KA1 Missing "Columns" Option

[emilov]

I installed KSM8 + KA1 patch & latest KOReader nightly on my Kobo Aura One, all went well.

The reason why I wanted to try it is the 2 column view in a landscape mode on the bigger screen of the KA1. The option shown on one of the screenshots here: https://imgur.com/a/1NR7I/all is missing.

Again, I'm trying this on a KA1 with a standard epub (tried a few). All I see in that menu are the options "View Mode", "Line Spacing", and "Margin". The other options such as "Columns" (the one that I want) and "Text Align" are missing.

Are they disabled by default? Do I need to edit a config file somewhere to turn them on?

[Ken Maltby]

It may only be implemented in the PDF reader, I haven't tried a multi-column display, though. The menu function becomes available in the PDF reader with reflow on. So, it won't be there for an epub, I don't remember it being asked for (for epubs) over at the project at Github.

Luck;
Ken

[trekk]

It is implemented for ePub , but there is no obvious menu entry.

On a KA1 change the default value in defaults.lua to 6. You can do this manually or via the advanced settings menu.

-- default minimum screen height for reading with 2 pages in landscape mode
DCREREADER_TWO_PAGE_THRESHOLD = 6

This will give you two columns in landscape mode. A value of 7 or higher will show one column.

[Ken Maltby]

Right, I totally forgot that one. I wonder if that also "un-greys" the menu options? It would make sense to have the single column and two column options available, so you could switch them. It would need to be only while in landscape mode.

Luck;
Ken

[emilov]

Super, it worked! Thanks, guys! (it does not reveal the option in the UI, that's still hidden and not even greyed out - it would be a good idea to make it visible)

Now that I have your attention , a few more quick ones:

- Fonts: I happen to like Amasis, how do I get that into KOReader (since it doesn't seem to pull the fonts Nickel uses). (I've extracted it from the original kobo image and dumped it into KOReader's fonts dir but it doesn't appear in the UI)

- The text alignment option is also missing from that menu, which config key is that?

- USB: when I connect the KA1 to my machine while KOReader is on, nothing happens. Am I missing an option?

- Switching to KSM & KOReader: while in nickel I have the png called "Exit Nickel" which, I thought, when turned "on" would, well, exit nickel and get me to KSM so I can start KOReader. Unfortunately, nothing happens except the png is viewed full screen. The same applies for the "switch to KOReader" png. Maybe I'm not understanding the work flow here, do I have to turn off the KA1 every time I want to switch between readers or how do you guys do it, if at all?

- Comfort light (the blue color reducing feature): I guess there is no way to activate/manipulate that from KOReader, am I right?

Comments:
Night mode!!! Where has that been all my life?!

[Frenzie]

The exit Nickel icon only works if you started Nickel from KSM (although it's also possible to set up filemon yourself).

[emilov]

Originally Posted by Frenzie

The exit Nickel icon only works if you started Nickel from KSM (although it's also possible to set up filemon yourself).

Yep, that works fine, thanks.

[Ken Maltby]

There are plenty of free .ttf fonts that you can download (although most web sites offering "Free fonts" are not really that) I think they want at least $35 for Amasis.
The Stone Serif Regular.ttf that I use a lot might be similar, and there is a semi-bold version that some find a better choice for eink devices.

USB connection while in KOReader is a recently raised issue at Gitub, I don't know if anyone is working on it. The connection KSM offers works well.

Text alignment is available in the PDF reader, but epubs mostly use CSS for such things. KOReader has a number of ways to address css issues, including the option to apply your own style sheets.

The "Comfort light" for the KA1 has also been raised as an issue at the project on Github.

Luck;
Ken

[Frenzie]

I'm quite fond of Tex Gyre Pagella. It's free in all senses of the word: http://www.gust.org.pl/projects/e-fo...x-gyre/pagella

[Ken Maltby]

Does KOReader do a good job with .otf fonts? Do I just add a pagella folder to the fonts directory? Tried that and looks very good, might make it a little darker.


Luck;
Ken

[emilov]

Super, thanks for the responses.

Regarding the font, I wasn't clear (now that I'm reading my post):
I do have the ttf files for Amasis (or any other font I might want). It is unclear to me how to side load them so that they appear in the KOReader menu so I can select them for the current ebook.

I followed the example in the .adds/KOReader/fonts dir and created a subdir called "amasis" and dumped the 4 ttf files in there (for regular, bold, italic, etc.). Then I restarted KOReader and I still don't see the font in the "Change font" selection.

So, in essence, how do I side load a ttf font into KOReader so that I can see it in its fonts menu?

[Ken Maltby]

Odd that should have worked. You could put them in the freefont folder, with the others there. I understand that the files must retain their original names, for them to be added properly.

If the .tff files came from Nickel they may not work:

Font Obfuscation

When you embed a font in an ePUB, the font files are included in the ePUB itself. This potentially means that someone could open an ePUB file, take the font files out, and use them without license or permission. This would make you a potential distributor of the font, and would likely violate your font license. To avoid this, fonts can be obfuscated or mangled, making it impossible to remove the font from the ePUB and use it anywhere else.



Luck;
Ken

[emilov]

I copied them all over the place in the fonts dir, also in the freefont subdir and I restarted the whole device for good measure. No dice.

Could it be that the amasis ttfs out of the kobo image have some DRM shit in them which is why they won't work with a free (ko)reader? That would be annoying... I'll see if I can arrange with some other font (used Bookerly on the kindle but I find it kind of wide for the two columns).

[Ken Maltby]

You could describe "Font Obfuscation" as a form of DRM, and yes Kobo could be doing that. You might try the free ones Frenzie and I posted about, his installed from a folder fine.

Luck;
Ken

[emilov]

Yep, that was it. I got the font "elsewhere" and this time it worked just fine.

I'll be testing the 2 column reading eggs-perience for a few days (now it's comparable to what I had on nickel, font and all) + night mode. This should be fun .

Thanks again for all your help!