Un-DRMed ePubs, CoolReader, and the clock

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by tmclough

The following shows that I have the correct version. Note especially the last three parts of it: the date, the time, and the name of the file:

$ ls -l v5setup.bin 
-rw-r--r-- 1 tmclough tmclough 133169152 2010-06-22 09:31 v5setup.bin

OK, that is definitely the right one.

Originally Posted by tmclough

Also, all my ebooks use different .css files, as they all use different classes and class names for the same and different styles. Would Calibre help this problem?

I do not know of any reason that your different CSS files should be any problem as long as the correctly follow the schema and can pass epubcheck 1.0.5. I have some EPUB books done with Calibre that all seemed to work reasonably correctly. I do not use Calibre to build EPUB files because my primary interest is in FB2 files which Calibre is terribly incompetent in producing. I sometimes use Calibre to convert a book file into an RTF file, and then use BookDesigner to clean up the errors introduced by the conversion. Then I have BookDesigner output an FB2 book using utf-8 character encoding. That file is then ready for my reader as a very nicely formated book. To make an EPUB from the FB2 file I use the FB2EPUB program to create a totally specification compliant EPUB file that passes epubcheck 1.0.5 testing. I usually clean up the TOC after that using Sigil, which also produces a file passing epubcheck 1.0.5. Since I use fb2epub to generate my EPUB files all my CSS files are the same. I do not think that the sameness matters as much as the fact my EPUB files pass epubcheck 1.0.5.

Originally Posted by tmclough

The reason I don't use Calibre is because if I want it to get rid of blank lines between paragraphs (present in all of the Star Trek ebooks I've downloaded so far), it will also get rid blank lines between scenes, which I most definitely don't want. Is there a way of fixing this problem?

That also sounds like a CSS problem since all those kinds of style issues should be handled in the CSS.

Originally Posted by tmclough

FWIW, I use the command line version of Calibre that comes with, or is in the repositories for, Ubuntu and kin.

I am sorry but I can't be much help there since I very seldom use Calibre. I am quite unhappy with it's FB2 conversions, and I do not need a library manager.

[tmclough]

Another thing I've discovered: Whenever I change the settings for "Preformatted text" and "Document embedded styles" in the LBook CoolReader Settings, regardless of the combination of On's vs Off's, the resultant formatting of the ebook is the same. This makes me think that maybe something is wrong with this particular version of CoolReader? I.e., it's almost(?) as if it's not reading the .css file from the ebook itself, but rather the default only?

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by Davimee

I'm having the same trouble. I just downloaded the Lbook firmware today for the first time. I really like the formatting of books using ADE with the Astak firmware, but I like the fact that I can have the status bar in the top of CoolReader that shows the date and my progress, and the title of the book. So today I decided to try out the Lbook firmware. The Oort Perimeter opens just fine with ADE, but when I long press and open it in CoolReader, the formatting is gone,

This is what "The Oort Perimeter" looks like on my PocketPRO using the Lbook firmware and CoolReader. I have the /crengine folder populated with my default INI and CSS files, and I am using the IBOOKN font for this display. I have the paragraph indent set at 0.5em, and I have new chapters always start on a new page.

[tmclough]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

That also sounds like a CSS problem since all those kinds of style issues should be handled in the CSS.

Actually, it's a problem with Calibre, as manually editing the .css file(s) is no problem (except for time consumption and expertise).

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by tmclough

Actually, it's a problem with Calibre, as manually editing the .css file(s) is no problem (except for time consumption and expertise).

To paraphrase the Calibre manual, the Calibre conversion is just the first step. The Calibre conversion to EPUB is FAR superior to it's conversion to FB2, but the end result still depends on the quality of the input. In my case, I consider the Sigil output to be the final step in any EPUB conversion, as long as it passes epubcheck 1.0.5.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by tmclough

Oh, I know how to edit the .css files; the problem I have is that even at 1.2em or 1.5em, it looks more like 3-5em. I never had this problem with the Astak firmware, even under CoolReader; it wasn't until using the LBook firmware that I had the problem with the oversized indents. The same is true with the chapter breaks in The Oort Perimeter--no problem until LBook and CoolReader; now the chapters just run together, with a simple "Chapter 15" (or whatever chapter I'm on) as a separate paragraph, no page break between chapters, and the chapter header is not bigger in any way.

I know that I could manually edit each .css file, to make them work the way I want them to under LBook's CoolReader, but then what will happen when there's an upgrade, or Astak has an upgrade, or OpenInkpot works for the Pocket Pro/V5, etc., and I have to edit everything again, and again, and again....

CoolReader has a CSS override in the crengine folder. You change it once and it works for all books.

Dale

[Davimee]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

This is what "The Oort Perimeter" looks like on my PocketPRO using the Lbook firmware and CoolReader. I have the /crengine folder populated with my default INI and CSS files, and I am using the IBOOKN font for this display. I have the paragraph indent set at 0.5em, and I have new chapters always start on a new page.

Well, that's what I'd like mine to look like. I'm guessing this may be way over my head, but... how do you make your own INI and CSS files? Is this something you need a special program for?

[tmclough]

Update: I managed to download the crengine.zip file from this thread (made some modifications on the PP), and copied the info from this wiki page (and made minor modifications on my computer). I copied everything over to the crengine folder, no problem with that; but there are still problems with the formatting.

The paragraph indentation has been fixed, as has the previously unmentioned problem of justification (I wanted left; it was giving me full). However, the chapter breaks in The Oort Perimeter still are basically flat; and whenever starships are mentioned in either Star Trek book, such as the Enterprise, they are not italicized as they should be.

FWIW, the chapter titles in The Oort Perimeter are entered as <p class="chapter" id="calibre_toc_15">Chapter 14</p> for Chapter 14, etc.; and italics are like <span class="italic">Enterprise</span> in Sand and Stars and like <em>Enterprise</em> in Millenium.

Also, it still seems to be the case that "Preformatted text" and "Document embedded styles" don't make a bit of difference.

I'm sure I'll find other formatting problems later, but that'll be enough for now.

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

This is what "The Oort Perimeter" looks like on my PocketPRO using the Lbook firmware and CoolReader.

I need to apologize for the sample I posted, as I was half asleep when I posted last night. When I checked again this morning, I realized that "The Oort Perimeter" that I downloaded from Astak had multiple conflicting charset encoding definitions and other errors that caused it to fail epubcheck. The image that I posted was of "The Oort Perimeter" that I had reprocessed and corrected. When I checked the original "The Oort Perimeter" file this morning, I saw the same problems Davimee mentioned. I am sorry to have caused confusion.

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by tmclough

Also, it still seems to be the case that "Preformatted text" and "Document embedded styles" don't make a bit of difference.

Since my book's CSS files and the private CSS that I keep in /crengine are so similar, it took me a while to check this out. I think that your discovery is completely correct in this regard. It appears that CoolReader is ONLY using the CSS that is in /crengine no matter what options that you select. I then tried an older CoolReader version from 13 May of this year. In that version, CoolReader does respond to the "Preformatted text" and "Document embedded styles" options, BUT the formatting is nearly non-existent when "The Oort Perimeter" internal CSS is used. It looks OK, but not perfect, when my private CSS in /crengine is used. The formatting looks fine to me with the 22 June official Lbook firmware is used, but as you noticed, only the CSS in /crengine is used. CoolReader is the best FB2 reader that I have ever used, but it looks like there is still significant development work ahead for EPUB. Since I prefer my own CSS anyway, it works fine for me now, but I am sure that others like yourself are going to find it's incomplete EPUB support frustrating.

I would really like to pass this information back to Buggins so that it can be corrected in a future CoolReader release, but I am not sure that the Google Translate from English to Russian is up to the task. I hope that SmartyPants sees this since I know that SmartyPants can write perfect Russian.

[Steven Lake]

Hi guys. Sorry I'm late to the party on this thread (didn't know it was here until I stumbled across it today), but for those who are interested, I've fixed all of the epub issues with Oort Perimeter that were pointed out to me, and have uploaded version 2 to mobileread with the included fixes. So if you were having problems reading it before due to page break and formatting issues, those are now fixed. I hope that helps you guys.

[tmclough]

I've been meaning to give a second update to my problem for a while, but have been too lazy and/or forgetful.

I've discovered a system that works for me, and the formatting issues are much easier to resolve initially than before.

The new steps I go through:

1. Strip DRM from epub (if necessary).
2. Calibre the epub to fb2.
3. Using a text editor (vi; Is there any other choice?), use global search and replace--with confirmation--to replace <strong> with <h2>, and </strong> with </h2>, in the fb2 file.
4. Load fb2 file into CoolReader and use the internal (edited) fb2.css file. (I use the jotas firmware; it should work fine in Buggins or LBook firmware.)
5. Enjoy reading the book!

That said, I still occasionally have problems, especially with Millennium. Sometimes I have to go so far as to shutdown and restart the PPro, and reset the clock, but so far it has always been fixable. I also sometimes use the Buggins cache clearing program, which helps as well.