Summary of Modified Fonts

[JLuecking]

About font sizing. I would drop about the first 6 and the last 3 steps and make the steps more graduate. This is for the Aura. For exemple like this: 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 44, 48, 52

[dmapr]

Originally Posted by JLuecking

About font sizing. I would drop about the first 6 and the last 3 steps and make the steps more graduate. This is for the Aura. For exemple like this: 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 44, 48, 52

Got it. Will ask.

[dmapr]

OK, just as I suspected the reply was generally not very encouraging. Aside from promising to to make one available for 2.8.1 he said that:

• He hasn't done any work on 2.5.2 at all
• He won't attempt to explain individual patches as it's too complicated
• He doesn't have time to go hunting down the font size table

The one really encouraging thing he said was a possibility of a patch generator, but no time frame for that.

[Anak]

Originally Posted by dmapr

OK, just as I suspected the reply was generally not very encouraging. Aside from promising to to make one available for 2.8.1 he said that:

• He hasn't done any work on 2.5.2 at all
• He won't attempt to explain individual patches as it's too complicated
• He doesn't have time to go hunting down the font size table

The one really encouraging thing he said was a possibility of a patch generator, but no time frame for that.

Thanks, for contacting him. I do understand why it is too complicated and he sure did a great job. Hat tip!

Edit: if you wonder why I asked for a 2.5.2. hack that is because
1. It has some dictionary bugs fixed which were broken in 2.5.1.
2. A drawback of fw 2.5.2 is that it introduced a huge top margin (title bar) with Adobe epubs. Solution: Replace the libadobe.so file with the version of 2.5.1. which has only a small top margin.
3. With fw 2.6.1 Kobo tried to reverse the huge top margin of fw 2.5.2 after they got so many complaints. Unfortunately, Kobo forgot to adjust/reverse the top margin of the Touch models.
4. In fw 2.8.1. the old small top margin is back but Kobo removed the strings to reduce the size of the reading footer. So for novice users it is not possible to adjust the reading footer. And that's why I still prefer the 2.5.1/2.5.2 firmware version.

[JLuecking]

Thank you for asking.
Joachim

[dmapr]

OK, some good news. metazoa has released a new version of the patch for 2.6.1, but this time he included the patch generator utility, which comes with a config file that is self-explanatory enough for everyone to figure out what needs to be patched for each individual hack.

Here's his post: http://www.the-ebook.org/forum/viewt...075993#1075993

[JLuecking]

Hi,

it's good to see a new version of the patch. I tried to install, yet I would like to keep the bottom of the page like it was in version two. I wonder how to set up the configuration file for that. The Kobo Aura went to 2.8.1, but I sideloaded release 2.6.1 in order to be able to use the patch. I am waiting for a patch release which is compatible with 2.8.1. I use version 2 of the patch for the time being. Metazoa is doing an excellent job.

Joachim

[OverHaze]

Would it be possible for someone to put together a darker version Droid Serif? Great font, very easy on the eyes but far too light on Kobo devices.

[dmapr]

@Joachim,
If you have a hex dump utility (I use xxd on Linux), dump the libnickel from the stock, dump one from the second patch and then do a diff. I don't have the second patch handy, so I can't check for you, but you'll see the values used for min-height, max-height and footerMargin. In the version of the patch that I had he used 30px (instead of the 5px in the config) for min & max height and the footerMargin of 5 instead of 0.

[dmapr]

Update for 2.8.1: http://www.the-ebook.org/forum/viewt...076211#1076211

[babadockia]

Originally Posted by dmapr

Update for 2.8.1: http://www.the-ebook.org/forum/viewt...076211#1076211

sorry for my stupidity, but somebody could translate in english the steps required to install this patch, please. thank you all for the wonders of your work

[JLuecking]

Amazing, a new version and close to being perfect. A big thank you to Metazoa.

I installed the patch and it is really great. Line Space in 0.05 steps and font size the way I want it - as suggested above - and margin also in fine steps make it possible to create the page exactly like I want. Only the footer area is too small for me, chapter title is also dropped. In fact I would like the footer area like in version 2, but I do not know how to patch it. With Charil SIL condensed, font size 32 and line spacing 120 I had 31 lines in version 2, which was ok for me. In the new version I have 33 lines.

@babadockia
Edit the config file kgb.conf to your convenience, run the kgb.exe (I copied it into the 2.8.1 folder), this creates a KoboRoot.tgz. Copy the KoboRoot.tgz to the .kobo folder on the Kobo, eject the device and disconnect. This should run the update on the Kobo.

Joachim

[dmapr]

@Joachim,

unfortunately Kobo has zipped up the patches of CSS in 2.8.1 that used to be in the clear, making it near impossible to adjust changes. So I just disabled this patch as I will live with a larger footer easier than no footer at all.

[buffaloseven]

Modified the line spacing values, disabled the H/F height modifications, and commented out the wi-fi hack. The patch works wonderfully. Having finer control over font size, better increments of margins, and having the advanced font control available for all my fonts is absolutely fantastic. Making it a patch should mean that barring any major changes from Kobo, everything should work with subsequent updates -- although always wait for compatibility tests with new versions of the firmware. Although thanks to this, the stability of 2.8.1, and the better-ification of the KoboTouchExtended driver, I'm not sure I'll ever update again. I'll need convincing

If you can pass our thanks along in Russian, that'd be fantastic. This is really great work.

[Anak]

Thanks to MZ for is this great patch! Thanks to dmapr for his intermediary role.

Originally Posted by babadockia

sorry for my stupidity, but somebody could translate in english the steps required to install this patch, please. thank you all for the wonders of your work

mz_koboreaderpatch_04
This patch contains:

• Aplication KPG (Kobo Patch Generator);
• Reduced bottom margin;
• Customized line spacing (default values ​​from 0.8 to 1.2 in steps of 0.05);
• Wi-Fi is no longer disabled when not in use (until it goes into sleep mode);
• TypeGenius advanced font settings for all installed fonts, including sideloaded fonts by the user;
• Customized font size interval (default values are from 15 to 38 in increments of 1);
• Customization of the left and right margins interval (default values ​​from 0 to 8 in increments of 1).

How to install a personal patch
1. Download the archive
2. Unpack the archive to a convenient folder.
3. Copy/Extract the files kpg.conf and libnickel.so.1.0.0 into the same directory as kpg.exe. Be sure to use the right firmware version (2.6.1. or 2.8.1) as they are not interchangeable!
4. Edit the configuration file kpg.conf with a text editor to adjust the settings to your preferences.
5. Run kpg.exe (preferably in the console) and wait for it to finish.
6. Copy the generated KoboRoot.tgz file to your Kobo reader in the directory .kobo.
7. Safe disconect the Kobo reader from your OS.
8. Remove the USB cable from the device.
9. Wait for the installation to finish, the device automatically reboots.
10. You can use your device as normal. Enjoy.

Originally Posted by dmapr

@Joachim,

unfortunately Kobo has zipped up the patches of CSS in 2.8.1 that used to be in the clear, making it near impossible to adjust changes. So I just disabled this patch as I will live with a larger footer easier than no footer at all.

BTW, the bottom footer on the Kobo Touch is smaller. The text size is about 10px.
So there is no need for a 2.5.x version as 2.8.1. has both a small top and bottom margin when using the Adobe renderer for regular epubs.