iPad Bookmaster - ePub and PDF reader for iOS

[tbergman]

I'd like to know if there's a way, in Bookmaster, to turn off all touch features except page turns and menu access?

I almost never want to use any of these features and, with iBooks and Marvin, find myself frequently activating them accidently. This then necessitates getting out of the feature in order to continue reading.

I noticed earlier in this thread that brightness adjust by swiping is now supported. I've never done this by mistake in Marvin so I wouldn't care if this was left functional.

All the e-book readers I've used make seamless reading a problem except an older, non-touch, Kindle. On every other reader app or device, I find myself frequently distracted by these "features".

Thanks,

Tom

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by tbergman

I'd like to know if there's a way, in Bookmaster, to turn off all touch features except page turns and menu access?

I almost never want to use any of these features and, with iBooks and Marvin, find myself frequently activating them accidently. This then necessitates getting out of the feature in order to continue reading.

I noticed earlier in this thread that brightness adjust by swiping is now supported. I've never done this by mistake in Marvin so I wouldn't care if this was left functional.

All the e-book readers I've used make seamless reading a problem except an older, non-touch, Kindle. On every other reader app or device, I find myself frequently distracted by these "features".

Thanks,

Tom

Interesting! Apparently, you prefer to read on a touch-screen device with minimal tap gestures, but swipe gestures are ok.

If this is true, then you should definitely give BookMaster a try.

On iOS there are many types of touch gestures. The 3 common types in question here are tap (short press), touch-and-hold (long press) and swipe.

In BookMaster, you need a tap for menu access. And you're ok.

You don't need a tap for page turn. You can turn it off in Gesture Control (see the attached figure).

To lookup or highlight a word, etc., you need to long-press on it and then select a command out of the pop-up context menu or tap somewhere else to cancel it. Thus it is quite difficult to highlight a word accidentally in BookMaster. This same statement can not be said for iBooks, as you have pointed out.

In fact, even the vertical swipe for brightness control can be turned off.

Is there anything you've asked for regarding gestures that I have not listed yet?

[skb]

I am always looking for a new ebook reader (for various reasons). I did check out your website when I first heard about Bookmaster but was strongly discouraged initially by your website. The slideshow (is that new) is okay, but a list of features would be good. The bits about Bookmaster compared to other readers is...underwhelming.

For example, there's no clear distinction (apart from price when you get to itunes) about what the difference is between the two versions.

Having said that, I'll probably give one of the versions a try (as long as they don't have ads or in app purchases, I'm half way there).

But, I've just found this thread, so I'm keen to check out your product.

My 'sweet spot' for an ereader would be an ability to list the books (I'm not a fan of the bookshelf look at all or the page turning experience - but that is only me).
I would like a list, with title, author and maybe the "comments" summary (even if it's only a short amount) from Calibre. The ability to view by Author and Series info (also from Calibre) would be a bonus. I have 3000 books from more than 999 authors (Marvin is stuck on 999, so I don't actually know how many), so I'm more interested in functionality (& metadata) than appearance.

Which version would be best for me?

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by skb

...
Which version would be best for me?

On the App Store description webpages of both BookMaster SE and BookMaster CE, the differences of the two editions are listed at the end as follows.

Which edition of BookMaster is best for you?

* BookMaster CE reads DRM-free EPUB.
* BookMaster SE has two additional features:
1. Become an OPDS/HTML webserver for your own books to share with others
2. Read PDF files with a viewer like Modern Book, and note highlights as images.

Please see https://itunes.apple.com/app/id860169741?mt=8 or https://itunes.apple.com/app/id860180350?mt=8 for the really long list of features shared by both SE and CE.

If you read PDF, then definitely get SE. If you want to have fun with, say, iPad as your book server (like calibre) so that you may download books from your iPad to your iPhone, say, running Marvin, then definitely get SE too.

It sounds like that you have already used Marvin, and Marvin can't do those two things above at all.

Originally Posted by skb

...
Having said that, I'll probably give one of the versions a try (as long as they don't have ads or in app purchases, I'm half way there).

But, I've just found this thread, so I'm keen to check out your product.
...

Both SE and CE are paid apps. There is neither ads nor in-app purchase.

Originally Posted by skb

...
My 'sweet spot' for an ereader would be an ability to list the books (I'm not a fan of the bookshelf look at all or the page turning experience - but that is only me).
I would like a list, with title, author and maybe the "comments" summary (even if it's only a short amount) from Calibre. The ability to view by Author and Series info (also from Calibre) would be a bonus. I have 3000 books from more than 999 authors (Marvin is stuck on 999, so I don't actually know how many), so I'm more interested in functionality (& metadata) than appearance.
...

Everything listed in your "sweet spot" requirement is in BookMaster, and can be found in the long feature list on the App Store page.

Of course, there is no artificial limit on the number of authors in BookMaster. Transferring 3000 books from calibre to BookMaster is a piece of cake, as long as your iPad has enough capacity to hold them all. If you set your calibre server to display all 3000 books in one page, then you can download them all in background (so that you can read a book at the same time) in a few steps. Try downloading first the "Sample Books" list, and the instructions there will show you how easy it is.

If you do try BookMaster in the near future, your feedback in this forum will be much appreciated.

[skb]

Wow. Thank you for the very quick response. I'm definitely going to try it out now (especially if it does address my (admittedly quirky) wish list).

Thank you again, sbaylor!

[mobman16]

Sorry if this has already been clarified, I've read through the thread but couldn't see whether the app was available on iPhone too or if it was just iPad. Can you download on iPhone? Thanks.

[svenlind]

Originally Posted by sbaylor

Yes, we are interested in doing a good job of integrating multiple online dictionaries with BookMaster. But we need everyone's help to tell us about his/her favorite online dictionary website(s), and which language to which language lookup you are most interested in.

Thanks in anticipation!

I should have given a reply earlier. I don't think it is practical for you to support a lot of online dictionaries, but I could be wrong.
But it might be ok if you also added a user defined option as I mentioned earlier.

My online dictionary ordbogen.com (paid subscription) supports a lot of languages, but being from Denmark one part of a translation dictionary is of course Danish.

It would of course be very convenient if you directly supported ordbogen.com

[Kai Winters]

Any info yet on iPhone app?

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by mobman16

Sorry if this has already been clarified, I've read through the thread but couldn't see whether the app was available on iPhone too or if it was just iPad. Can you download on iPhone? Thanks.

As stated in the title of this thread ([iPad] Bookmaster - ePub and PDF reader for iOS), BookMaster is for iPad only.

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by Kai Winters

Any info yet on iPhone app?

We're now working on the next release of BookMaster (SE and CE). One of the new features to be introduced is basic sync support. It should be available on the App Store in March.

After that release, we'll focus on an iPhone version, as the demand seems to be strong. Note that there are a lot of features to be ported, and perhaps UI elements to be redesigned to better fit the iPhone (vs. iPad) form factor.

There is a possibility that we won't do the whole port in one shot, but choose to do it in a piecemeal fashion, with each release adding to a high quality earlier release. We expect to basically get it done in the second quarter this year.

[tbergman]

It seems to be the Long Press that causes me problems. My thumb just naturally ends up resting on the page Can that be disabled?

I've only been using the app for a little while so may have missed some features but here are a few things I've noticed that I'd like to see changed. Overall though, very nice app.
1) After downloading using OPDS, there's no confirmation. Has caused me to press the download button more than once.
2) There does not appear to be a way to adjust the margins.
3) I prefer the way Brightness works in Marvin where it actually affects the iPad brightness. I'm sure others prefer it the way it is. No big deal.
4) After exiting the app while reading, then going back in later, I end up on the library page, not in the book. This is extremely annoying. I have to find and then select the book I was reading.
5) The data at the edges, title, percent, chapter etc. are a little distracting. Perhaps they could be dimmer?
6) When connecting to an OPDS server (my caliber), I'm always asked to confirm the credentials. I'd rather be connected without the credential dialog if I've saved my creds.

Thanks for your consideration

Originally Posted by sbaylor

Interesting! Apparently, you prefer to read on a touch-screen device with minimal tap gestures, but swipe gestures are ok.

If this is true, then you should definitely give BookMaster a try.

On iOS there are many types of touch gestures. The 3 common types in question here are tap (short press), touch-and-hold (long press) and swipe.

In BookMaster, you need a tap for menu access. And you're ok.

You don't need a tap for page turn. You can turn it off in Gesture Control (see the attached figure).

To lookup or highlight a word, etc., you need to long-press on it and then select a command out of the pop-up context menu or tap somewhere else to cancel it. Thus it is quite difficult to highlight a word accidentally in BookMaster. This same statement can not be said for iBooks, as you have pointed out.

In fact, even the vertical swipe for brightness control can be turned off.

Is there anything you've asked for regarding gestures that I have not listed yet?

[downeaster59]

I've just purchased Bookmaster 1.3 CE. What I see so far, I really like.

A suggestion for a future release: I've started to set up my Sets. To me, it would be better if either a) I could select books in All Books and then choose to have them in one or more of my user-defined sets, and/or b) be able to long-press a book cover in All Books or Ungrouped or any set and then have the option of adding them to one or more of my sets.

I've tried Marvin and it is pretty good, but Bookmaster looks better so far. Keep up the good work!

I have an Android E-Ink device that I have used for much of my e-reading. Now, with Bookmaster, I may well read more on my iPad Air. Thanks.

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by svenlind

I should have given a reply earlier. I don't think it is practical for you to support a lot of online dictionaries, but I could be wrong.
But it might be ok if you also added a user defined option as I mentioned earlier.

My online dictionary ordbogen.com (paid subscription) supports a lot of languages, but being from Denmark one part of a translation dictionary is of course Danish.

It would of course be very convenient if you directly supported ordbogen.com

I said earlier that

Originally Posted by sbaylor

... we need everyone's help to tell us about his/her favorite online dictionary website(s), and which language to which language lookup you are most interested in.

because our team members know too little about most non-English languages to be capable of judging by ourselves the quality of such online dictionary websites. Wiktionary.org (and translate.google.com for translation, not dictionary) is a well-known site, but I doubt it is the best for everyone. So far unfortunately only you have provided a site for Danish as the target (vs. source) language.

Therefore, the issue is not the technical problem of supporting lots of online dictionaries, but the product planning risk of building something only a few users want.

Dear users or potential users, please let us know if you are interested in seeing your favorite online dictionary website integrated with BookMaster.

Thanks!

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

I've just purchased Bookmaster 1.3 CE. What I see so far, I really like.
...

I've tried Marvin and it is pretty good, but Bookmaster looks better so far. Keep up the good work!

I have an Android E-Ink device that I have used for much of my e-reading. Now, with Bookmaster, I may well read more on my iPad Air. Thanks.

That's great! Thank you for your compliment!
Hope you can give the app a good rating and write a review on the App Store too.

Originally Posted by downeaster59

A suggestion for a future release: I've started to set up my Sets. To me, it would be better if either a) I could select books in All Books and then choose to have them in one or more of my user-defined sets, and/or b) be able to long-press a book cover in All Books or Ungrouped or any set and then have the option of adding them to one or more of my sets.

Perhaps I don't fully understand your suggestion. As far as I understand, your suggestion more or less has been implemented in BookMaster since v1.0. Let me clarify.

1. In any Library view (icon vs. list, and flat vs. hierarchical) where you see some books, tap "Edit" at the upper right corner.
2. Select one or more checkmarks, one for each book.
3. Tap "Copy" or "Move" to see the list of book sets, then choose one book set as the destination book set.
4. Repeat Step 3 for each of the other destination book set you want.

*In Step 3, for the special book set "All Books", you'll only see "Move" dimmed, because by definition "All Books" have all the books in the Library, and thus you can't move it to any other book set. Were you able to do so, the moved book would not appear in "All Books". But this is a contradiction.

Attached are two screenshots at the end of Step 2, one for the Book List View, the other one for the Book Icon View, both displayed in Flat mode, for the same 3 books selected from the user-defined book set "My Book Show".

[sbaylor]

You said, "Overall though, very nice app." Great! Thank you for your compliment. I hope as you dig deeper, you'll find more the app more satisfying. Don't forget to give the app a good rating and write a review on the App Store then!

Now, I'll answer your questions one by one.

If you long press on the left or right margin, the gesture is always ignored. If you also disable the tap gestures at the left/right margin, then you can safely rest your thumb there. However, if you long press on the text or image area, then some text or image may be selected. You can't disable this behavior.

1) Check the Queue view, which is next to Websites. As a book is added to the download/import queue, the badge number associated with the Queue icon is incremented; as a book download is completed, the badge number is decremented. When the number is 0, no badge number is shown.

2) Page margins are fixed

3) If there are enough users who want system-wise (iBooks-like) brightness control, we may consider offering an option. Anybody else wants this?

4) Turn on "Auto-Open Last Book Read" in System Settings. Perhaps we should turn it on by default in the next release.

5) We'll play with the labels to see if it's possible to make it dimmer without losing readability under (almost) all themes (including background color and text color, etc.)

6) The credential dialog appears only once when your credential is requested the first time after connecting to a given OPDS server (including calibre with password protection) and your credential is correct. In case you want to type in a different password, or want to switch to a different account for the same server/website, the dialog gives you the chance to do so. Subsequently, the credential dialog will pop up again only if the supplied credential fails.

Originally Posted by tbergman

It seems to be the Long Press that causes me problems. My thumb just naturally ends up resting on the page Can that be disabled?

I've only been using the app for a little while so may have missed some features but here are a few things I've noticed that I'd like to see changed. Overall though, very nice app.
1) After downloading using OPDS, there's no confirmation. Has caused me to press the download button more than once.
2) There does not appear to be a way to adjust the margins.
3) I prefer the way Brightness works in Marvin where it actually affects the iPad brightness. I'm sure others prefer it the way it is. No big deal.
4) After exiting the app while reading, then going back in later, I end up on the library page, not in the book. This is extremely annoying. I have to find and then select the book I was reading.
5) The data at the edges, title, percent, chapter etc. are a little distracting. Perhaps they could be dimmer?
6) When connecting to an OPDS server (my caliber), I'm always asked to confirm the credentials. I'd rather be connected without the credential dialog if I've saved my creds.

Thanks for your consideration

Attached is a screenshot of BookMaster CE's System Settings. See #4 above.