NickelNote - Show a custom note while the device is locked

[lumping-sugar66]

Hello everyone,

Allow me to share NickelNote, a mod to show some notes on the cover view of your Kobo reader.
NickelNote will let you put a customized note on the front page to add a bit of personalization to your kobo. Add personal touches like kind words for gifts or contact numbers for forgetful moments.

This note will be visible in the full-screen view when the device is sleeping and powered down.

The source code and the release is available here:

https://github.com/onatbas/nickelnote

Made using NickelHook. Big thanks to geek1011 and shermp for their patience, assistance, and tools.


Usage:

1. Place a text file under .adds/nickelnote named content.template. This html-like document is used for the content of the note.
   Example:
   

   <span>John Doe</span><br />
   <span style="font-size: 32px">If found, Please return at</span><br />
   <span style="font-size: 32px;">+1 613 987 65 43</span>

2. style.template is used for styling in QSS style format. QLabel is your main element.
3. The mod can be turned on/off by changing the content and template file names. The missing file will stop rendering the note.
4. v0.0.3: a pin.template file will overwrite the “Forgot Pin?” text.
5. default styles of the sleep view will apply to the note among different devices.

Future Work:


Pull requests are welcome.

1. Better QSS support.
2. Alignment/Positioning options.
3. More device testing. (Currently tested on Aura Edition 2, Clara 2E)
4. Templating options for internal device data and widgets.

[xyclonei]

Thank you for NickelNote. It looks promising.

[PennyDred]

Thank you, this will be very handy. I had long been hoping for something like this- fairly customisable and not obscuring the entire bookcover.

[lumping-sugar66]

I'm glad you find it useful. I'm still refining the style to match the default "Sleeping" widget more closely. Currently, I'm using the style.template to mimic the default widget's appearance. The content is highly customizable as it's a QLabel, supporting almost all standard HTML.

[lumping-sugar66]

Update: v0.0.3

Changes:
- A “pin.template” file will now overwrite the “Forgot Pin?” text in the Pin Input dialog with a custom note.

Download can be found here:
https://github.com/onatbas/nickelnote/releases/latest

[shyhermit]

Has anyone tried NickelNote 0.0.3 on Libra Colour? I edited the style.template and followed the HTML code, but I don't see the note in bookcover mode.

[lumping-sugar66]

Hi,

I have just made a 0.0.4 version available but it fixes an issue with the pin notes.
https://github.com/onatbas/nickelnot...ses/tag/v0.0.4


Can you make sure that the following settings are active?

Show current read: Active
Show book covers full screen: Active
Show info panel on full screen covers: Active

In addition, how many plugins do you have? After installing 4-5 plugins, I find that the Kobo device starts having a hard time installing them all and some get turned off.
What’s the firmware version that comes with the colour devices?

Just to make sure the paths and contents are correct, here's my setup (style is for a Clara 2E, you may need to edit):

[root@kobo nickelnote]# pwd
/mnt/onboard/.adds/nickelnote

[root@kobo nickelnote]# ls
content.template pin.template style.template

[root@kobo nickelnote]# cat content.template
<span>Onat Bas</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 30px;">If found, please return at</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 30px;">+1 XXX XXXX</span>

[root@kobo nickelnote]# cat style.template
#infoWidget {
color: black;
background-color: rgba(255,255,255,200);
min-height: 290px;
max-height: 290px;

margin-top: 200px;
margin-left: -30px;
}

#infoWidget[powerOffView=true]{
background-color: rgba(0,0,0,170);
}

QLabel{
min-width: 400px;
min-height: 300px;
}

If with these settings it still doesn't work, We'll need to check if the Libra Colour is a "dragon" device as a codename, because currently nickelnote is only configured to work with dragon devices. Libra and Clara are dragons, but Colour is unchartered territory right now. I'll do some research.

[shyhermit]

lumping-sugar66, NickelNote is such a cool mod!

I am using the screensaver hack enabled through NickelMenu that switches between wallpaper mode and cover art mode. Is it possible that this is interfering with your mod?

[lumping-sugar66]

thank you for the kind words. I don’t think having that toggle is going to mess with the nickelnote, unless you’re expecting the note to appear at the wallpaper mode. I do have the script with toggle to screensavers on and off by renaming the folder, and it doesn’t mess with mine.

The note would only appear in the cover art mode. If you have a screensaver folder, unfortunately, you won’t be able to see it. Would you mind showing me the folder structure, the content of those files inside the nickelnote folder, and a picture of your front screen, please? Would it be possible for you to check or send the logs of the device so that we can check what is happening during the initialization sequence?

[shyhermit]

That is not necessary now. I just updated to v0.04. It is now working.

Is it possible to use non-English characters in the note (e.g., Japanese or Chinese characters)?

For reference, if I need to uninstall the mod, does the mod leave files in other areas where I have to manually clean up?

Originally Posted by lumping-sugar66

thank you for the kind words. I don’t think having that toggle is going to mess with the nickelnote, unless you’re expecting the note to appear at the wallpaper mode. I do have the script with toggle to screensavers on and off by renaming the folder, and it doesn’t mess with mine.

[shyhermit]

lumping-sugar66, one minor cosmetic suggestion:

For the pinlock page, rather than replacing the stock message, may be you can just add the user message "above" it. There is plenty of space on the screen to do this. A bigger issue is that the keypad shifts upwards in position from the stock location when you start typing in the PIN. I suspect that this is caused by displacement of the user message below the keypad.

[lumping-sugar66]

It's great to hear that it's working. Can you describe what you see when you start typing your message? The broken keypad was one of the issues I was solving with the 0.0.4 version, and when you're typing, the keypad should stay put. I'd be happy to try to address the issue if I can.

The keypad is indeed shifted upwards (see screenshots above) because of how layouts work on Kobo's GUI framework (Qt); just like in the lock menu, the info panel is moved slightly downwards because Qt tries to maintain even spacing between all elements, but the additional movement is unexpected.

[shyhermit]

I am on Libra Colour. With stock behavior, the keypad moves up a bit when you start typing your pin. This is normal. However, with the custom message added, this shift is MORE than the stock behavior. I am wondering if this is because my message is extra long and taking up an extra line. Otherwise, the keypad screen works great.

Originally Posted by lumping-sugar66

It's great to hear that it's working. Can you describe what you see when you start typing your message? The broken keypad was one of the issues I was solving with the 0.0.4 version, and when you're typing, the keypad should stay put. I'd be happy to try to address the issue if I can.

The keypad is indeed shifted upwards (see screenshots above) because of how layouts work on Kobo's GUI framework (Qt); just like in the lock menu, the info panel is moved slightly downwards because Qt tries to maintain even spacing between all elements, but the additional movement is unexpected.

[veteene]

I need some help. I tried to install NickelNote on my Kobo, but I think there's some error because the '.adds/nickelnote/' folder isn't showing up to insert the templates. Should I create this folder, or is it created automatically after ejecting the Kobo? I noticed a txt file NickelNote_124-04-27_03-42-10 with some information appeared. Can you help me?

here is the file content:

Spoiler:

May 27 03:42:09 syslogd started: BusyBox v1.31.1.kobo
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: ( 0.855 @ 0x1cf65f8 / gyro.warning) KX122::exists()::<lambda()>
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) initializing 'NickelClock' (version: v0.3.2)
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... desc: Set an always displayed clock when reading
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) creating failsafe
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... failsafe: info: allocating memory
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... failsafe: info: finding filenames
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... failsafe: info: ensuring own lib remains in memory even if it is dlclosed after being loaded with a dlopen
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... failsafe: info: renaming /usr/local/Kobo/imageformats/libnickelclock.so to /usr/local/Kobo/imageformats/libnickelclock.so.failsafe
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) checking config
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) checking for uninstall !flag '/mnt/onboard/.adds/nickelclock/uninstall'
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) loading libraries
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) resolving symbols
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) info: nh_dlsym: loading symbol '_ZN9TimeLabelC1EP7QWidget' from RTLD_DEFAULT to 0xaf6b13a4 (desc: TimeLabel::TimeLabel())
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) info: nh_dlsym: loading symbol '_ZN15HardwareFactory14sharedInstanceEv' from RTLD_DEFAULT to 0xaf6b13a0 (desc: HardwareFactory::sharedInstance())
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) info: nh_dlsym: loading symbol '_ZN20N3BatteryStatusLabelC1EP7QWidget' from RTLD_DEFAULT to 0xaf6b139c (desc: N3BatteryStatusLabel::N3BatteryStatusLabel())
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) applying hooks
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) info: nh_hook: setting hook on ('libnickel.so.1.0.0', '_ZN11ReadingView19readerIsDoneLoadingEv') to (self, '_nc_set_header_clock') (desc: footer progress update)
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... dlhook: info: lib /usr/local/Kobo/libnickel.so.1 is mapped at b54af000
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... dlhook: info: DT_DYNAMIC: plt_is_rela=0 plt=0xb5ae1324 plt_sz=3065370712 plt_ent_sz=196736 sym=(nil) str=0x8
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... dlhook: info: found symbol _ZN11ReadingView19readerIsDoneLoadingEv (gotoff=0x16b2294 [mapped=0xb6b61294])
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... dlhook: info: ensuring the symbol is loaded (to get the original address)
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... dlhook: info: removing memory protection
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... dlhook: info: patching symbol
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... dlhook: info: successfully patched symbol _ZN11ReadingView19readerIsDoneLoadingEv (orig=0xb64168e5, new=0xaf69aad1)
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... info: redirected ('libnickel.so.1.0.0'=0xb6f3cad0, '_ZN11ReadingView19readerIsDoneLoadingEv'=0xb64168 e5) to (self=0x1ff7818, '_nc_set_header_clock'=0xaf69aad1)
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) calling next init
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) destroying failsafe after 10s
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... failsafe: info: scheduling restore
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) ... failsafe: info: restoring after 10 seconds
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelClock) (NickelHook) done init
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) initializing 'NickelNote' (version: 0.0.2-6-g64d2b)
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) ... desc: show a note on the main screen during sleep.
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) creating failsafe
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) ... failsafe: info: allocating memory
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) ... failsafe: info: finding filenames
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) ... failsafe: info: ensuring own lib remains in memory even if it is dlclosed after being loaded with a dlopen
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) ... failsafe: info: renaming /usr/local/Kobo/imageformats/libnickelnote.so to /usr/local/Kobo/imageformats/libnickelnote.so.failsafe
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) checking config
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) checking for uninstall flag '/mnt/onboard/nn_uninstall'
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) loading libraries
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) resolving symbols
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) applying hooks
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) info: nh_hook: setting hook on ('libnickel.so.1.0.0', '_ZN25FullScreenDragonPowerViewC1Ev') to (self, '_fullScreenDragonPowerView_constructor') (desc: Change power down sleep view.)
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) ... dlhook: info: lib /usr/local/Kobo/libnickel.so.1 is mapped at b54af000
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) ... dlhook: info: DT_DYNAMIC: plt_is_rela=0 plt=0xb5ae1324 plt_sz=3065370712 plt_ent_sz=196736 sym=(nil) str=0x8
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) ... dlhook: error: could not find symbol
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) ... fatal: could not hook symbol
May 27 03:42:10 nickel: (NickelNote) (NickelHook) fatal error

[lumping-sugar66]

Originally Posted by veteene

I need some help. I tried to install NickelNote on my Kobo, but I think there's some error because the '.adds/nickelnote/' folder isn't showing up to insert the templates. Should I create this folder, or is it created automatically after ejecting the Kobo? I noticed a txt file NickelNote_124-04-27_03-42-10 with some information appeared. Can you help me?

here is the file content:

Hello,

The folder and it's contents you can safely create on your own as shown above. However, the error doesn't seem to come from missing files. It is failing to find PowerView method for Dragon devices (which are Clara and Libra if I recall correctly). I realize that your profile information says Libra Colour, but can you confirm if this is the device you're using or if it is some other device? Can you check the firmware version you're using on this device?