New custom English dictionaries

[davidfor]

I think gouni is referring to the bug that when you have selected a word and used the full dictionary, pressing the left arrow in the top left corner closed the window rather then going to the entry screen. That is broken in 2.5.0 and 2.5.1. I am quite confident that Kobo will have it fixed in the next firmware

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Is it possible to add newer dictionaries that are not in the PD? I'm not so sure I want a 1913 dictionary. I know that English is relatively stable and "horse" probably meant the same in 1913 as it does now but the language grows everyday and it would be nice to get definitions for those new words. I liked my 650 dictionary. Is there any way I can transfer that to the Kobo Aura?

[ewphoenix123]

It's pretty simple to create your own dictionary.

[gouni]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

I get the keyboard just fine. From the bottom menu, choose the book icon and then Dictionary and Define word pops up with the keyboard. Works on custom dictionary too.

Thank you.

The management of the keyboard system is different between the Aura and the Glo.

[ShellShock]

Originally Posted by gouni

Thank you.

The management of the keyboard system is different between the Aura and the Glo.

It works for me on the Glo too. The menu option on the Glo is called Definition - select that and the keyboard pops up. Using a custom dictionary and an epub.

[gouni]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

It works for me on the Glo too. The menu option on the Glo is called Definition - select that and the keyboard pops up. Using a custom dictionary and an epub.

Youpi ça marche mais que c'est tordu, c'était plus simple avant.

[DannyY]

I have an Aura HD with Firmware 2.5.1 and have used the Penelope script to convert Stardict formats of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, Britannica Concise and full 2nd Edition Oxford English Dictionary to Kobo and copy them across and can also confirm that they all work without power cycling.

I have set the Concise to be my English dictionary for long click word lookups and the full OED as a German dictionary.

The dictionary keyboard cannot be accessed from the long click word lookup, but I can get it from the book icon in the bottom right. Thanks for this tip, ShellShock, I hadn't worked that out before.

[ShellShock]

I am not a moderator, but if these are still in copyright then I am pretty sure that will be forbidden.

[Mikeyboards]

Originally Posted by DannyY

I have an Aura HD with Firmware 2.5.1 and have used the Penelope script to convert Stardict formats of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, Britannica Concise and full 2nd Edition Oxford English Dictionary to Kobo and copy them across and can also confirm that they all work without power cycling....

On my Aura, after renaming the original dictionary, and replacing it with a modified/converted one (my thanks to "dimm"!), it at first didn't see it. It kept saying I didn't have an English dictionary installed. (Even after powering off and on.) It led me to "Manage Dictionaries", where I eventually got it to recognize the new one by unchecking the English dictionary, then clicking Save, then locating and checking the English dictionary again, and clicking Save again. Then it took a minute to update / load, and now I have (what is presumably) a new English dictionary. Seems to work fine.

So, if someone's replaced dictionary doesn't seem to "take" at first, you could try that.

[ShellShock]

That may have downloaded and installed the official Kobo English dictionary, replacing the custom dictionary.

[Mikeyboards]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

That may have downloaded and installed the official Kobo English dictionary, replacing the custom dictionary.

Hmmm, I'd better check on that. However, I wasn't connected at the time, and WiFi was off.

I need to figure out some words that are not in the Kobo dictionary, but are in many others, so I can more easily test which dictionary I have!

[Mikeyboards]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

That may have downloaded and installed the official Kobo English dictionary, replacing the custom dictionary.

Dang, I think you're right! The dictionary file in the .kobo (/dict) folder is the same size as the old one I backed up, instead of the size of the bigger one I'd put in place. Need to fool around with this some more. Maybe it doesn't like the formatting of the new dictionary. Or something...

Update: Yes, there's apparently something wrong with the converted form of the dictionary I was trying to use. When I install the Websters 1913 edition posted on page 1 of this thread, it works fine. So I need get a conversion of my (mobi) Oxford dictionary that will work on the Aura. Or someone else's already-converted version. (Fingers crossed...)

Update #2: I have since received some kind help regarding the above. Thank you community!!

[tkavan]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

Due to the great work of other forum members it is now possible to create your own dictionaries for the Kobo Glo and Touch, for firmware 2.1.4 or later.

Thank you ShellShock. I followed your very clear instructions and it went as you said it would.

Now I have a question:

I changed to the Websters International because I looked up the word "villein" in the Kobo dictionary and it said it was lower than a "thane" and higher than a "cotter." (All of these, as you probably know, are classes of society in medieval England, and they appear in a book I am reading.) But there was no way to look up either "thane" or "cotter," so I decided to get a more comprehensive dictionary.

However the Webster's Int. does not even give the definition found in the Kobo dictionary, but instead says "See Villain." That's fair enough, and the word "villain" is underlined, as though it were a link. But when I touch it, it doesn't go anywhere.

Am I doing something wrong? Or is following a dictionary link just not doable?

I have a Kobo Glo, software 2.5.2.

Thanks,
Tom

[tshering]

Originally Posted by tkavan

Am I doing something wrong? Or is following a dictionary link just not doable?

Unfortunately, links are not supported.

[tkavan]

Originally Posted by tshering

Unfortunately, links are not supported.

That's what I feared, thanks. It would seem to be an automatic thing you would include if you were programming an online dictionary. Though now that I think of it, it probably does work if you used the dictionary as a stand-alone application. Just not in Kobo.

With the word "villein" I may have chosen a rare example. A few other words I have looked up in Webster's Int. since then do give more detailed definitions that does the Kobo-installed dictionary.