Kobo Epub Compatibility? - Page 4

ZodWallop · 01-21-2018, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The reason I prefer ePub is because of the better overall typesetting. There are some issues when you set kepub for better typesetting.

Can you clarify that? I remember reading about the differences between kePub and ePub typesetting way back when, but I don't remember now.

I've been using kePub with your hyphenation dictionary and am curious on what I might be missing.

I do remember experimenting with ePub and not liking the layout on Kobo as much as kePub, but I honestly don't remember why.

JSWolf · 01-21-2018, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

No. It is just coded to used epub3 features. It is a well constructed book that looks good. And I didn't want to screw with it to much to go back to only epub2 standards. Plus, there is absolutely no reason why I should.

It's things like this why I say that ePub 3 eBooks that are just ePub 2 in an ePub 3 skin should be ePub 2. That way when we get an ePub 3, we know it's a real ePub 3.

JSWolf · 01-21-2018, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Can you clarify that? I remember reading about the differences between kePub and ePub typesetting way back when, but I don't remember now.

I've been using kePub with your hyphenation dictionary and am curious on what I might be missing.

I do remember experimenting with ePub and not liking the layout on Kobo as much as kePub, but I honestly don't remember why.

kepub needs a wider line height or you get part of the first line at the end of one page and the rest of it on the start of the next page.

There are other minor issues if you set kepub for better typesetting, but I forget exactly what they are. It's been a while since I've read kepub.

Full screen and kepub have issues some of which can be fixed with patches.

davidfor · 01-21-2018, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

kepub needs a wider line height or you get part of the first line at the end of one page and the rest of it on the start of the next page.

That's a problem I've only seen with Charis SIL or derivative fonts. I'm sure there are other fonts that have the problem, but I haven't seen it with any of the Kobo supplied fonts.

sjfan · 01-21-2018, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

kepub needs a wider line height or you get part of the first line at the end of one page and the rest of it on the start of the next page.

There are other minor issues if you set kepub for better typesetting, but I forget exactly what they are. It's been a while since I've read kepub.

Full screen and kepub have issues some of which can be fixed with patches.

There's an ongoing thread on space expansion being broken in kepubs in some cases. That one's particularly unfortunate in languages that use leading dashes for quotes in lieu of quotation marks.

ZodWallop · 01-22-2018, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

kepub needs a wider line height or you get part of the first line at the end of one page and the rest of it on the start of the next page.

There are other minor issues if you set kepub for better typesetting, but I forget exactly what they are. It's been a while since I've read kepub.

Full screen and kepub have issues some of which can be fixed with patches.

I've seen that issue. Where the very top of the serif fonts showed at the bottom of the screen and when you turn the page the top line was chopped.

I fixed that by adjusting line height as you mentioned. I was just wondering if there was more than that. I think I'll keep using kePub. I really do reply on the individual chapter count, since I tend to read on short breaks at work.

Cootey · 03-24-2018, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingmongyee

…so I installed the Kobo Touch Extended driver plugin in Calibre and ever since, all the epubs I transfer to the Kobo are converted to kepub on the fly. My calibre library remains in epub. …converting to Kepub on the fly with Calibre and the Kobo driver plugin takes hardly any more time than transferring a book without converting it, and the reading experience is excellent.

Could you tell me how you set this up? I've installed Kobo touch Extended driver (2.3.3), but epubs sent to my KA1 LE remain in epub format. I obviously have something setup incorrectly. Thanks in advance.

davidfor · 03-24-2018, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cootey

Could you tell me how you set this up? I've installed Kobo touch Extended driver (2.3.3), but epubs sent to my KA1 LE remain in epub format. I obviously have something setup incorrectly. Thanks in advance.

It should just work, but:

Disable the KoboTouch driver.
Make sure the KoboTouchExtended driver is enabled.
Configure the KoboTouchExtended as needed, but make sure the "Enable Extended Kobo Features" option on the "Extended" tab is enabled.
Restart calibre before connecting the device.

wingmongyee · 03-25-2018, 03:26 AM

@Cootey. The info davidfor gave is correct.

I also suggest you get the Kobo Utilities plugin. It gives you easy access to the driver.

You just have to set a button for the Kobo Utilities plugin on the Calibre toolbar. Then, if you want to access the driver, you just click on the small black triangle beside the button, and you get a submenu with one of the options being "Driver". From there, you get another submenu with two options, "Configure current driver" and "Switch between main and extended driver". So it's easy from there to configure the driver and/or to
switch between driver if for some reason, you wanted some book not to be converted in kepub when you transfer them (although I never myself found the need to do this).

Another selling point for KePubs:

Recently I got a book from a writer who has a very particular style. She doesn't use paragraphs or chapters. Her books are therefore long blocks of text without a break. I did some tests. When the book is loaded on the Kobo in ePub format without converting to KePub it takes ages for the book to open (I mean 5 or 10 minutes!) So long in fact that the first time I tried, I thought the Kobo was frozen and I was about to do a reset. Eventually the book opens, but then, each page turn takes 10 or 15 seconds or more. Or anyhow, long enough that I consider the book unreadable. In the KePub format however, the ebook becomes readable like any other book.

One thing to note however is that the on-the-fly conversion took substantially longer than usual, probably because of the large blocks of text. It took maybe 5 minutes, or anyhow long enough for me to think that Calibre was frozen. And another thing is that the book takes a little longer than other books to open in the Kobo ereader, (maybe twice as long), but once it is open, the page turn are as fast as all other books. So as an ePub, this particular book is virtually unreadable on my Kobo reader, while KePub makes it behave like any other books.

Cheers.

PS: I was recently explaining how I solved the problem with the ebook mentioned above to someone who said to me that it was a shame she had never heard of KePub before because if she had, she might not have gotten rid of her Kobo reader. She said she found it too sluggish compared to what she had been used too before, so she got rid of it and got something else instead. So I think the KePub format really makes a difference.

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03-25-2018, 03:26 AM	#54
wingmongyee Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 15320 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kobo Glo HD	@Cootey. The info davidfor gave is correct. I also suggest you get the Kobo Utilities plugin. It gives you easy access to the driver. You just have to set a button for the Kobo Utilities plugin on the Calibre toolbar. Then, if you want to access the driver, you just click on the small black triangle beside the button, and you get a submenu with one of the options being "Driver". From there, you get another submenu with two options, "Configure current driver" and "Switch between main and extended driver". So it's easy from there to configure the driver and/or to switch between driver if for some reason, you wanted some book not to be converted in kepub when you transfer them (although I never myself found the need to do this). Another selling point for KePubs: Recently I got a book from a writer who has a very particular style. She doesn't use paragraphs or chapters. Her books are therefore long blocks of text without a break. I did some tests. When the book is loaded on the Kobo in ePub format without converting to KePub it takes ages for the book to open (I mean 5 or 10 minutes!) So long in fact that the first time I tried, I thought the Kobo was frozen and I was about to do a reset. Eventually the book opens, but then, each page turn takes 10 or 15 seconds or more. Or anyhow, long enough that I consider the book unreadable. In the KePub format however, the ebook becomes readable like any other book. One thing to note however is that the on-the-fly conversion took substantially longer than usual, probably because of the large blocks of text. It took maybe 5 minutes, or anyhow long enough for me to think that Calibre was frozen. And another thing is that the book takes a little longer than other books to open in the Kobo ereader, (maybe twice as long), but once it is open, the page turn are as fast as all other books. So as an ePub, this particular book is virtually unreadable on my Kobo reader, while KePub makes it behave like any other books. Cheers. PS: I was recently explaining how I solved the problem with the ebook mentioned above to someone who said to me that it was a shame she had never heard of KePub before because if she had, she might not have gotten rid of her Kobo reader. She said she found it too sluggish compared to what she had been used too before, so she got rid of it and got something else instead. So I think the KePub format really makes a difference.