such as SugarSync, Copy, Box.net)
• download the book directly from a webpage; etc., etc.

Even if you wish to establish a direct connection between your main computer and your iPad, using iFunBox is infinitely preferable over using that monstrosity iTunes. (See this thread.)

[kguil]

I think the iTunes section of this tutorial will help you.

[AlexBell]

Originally Posted by Faterson

AlexBell, there's a "refresh/reload button" in Marvin's Library. It looks like an arrow in the shape of a circle. Try hitting that to see if the book appears. It should.

Could you tell me please where I find this circle/arrow?

There is a top margin which has Home, All my books, a tick mark, and a book icon; and a bottom margin with a pair of dice, Author, cloud, and question mark.

I don't see any arrowed circle.

[AlexBell]

Originally Posted by kguil

I think the iTunes section of this tutorial will help you.

Thanks.
- I attached my iPad2 to the Windows 7 computer with Marvin off and verified that The Innocents Abroad was present in the documents list
- I then turned Marvin on, and verified that the ebook was not in the library.
- I then selected the book (organiser) icon, found the circled arrow and selected it, and the ebook did indeed load.

I suggest if I may that this procedure is not what one would expect from the tutorial which is available when one first turns Marvin on. Am I right in thinking that Marvin should be turned on when one is loading ebooks through iTunes?


Anyway, the concerns about the three names appearing at the top and page break-before being ignored are still present, though a page break forced by the end of the file does work.

Let me repeat that the ebook validates with EPUB-checker.exe, and that these problems do not occur on my Sony, Kobo, or iPad/iBooks.

Were you able to get The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain from the MobileRead library? I could send it to you if you wish, but its a 12Mb file (more than 200 images) so I'd have to send it by MailBigFile.

[kguil]

You can copy books using iTunes whether Marvin is running or not. If Marvin is not running, it will find them and add them to your library when it's loading. If Marvin is already running, you'd refresh your library using the refresh button.

I can confirm the page break issue. I'm already working on a fix but it won't make it into the very next version (it's already wrapped up and ready to ship).

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by AlexBell

Could you tell me please where I find this circle/arrow?

There is a top margin which has Home, All my books, a tick mark, and a book icon; and a bottom margin with a pair of dice, Author, cloud, and question mark.

I don't see any arrowed circle.

You tap the book icon first (= Library Organiser), and then the arrowed circle is at bottom right.

You're not the first user having a hard time finding the button, or realising that such a button exists in Marvin, so perhaps its placement in the interface is a bit unfortunate. The button seems to be "hidden" from many users' eyes.

[kguil]

@faterson - you're right. I'll make this more obvious in an update.

[RONE]

Originally Posted by kguil

I can confirm the page break issue. I'm already working on a fix but it won't make it into the very next version (it's already wrapped up and ready to ship).

Fingers crossed for v2.0!

[AlexBell]

Originally Posted by kguil

You can copy books using iTunes whether Marvin is running or not. If Marvin is not running, it will find them and add them to your library when it's loading. If Marvin is already running, you'd refresh your library using the refresh button.

I can confirm the page break issue. I'm already working on a fix but it won't make it into the very next version (it's already wrapped up and ready to ship).

Thanks for your patient response.

Will you be let us know on this forum when the fix is available? I don't remember getting any reminders from iTunes that a new version is available.

PS. Can you confirm the problem of the three names being shown?

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by AlexBell

Will you be let us know on this forum when the fix is available? I don't remember getting any reminders from iTunes that a new version is available.

Once again, forget about iTunes in relation to your iPad. Nowadays, you don't need iTunes for anything at all. I don't remember when I touched iTunes last time (years ago?!), and I use 2 iPads and an iPhone on a daily basis.

In iOS, you get notified of new releases when you tap the App Store icon, and then tap the Updates tab there. All apps from your iPad will be listed there, for which an upgrade is available. You just tap the "Update" button, and that's it. Marvin, Version 2, will show up there, too, possibly in a few days from today. (And you'll be able to find the very first iPhone version in the App Store, too!)

Oh, and another oddity you mentioned: sending a file via MailBigFile (whatever that is)? Again, strikes me as totally obsolete nowadays, to be mailing anything directly to others. You simply store it in your cloud account (for example, Dropbox), and send the download link to the addressee. After they download the file, you can delete it from Dropbox again. Dropbox, SugarSync, Copy.com, Box.net, etc., are very universal in this regard -- you can use them both for loading books into Marvin, and for sharing any problematic files with others, such as Marvin's developer, in case any troubleshooting is needed.

[AlexBell]

Thank you for your suggestions.

[slayda]

Suggestion - I have been using iBooks and have several books there. It would be nice if there was a way to import books into Marvin from iBooks (and possibly other ios readers as well. (And yes I could go through Dropbox to load them, but I'm lazy.)

Question - I set Dropbox to be used with Marvin. I also would like to use Box with Marvin. Maybe I missed it but I don't see a way to use other services similar to Dropbox.

Comment - I like Marvin.