iLiad FBReader

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

Maybe somebody will get a similar feat done for the STAReBOOk but i'm not so sure since it's not really as "open" as the Iliad has now become...we'll see.

FBReader needs GTK+ (>2.4) or Qt 3*, and it has only been ported to devices with either a touch screen or a mouse. I don't know how hard it would be to port to a device that only had hardware keys for navigation. On the other hand, NAEB (Baen's Bar) want to have FBReader on Bookeen's e-book reader (same hardware of the STAReBOOK).

[nekokami]

I suppose if FBReader has some kind of assistive mode, as many windowing applications do, to allow keyboard control, it might be possible to implement it using the buttons on the STAReBOOK. Without that already implemented, it will be a tough job to port. I imagine the interface could be rewritten to use arrow keys, etc., but that would be non-trivial. This is one of the resons I'm not very interested in the NAEB project.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by nekokami

I suppose if FBReader has some kind of assistive mode, as many windowing applications do, to allow keyboard control, it might be possible to implement it using the buttons on the STAReBOOK. Without that already implemented, it will be a tough job to port. I imagine the interface could be rewritten to use arrow keys, etc., but that would be non-trivial. This is one of the resons I'm not very interested in the NAEB project.

FBReader can map keys to tasks, but this is customized via the setting menu and in general I don't think it is possible to work mouse/stylus free.

On the other hand, if a device like the STAReBOOK has X11 (or, say, GTK+ without X11), then it needs some replacement for the mouse. So, assistive technology should be at the GTK+ level.

It is interesting that cell phones, PDA's, UMPC's all have screen navigatation based interfaces, but dedicated e-book readers do not. This might just be an anomaly of a new display technology, but it might also be a function of single application devices. On the other hand, the eBookWise eb-1150 has a touch screen.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by firekat

Another question is does FBReader have the option of inserting a line between paragraphs? I have noticed in the illustrations that it indents are the only thing differentiating paragraphs. ( I just visited the FBReader page - it appears that you can set different formatting parameters - does that function work in this porting?)

FBReader is extensively customizable, including formating. The default for paragraphs is a 1st line indent , but you can also set: spacing before, spacing after, line spacing, alignment, left indent, right indent (and 1st line indent). There are similar options for a long list of other text sections.

The advantage of porting an application like FBReader is that you get a very rich feature set, and almost everything should work once the basic functionality works. I would be very surprised if formating options failed to work on the iLiad, and if they did the FBReader developers can probably quickly fix the problem.

[bojan]

Is there a way to read a topic with all of it subtopics in a continous mode - not having to use the TOC all the time for selecting next heading/subtopic? I find it very annoying to read whole topics in this way.

[Adam B.]

Originally Posted by bojan

Is there a way to read a topic with all of it subtopics in a continous mode - not having to use the TOC all the time for selecting next heading/subtopic? I find it very annoying to read whole topics in this way.

Not as far as I know. I agree, using the TOC can get quite annoying.

I've started work on .0.8. I've got it compiled and running, but the files created are quite large (24mb for the executable and library alone). I'm not sure if something changed with my tool chain, or if it's a difference with the new version. I'll keep you guys posted.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by bojan

Is there a way to read a topic with all of it subtopics in a continous mode - not having to use the TOC all the time for selecting next heading/subtopic?

Support for CHM is relatively new in FBReader. I see that Microsoft's own reader requires you to access the TOC (with the mouse, or with arrow and enter keys) to advance, but it is on the screen and so this is much easier than in FBReader.

I suggest you ask at FBReader's Google Group. Without knowing what programming would be required, it seems that the actions "last section" and "next section" would be useful for any document with a table of contents. You would then bind these actions to keys. Or there might be other ways for the FBReader developers to improve CHM reading.

[bojan]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

I see that Microsoft's own reader requires you to access the TOC (with the mouse, or with arrow and enter keys) to advance, but it is on the screen and so this is much easier than in FBReader.

This is why I installed FBReader on my Windows XP, hoping to use it instead of built in reader . I think I will try to look at the sources, and see if there is a way to modify this.

Originally Posted by wallcraft

it seems that the actions "last section" and "next section" would be useful for any document with a table of contents

I agree, "next section" with TOC is a must for me. I will also try to post in their group.
Thanks!

[mtas]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

This really makes me want to go back to the Iliad...

Maybe somebody will get a similar feat done for the STAReBOOk but i'm not so sure since it's not really as "open" as the Iliad has now become...we'll see.

Now,I'd like to see an install script for this...YOKOS? so that I don't have to reformat the books my girlfriend reads on the Iliad to PDF...^^

I'm on to it. This one is a little more complex to do in a "safe" way, especially if you want it to be the default reader for some formats.

That said, what formats do you want me register with this application?

[CommanderROR]

Well, if you ask me, then just everything apart from PDF...

The iRex HTML and .txt viewers are still too uncomplete for my taste, and since i'm planning on using mainly htm and rtf files it would be handy to have them open automatically in fbreader.

[Adam B.]

I haven't tested HTML files on the iLiad in FBReader. Does anyone have a good example file?

[Adam B.]

Originally Posted by mtas

I'm on to it. This one is a little more complex to do in a "safe" way, especially if you want it to be the default reader for some formats.

That said, what formats do you want me register with this application?

I agree, it could be quite difficult to do the necessary changes to the er_registry file. I haven't even checked to see if we have sed on the iLiad...

Edit: Looks like we do. That should make things a bit easier.

[Adam B.]

Attached: FBReader .8 reading the zText format from manybooks. I haven't released it yet because there are some screen refresh and file size issues I need to work out.

[narve]

Originally Posted by mtas

I'm on to it. This one is a little more complex to do in a "safe" way, especially if you want it to be the default reader for some formats.

That said, what formats do you want me register with this application?

Everything except pdf? At least html and txt!

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Adam B.

I haven't tested HTML files on the iLiad in FBReader. Does anyone have a good example file?

For testing FBReader and Mobipocket on the PepperPad, I used Project Gutenberg's The Illustrated London Reading Book. With figures, this is 6.7 MB compressed. You can leave it in the .zip file for FBReader. For MobiPocket the HTML has to be converted to a .prc file, and for FBReader I would typically run it through Sunrise XP to make a plucker file (with size-optimized figures) but the original HTML is good for testing. Note that it is a single HTML file with lots of images. With version 0.8.0, it shows that the section/chapter marks in the position indicator may not work well when there are many sections.