Forma Forma - sideloading ebooks, PDFs, fonts

[marst]

Hopefully this isn't a duplicate but the first attempt didn't appear in the forum. Trying again.

My questions might be answered within the forum — a search didn't yet turn up what I hoped to find. If there's a relevant thread here I'd love to find out. (Web searches so far turned up sites with incomplete and uninformative info.)

I've had a Forma for a few days. One reason I bought it: Video reviewers noted that ebooks and fonts can be side-loaded on the device. But how isn't clear yet. I copied a PDF file to what I thought should be the folder containing ebooks but it doesn't appear in the device's book list. It was done via a straight-up copy operation, at the command line after I'd connected the Kobo to the laptop. (Ebooks downloaded so far from Kobo's web site seem to be stored using GUIDs for the names, in a single subdirectory. That's where I copied the PDF from my hard drive.)

When I plug the Kobo into the laptop it becomes drive E:. Going to E: at the command line, then searching (for files of all possible attributes), I don't see anything resembling a font file. So if I had a .TTF or .OTF file, I'm not sure where it would go so that it could be recognized as a legit font selection within the Kobo reader menu.

So...how are "non-Kobo-downloaded" ePubs and PDFs and fonts side-loaded onto the Forma? [Edit: I had Calibre on this machine once. I haven't installed it again yet. Is Calibre required for sideloading?]

[geek1011]

For sideloading books, just copy into any folder (but not the .kobo folder). For sideloading fonts, create a fonts directory and put your fonts there.

[lumpynose]

Calibre isn't required for side loading but it will probably make it all easier, less troublesome, etc.

The reason you don't see the fonts on drive E: could be because they hide the underlying filesystem like android does, or the fonts could be in wherever the operating system is.

[NiLuJe]

Yeah, the folder with those GUID-filled kePub files you found is definitely *NOT* where you should sideload stuff, as it's behind a hidden folder (here, .kobo), and hidden folders are explicitly excluded from the Library (as far as side-loading is concerned) .

As for the fonts, as @davidfor mentioned, you'll have to create the directory first, it's unhelpfully not part of the standard directory structure.

[marst]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

Yeah, the folder with those GUID-filled kePub files you found is definitely *NOT* where you should sideload stuff, as it's behind a hidden folder (here, .kobo), and hidden folders are explicitly excluded from the Library (as far as side-loading is concerned) ;).

As for the fonts, as @davidfor mentioned, you'll have to create the directory first, it's unhelpfully not part of the standard directory structure.

So let's say — to try being organized about it — I create a directory off the root called "Sideloads" (or something equally imaginative) and copy ePubs or PDFs there. That'd be a good enough location? Or should I be using some other "parent" directory? Same question w.r.t. to the parent directory for a "Fonts" subdirectory.

Which file format does the Kobo prefer for fonts, or does it care? It'd be useful if I could tweak the sideloaded fonts' weights (stroke widths, I guess), though I realize you can't do that with all possible fonts. There's one serif face supplied with the Kobo that I like the best, but alas, no weight changes possible with that one.

Perhaps it would be simpler to let Calibre take care of it. I used Calibre a bazillion times when I needed, erm, cough cough, to make B&N ebooks accessible to, uh, another e-reader app. But if I can do this by just copying .epub or .pdf files at the command line, that's fine too.

Thanks very much to all who replied.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by marst

So let's say — to try being organized about it — I create a directory off the root called "Sideloads" (or something equally imaginative) and copy ePubs or PDFs there. That'd be a good enough location? Or should I be using some other "parent" directory?

You can organise sideloaded books on the disk in whatever way you want. The only rule is that if they are in a directory whose name starts with a dot, the device will not look for them.

Same question w.r.t. to the parent directory for a "Fonts" subdirectory.

There is a sticky at the top of the forum with details about fonts. Including how to add them. I'd suggest starting there. I don't usually add fonts, and have to look at the thread on the rare occasion I want to try one.

Perhaps it would be simpler to let Calibre take care of it. I used Calibre a bazillion times when I needed, erm, cough cough, to make B&N ebooks accessible to, uh, another e-reader app. But if I can do this by just copying .epub or .pdf files at the command line, that's fine too.

You can just use the OS tools to get the books onto the device. But, once you get past a few books, you need some method to organise them. Personally, I find calibre excellent for that, plus it makes it very easy to get the books onto the device.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by marst

Which file format does the Kobo prefer for fonts, or does it care? It'd be useful if I could tweak the sideloaded fonts' weights (stroke widths, I guess), though I realize you can't do that with all possible fonts. There's one serif face supplied with the Kobo that I like the best, but alas, no weight changes possible with that one.

Rather than massaging each individual font, I'd suggest installing the patch (if it is available for your current firmware yet) that allows boldness control of all sideloaded fonts.

Barring that, here is a sticky thread with a number of pre-tweaked fonts that look good on eink. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=204363

[marst]

Originally Posted by davidfor

You can just use the OS tools to get the books onto the device. But, once you get past a few books, you need some method to organise them. Personally, I find calibre excellent for that, plus it makes it very easy to get the books onto the device.

Thanks for that (and for the suggestion about the sticky post re: fonts). I'll install Calibre again and give it a go.

Edit: Ok, the PC-to-Kobo transfer worked like a charm (with Calibre). The first item was a small .docx saved from a Word "clone" program to PDF and ePub formats. The program did a better job typographically with the PDF output, but of course PDFs come with a price (no line-wrapping, as far as I can tell). The program's ePub output was not what I'd call book-worthy, but it's just a small simple collection of recipes and it will do for now. Transferring other ebooks should be relatively painless, I hope.

Thanks again to the people who replied.
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