Instructions for patching firmware 4.28.18220

[geek1011]

This patch thread is for firmware 4.28.18220 (23b2a16e39833c2e6743ba33655d4a9b474c86b9):

Instructions for patching on Windows, Linux, or macOS with kobopatch:

1. Download the Kobo firmware release
   You can find the download links here here.
2. Download and extract the patch zip
   Download and unzip kobopatch_4.28.18220.zip from here.
3. Copy the firmware file to the src folder
   Copy the original firmware you just downloaded into the kobopatch src folder.
4. Install the firmware if needed
   Install the firmware on your kobo BEFORE proceeding with the next steps. You can do this by extracting the contents of the firmware zip into the .kobo folder and ejecting.
5. Choose your patches from the files in the src folder
   Enable patches in the files in the src folder (or use the overrides in kobopatch.yaml to keep your options separate).
6. Run kobopatch
   Double-click kobopatch.bat on Windows, or run ./kobopatch.sh on Linux or macOS. On macOS, you can drag it into the terminal and press enter (you may need to go to System Preferences - Security and Privacy - General to confirm that you actually want to run it).
7. Install the patches by copying KoboRoot.tgz into the .kobo folder of your device
   If the patching succeeded, a file named KoboRoot.tgz will be created in the out folder. Copy it to the .kobo folder of your device. Safely remove your device once you are finished. On Linux, you may have to press Ctrl+H to show the .kobo folder.

Download

[geek1011]

Changes to the kobopatch zip:
v74 (2022-01-21): Improved "Unify font sizes" values (sherman), minor improvements to patch comments and descriptions (jackie_w, nkakouros).
v73 (2021-11-02): Backport "Unify font sizes" from 4.30.18838 (sherman), add note about "Replace adobe page numbers toggle with invert screen" in 4.28.18220+ (geek1011).
v72 (2021-10-21): Initial release for 4.28.18220.

Missing patches:
- None!

Removed patches in this version:
- geek1011: ePub uniform font scale (this will need a complete rewrite for 18220+ since the logic has been completely reworked; also note that it may not be necessary on certain devices anymore; this patch has been at least partially replaced by `Unify font sizes`)
- GeoffR: Set font scale factor (same reason)

New patches in this version:
- sherman: Unify font sizes (mostly replaces "ePub uniform font scale", fixes the font scaling in EPUBs to not be absurdly large on some devices and to be consistent with KEPUBs) (backported from 4.30.18838)

Other notes:
- I do not recommend mixing and matching kobo8 (Elipsa) and kobo3-7 firmware. There are non-insignificant differences in the rootfs which may cause issues. For example, Foxit is used for PDFs on the Elipsa, but it isn't included at all on non-kobo8 packages.

[doki43]

Sorry, but which patches exactly do I need to enable in order to remove the bottom/top margin in KePubs?

[Semwize]

Originally Posted by doki43

Sorry, but which patches exactly do I need to enable in order to remove the bottom/top margin in KePubs?

This question has been asked so many times that interactive preview has been created.
https://pgaskin.net/kobopatch-patche...tch-13651.html

[Pjama]

I am very sorry to ask this, as it all seems to be second nature to you. But what do I do when "if the patching succeeded" fails!? I have followed the steps over and over again and no tgz ever appears in my Out folder.

So, we have the instruction "if success ..." but there is no "if failure..."

Am I to conclude that I am the only person ever to fail at doing this? Probably.

1. Download the firmware from https://pgaskin.net/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html to the src folder.
The zip should be called something like kobo-update-4.28.18220.zip. You may need to rename it.
2. Enable patches in the files in the src folder (or use the overrides in kobopatch.yaml).
3. Run kobopatch.bat on Windows, or kobopatch.sh on Linux.
4. If the patching succeeded, a file named KoboRoot.tgz will be created.
Copy it to the .kobo folder of your device.

[Pjama]

P.S. I have tried both on Windows (Parallels) and on Mac, several times each.

[Phil_C]

Many of us have failed in first attempts!

Did you enable patches in the four individual patch files or did you use the override file? If you used kobopatch.yaml, spacing is very important at the beginning of each line in the overrides section. Two spaces (no tabs) in front of the file names, then two more spaces of indent (four total) in sub lines with the patch names.

The Out folder should contain a log which should give clues to what else might be happening.

[Pjama]

Thanks Phil.

I enabled them in the individual files by changing 'no' to 'yes' for the ones I wanted to activate. So I only edited two of the four files as they were the ones that contained the patches I was interested in.

There is no log in the Out folder, all that is in that folder is the txt file explaining what the Out folder is for.

I’m obviously going badly wrong somewhere.

Should I have deleted everything else from these files? I left everything as was, except for changing 'no' to 'yes' for the patches I wanted to activate. Maybe this is wrong? I’m sure it’s something that’s so obvious to you that you don’t even think about it, therefore no one has written it down in the instructions.

Ah well, I just wanted to change the header and footer to not use ALL CAPS and a couple of other things, it’s not a big deal, just a nice to have. I used to use the old kindle hacks back in the day, so I thought I’d be able to handle using the patches, but it’s not happening for me.

I do not need to reinstall the firmware on my kobo, do I? surely not, as it is on the same version as the patches are for.

When I use Windows, I am editing the files using the old Notebook app.

The .bat file runs but nothing happens.

[Deobulakenyo]

Originally Posted by Pjama

Thanks Phil.

I enabled them in the individual files by changing 'no' to 'yes' for the ones I wanted to activate. So I only edited two of the four files as they were the ones that contained the patches I was interested in.

There is no log in the Out folder, all that is in that folder is the txt file explaining what the Out folder is for.

I’m obviously going badly wrong somewhere.

Should I have deleted everything else from these files? I left everything as was, except for changing 'no' to 'yes' for the patches I wanted to activate. Maybe this is wrong? I’m sure it’s something that’s so obvious to you that you don’t even think about it, therefore no one has written it down in the instructions.

Ah well, I just wanted to change the header and footer to not use ALL CAPS and a couple of other things, it’s not a big deal, just a nice to have. I used to use the old kindle hacks back in the day, so I thought I’d be able to handle using the patches, but it’s not happening for me.

I do not need to reinstall the firmware on my kobo, do I? surely not, as it is on the same version as the patches are for.

When I use Windows, I am editing the files using the old Notebook app.

The .bat file runs but nothing happens.

Do you have the 4.28.18220 update file when you run the bat?

[Pjama]

Yes, I have it copied into the src folder. It is the zipped file, I think I tried it unzipped as well, but I can’t remember. I think I am doing the wrong thing at this part and it is causing the failure.

[Deobulakenyo]

Can you upload all the files you are using and maybe we can test it on our pc just to eliminate if it is your pcs that have problems.

I

[Phil_C]

Originally Posted by Pjama

Thanks Phil.

I enabled them in the individual files by changing 'no' to 'yes' for the ones I wanted to activate. So I only edited two of the four files as they were the ones that contained the patches I was interested in.

There is no log in the Out folder, all that is in that folder is the txt file explaining what the Out folder is for.

I’m obviously going badly wrong somewhere.

Should I have deleted everything else from these files? I left everything as was, except for changing 'no' to 'yes' for the patches I wanted to activate. Maybe this is wrong? I’m sure it’s something that’s so obvious to you that you don’t even think about it, therefore no one has written it down in the instructions.

Ah well, I just wanted to change the header and footer to not use ALL CAPS and a couple of other things, it’s not a big deal, just a nice to have. I used to use the old kindle hacks back in the day, so I thought I’d be able to handle using the patches, but it’s not happening for me.

I do not need to reinstall the firmware on my kobo, do I? surely not, as it is on the same version as the patches are for.

When I use Windows, I am editing the files using the old Notebook app.

The .bat file runs but nothing happens.

When using Notepad, did you save the edited files as .yaml -- NOT .txt? Be sure you did not change any spacing in the edited files. Just change no to yes. You do not need to delete unused patches.

I would delete everything from your patching folder and start from scratch. Take your time and follow each step listed in Post #1. I would also suggest using Notepad++ to edit the files.

You could try using the overrides in kobopatch.yaml this time. But again be careful of spaces in each line. Hitting Return in Notepad++ for a new line might generate a Tab at the beginning of the new line. You want spaces, not tabs. There is an example of the format in the file.

If there is no log generated, something is wrong or missing which is killing the program immediately.

[Pjama]

Thanks so much everyone, I added a line to the .bat file based on a private message. I then ran this file again and it showed me what the problem was.

It was a MacBook/Parallels folder conflict.

So I moved my patch folder to a new directory in the Windows C: drive, instead of my usual C: drive, reran the .bat file and the patches ran, and I now have succeeded in adding them to my Kobo.

Thanks to all who helped! I will definitely find this easy to do in future.

Now - can I change the font used in the book header/footer? I didn't like the capital letters, and now I don't like the sans serif font, especially as I always read using a serif font.

[Semwize]

Originally Posted by Pjama

Now - can I change the font used in the book header/footer?

You can, yes, but there you need to fix the patch a little bit.

Custom header/footer captions:

uncomment

        #- {Find: "font-family: Avenir;", Replace: "font-family:Avenir;"}

red highlights what needs to be changed.

[Pjama]

Originally Posted by Semwize

You can, yes, but there you need to fix the patch a little bit.

Custom header/footer captions:

uncomment

        #- {Find: "font-family: Avenir;", Replace: "font-family:Avenir;"}

red highlights what needs to be changed.

Thanks so much Semwize, will try that now, then I might actually do some reading! Hoping doing these mods will stop me from buying a Libra 2. I want, but my original Libra is pretty much perfect.