Kobo future firmware feature request thread

[ZodWallop]

Add cover view in My Books/Authors, and allow stacking of authors similar to what you see in Series.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Add cover view in My Books/Authors

There is already a cover view in the book list. It works in any book list, so if you view an author you can use cover view.

and allow stacking of authors similar to what you see in Series.

Maybe I don't understand what you mean by "stacking". From memory, when others have referred to it, it is showing multiple covers on top of each other. But, the series list does not do this. All it is doing is showing one cover with some shadows to suggest multiple books. That happens even if you have only one book in the series. And the cover shown isn't necessarily the first book in the series list. It looks to be the cover of first book in the series when sorted by "Recent". Which means it will probably show whichever book you are reading, or last read in a series. Honestly, I don't see the point. It doesn't add any information. I know I am looking at series, and the number of books I have in the series is displayed. What does the shadows add.

Having written that, I think your first suggestion is to add a cover of some sort to the author list. Not something I want. I don't see the point. Why show one random cover for an author on this list? To me, all it will do is take up space. Maybe if I could specify the image used, then I could get something meaningful, but, I don't really want that. If anything, I want a series list without the covers so more can be displayed on each page.

[ZodWallop]

I am on software 4.24.15676. If things have changed in more recent firmware, please let me know.

Originally Posted by davidfor

There is already a cover view in the book list. It works in any book list, so if you view an author you can use cover view.

That is not so. See attachment 1. Neither Authors nor Collections have a cover view.

Adding a cover view to the authors tab would allow them to drop authors from the Sort dropdown. Without stacking of course, it wouldn't be helpful because the Sort: Authors view sucks right now.

That brings me to stacking.

Maybe I don't understand what you mean by "stacking". From memory, when others have referred to it, it is showing multiple covers on top of each other.

Yes, exactly. I would like the Kobo library to look as nice as the Nook one (see attachment 2).

But, the series list does not do this. All it is doing is showing one cover with some shadows to suggest multiple books. That happens even if you have only one book in the series.

Yeah, that should be worked on too.

[dan980]

my typography wishlist:

- support for standard ligatures (fi,ff) on kepub
- support for true small caps
- option for oldstyle/lining numbers (for fonts that have both, of corse)
- better handling of font variants (bold, italic): some fonts show as bold (ex. PT Serif, Heuristica, Tex Gyre Pagella)
- better hypenation

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I am on software 4.24.15676. If things have changed in more recent firmware, please let me know.



That is not so. See attachment 1. Neither Authors nor Collections have a cover view.

You were not being clear about what you wanted. And I initially interpreted it in a different way. When looking at the books for an author, the list has a cover view. That is what I thought you were talking about.

But, you were talking about the Author list. That doesn't have any sort of cover or image viewing. Personally, I think it is pointless and would waste space. And, if you did do a "cover" view, there is no guarantee that the cover displayed would actually show the authors name in detail enough to know who it is. I am of the same opinion for the cover shown in the series list and would like a cover-less version similar to the author and collections lists with more series per screen.

Adding a cover view to the authors tab would allow them to drop authors from the Sort dropdown. Without stacking of course, it wouldn't be helpful because the Sort: Authors view sucks right now.

That brings me to stacking.



Yes, exactly. I would like the Kobo library to look as nice as the Nook one (see attachment 2).

I have to state: Yuk. I don't like it for a few reasons. The first is simply that I don't see the point. The covers in the author view doesn't supply any extra information.

And the "stacking" is pointless. Again, it doesn't add anything that the number in the top-left corner doesn't tell me. If anything, it makes it look messy to me. I mean, who stacks books like that? When my TBR list was a stack of books on my bedside table, they were neatly aligned along one edge. Looking at that screenshot makes me want to line them up. And the way that 5 books is done differently than 3 books and 2 books is frustrating me. The 2 and 3 books are sort of consistent. But why are the lower books in the 5 book stack so much shorter than the front? Is it that way all the time or is it a fluke that those books actually have shorter covers? If you were suggesting something like what is used for the "My Books" tile on the home screen, maybe. When I look at that, I get an idea of the three books, not just one with a hint that there are others.

Maybe if I could control the image it could be made to work. There are some covers that immediately jump out at me as being for an author. If I was always going to get one of those, then it might work, but, setting that up would be a lot of work (meaning I'd have to choose each image and that would be to much work).

And for the record, comparing an author list with a list of books sorted by author confused me. The lists are different and show very different information. I don't want the current author sorting removed. I don't use it much in the main list, but, I do use it. And I use it more in collections. If you wanted to compare something, you should have shown the series list in cover view.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by davidfor

You were not being clear about what you wanted. And I initially interpreted it in a different way. When looking at the books for an author, the list has a cover view. That is what I thought you were talking about.

But, you were talking about the Author list.

It shouldn't be confusing. Really, why is there a sort by author and an author tab? The two should be combined and easily could be without losing what either of those views currently offer.

That doesn't have any sort of cover or image viewing...

But it could be done by using the same UI as the Books tab to let the user sort by covers or list view. I think the cover/list view should be consistent across all tabs in My Books. Even if you hate it, it wouldn't impact you.

And, if you did do a "cover" view, there is no guarantee that the cover displayed would actually show the authors name in detail enough to know who it is.

That says more about your opinion of Kobo's design team than anything else.

As you can see in my screenshot, each item on the Nook clearly lists the author's name.

And the way that 5 books is done differently than 3 books and 2 books is frustrating me. The 2 and 3 books are sort of consistent. But why are the lower books in the 5 book stack so much shorter than the front? Is it that way all the time or is it a fluke that those books actually have shorter covers?

The height difference comes from the dimensions of the covers. Not anything done by the software. The stack of five are all self published books by that author, so I takes the covers I gets. And as you can see in the attachment, I have the same non-matching cover height issue on the Kobo. So yuk there too, I guess.

I don't expect Kobo to completely ape the look of the Nook. They could use the same shadow effect already used in series (though really, if it is just one book, get rid of the shadow).

And for the record, comparing an author list with a list of books sorted by author confused me. The lists are different and show very different information.

What are the use cases for an author list (with the number of books by each author) vs. a list of books sorted by author?

Anyway, on the Nook, stacking can be turned on and off. If the software were updated and you had the books stacked and list view on the author tab, you would have what you have now. If stacking were turned off and you used cover view, you would have what is already shown in My Books - Sort By: Author.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

It shouldn't be confusing. Really, why is there a sort by author and an author tab? The two should be combined and easily could be without losing what either of those views currently offer.

Read your statement and look at the Nook. You screenshot clearly shows that you lose information when you combine the lists. One show all books sorted by author. The other shows all authors with some hints that there might be more than one book. I want to see both because of how I look for books. If just changing the sort order also changed the displayed data, it would be a bad thing.

But it could be done by using the same UI as the Books tab to let the user sort by covers or list view. I think the cover/list view should be consistent across all tabs in My Books. Even if you hate it, it wouldn't impact you.

Consistency is good, but, consistency where there isn't any real consistency is bad. The information displayed on the four tabs is different. Therefore they should be displayed in best way to display that information. The first tab is a list of books. Therefore display the books. The author tab is a list of authors, so display that list with useful information. And the only useful information I can think of is the authors name and the number of books. The series tab is different again. The useful information is series name, authors and number of books. Therefore it is displayed differently. A "series cover" could be good, but, how to define it would be the problem. For collections, it is similar to the author in that the useful information is the name and number of books.

If anything is added to author, series and collections lists, I want to see the number of unread books in each. And a filter to only show me the ones with unread books. That would be useful to me when looking for something to read.

That says more about your opinion of Kobo's design team than anything else.

As you can see in my screenshot, each item on the Nook clearly lists the author's name.

No, that says something about the design of the covers you are seeing. In my library, I have plenty of books where the authors name is not easily read when the small cover images are generated. On the full screen cover it is usually OK, but, on grayscaled, thumbail sized covers, the author isn't always obvious or readable.

The height difference comes from the dimensions of the covers. Not anything done by the software. The stack of five are all self published books by that author, so I takes the covers I gets. And as you can see in the attachment, I have the same non-matching cover height issue on the Kobo. So yuk there too, I guess.

My "yuk" was more about how the "stacks" are misaligned. No one actually stacks books like that. And a lot of people who saw a misaligned stack like that would straighten it.

And the comment about the size was me trying to work out if it was something done for the number of books or from the covers. The 2 and 3 books are consistent but that appears to just be because of the covers involved.

I don't expect Kobo to completely ape the look of the Nook. They could use the same shadow effect already used in series (though really, if it is just one book, get rid of the shadow).



What are the use cases for an author list (with the number of books by each author) vs. a list of books sorted by author?

Because I am browsing through my books looking for something. If I know the author, I go to the author list. If I have no idea what I want, I go through the books. And sort depending on my feeling at the time. Or just to change what pops up as I scroll. And if I don't have something in mind, I frequently just tap on the slider and see what turns up or start scrolling from there.

And for the record, it is rare that I know what I will read next when I finish a book. I know what I won't read as a broad idea, but, look for something to grab my attention.

Anyway, on the Nook, stacking can be turned on and off. If the software were updated and you had the books stacked and list view on the author tab, you would have what you have now. If stacking were turned off and you used cover view, you would have what is already shown in My Books - Sort By: Author.

Sorry, but that doesn't scan. I think you are saying that in the list you showed on the Nook, you can turn the stacking off for the author and it will show the full list of books. Which would just be the same as Kobo's book list when sorted by author. But, you might be saying that turning off stacking just displays one entry for each author without the misaligned stack.

In either case, my choice would be the way that Kobo does it. Clear definition of what the various lists are via the tabs. Improving the look of some of those lists is probably possible. But, I don't think there is any real advantage in a cover view for the author or collections tabs. And I wouldn't turn down a series tab that didn't show the covers.

[ZodWallop]

This will be my last go 'round with you on this.

I do think you are misunderstanding what I am saying. I'll put it down to lack of clarity in my writing.

Again, when I say 'stacking' I don't mean that there should be something that looks identical to how the Nook shows it. I don't care about the misaligned covers, which does seem to overly bother you.

As I mentioned already, Kobo could use the same UI that is already being used for series. Just show the cover of a book with the lines behind it to indicate there is more than one. The author's name would be underneath the 'stack' with a number in one of the corners on the cover thumbnail to indicate how many books by that author are currently on the device. If there is only one book by that author on the device, don't show the lines. Simple. (I believe books are sorted alphabetically by author and then title on both Nook and Kobo already, so the cover shown would be the first alphabetical title).

In fact, if they did that they could also improve the series tab, by displaying the series name underneath the stack and use a number in the corner to tell you how many books in that series are currently on your device. The current series cover view reminds me of your point about being worried about not seeing the author's name. Why isn't series name displayed on the Series tab in cover view?

Originally Posted by davidfor

You screenshot clearly shows that you lose information when you combine the lists. One show all books sorted by author. The other shows all authors with some hints that there might be more than one book. I want to see both because of how I look for books.

Look at the screenshots I attached.

Now remember, there are two things I am asking for:

1. Cover/List view option on all four tabs
2. The option to stack books by the same author when using cover view in the Authors tab

Attachment 1 shows List view for authors in both Nook and Kobo. They are about the same. (I question Nook listing a title for each author, plus additional books instead of only showing a number, but that is neither here nor there).

Attachment 2 shows cover view for authors with stacking turned off. Again, it is about the same as Kobo's Sort by: Author

Attachment 3 shows cover view with books stacked by author. If Kobo implemented it, again, they could use the same UI elements used in Series cover view (though I wish they would make that look a little better too).

No information is lost and if you don't like one view there are options.

My point is that Kobo could do all three of these in the Author tab. Then you wouldn't need Sort by: Author

A "series cover" could be good, but, how to define it would be the problem.

They already do that.

No, that says something about the design of the covers you are seeing. In my library, I have plenty of books where the authors name is not easily read when the small cover images are generated. On the full screen cover it is usually OK, but, on grayscaled, thumbail sized covers, the author isn't always obvious or readable.

As mentioned, show the author's name below the cover stack. Add a number to the thumbnail to show the total number of books. As it is already done on the Nook.

My "yuk" was more about how the "stacks" are misaligned. No one actually stacks books like that. And a lot of people who saw a misaligned stack like that would straighten it.

Nobody keeps a garbage can on their desktop either. But when translating things to the digital world, sometime tweaks are made to make things easier to use. I like the way the Nook does the stack because it uses portions of the cover instead of generic lines. But that's not the hill I'm looking to die on. I don't expect Kobo to wholesale swipe the look of the Nook stacks. Use the UI already used on series cover view.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

This will be my last go 'round with you on this.

I do think you are misunderstanding what I am saying. I'll put it down to lack of clarity in my writing.

No, I just completely disagree with what you are saying. I find most of the suggestions pointless, and some of them ugly. And I thought I was clear in stating that.

Again, when I say 'stacking' I don't mean that there should be something that looks identical to how the Nook shows it. I don't care about the misaligned covers, which does seem to overly bother you.

But, the fact that you keep pointing them out suggests that you do like them and want them.

As I mentioned already, Kobo could use the same UI that is already being used for series. Just show the cover of a book with the lines behind it to indicate there is more than one. The author's name would be underneath the 'stack' with a number in one of the corners on the cover thumbnail to indicate how many books by that author are currently on the device. If there is only one book by that author on the device, don't show the lines. Simple. (I believe books are sorted alphabetically by author and then title on both Nook and Kobo already, so the cover shown would be the first alphabetical title).

Honestly, those lines are pointless. I don't really see them when I look at the series list. They just look like dirty smudges. Or e-ink ghosting. And when I do look at them, they look more like the shading used to imply movement than that there are multiple books. And looking at the Nook list, the circle with a number lets me know there are multiple books quicker than the misaligned stacking.

And of course they could base a new view off the current ones. That is basically what they did when they added the authors list. It is basically the collections list. Hopefully there is a lot of code reuse happening.

In fact, if they did that they could also improve the series tab, by displaying the series name underneath the stack and use a number in the corner to tell you how many books in that series are currently on your device. The current series cover view reminds me of your point about being worried about not seeing the author's name. Why isn't series name displayed on the Series tab in cover view?

I have made no claim that I think the current views are perfect. But, I don't find any of the cover views very useful. They don't work for me as they don't display information in a way I find useful, and are missing information that I find useful.

Look at the screenshots I attached.

Now remember, there are two things I am asking for:

1. Cover/List view option on all four tabs
2. The option to stack books by the same author when using cover view in the Authors tab

Attachment 1 shows List view for authors in both Nook and Kobo. They are about the same. (I question Nook listing a title for each author, plus additional books instead of only showing a number, but that is neither here nor there).

I see the intention of the single title as it might remind anyone looking at the list of who the author is. A long as it was not one of their more obscure works or something like "The best of ...". But, it either makes the list busier, or means less authors can be displayed per page.

Attachment 2 shows cover view for authors with stacking turned off. Again, it is about the same as Kobo's Sort by: Author

No, it is not. And there is nothing you can say to convince me. The Kobo list shows every book for every author (within the other filtering being used). That supplies me with different information when looking for a book than the single cover and name.

Or are you simply trying to say that Kobo can produce a list of something that shows covers with a line of text and that they should be

Attachment 3 shows cover view with books stacked by author. If Kobo implemented it, again, they could use the same UI elements used in Series cover view (though I wish they would make that look a little better too).

An exactly where have I said that they couldn't do something like that? You accused me of not understanding you. Apparently you do not understand me.

Where have made I claimed that Kobo shouldn't have cover views in more places? My statement is that I do not believe they are useful. That I do not believe that they way the covers are displayed in these view add anything useful. And that I do not think that the changes you are suggesting would actually improve things. A that I do not agree with you that the Nook lists are a good model for future changes. And I, from a purely selfish point view, hope that Kobo spend what development resources they have elsewhere.

No information is lost and if you don't like one view there are options.

My point is that Kobo could do all three of these in the Author tab. Then you wouldn't need Sort by: Author

Which I don't agree with. As stated, I do use Author sort. Especially in collections. Or with a filter. And I do use the Author list.

They already do that.

Again, you didn't understand me. By "series cover", I meant an image that was representative of the series. Not just the cover image for random book that I happen to have on the device in the series. I have already explained how it is chosen, and since had it confirmed by Kobo,

As mentioned, show the author's name below the cover stack. Add a number to the thumbnail to show the total number of books. As it is already done on the Nook.

And I don't think that that is a bad design for cover views. But, as stated, I think the the two "stacking" methods we can see are pointless.

Nobody keeps a garbage can on their desktop either. But when translating things to the digital world, sometime tweaks are made to make things easier to use.

You didn't have a spot on your desk where you put used paper so that you could easily carry it to be recycled when you left for the day? I did. Actually, I had two spots. One was for paper I had printed on one side and could use the other for scribbling and the other was what need to go into the "destroy under supervision" bin and eventually recycled. Windows having a bin on the desktop wasn't much of a stretch to me.

I like the way the Nook does the stack because it uses portions of the cover instead of generic lines.

And I can see that. But, honestly, they show so little of the other covers that it is pointless. And for a series that uses similar cover designs, it is probably less.

But that's not the hill I'm looking to die on. I don't expect Kobo to wholesale swipe the look of the Nook stacks. Use the UI already used on series cover view.

And I hope they don't. I don't see anything in those screenshots that jump out at me as a must use.

Really, this is all about opinion. You think certain things are useful, and I don't. Which one of us Kobo agrees with, I don't know.

And that's the important thing. What happens is what Kobo wants to do. What they think their users want. And what fits in with the direction they have for the devices. I don't know how they decide what to do. But, they do listen to their customers. If you want Kobo to change something, you need to tell Kobo. This forum is not a support channel. They will pay more attention to people who contact them directly rather than an obscure little forum like this one.

[tschucha]

I would love to see various ON/OFF options for the following features:

1) highlighting
2) bookmarking
3) dictionary lookup

Just some switch in settings or even a entry in the [Reading] section of the config file like they have for the side swipe for brightness:
swipeBrightness=false

[rxmom03]

I work night shift and would love to set my bedtime hour to 10AM so that I could use the natural light function. I saw there was a patch that expanded the bedtime hours but not enough to really help me. Is there a possibility of having 24-hr bedtimes?

[sofia915]

Please add daily stats like these that I have on my Kindle. Really helps in motivating you to read more everyday.

[

[-stepan-]

New Kobo Awars for funny reading. How about love author (5 or more book reading from one author at month|2 weeks) or 100% shooter (reading one book without page turn back because doing double taps) or other?

[compurandom]

Originally Posted by -stepan-

New Kobo Awards for funny reading.

How about making the existing ones work again? Sigh.

[winstonma]

• Support WebP, which is included in EPUB v3.3
• Support WebP within CBZ (reduce the size of comic book by 25-40%)
• (Nice to have) Support CB7

Using WebP can really reduce the image size, and thus shrink the size of the EPub/CBZ