Koreader running on Kobos (all of them, hopefully!)

[tshering]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

No, those files don't seem to be in that location. When I go there, the only files in the folder are:

E:\.kobo-images\135\255

file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_exit_nickel_png - N3_FULL.parsed
file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_exit_nickel_png - N3_LIBRARY_FULL.parsed
file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_exit_nickel_png - N3_LIBRARY_GRID.parsed

Sorry, I made a mistake. The path is .kobo-images\135\148\.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by tshering

Sorry, I made a mistake. The path is .kobo-images\135\148\.

Following that path, the files are all there:

file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_switchtokoreader_pn g - N3_FULL.parsed
file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_switchtokoreader_pn g - N3_LIBRARY_FULL.parsed
file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_switchtokoreader_pn g - N3_LIBRARY_GRID.parsed


Looking at the dates for those files, that would be from my most recent installation of Koreader. After the KA1 updated to the FW version I'm using now, I uninstalled both Koreader and KSM 08, then did a fresh reinstall of them both.

Everything seemed to be working fine although I can't recall if the switchtokoreader png ever appeared on my KA1 homescreen. I seem to recall going into My Books each time I wanted to switch and tapping on it there. That still works, but the switchtokoreader png doesn't appear on my nickel homescreen after doing so.

I only thought about trying to get the KSM pngs to appear on the homescreen after reading ebrahimpak's various posts. It sounded like it would be a more accessible place to reach them and it is so long as I leave the switchtokoreader png out of the collection.

But on my original Aura running older FW and with the old homescreen, the switchtokoreader png always shows up on the homescreen and has never caused any issues.

If it weren't for the fact that the original Aura had difficulties dealing with Chinese fonts with the new FW, I would be tempted to update and see if the same issue with the switchtokoreader png occurred on it the way it does on my KA1. However, everything is running so smoothly on it at the moment that I am reluctant to adjust any settings on it.

[ebrahimpak]

Originally Posted by tshering

@Question Mark
Can you tell me whether in .kobo-images\135\255\ you have
file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_switchtokoreader_pn g - N3_FULL.parsed
file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_switchtokoreader_pn g - N3_LIBRARY_FULL.parsed
file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_switchtokoreader_pn g - N3_LIBRARY_GRID.parsed?
And if you have them, whether the file date indicates whether the file existed already at the time when you had the problem starting nickel?

@Question Mark and ebrahimpak
That switchtokoreader.png causes problems is somehow related to the history of your devices. The question is, why, on your devices, nickel tries under certain circumstances to open switchtokoreader.png on startup. By launching nickel by "start nickel no fmon.sh" and opening and closing the KSM pngs, nickel should have had sufficient opportunity to create all thumbnails that it needs.

Adding to your question, I have to ask again; why switchtokoreader png opens KSM rather than directly moving into Koreader!

[tshering]

@Question Mark
Thank you for checking.
I tried to simulate your problem on my Touch.

• I launched nickel by selecting "start nickel," opened the KSM collection and marked switchtokoreader.png as unread, then I tapped on it to open it.
• As expected nickel got killed, and control was returned to KSM.
• I selected "start nickel," and it failed. This looks like the problem you both are seeing.
• I launched nickel by selecting "start nickel no fmon.sh." nickel started and on the first row of the nickel home there appeared the switchtokoreader tile.
• I power circled the device. Since then everything works again.

In .kobo-images\135\148\ , there is now a newly created file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_switchtokoreader_pn g - N3_LIBRARY_FULL.parsed. For reasons unknown to me, this file did not exist on my device. So the point is, I can explain why nickel failed on my device after I had marked switchtokoreader.png as unread and tried to open it. The reason was that nickel tried to create the file file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_switchtokoreader_pn g - N3_LIBRARY_FULL.parsed, which it needed for displaying it as a tile and which did not exist. But on your and ebrahimpak's device this file does already exist. So my guess is that nickel tries for some reason to re-create this file on your devices (maybe it does not any longer like the resolution or the size, or something of the old file), and fails doing so.
Maybe you could try to delete the file file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_switchtokoreader_pn g - N3_LIBRARY_FULL.parsed and do the same steps as I did in order to give nickel a chance to newly create this file.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by ebrahimpak

Adding to your question, I have to ask again; why switchtokoreader png opens KSM rather than directly moving into Koreader!

switchtokoreader.png does only open Koreader, when you opened nickel by "start nickel koreader switch." When you open nickel by "start nickel," switchtokoreader.png simply does the same as exit_nickel.png.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by tshering

Maybe you could try to delete the file file____mnt_onboard_kbmenupngs_switchtokoreader_pn g - N3_LIBRARY_FULL.parsed and do the same steps as I did in order to give nickel a chance to newly create this file.

Deleted the file and followed all your steps to the letter. However, had the same experience with Nickel failing to launch and being redirected back to the KSM homescreen.

When I removed the switchtokoreader png from the Nickel homescreen, everything worked fine again.

I then tried adding the switchtokoreader png back to my KSM collection, but tapped on the exit_nickel png to get to the KSM homescreen. That worked. However, when I attempted to start Nickel again, I was redirected back to the KSM homescreen.

When I eventually removed the switchtokoreader png from the KSM collection and cycled through the power a couple of times, everything works fine.

If I go into My Books, I can tap on the switchtokoreader png and I will be taken to the KSM homescreen. I can then go back to Nickel without any problems. However, the switchtokoreader png will not appear on my Nickel homescreen when I do this.

Interestingly, the exit_nickel png now appears on the first row of tiles on my Nickel homescreen. It didn't used to do that. It used to be I would have to go into my KSM collection on the homescreen to utilize it. This is good because it means that I can now switch between Nickel and Koreader with one less tap. Very handy.

Not sure why the KA1 doesn't seem to like the switchtokoreader png on the new homescreen. However, the exit_nickel png works well for me and so I am well pleased.

[tshering]

@Question Mark
Thank you again for trying. It is a mystery.

[emacsomancer]

I'm running on an Aura HD, and I can't get gestures to work in Koreader. That is, panning in flip mode, or any of the zoom gestures.

[serbuz]

Hello, Im a new user. I have a kobo aura one. I sucessfully instaled the manager and the patch for aura one. Then i instaled koreader but i cant start it...when i select it the screen only flickers...and nothing happens.
Thank you for your help

[Frenzie]

On Kobo Aura One you'd have to install a more recent nightly, such as https://github.com/koreader/koreader....06.12-nightly

The 2015 stable either wouldn't work on it or not very well.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by Frenzie

On Kobo Aura One you'd have to install a more recent nightly, such as https://github.com/koreader/koreader....06.12-nightly

The 2015 stable either wouldn't work on it or not very well.

Yup, that was my experience, too. Koreader has been working very well on my KA1 since installing one of the more recent nightly builds.

I'm currently running:

Koreader version: v2015.11-1052-g71d38ac

Kobo version: 4.4.9298

[ebrahimpak]

May I ask you why the stable version isn't stable at all?!

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Yup, that was my experience, too. Koreader has been working very well on my KA1 since installing one of the more recent nightly builds.

I'm currently running:

Koreader version: v2015.11-1052-g71d38ac

Kobo version: 4.4.9298

[Ken Maltby]

The term "stable version" is a reference point to the code development, not really related to how stable the code performs. That said; changes to the OS code, by kobo firmware updates can effect the programs that run under that OS. The "stable version" was probably quite stable when it was released, with the then current firmware.

Luck;
Ken

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by ebrahimpak

May I ask you why the stable version isn't stable at all?!

Good question. Wrong person. My guess is that the stable version was stable until the KA1 and newer models and firmware appeared on the scene.

So, just like you now have to apply that extra patch when installing KSM 08 on your KA1, you also now have to install a more recent version of Koreader for it to work properly. Perhaps, eventually, there will be a new stable version.

I initially made the same mistake thinking that a "stable version" would be preferable and more stable than a "nightly build". It also took me a little while to figure out how to install the nightly build. Not being very technogically savvy, it was not as clear to me as how to install the unstable stable build. But, eventually, I got it sorted.

All that said, Koreader is fairly stable now on my Ka1 with the version I am currently running. It occasionally crashes, but I look up a lot of words when I am reading in Chinese, and perhaps unduly stress it. Hopefully, as I continue to read, my vocabulary will continue to improve and I will not need to rely on the various dictionaries quite so frequently.

[Frenzie]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

The term "stable version" is a reference point to the code development, not really related to how stable the code performs.

I think that's slightly unfair and more accurately describes the explicitly tagged "nightlies". However, it's true that to some extent the word "stable" also means that most known issues remain stable, because every change might break something else. The devil you know and all that.

In any case, for the sake of other people reading this I'll include that the general distinction goes something like this:

• Auto-generated nightlies. These are only available from the nightly build server directly. There's no human involvement here. Nightlies are automatically built once a day (proverbially at night). In principle quality could therefore range anywhere from horrific failure to stable.
• Tagged nightlies. The ones you find on GitHub. These were briefly tested on the emulator and one or more real devices without finding anything obviously wrong.
• Alpha. Basically the same as tagged nightlies but with the intent to primarily fix bugs that pop up so that it can go to beta.
• Beta. Generally no new features and only bug fixing.
• Stable. All bugs that cropped up during the alpha and beta (and RC) stages that were considered blockers have been fixed. During beta this should normally have been tested on all supported platforms.

I'd say that in KOReader the alpha and beta stages are somewhat less formal. Basically any time you don't see new features being added the program tends to creep toward stable whether it's a conscious effort or not.

tl;dr If that were all I'd tag the current code 2017.07 stable and be done with it as it's generally been good to me for quite a while now.

That said; changes to the OS code, by kobo firmware updates can effect the programs that run under that OS. The "stable version" was probably quite stable when it was released, with the then current firmware.

Indeed. Had you (generic you) installed KOReader on one of the devices that were out two years ago you'd have enjoyed two years of stability. The KA1 came out less than a year ago. I'd say a better question is why Kobo incompatibly changed things on the software end when the new hardware doesn't seem to be capable of doing anything new. Unfortunately they're not trying to provide a stable platform for third-party developers, but that's a lot better than outright hostility!

Originally Posted by Question Mark

I initially made the same mistake thinking that a "stable version" would be preferable and more stable than a "nightly build".

That's not a mistake unless you have a specific reason not to use the stable version. Few reasons are more pressing than having an otherwise unsupported device. You should be perfectly fine using nightlies, but in that case you should also be prepared to roll back to the previous release if they break. A new stable is somewhat overdue though.