Bracketed numbers appearing in epubs

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Yes, that 256K-ish limit--we've used that at my shop for years. Just to be on the safe side.

Back in 2020: "limit on size of html file?" I wrote:

Originally Posted by Tex2002ans

In EPUB, there's a "soft limit" of ~300 KB per HTML file. Very old e-ink devices had very limited RAM and wouldn't be able to read/open those.

It's also good practice to try to split each chapter into its own HTML file.

and listed a few advantages on why you want to split your files anyway.

I forget the exact limit, but I believe it was slightly above 300 KB.

There was also a limitation on image resolution as well. On my original Nook, it was somewhere ~3.5 million pixels total.

Originally Posted by Hitch

(Becuse, sure as hell, the moment you ignore it, you know damned well the customer will upload the file at some older spot and it will bite you right in the tuchus.)

Yep! Exactly!

The second I forgot some old MOBI code I haven't touched in years, boom, someone was using an old Kindle.

Originally Posted by BetterRed

At today's fuel prices who can blame them

No need to fix what isn't broken.

Those horseless carriages can suck it!

Talkies? Who needs 'em?

Iced cream? Get that newfangled technology outta here!

[Hitch]

I just want to say that Marco Polo apparently and allegedly experienced a sherbert-like concoction during his visits to China, and that was when, 1299 or so? (Nero used to send folks to the higher reaches, to obtain and cart ice and snow, that he would flavor with fruits and juices, too!)

I think that anything that came to exist prior to the advent of indoor plumbing is okay with me. It no longer qualifies as "newfangled."

Hitch

[Magnus]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It was a limitation because the first Reader to run RSMSDK was the old Sony Reader PRS-505. It needed this limitation to work well.

Magnus, where is it these eBooks that show the bracketed number come from? I've seen some self-published Kindle eBooks were it was all one big HTML file.

I'm wondering if this isn't a Moon Reader thing. Here's a page shot... (Attached)

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by Magnus

I'm wondering if this isn't a Moon Reader thing. Here's a page shot... (Attached)

Yep, that's definitely a Moon+ Reader thing when the single HTML file is too large... it splits the document into multiple pieces.

(Probably done to keep RAM usage lower(?).)

Side Note: That was one of the reasons why I ultimately dropped Moon+ Reader. On my old phone, it kept on randomly losing all of my highlights/notes. Probably because it was pushing the RAM limits of my phone, and couldn't handle all the other functionality layers on top [highlighting, notes, TTS, etc.].

After months of losing notes, I just abandoned it for a more standards-compliant reader. So much happier. (And never lost a note again!!!)

See my post in "Moon+Reader and tables" where I describe why Moon+ Reader is no good + what I use now.

Definitely use a proper EPUB app. You won't regret it.

[Magnus]

Originally Posted by Tex2002ans

See my post in "Moon+Reader and tables" where I describe why Moon+ Reader is no good + what I use now.

Apparently that is not an Android app... As it is not in play store, and the developer web site certificate has expired, so I presume it is no longer in development.

Moon+ Reader Pro has seved me well, having tried a number of various ebook readers. Thanks.

[JSWolf]

According to what I've read about Moon+, (on MR), it does not respect the CSS. That makes it a poor program to use (IMHO).

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by Magnus

Moon+ Reader Pro has seved me well, having tried a number of various ebook readers. Thanks.

I'd be interested in knowing why you choose Moon+ over the others.

What functionality do you use that's essential?

Originally Posted by Magnus

Apparently that is not an Android app... As it is not in play store, and the developer web site certificate has expired, so I presume it is no longer in development.

Yes.

Since that post, Gitden Reader's creator had a medical emergency, and the company unexpectedly shut down.

The latest APK—4.5.3—can still be found though.

Real shame, it was/is a great app.

* * *

But nowadays I use PocketBook.

It is backed by PocketBook (multi-million dollar company who makes e-ink readers).

It follows the EPUB standards, supporting everything, while still allowing a huge amount of customizability (fonts, margins, colors, etc.)—and most essential to me, Text-to-Speech that isn't locked behind a paywall.

(Locking away built-in Android functionality behind a paywall is preposterous.)

Side Note: I just checked, and PocketBook's Play Store link seems to be down. Very strange. It was just working on June 30th because I got an update. 5.33.253 is the latest version.

Probably just a temporary thing.

[JSWolf]

The problem is that most eBook reading software for Android and iOS is garbage. There are very few really good programs out there. Moon+ & FBReader are definitely garbage (for example).

[Magnus]

In Android world, Moon+ Reader is one of the best e-readers out there IMO. I liked its features enough, that I upgraded to pro, and have no regrets.

Not everyone needs a dedicated ebook device (and many of those have deep faults as well). Use what works best for you. And if you have helpful advice, share it. Cheers!

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Tex2002ans

Side Note: I just checked, and PocketBook's Play Store link seems to be down. Very strange. It was just working on June 30th because I got an update. 5.33.253 is the latest version.

Probably just a temporary thing.

One mention elsewhere that Pocketbook ran into an issue with allowing in-app purchases which Google is now enforcing their ban on.

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by DNSB

One mention elsewhere that Pocketbook ran into an issue with allowing in-app purchases which Google is now enforcing their ban on.

Ahhh, so that must've been why. Thanks for letting me know.

Looks like it's all back up and working today! (Latest version = 5.34.259.)

Originally Posted by Magnus

In Android world, Moon+ Reader is one of the best e-readers out there IMO. I liked its features enough, that I upgraded to pro, and have no regrets.

Yes, which is what I was genuinely asking about.

What features make Moon+ Reader "one of the best" for you?

[Magnus]

Originally Posted by Tex2002ans

What features make Moon+ Reader "one of the best" for you?

In no particular order of preference, I find these attractive...

• sync connectivity with my calibre server
• excellent highlighting capability (far better than Kindle)
• ability to easily modify publisher style sheet
• cloud sync, and its ability to keep my readers in sync
• quick and easy font adjustment
• actively maintained

The only "downside" I've run across, is the plethora of settings (now, that's not really a downside for most here).

I only got the "pro" version to help the developers. The "free" version never showed me ads (maybe due to my network filters).

As I said... to each their own

[Quoth]

KOReader IMO is better. Also I tried Moonreader and it seemed to ignore a lot of CSS.

If the ebook is madly crazy on CSS I prefer to fix it on PC, especially ones wife reading too and all that are PD.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

KOReader IMO is better. Also I tried Moonreader and it seemed to ignore a lot of CSS.

If the ebook is madly crazy on CSS I prefer to fix it on PC, especially ones wife reading too and all that are PD.

I do consider programs such as Moonreader to be garbage because they ignore too much of the CSS.

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by Magnus

In no particular order of preference, I find these attractive...

Thanks.

I'll definitely have to poke around some of PocketBook's settings and see if they have some of that.

In Moon+, I do remember really liking the Highlights+Notes menu.

(In PocketBook, they have a separate button for highlights/colors, and a separate button for notes.)

And didn't Moon+ have a really nice way to sort notes based on highlight color too?

I remember, when proofing, I was doing things like:

• Pink = spelling error
• Red = punctuation error
• Yellow = Normal note

that saved me a lot of clicking/dragging/typing... since mobile UIs are definitely not design for super productivity (at least at my level).

I was then able to open up my phone + computer, then easily do corrections in the EPUB based on category.

Originally Posted by Quoth

KOReader IMO is better.

I'll have to test it out again.

Jellby recommended it to me a few years ago, and he spoke very highly of it.

But when I tested it, it felt very clunky on the phone:

• The UI mostly seemed to be designed to run as a Kindle/Kobo alternative.
  
  • So an ereader-first UI... not a mobile-first one.
• One of the key things I use is pressing the Volume Up+Down buttons to change pages.
  
  • I remember this not working at the time, and it was extremely frustrating having to click on the screen to turn page.
    
  • (I LOVE physical buttons.)
    
• And most importantly, it didn't have Text-to-Speech—which is one of my must-have features!

The in-line footnotes of KOReader is excellent though.

And they are always updating it every few months and adding new functionality too... maybe it got better on Android in the past few years.

(But I still love PocketBook.)

Originally Posted by Quoth

Also I tried Moonreader and it seemed to ignore a lot of CSS.

Yes, that's my biggest problem with it.

They do not follow the EPUB standards, so things like Tables + SVG + MathML and so many other things are broken.

If you read lots of basic Fiction, it might be "okay"... but for Non-Fiction, it breaks too much core EPUB functionality for me.

And then there are too many complaints that book XYZ is broken, when in reality, it's their chosen READER that's broken!

Originally Posted by Magnus

The "free" version never showed me ads (maybe due to my network filters)

Ads? What's that?

Side Note: The past year, I finally installed a Pi-hole and began SUPER cracking down on ads network-wide.

You wouldn't believe how much garbage Android (and iOS) is still sending, even though I locked down my phone.

Now, anyone who connects onto my wifi gets the blocking benefits too. :P