USE_ALT_FONTS on Basic 8th Gen?

rcentros · 10-25-2017, 02:55 PM

I'm guessing the USE_ALT_FONTS hack doesn't work on a non-jail-broken 5.8.1.1, 8th Generation Basic Kindle. I tried copying the text file (USE_ALT_FONTS) and the fonts folder to the Kindle and was informed that I didn't have permission to write. That's about the only hack I really care about. I like the Constantia font.

JSWolf · 10-25-2017, 02:57 PM

USE_ALT_FONTS has been killed off jailbroken or not.

knc1 · 10-25-2017, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

I'm guessing the USE_ALT_FONTS hack doesn't work on a non-jail-broken 5.8.1.1, 8th Generation Basic Kindle. I tried copying the text file (USE_ALT_FONTS) and the fonts folder to the Kindle and was informed that I didn't have permission to write. That's about the only hack I really care about. I like the Constantia font.

Did you mean to write 5.8.11?

You will have to use the font add-in package.
Which requires you to jail break your Kindle.

The KT3 running 5.8.11 can be jail broken.
You most likely can also jail break a KT3 running 5.8.1.1 (which was the first update released for the KT3), I just think no had reported on it back then.

rcentros · 10-25-2017, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

USE_ALT_FONTS has been killed off jailbroken or not.

Well ... rats. Thanks for the info.

rcentros · 10-25-2017, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

Did you mean to write 5.8.11?

No, weirdly enough. I double checked and it's 5.8.1.1 (2987430003). Shouldn't the KT3 be asking me if I want to update? Weird.

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

You will have to use the font add-in package.
Which requires you to jail break your Kindle.

Okay. At this point I don't think I want to do that. Not sure if I'm gong to keep the KT3. So far I haven't really seen any advantage it has over my Touch (KT1?).

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

The KT3 running 5.8.11 can be jail broken.
You most likely can also jail break a KT3 running 5.8.1.1 (which was the first update released for the KT3), I just think no had reported on it back then.

Okay. Thanks. I don't quite understand why Amazon wants to lock down what fonts can be loaded. It seems like it would be a feature they would promote.

I appreciate the response. At least now I know that, if I want to add fonts, I'll have to jailbreak the beast.

EDIT: The ability to bold fonts in the new 5.8.11 release makes this much less of an issue. Very happy to have that feature.

PoP · 10-26-2017, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

...
I don't quite understand why Amazon wants to lock down what fonts can be loaded. It seems like it would be a feature they would promote.
..

+1, And especially when the feature existed in previous firmware versions.

And — Not meaning to hijack the thread — Jail Breaking & the Screen Saver hack allows to see the Cover of the book you are currently reading when putting the device to sleep, emulating the behaviour of a real book you place on the table. If Amazon woke up they could even integrate Niluje's open source code for free. To me the mental association of a book title with its cover helps a lot.

knc1 · 10-26-2017, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

- - - -
Okay. At this point I don't think I want to do that. Not sure if I'm gong to keep the KT3. So far I haven't really seen any advantage it has over my Touch (KT1?).
- - - -

It has Bluetooth and is $300 cheaper than the only other model of Kindle that has Bluetooth.

Oh, but wait -
You stubbornly refuse to make use of any of our after-market add-ins.

As long as you insist on keeping your eyes closed, do not be surprised that you can't see anything.

booklover6 · 10-26-2017, 12:00 PM

Does the KT3 do TTS like the KT1? That would make the bluetooth capability especially useful. I couldn't find it on the product page.

rcentros · 10-26-2017, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

It has Bluetooth and is $300 cheaper than the only other model of Kindle that has Bluetooth.

Oh, but wait -
You stubbornly refuse to make use of any of our after-market add-ins.

As long as you insist on keeping your eyes closed, do not be surprised that you can't see anything.

What is this all about? Good grief.

The Bluetooth features could be useful (I tried them) but – at least this point – the VoiceView feature seems to be completely geared to someone who is blind. It's too "clunky" for someone who wants to use it simply for reading. I'm not running down the feature (I'm happy it's there), but I thought it could be used more like Text To Speech included with my Kindle Touch (from 2011).

What do you mean by "I stubbornly refuse to make use of the after-market add-ins?" What after-market add-ins? You do realize I received this Kindle as of YESTERDAY and, at this point I'm not even aware of the "after-market add-ins." Are you sure you're not talking to someone ELSE through me?

"Keeping my eyes closed" by asking specific questions on this forum? Really? Did you miss the the EDIT to my message where I mentioned that the update to 5.8.11 basically fixed my font issue for this device by adding a sliding bold feature (adding fonts is the reason I started this thread)? Or were too busy flying off at the handle to read what I actually wrote?

Hopefully you've mistaken me for someone else, but if you're this sensitive about ANY criticism (however slight) about the Amazon Kindle, maybe you should back away for awhile and relax. I really don't appreciate the broadside attack simply for stating my opinion.

rcentros · 10-27-2017, 09:31 PM

I broke down and did a jailbreak on the Kindle (KT3) -- thanks to knc1 for all the help. Now I need to find some fonts (and information on how to install them). Is Constantia (or something like it) available for this software release (5.8.11)? If not, what fonts/font packages do folks normally use on jailbroken Kindles?

The problem is I'm kind of drowning in all the information.

What other useful hacks do people use with jailbroken Kindles?

(I'm going to keep plugging away, but any suggestions would be appreciated.)

JSWolf · 10-28-2017, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

Now I need to find some fonts

I highly recommend ChareInk. It's a rather nice font for eInk screens.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=184056

rcentros · 10-28-2017, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I highly recommend ChareInk. It's a rather nice font for eInk screens.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=184056

I'm still trying to figure out the minimal number of packages needed to get my Constantia font working. It looks like the Linkfont package plus Python (which has to be installed first, if want to use substitution)? But am I missing something?

EDIT: Okay, Python and Linkfont installed, I can find Constantia in my substitution menu and it is shown as the substitution for condensed, but even after a restart I still get Cecilia Condensed, so – obviously – I'm doing something wrong. Just not sure what. (I've also followed some of the other instructions, Xserver restart, etc., available in the Kual Menus.

Anything obvious I've missed?

rcentros · 10-29-2017, 11:47 AM

Well, still no luck. My custom fonts show up and I'm allowed override the Kindle's fonts with them – that override supposedly persists (in Override it shows the font pointing to my custom fonts) and I've restarted everything I can find in the restart selections (including restarting from the Kindle Menu) but my custom fonts just don't show up when selected. It's like something is not connecting. I've tried three fonts – the one I really want, Constantia – plus ChareInk and one other. Either 5.8.11 software is somehow blocking the override, or (probably more likely) I've simply missed something. Just not sure what.

DuckieTigger · 10-29-2017, 12:16 PM

More than likely you are missing the bold slider? Appearsthat the bold setting uses different fonts for each setting. Try all bold settings and see if your custom font shows up on any of them.

shamanNS · 10-29-2017, 01:34 PM

@DuckieTigger: There aren't multiple versions (different sets of ttf files) of built-in font for each level of boldness, I've checked that squashfs image containing those font files. So it's probably done "on-demand"... logs contained messages mentioning "embolden" and increment steps of 20 (20,40,60,80,100)

I thought of that possibility when I've noticed that bold settings have no affect even if you override one built-in font with another built-in font.

As for font override + KFX format: I've noticed that with latest version of fonts hack and PW3 on firmware 5.6.5 my font override (I'm using edited Bookerly with reduced descender/ascender metrics for smaller line-height; I've renamed font family to "BookerlyMod") was not working for KFX books. It displayed regular Bookerly when I've chosen Caecilia Condensed (overridden to my BookerlyMod). And KF8 books worked fine.

Now on firmware 5.8.11 I've tested all that again and it looks like override is ignored and it display Caecilia Condensed

10-25-2017, 02:55 PM	#1
rcentros eReader Wrangler Posts: 7,437 Karma: 48453105 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Boise, ID Device: PB HD3, GL3, Tolino Vision 4, Voyage, Clara HD	USE_ALT_FONTS on Basic 8th Gen? I'm guessing the USE_ALT_FONTS hack doesn't work on a non-jail-broken 5.8.1.1, 8th Generation Basic Kindle. I tried copying the text file (USE_ALT_FONTS) and the fonts folder to the Kindle and was informed that I didn't have permission to write. That's about the only hack I really care about. I like the Constantia font.

10-27-2017, 09:31 PM	#10
rcentros eReader Wrangler Posts: 7,437 Karma: 48453105 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Boise, ID Device: PB HD3, GL3, Tolino Vision 4, Voyage, Clara HD	I broke down and did a jailbreak on the Kindle (KT3) -- thanks to knc1 for all the help. Now I need to find some fonts (and information on how to install them). Is Constantia (or something like it) available for this software release (5.8.11)? If not, what fonts/font packages do folks normally use on jailbroken Kindles? The problem is I'm kind of drowning in all the information. What other useful hacks do people use with jailbroken Kindles? (I'm going to keep plugging away, but any suggestions would be appreciated.) Last edited by rcentros; 10-27-2017 at 09:37 PM.

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10-25-2017, 02:57 PM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,897 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	USE_ALT_FONTS has been killed off jailbroken or not.

10-26-2017, 12:00 PM	#8
booklover6 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,533 Karma: 14008730 Join Date: May 2008 Location: PA (USA) Device: Kobo Clara, 2E, Libre, PW4, PW5, 2022 Kindle	Does the KT3 do TTS like the KT1? That would make the bluetooth capability especially useful. I couldn't find it on the product page.

10-29-2017, 11:47 AM	#13
rcentros eReader Wrangler Posts: 7,437 Karma: 48453105 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Boise, ID Device: PB HD3, GL3, Tolino Vision 4, Voyage, Clara HD	Well, still no luck. My custom fonts show up and I'm allowed override the Kindle's fonts with them – that override supposedly persists (in Override it shows the font pointing to my custom fonts) and I've restarted everything I can find in the restart selections (including restarting from the Kindle Menu) but my custom fonts just don't show up when selected. It's like something is not connecting. I've tried three fonts – the one I really want, Constantia – plus ChareInk and one other. Either 5.8.11 software is somehow blocking the override, or (probably more likely) I've simply missed something. Just not sure what.

10-29-2017, 12:16 PM	#14
DuckieTigger Wizard Posts: 4,742 Karma: 246906703 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: USA Device: Oasis 3, Oasis 2, PW3, PW1, KT	More than likely you are missing the bold slider? Appearsthat the bold setting uses different fonts for each setting. Try all bold settings and see if your custom font shows up on any of them.

10-29-2017, 01:34 PM	#15
shamanNS Guru Posts: 885 Karma: 10113994 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Serbia Device: Kindle PW5 [bricked], Kindle PW1	@DuckieTigger: There aren't multiple versions (different sets of ttf files) of built-in font for each level of boldness, I've checked that squashfs image containing those font files. So it's probably done "on-demand"... logs contained messages mentioning "embolden" and increment steps of 20 (20,40,60,80,100) I thought of that possibility when I've noticed that bold settings have no affect even if you override one built-in font with another built-in font. As for font override + KFX format: I've noticed that with latest version of fonts hack and PW3 on firmware 5.6.5 my font override (I'm using edited Bookerly with reduced descender/ascender metrics for smaller line-height; I've renamed font family to "BookerlyMod") was not working for KFX books. It displayed regular Bookerly when I've chosen Caecilia Condensed (overridden to my BookerlyMod). And KF8 books worked fine. Now on firmware 5.8.11 I've tested all that again and it looks like override is ignored and it display Caecilia Condensed

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