A problem with Marvin and Mapleread

svenlind · 03-22-2021, 07:53 AM

In Marvin and Mapleread it is possible to select a word in the text you are reading and activate a user defined menu.
The first picture shows how it looks in Marvin. You can now select one of the options. If you select the "share" option you get picture 2.

If you here select "Lemma", a special app, you get a translation into Danish. Other options from the menu can activate Wikipidia , Google maps etc. It works very well.

The third picture shows my problem. When you select the word it is only partly highlighted. You can adjust the selection but more often than not it does not work very well. The selection disappears.

Now to the strange thing. It works very well in some files and not in others about fifty fifty. If a file is okay in Marvin it is also ok in Mapleread and vice versa. The behavior is file dependent, also across devices, iPad Mini, iPhone, iPad pro 9.7 and iPad Pro 12.9.

I have not been able to find any system in the behavior. The files can be original epubs or converted from an Amazon format.
I have tried with different text sizes and fonts.

In all other programs, Safari Kindle etc, a press on a word will always select the whole word.

tomsem · 03-22-2021, 03:54 PM

Does Apple Books have the same issue with the same books?

Marvin has not been updated for 3 years. There have been some enhancements to text selection in recent versions of iOS that might have thrown it off. But that wouldn’t explain Mapleread’s behavior.

If Books behaves well with those .epub files, then perhaps you could report it to Mapleread developer for a fix. Marvin is probably not going to get any more updates.

drofgnal · 03-23-2021, 05:35 AM

Yea, I gave up on Marvin a couple of years ago. I agree, report the problem to Mapleread.

svenlind · 03-23-2021, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomsem

Does Apple Books have the same issue with the same books?

Yes, Apple books have the same issue with the same books. Meaning in one book the whole word is selected in another book only part of the word is highlighted.

It must be some subtle difference in the format of the files.

svenlind · 07-29-2022, 05:09 AM

Well I have found a way out. The problem was with epubs from various places. But never with epubs converted from AZW3. So now I do this.
When I get or buy a new epub:
1. Convert it to AZW3
2. Delete the new epub.
3. Convert the ASW3 to epub.

Problem solved. But ????

tomsem · 07-29-2022, 01:16 PM

Are any of these from Google Books? I've noticed they introduce <a> tags indiscriminately (I think it is to be able to switch from Flowing Text to Paged (PDF) mode without losing reading position). That might be throwing off the word selection when you happen to select one of these words.

Here's an example:

Quote:

unemploy<a id="ORIG-GBS.PA149.w.1.0.0"/><span class="gtxt_body" id="para.161.1.0.box.225.244.1351.804.q.60"><a id="GBS.PA148.w.3.0.0"/><a id="GBS.PA149"/><a id="GBS.PA149.w.0.0.0"/><a id="GBS.PA149.w.1.0.0"/>ment which

You could crack open one of your problem books with calibre ePub editor to verify this.

Perhaps there is a plugin that can clean these things out. Or if not, perhaps someone should write one. Or maybe you can filter them out with ePub to ePub conversion.

svenlind · 07-30-2022, 05:44 AM

I don't think I have any Google books. It is not every epub book that has the problem, but the vast majority has it.

I tried to do an epub to epub conversion on a problem book from standard ebooks. It also solved the problem.

I very often do epub to epub conversion because I prefer left align to justified. When I enter a book into Calibre I always check the alignment and do an epub to epub conversion if it is not left aligned.

OT: Link to standard ebooks Highly recommended.

03-22-2021, 07:53 AM	#1
svenlind Fanatic Posts: 502 Karma: 10488899 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Denmark Device: Oasis 3, Kobo Sage and Libra 2,Ipad mini 5	A problem with Marvin and Mapleread In Marvin and Mapleread it is possible to select a word in the text you are reading and activate a user defined menu. The first picture shows how it looks in Marvin. You can now select one of the options. If you select the "share" option you get picture 2. If you here select "Lemma", a special app, you get a translation into Danish. Other options from the menu can activate Wikipidia , Google maps etc. It works very well. The third picture shows my problem. When you select the word it is only partly highlighted. You can adjust the selection but more often than not it does not work very well. The selection disappears. Now to the strange thing. It works very well in some files and not in others about fifty fifty. If a file is okay in Marvin it is also ok in Mapleread and vice versa. The behavior is file dependent, also across devices, iPad Mini, iPhone, iPad pro 9.7 and iPad Pro 12.9. I have not been able to find any system in the behavior. The files can be original epubs or converted from an Amazon format. I have tried with different text sizes and fonts. In all other programs, Safari Kindle etc, a press on a word will always select the whole word. Attached Thumbnails

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03-22-2021, 03:54 PM	#2
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,478 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	Does Apple Books have the same issue with the same books? Marvin has not been updated for 3 years. There have been some enhancements to text selection in recent versions of iOS that might have thrown it off. But that wouldn’t explain Mapleread’s behavior. If Books behaves well with those .epub files, then perhaps you could report it to Mapleread developer for a fix. Marvin is probably not going to get any more updates.

03-23-2021, 05:35 AM	#3
drofgnal Wizard Posts: 1,228 Karma: 7838248 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Ipad Pro/Kindle Oasis 3/iPhone 13 Pro Max	Yea, I gave up on Marvin a couple of years ago. I agree, report the problem to Mapleread.

07-29-2022, 05:09 AM	#5
svenlind Fanatic Posts: 502 Karma: 10488899 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Denmark Device: Oasis 3, Kobo Sage and Libra 2,Ipad mini 5	Well I have found a way out. The problem was with epubs from various places. But never with epubs converted from AZW3. So now I do this. When I get or buy a new epub: 1. Convert it to AZW3 2. Delete the new epub. 3. Convert the ASW3 to epub. Problem solved. But ????

07-30-2022, 05:44 AM	#7
svenlind Fanatic Posts: 502 Karma: 10488899 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Denmark Device: Oasis 3, Kobo Sage and Libra 2,Ipad mini 5	I don't think I have any Google books. It is not every epub book that has the problem, but the vast majority has it. I tried to do an epub to epub conversion on a problem book from standard ebooks. It also solved the problem. I very often do epub to epub conversion because I prefer left align to justified. When I enter a book into Calibre I always check the alignment and do an epub to epub conversion if it is not left aligned. OT: Link to standard ebooks Highly recommended.