Integrated FBReader 0.8.14 with ePub and Registry Support

[Adam B.]

It's been about 6 months since my last port of FBReader. The talented FBReader developers have done a lot. The most important addition is the support for ePub books. You can view the full changelog at FBReader.org.

I, myself, have done a lot of things different for this release as well.

• I've removed the FBReader toolbar, and thus, disabled the internal library.
  • This was mostly done to speed up porting time. With the library removed, much less needed to be done to the code of the program to port it.
  • All refreshes are done internally. No hacked libX11 is used!
• By default, FBReader will add supported file extensions to the registry
  • This makes FBReader act like any other viewer on the iLiad.
  • FBReader settings and configuration will be saved to /mnt/settings so a software update should not erase them.
• The installer no longer requires a memory card, and will be installed to internal memory.
  • The internal memory of the iLiad has 7.8MB free after installing FBReader. It should not interfere with anything else installed internally.

Based on a support thread I made, file extensions supported are:

• chm
• rtf
• oeb
• opf
• epub
• fb2
• tcr

Because the toolbar is gone, most of the important functions can now be accessed by the hardware buttons:

• Upper Left/Quit Button
  • Will cancel out of TOC screen, and will quit when inside the book.
• Page Bar Forward
  • Short Press
    • Next Page
  • Long Press
    • Redo
• Page Bar Backward
  • Short Press
    • Previous Page
  • Long Press
    • Undo
• Up Arrow
  • Short Press
    • Previous TOC Section
  • Long Press
    • Increase Font Size
• Dot or "Enter" Button
  • Short Press
    • Show Table of Contents
  • Long Press
    • Rotate Page
• Down Arrow
  • Short Press
    • Next TOC Section
  • Long Press
    • Decrease Font Size

Installation of this is simple. You'll need firmware 2.12 and Developer Shell access. Unzip the file, and copy anywhere on your iLiad. You will need to restart your iLiad when it prompts you. After you've restarted, you can delete the installation directory.

There will be no icon to run FBReader, you'll need to select a book from the contentlister with one of the file extensions listed above.
Supported books will have a valid icon.

[wallcraft]

I see several problems with this approach:

a) If the encoding is wrong, how is it changed? This is on the book info interface.
b) How to get a different font?
c) In general, how to get to the preferences interface?
d) How to use FBReader for HTML and MOBI, and how to use FBReader for only some MOBIs (i.e. the DRM-free ones)?

Assuming the book info and tools (preferences) interfaces are still there, the above are mostly a problem because of the lack of hardware keys. So perhaps they could be worked around using the on-screen keyboard. I would certainly use FBReader for HTML and MOBI if given the choice, ditching the MobiPocket Reader.

My other concern is that I like FBReader's library, which is a huge improvement over the contentlister, but I can live with no library if I can customize FBReader otherwise. Certainly, a usable full screen mode and faster page turns will be a big help.

[Adam B.]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

I see several problems with this approach:

a) If the encoding is wrong, how is it changed? This is on the book info interface.
b) How to get a different font?
c) In general, how to get to the preferences interface?
d) How to use FBReader for HTML and MOBI, and how to use FBReader for only some MOBIs (i.e. the DRM-free ones)?

Assuming the book info and tools (preferences) interfaces are still there, the above are mostly a problem because of the lack of hardware keys. So perhaps they could be worked around using the on-screen keyboard. I would certainly use FBReader for HTML and MOBI if given the choice, ditching the MobiPocket Reader.

My other concern is that I like FBReader's library, which is a huge improvement over the contentlister, but I can live with no library if I can customize FBReader otherwise. Certainly, a usable full screen mode and faster page turns will be a big help.

The options page is still intact. But using it would be troublesome because there are no screen refreshes programmed in. Your best bet would be to install dropbear, ssh into the iLiad, modify /mnt/settings/.FBReader/options.xml and map two of the keys to the options and book info dialog. You may also want to either manually call displayMgrClient from the shell to refresh the display, or modify the launching script to use the hacked libX11.

As my time lately has grown increasingly scarce, I decided to use this method to speed along porting time. I'll upload my sources if someone wants to work on a more featured port.

Edit:
Application Sources: http://projects.mobileread.com/iliad...4.iliad.tar.gz
Staging Area Source (for creating an ipk): http://projects.mobileread.com/iliad...staging.tar.gz

[Ido Ilan]

Hi Adam,

I prefer the old way, I use the FBReader standalone and don't change the registry.
I like the toolbar and would gladly wait additional time for a standalone application with the all the improvements.

Ido

[nekokami]

I think I would miss FBReader's library too much. Hopefully someone else with more time will be able to do a bit more with this port.

That being said, thanks again, AdamB, for all your great work.

[Jaapjan]

Very nice! Now only if I had an iLiad, hrm? Perhaps when the community porting project takes off.

Post on your blog about it! Or here....

[ericshliao]

It seems that this FBReader on iLiad can only deal with western character. Even though it supports several encoding schemes.

[xianfox]

I'll echo my thanks to Adam B. for all the work he's put in on FBReader for us, but I'm also going to echo others thoughts that this takes FBReader in a less useful direction for me. I use FBReader primarily for CHM and HTML reading.

For now I'll be sticking with the older version.

[yokos]

Thanks Adam B. for the update.
I will checkout your modded src.

The first thing I changed was the default font. I don't like DejaVu Sans.
URW Bookman L looks much better, but tastes differ.
The information lives here: /mnt/settings/.FBReader/ui.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<config>
<group name="Indicator">
<group name="InfoDialog">
<group name="Options">
<group name="OptionsDialog">
<group name="Style">
    <option name="Base:fontFamily" value="URW Bookman L"/>
    <option name="Base:fontSize" value="12"/>
    <option name="Base:lineSpacingPercent" value="150"/>
  </group>
</config>

[DeGodefroi]

Adam,
great job. I will give it a try!
I never used the library anyway, but I do miss the options page for changing font and changing font size (though a button can do that now).
thnx!

[Mr. Goodbar]

Will this support prc or mobipocket files as well? I thought fbreader did, but i didn't see them in the supported file types listed.

[GregS]

Adam, great job! Thanks.

One stupid question: How is a ssh shell opened?

One possible bug, the page numbers seem to jump with epub format. I am assuming that this is because actual page numbers are in the format, as in one case I can see the page flows, it is just the number that jumps (from 3 to 5).

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by GregS

One possible bug, the page numbers seem to jump with epub format. I am assuming that this is because actual page numbers are in the format, as in one case I can see the page flows, it is just the number that jumps (from 3 to 5).

This is probably a "feature", rather than a bug. The page number in FBReader is based on a fixed number of bytes per page, not on how much text is currently displayed per screen. So it is possible for the page number to jump by 2 (or not change at all) after a page turn.

The advantage of this is that the page number is independent of the font size (and the device). The disadvantage is that it isn't very similar to how we expect page numbers to behave.

[JWLaRue]

Adam B. said:

Installation of this is simple. You'll need firmware 2.12 and Developer Shell access. Unzip the file, and copy anywhere on your iLiad. You will need to restart your iLiad when it prompts you. After you've restarted, you can delete the installation directory.

------------------------------------

Looks like I could use some help.....

I successfully downloaded the developers toolkit and the iLiad rebooted itself. Next I unzipped the FBreader kit onto an SD card, put the SD card in the iLiad and then attempted to open an RTF file. Nothing happens.

So then I manually executed the run.sh script......LED blinked green for a bit. After that I attempted to open the RTF file. Still nothing.

Since there was no reboot, I'm wondering if the "copy anywhere on your iLiad" means more than just placing it on an SD card that's inserted into the iLiad......

Anyone able to help?

-tnx,

Jeff

p.s. About the "contentlister".....I have inferred from the many postings that this is the same as the screen that has the heading "Books" on it. Is that correct?

[JWLaRue]

Okay....figured it out.

Word caught me. I had saved the test book as an RTF, but the filename extension was still ".doc". Once changed to ".rtf" all is good!

-Jeff