Kobo and Footnotes. Again.

[mramosch]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Sadly, I read that entire discussion you linked to. I did not find a single reference to kepub, or renaming an .epub to .kepub.epub.

In my answer dedicated to your quote I already pointed out under which circumstances I am willing to take the time to provide you with the references you asked for. There is no link provided yet.

In my reply to Aleron Yves I was talking about KOBO’s proprietary corporate decisions regarding footnotes, links and pop-ups and provided a reference to a thread about how ebook developer think about KOBO’s approach. That’s got nothing to do with renaming epubs to kepubs…

[mramosch]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

It does, but Kobo is not required to provide all features for all book formats. If you read plain EPUB files, you don't get pop-up footnotes at all, for example. I guess you can blame Adobe for that, since Kobo didn't make RMSDK.

I am not only talking about pop-ups here because I am not particularly keen on them anyways. But there are things not working correctly in epubs and then you change the file extension to kepubs and other things are broken.

• Every app and even an .epub file renamed to .kepub.epub on the KOBO device itself can correctly display e.g. an arrow pointing up.

The .epub version on the device can’t !!! It is replaced by a blank space.

Some other arrow symbols get replaced by a boxed space in the .kepub, every other app displays them correctly.


• If you tap straight on the center of a numbered footnote link in an .epub file you get nothing. You have to horizontally tap slightly to the left of the number to hit a tap zone that eventually triggers the link.

In the .kepub version a tap in the center of the numbered link works for the forward link, however if you have 5 subsequent lines of numbered backlinks at the end of a chapter where every line contains a link (there are no interleaved lines without a link) then good luck with hitting the right vertical link position. Every tap beneath the vertical center of the numbered backlink brings you to the link of the next line. Only tapping above the center of the numbers triggers the correct link. So the hit zones of the links are essentially shifted vertically by give or take half a line.

But this is with relatively big font sizes only…

If you decrease your font size this behavior changes. Suddenly complete lines get swallowed with regards to their tap zone because the link from the line above and beneath totally overlap the line in between and you can’t access some backlinks at all.

So neither the .epub format nor the .kepub format does deliver a consistent behavior.

And that is just plain ol’ simple ebooks, no fancy features…


What more can one say !!!

.

[PeterT]

The kepub renderer uses another font if there are symbols missing in the font called for. The Epub renderer displays a [] for missing symbols.

Sent from my Pixel 7a using Tapatalk

[mramosch]

Originally Posted by PeterT

The kepub renderer uses another font if there are symbols missing in the font called for. The Epub renderer displays a [] for missing symbols.

Well, we all know THAT, you’re just stating the obvious here.

But the average user doesn’t ask or even care WHY there is gobbledygook on their screen. They couldn’t care less about WHY KOBO made that bad of a decision selecting a font that does not cover their or their favorite author’s/publisher’s needs. They just wanna have the experience they are expecting to get when they buy such a proprietary hardware.


Simply because:

• If all their apps on their tablets can render their books correctly so should their eReading device!

• If an .epub on their KOBO device can be rendered correctly so should their .kepubs !

• If tapping a link in one format produces the correct navigation so should a link in the other format on the same device!


We shouldn’t accept or even defend all those excuses for amateurish implementations from a company that pretends to be amongst the leaders of the pack.

As far as I remember complaints about KOBO’s faulty footnote implementation date back to 2015 and nothing has changed whatsoever in 2025.

Maybe YOU are just simply trying to stay on the positive side but there’s a time and place for everything, and in my opinion we are getting screwed over more and more, so I frankly am not willing to join you in your song of praise.

.

[PeterT]

NOT ALL APPS ON A DAMN TABLET CORRECTLY HANDLE CSS. GOOD BYE

[mramosch]

YOU ARE NITPICKING ON A LITTLE DETAIL BUT NOT TAKING THE POINT. GOOD RIDDANCE

[mramosch]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

You will find many members here who will ignore your actual question so they can provide you with irrelevant opinions, instead. It's best to just ignore them and move on.

I see what you mean now ;-)

But I am still waiting for DSNB to back up his claim that he is able to play embedded audio on his KOBO device.

Sadly no evidence provided yet. Neither a working example nor a hint which audio file format he is using…

.

[DNSB]

And I am waiting for you to provide some evidence that Kobo on their epub spec GitHub page officially suggests renaming from .epub to .kepub.epub to correct issues with footnotes. So far you have not managed to supply that information.

Until such time as you manage to read the ePub 3.3 spec and see how much of the standard is not labelled as MUST, I am going to keep any interaction with you to a minimum.

[mramosch]

Originally Posted by mramosch

But I am still waiting for DSNB to back up his claim that he is able to play embedded audio on his KOBO device.

Sadly no evidence provided yet. Neither a working example nor a hint which audio file format he is using…

Originally Posted by DNSB

And I am waiting for you to provide some evidence that Kobo on their epub spec GitHub page officially suggests renaming from .epub to .kepub.epub to correct issues with footnotes.

So far you have not managed to supply that information.

Well you are failing to back up your claim for more than four weeks now (since January) so I guess it’s your turn first. You can’t just silently weasel your way out here.

And if it was just a brain fart on your part than simply man up to it and tell us that you were wrong. No problem with me at all, we all make mistakes…

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by mramosch

YOU ARE NITPICKING ON A LITTLE DETAIL BUT NOT TAKING THE POINT. GOOD RIDDANCE

My footnotes work on epub2 (ADE Kobo or other) as long as the device (or app) supports internal links (some don't), real kepub from the epub2, epub3 and Kindles mobi/KF7, azw3/KF8 and KFX.

No back button needed.

You are insulting one of the most helpful people here and obsessing about how you think footnotes ought to work.

I know how they ought to work and it's not sensibly supported on any reflowable format, though it could be.

End notes are a different thing and you can work them on anything with the same source methods as have to be used for universally working footnotes.

Where the device has no support for internal links (it won't for external either), or no touch screen (still made) so that it's a bother, the foot notes for a section / scene / chapter etc will appear on a separate logical page/chapter (optionally in the TOC) before the next one. Actual endnotes can be done like that or more sensibly at the end with additional TOC entries.

All compatible with ANY platform.

[mramosch]

Originally Posted by PeterT

NOT ALL APPS ON A DAMN TABLET CORRECTLY HANDLE CSS. GOOD BYE

Originally Posted by mramosch

YOU ARE NITPICKING ON A LITTLE DETAIL BUT NOT TAKING THE POINT. GOOD RIDDANCE

Just to put your accusation of ‘insult’ into the right context.
I guess you can see the irony…

Good by to you, too, sir!