Index to the Metazoa firmware patches

[GeoffR]

Kobo e-ink readers don't currently come with any monospaced fonts pre-installed, and so it is necessary to sideload one. However the choice of which to use as a default when an ePub contains the generic style font-family:monospace; is hard-coded to Adobe's proprietary Courier Std font, and when that font inevitably fails to load the EPUB reader falls back to the initial font selected by the user (or Georgia if "Publisher Default" is selected), which is probably not monospaced.

The `Default ePub monospace font` patch lets the EPUB reader use the first font it finds with a name beginning "Courier" as the default monospace font. So for example if the free Courier Prime font is sideloaded* (and no other sideloaded font name begins with "Courier") then that will be used.

The screenshots below (Glo, 3.16.0) show which fonts the EPUB reader uses for the font-family styles initial/unspecified, serif, sans-serif, and monospace in the attached ePub. The device has the Courier Prime font sideloaded, and Kobo Nickel is the font selected from the drop-down font menu:

1. Unpatched (initial=Kobo Nickel, serif=Georgia, sans-serif=Avenir, monospace=Kobo Nickel.)
2. Patched (initial=Kobo Nickel, serif=Georgia, sans-serif=Avenir, monospace=Courier Prime.)


(The default monospace font can also be set without patching by modifying each ePub's stylesheet, which can be done automatically if sideloading via Calibre.)

(* To sldeload the Courier Prime font, rename the files to "Courier Prime.ttf" "Courier Prime-Italic.ttf" "Courier Prime-Bold.ttf" "Courier Prime-BoldItalic.ttf" as usual. Note that this font has the incorrect PANOSE weight set. This doesn't cause any problem for the EPUB reader, but if you want to use the Courier Prime font in KePubs then you might want to use a program like fontforge to correct the PANOSE weight from thin to book or bold as appropriate.)

(Note that this patch can also be modified to use fonts with a different name, such as HP's Dark Courier.)

[oren64]

patch_name = `Compact homepage layout (Glo)`

Spoiler:

<Patch>
patch_name = `Compact homepage layout (Glo)`
patch_enable = `yes`
#DragonHomePageView (Search bar height)
replace_string = C04600, `min-height:100px;`, `min-height:090px;`
replace_string = C04613, `max-height:100px;`, `max-height:090px;`
#QWidget (Space below search bar)
replace_string = C04772, `min-height:40px;`, `min-height:08px;`
replace_string = C04784, `max-height:40px;`, `max-height:08px;`
#MultiColumnTileView (Space between tiles)
replace_string = C04955, `horizontalSpacing:10;`, `horizontalSpacing:04;`
replace_string = C04976, `verticalSpacing:10;`, `verticalSpacing:04;`
#footer (Footer menu bar height)
replace_string = C04D7A, `min-height:95px;`, `min-height:68px;`
replace_string = C04D8C, `max-height:95px;`, `max-height:68px;`
#PhoenixSmallRecentBookTile
replace_string = C08F14, `percentFontSize:28;`, `percentFontSize:22;`
replace_string = C08F33, `progressFontSize:22;`, `progressFontSize:22;`
#RecentBookTile
replace_string = C0AA26, `percentFontSize:28;`, `percentFontSize:22;`
replace_string = C0AA4B, `progressFontSize:22;`, `progressFontSize:22;`
</Patch>

#DragonHomePageView (Search bar height) is the height from the upper side of screen? and can change the valuse?

patch_name = `Block WiFi firmware upgrade` if i sync is it going to delete my sideload dictionaries, and download the original dictionaries?

[boriar]

Originally Posted by oren64

patch_name = `Compact homepage layout (Glo)`

Spoiler:

<Patch>
patch_name = `Compact homepage layout (Glo)`
patch_enable = `yes`
#DragonHomePageView (Search bar height)
replace_string = C04600, `min-height:100px;`, `min-height:090px;`
replace_string = C04613, `max-height:100px;`, `max-height:090px;`
#QWidget (Space below search bar)
replace_string = C04772, `min-height:40px;`, `min-height:08px;`
replace_string = C04784, `max-height:40px;`, `max-height:08px;`
#MultiColumnTileView (Space between tiles)
replace_string = C04955, `horizontalSpacing:10;`, `horizontalSpacing:04;`
replace_string = C04976, `verticalSpacing:10;`, `verticalSpacing:04;`
#footer (Footer menu bar height)
replace_string = C04D7A, `min-height:95px;`, `min-height:68px;`
replace_string = C04D8C, `max-height:95px;`, `max-height:68px;`
#PhoenixSmallRecentBookTile
replace_string = C08F14, `percentFontSize:28;`, `percentFontSize:22;`
replace_string = C08F33, `progressFontSize:22;`, `progressFontSize:22;`
#RecentBookTile
replace_string = C0AA26, `percentFontSize:28;`, `percentFontSize:22;`
replace_string = C0AA4B, `progressFontSize:22;`, `progressFontSize:22;`
</Patch>

#DragonHomePageView (Search bar height) is the height from the upper side of screen? and can change the valuse?

patch_name = `Block WiFi firmware upgrade` if i sync is it going to delete my sideload dictionaries, and download the original dictionaries?

I can't answer your first question because I have a H2O.
About the second, yes. It only block the firmware, not the sync. That's the reason for the las patch "Change dicthtml strings to micthtml". If you rename the sideloads dictionaries from dicthtml to micthtml and activate that patch you don't lose they anymore.

[oren64]

Originally Posted by boriar

I can't answer your first question because I have a H2O.
About the second, yes. It only block the firmware, not the sync. That's the reason for the las patch "Change dicthtml strings to micthtml". If you rename the sideloads dictionaries from dicthtml to micthtml and activate that patch you don't lose they anymore.

I copy the "Change dicthtml strings to micthtml" to 3.13.1 patch, and I get an error, it's only works for 3.18.0 patch.
At least I knew there a solution.

Thanks

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by oren64

patch_name = `Compact homepage layout (Glo)`

#DragonHomePageView (Search bar height) is the height from the upper side of screen? and can change the valuse?

The search bar height is the height of the box that contains the search bar, the patch has already made it about as small as it can go, any smaller and the search bar will start to be cut off.

It is better to discuss these details in the patch thread for the specific firmware version you are using.

[akorx]

Hi GeoffR,

Your post is really a very good thing for "classic" users because it's a good grouping of all important functions brought by new firmwares.

Only one thing : I think you should talk too about one of the most important add-ons that is not integrated directly in kobo's devices and their firmwares and that is used and waited by a lot of users of e-readers : the night mode (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=212162 .

I don't understand why this function, that is for me one of the biggest, is not directly integrated on an e-reader because that is the case of all the other devices on the market excepted the kobos ! it's a MUST.

NB : sorry for my bad english, i'm french.

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by akorx

Only one thing : I think you should talk too about one of the most important add-ons that is not integrated directly in kobo's devices and their firmwares and that is used and waited by a lot of users of e-readers : the night mode (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=212162 .

This thread iwas created just to help describe this particular collection of patches and to provide a starting point to find the instructions for applying them to a particular firmware version because that changes with every single firmware update.

There are many other projects like Night Mode that I have never used, and know nothing about, so it wouldn't make sense to include them here.

There is a sticky thread List of Tweaks / Hacks / Mods that has links to many of the other things, including Night Mode.

[akorx]

No problem GeoffR, I undertand what you mean .

I just wanted to say that I think night mode is a very basic function that should, oh no : that MUST, be included in every e-readers and it's the reason why I suggested to you to talk about it...

[WolfBack]

The patches works great on my H2O and fw 3.13.1!
(thnx God! Now I have a Greek keyboard and searching in my library is now so easy!!!)
Thanks GeoffR!!!!
I have just one question...
I'm using especially epub with my reader and all of them have fixed line spacing.. Unfortunately I make those changes on my own (13.0 pt on every book), but I want to bypass them and use the line height slider of my H2O instead... (in that case, the slider is not responded at all...)
I'm too lazy for re-encoded all of my books (again) with calibre and remove the line height with filter style information.
There's a patch for that I want to achieve?

Thank you for advance.

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by WolfBack

I'm using especially epub with my reader and all of them have fixed line spacing.. Unfortunately I make those changes on my own (13.0 pt on every book), but I want to bypass them and use the line height slider of my H2O instead... (in that case, the slider is not responded at all...)
I'm too lazy for re-encoded all of my books (again) with calibre and remove the line height with filter style information.
There's a patch for that I want to achieve?

The `Force user line spacing in ePubs` patch probably does what you want. (It wasn't included until 3.18.0, but I've posted a copy in the 3.13.1 thread.)

[WolfBack]

Thank you very much for your help, GeoffR!
I just saw your post in the 3.13.1 thread and I'll test this patch asap!

[WolfBack]

Originally Posted by WolfBack

Thank you very much for your help, GeoffR!
I just saw your post in the 3.13.1 thread and I'll test this patch asap!

And, yes!!!! It works!!!!

[Nick_1964]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

The `Force user line spacing in ePubs` patch probably does what you want. (It wasn't included until 3.18.0, but I've posted a copy in the 3.13.1 thread.)

Is it multi version (can I use it in 3.17.3 ? ) ?

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by Nick_1964

Is it multi version (can I use it in 3.17.3 ? ) ?

Yes, if the patch has a comment line like this:

# Multi-version patch: 3.3.0 - 3.18.0+

then it should work on firmware versions 3.3.0 to 3.18.0 and maybe later versions too.

[Nick_1964]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

Yes, if the patch has a comment line like this:

# Multi-version patch: 3.3.0 - 3.18.0+

then it should work on firmware versions 3.3.0 to 3.18.0 and maybe later versions too.

Thank you !