Put Cursors on a kindle (KINDLE 5.x)

twobob · 10-03-2012, 11:10 AM

So. Um why might you want this exactly???

well. think of a crazy world where usb devices might actually be pluggable into devices with usb slots.

Like a mouse in say a kindle.

Cursor would be handy at that point.
Or using a vnc client (with no helpful settings) also helpful.
or typing via vnc onto the OSKb (since odd letters are prepended in some clients)

now: "X Theming" does not work since XCB does not support xcursor yet.
well to a certain degree. (Actually "Themes" can be made to work a bit but I digress.)

We just want a cursor set - the defaults will do...

For this you would need:

Root Access. An updated cursor file.

Ideally also the xsetroot tool would be nice

I have read through

Quote:

Note on Cursor Themes not Working with Awesome Window Manager

Xcursor does not work correctly with Awesome Window Manager. You may notice all of the themed cursors work except the default cursor.

http://awesome.naquadah.org/wiki/FAQ...ursor_theme.3F

and the gist of it is:

a) find cursor files as bdf
b) run bdftopcf -o cursor.pcf cursor.bdf
c) splat it in cd /usr/share/fonts/X11/misc/

there is currently a symlink with the FULL PATH to emptycursor.pcf in there...

so

[root@kindle misc]# mntroot rw

scp the newcursor.pcf file to /usr/share/fonts/X11/misc/newcursor.pcf
(or whatever you do for file transfer)

[root@kindle root]# cd /usr/share/fonts/X11/misc/
[root@kindle misc]# ln -sbf /usr/share/fonts/X11/misc/newcursor.pcf cursor.pcf
[root@kindle misc]# mntroot ro

then [root@kindle misc]# killall Xorg

to see the new stuff load with a shiny cursor (left_ptr by default I think)

the change this you would
[root@kindle /]# xsetroot -cursor_name right_ptr

or whatever.

I'll attach:

cursor.bdf (DO NOT PUT THIS ON THE DEVICE, IT'S FOR REFERENCE)
newcursor.pcf - the cursors file

main app: (would live in /mnt/us/usr/bin)
xsetroot - you call this (in this case) to set the cursor with -cursor_name

supporting libs: (would live in /mnt/us/usr/lib)
Shared library: [libXmuu.so.1]
Shared library: [libX11.so.6]
Shared library: [libXcursor.so.1]
Shared library: [libc.so.6]

and maybe "one day" a shell script when I get round to it to run xsetroot with the libs automatically added to the path - OR

simply configure your system as outlined at
http://minimodding.com/article9-Kind...ng-custom-apps

and run [root@kindle upstart]# xsetroot -cursor_name left_ptr like I do.
(I've shoved mine in a startup file)

[root@kindle root]#cd; nano .bashrc

Quote:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/mnt/us/usr/lib:/usr/lib:/lib:/mnt/us/lib
export PATH=/mnt/us/usr/local/bin:/mnt/us/usr/bin:/mnt/us/bin:\
/mnt/us/usr/sbin:/mnt/us/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:\
/mnt/us/home/root
# add some aliases for our busybox wangle
if [ -f /mnt/us/.alias ]; then
. /mnt/us/.alias
fi
#prevent the SS by default...
lipc-set-prop com.lab126.powerd preventScreenSaver 1
#setup the blank cursor by default...
xsetroot -cursor_name heart

More info:

You will also note that applications running vnc now will use the correct icons remotely (gvncviewer we are looking at you) - this benefit could be paired with creating/using a blank icon for the default on the device, thus providing the best of both worlds, no icon on device, icons via vnc.

Other notes:

There are great notes here on themes and their shortcomings with awesome
(I have a bunch built I could bundle them too)
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Cursor_Themes

Notes on injecting things like calls to xsetroot automatically (we have a lua solution) http://awesome.naquadah.org/wiki/Autostart

Cheers. Enjoy

twobob · 10-03-2012, 11:35 AM

~/Downloads $ grep STARTCHAR ./cursor.bdf
(make me a list of cursors in font)

Spoiler:

(pictured)

twobob · 10-03-2012, 11:53 AM

for those of you who would prefer to be able to turn the cursor OFF from time to time...

(or even have it set to off by default) I have created: blankheartcursor.pcf
via:
bdftopcf -o blankheartcursor.pcf cursor.bdf
using an amended ALL BLANK info section for the heart symbol.

which you would call like. xsetroot -cursor_name heart to get a blank cursor.

You could also just do other things:

Spoiler:

To use this file drop it in the /usr/share/fonts/X11/misc/ folder and link it as outlined before.

killall Xorg to see the new cursors

Few known side-effects:
I left the MASK version as-is in blankheartcursor.pcf so you get a white heart on selected things

ahh ^_____^

Other cursors may maliciously now work in various places...

startup screen will have tiny arrow in tree

Also added the blankheartandmaskcursor.pcf for those with something against cute hearts

This however meets my needs.
Thanks.

twobob · 10-03-2012, 12:46 PM

and to the final point of HOW this might be used by an artist...

Install cursors, set the cursor to your preferred cursor, (we could make some precision ones I suppose), load up an enhanced drawing tool (pictured), run via VNC, scale the resolution (I showed 1600 but I could run to 3200), do picture, scale back down.

Amazing details that can be hand touched on the device as you work.

Nice.

HTH someone somewhere.

knc1 · 10-03-2012, 02:30 PM

Where did you find those copies of the lab126 UI flowcharts?

twobob · 10-03-2012, 02:48 PM

HEHEHE!!! lol. Just thought I would make an ACTUAL use of something I make obvious

for a change.

twobob · 10-03-2012, 10:38 PM

Okay. So to make life a little easier on myself I made a few tweaks a bit easier to access.

It's not JBTweak JBPatch but it does have a few helpful features.

Feature:

Run Grayed out installs manually
Prevent and Allow Screensaver button
Show and Hide Custom cursors (With installer and un-installer)
711 & 411 device info pages.

Simply extract it onto /mnt/us (it goes in the extensions dir) and restart your device.

The installer and the un-installer cause an Xorg restart to pull up the new cursors, this is expected. So save any novels you are writing before doing that

I've splattered some pictures as they are usually more helpful than any amount of words.

First pic: File listing.

2+3 pic: Demo of thing "alone" with extra "info title data" showing the options that cause an Xorg reboot

4+5 pic: The actual thingy, as it is.

Well, that's it. enjoy. I took care to test the installer/uninstaller does no harm. Hope it saves you as much time as it saves me.

Cheers.

Change log:

V 0.2 Fixed Line endings issue in 411 page (Thanks Ixtab)

V 0.1 basic stuff with new installer fix
(sometimes it didn't wait long enough)

V 0.0 first release (lived about 5 minutes)

ixtab · 10-04-2012, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twobob

Okay. So to make life a little easier on myself I made a few tweaks a bit easier to access.

It's not JBTweak but it does have a few helpful features.

Feature:

Run Grayed out installs manually
Prevent and Allow Screensaver button
Show and Hide Custom cursors (With installer and un-installer)
711 & 411 device info pages.

Simply extract it onto /mnt/us (it goes in the extensions dir) and restart your device.

The installer and the un-installer cause an Xorg restart to pull up the new cursors, this is expected. So save any novels you are writing before doing that

I've splattered some pictures as they are usually more helpful than any amount of words.

First pic: File listing.

2+3 pic: Demo of thing "alone" with extra "info title data" showing the options that cause an Xorg reboot

4+5 pic: The actual thingy, as it is.

Well, that's it. enjoy. I took care to test the installer/uninstaller does no harm. Hope it saves you as much time as it saves me.

Cheers.

Great idea, thanks!

I have a few notes though...

First: none of it works out-of-the-box on my device

Code:

[root@kindle systemic]# ./bin/411.sh 411
-sh: ./bin/411.sh: not found

You have to save the files in Unix format instead of Windoze format... After converting the files to Unix format, they worked.

Second: I slightly modified the Wiki page to put it where it actually belongs (under GUI Launcher extensions)

Third: this is not a WAF application

, but a Launcher extension. WAF apps are "standalone" HTML/JS apps, like Komic. Please do not add to the confusion by using wrong terminology.

Fourth: it's JBPatch, not JBTweak!

Still, great work - keep it up!

twobob · 10-04-2012, 08:51 AM

Tee hee hee

a) Thanks, was probably one of the hideous wangles performed by WinScp (I'll have a look at that file)

b) Ah righto, It was late by the time I had done the full rounds, thanks

c) Aye, fair point. technically it did actually start out as a WAF and then became simplified as I realised it could be one liners scripts. "Symstem!k Extensions" it is

d) I know : ) People from the UK clearly should treat the language with more reverence (The rest of the world think us all mad or stupid)

Ah thanks. I'll go check out the file endings.
It was really just a way to push out the little tweaks I use everyday to the general public. Time willing I may work on it. But I doubt it

Thanks mate.

geekmaster · 10-04-2012, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twobob

d) I know : ) People from the UK clearly should treat the language with more reverence (The rest of the world think us all mad or stupid)

Not necessarily mad or stupid, but certainly a wee bit daft, I can say unabashedly. No shebang needed there, that is for certain...

knc1 · 10-04-2012, 10:10 AM

And (c) -
The character: ! is a special character (in bash, maybe not in ash) that does expansion of abbreviated commands. Similar to in-line tab expansion.
I.E: system!c will probably be expanded to: systemcd

twobob · 10-04-2012, 10:38 AM

yepo - that's why I spelled it with an "i" in the machine

twobob · 10-04-2012, 11:27 AM

sigh...

Quote:

Notepad++ : Missing Convert to UNIX

POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2010 · POSTED IN BLOG, LINUX, TOOLS
In the new version(5.7) of NotePad++, the convert to UNIX format function is missing in its usual menu link which is

Encoding --> Convert to UNIX

For those doing shell scripting and related things, this is very important. The convertion of CRLF to LF is a pain and NotePad++ is a saviour(ok, other text editors can do that, too). So fret not, fretful folks, they just moved. It is now in the menu link below.

EDIT

Quote:

They just moved the menu item into something like "EOL OPERATIONS -> CONVERT -> UNIX" as opposed to where it used to live in the main toolbar.

Okay so I fixed it. ATM I'm stuck with a very nasty hack to get shh working (My k5 hates ssh for some reason)

I'll upload v0.2 now. apologies for the mixup. Note to self. Check all line endings.

twobob · 10-05-2012, 10:15 AM

My K5 still will NOT go into ssh in DIAGS. it's a mystery.

EDIT (MONTHS LATER) -> My version of the DIAGS executable actually had a command embedded in it to clear down /var/local.... Evil!!! ^^ ... Patched it. fine now.

on another note. Re: System!k
I'm going to change the layout a little so it works better on large font devices.

To be continued..

twobob · 10-05-2012, 10:59 AM

Okay.

Here is an updated menu.json file for those with Large fonts

It simply changes the menu layout to be less wide.
Pictured.

File attached. The Unzipped menu.json would replace the one in /mnt/us/extensions/systemic/menu.json.

It would work with all versions of the Extension.

thanks.

10-03-2012, 11:35 AM	#2
twobob ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°){ʇlnɐɟ ƃǝs}Týr Posts: 6,586 Karma: 6299991 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: uti gratia usura (Yao ying da ying; Mo ying da yieng) Device: PW-WIFI\|K5-3G+WIFI\| K4\|K3-3G\|DXG\|K2\| Rooted Nook Touch	~/Downloads $ grep STARTCHAR ./cursor.bdf (make me a list of cursors in font) Spoiler: X_cursor X_cursor_mask arrow arrow_mask based_arrow_down based_arrow_down_mask based_arrow_up based_arrow_up_mask boat boat_mask bogosity bogosity_mask bottom_left_corner bottom_left_corner_mask bottom_right_corner bottom_right_corner_mask bottom_side bottom_side_mask bottom_tee bottom_tee_mask box_spiral box_spiral_mask center_ptr center_ptr_mask circle circle_mask clock clock_mask coffee_mug coffee_mug_mask cross cross_mask cross_reverse cross_reverse_mask crosshair crosshair_mask diamond_cross diamond_cross_mask dot dot_mask dotbox dotbox_mask double_arrow double_arrow_mask draft_large draft_large_mask draft_small draft_small_mask draped_box draped_box_mask exchange exchange_mask fleur fleur_mask gobbler gobbler_mask gumby gumby_mask hand1 hand1_mask hand2 hand2_mask heart heart_mask icon icon_mask iron_cross iron_cross_mask left_ptr left_ptr_mask left_side left_side_mask left_tee left_tee_mask leftbutton leftbutton_mask ll_angle ll_angle_mask lr_angle lr_angle_mask man man_mask middlebutton middlebutton_mask mouse mouse_mask pencil pencil_mask pirate pirate_mask plus plus_mask question_arrow question_arrow_mask right_ptr right_ptr_mask right_side right_side_mask right_tee right_tee_mask rightbutton rightbutton_mask rtl_logo rtl_logo_mask sailboat sailboat_mask sb_down_arrow sb_down_arrow_mask sb_h_double_arrow sb_h_double_arrow_mask sb_left_arrow sb_left_arrow_mask sb_right_arrow sb_right_arrow_mask sb_up_arrow sb_up_arrow_mask sb_v_double_arrow sb_v_double_arrow_mask shuttle shuttle_mask sizing sizing_mask spider spider_mask spraycan spraycan_mask star star_mask target target_mask tcross tcross_mask top_left_arrow top_left_arrow_mask top_left_corner top_left_corner_mask top_right_corner top_right_corner_mask top_side top_side_mask top_tee top_tee_mask trek trek_mask ul_angle ul_angle_mask umbrella umbrella_mask ur_angle ur_angle_mask watch watch_mask xterm xterm_mask (pictured) Attached Thumbnails Last edited by twobob; 10-03-2012 at 10:08 PM. Reason: pictures of ...cursors in font

10-03-2012, 12:46 PM	#4
twobob ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°){ʇlnɐɟ ƃǝs}Týr Posts: 6,586 Karma: 6299991 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: uti gratia usura (Yao ying da ying; Mo ying da yieng) Device: PW-WIFI\|K5-3G+WIFI\| K4\|K3-3G\|DXG\|K2\| Rooted Nook Touch	and to the final point of HOW this might be used by an artist... Install cursors, set the cursor to your preferred cursor, (we could make some precision ones I suppose), load up an enhanced drawing tool (pictured), run via VNC, scale the resolution (I showed 1600 but I could run to 3200), do picture, scale back down. Amazing details that can be hand touched on the device as you work. Nice. HTH someone somewhere. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by twobob; 10-03-2012 at 01:03 PM.

10-04-2012, 08:51 AM	#9
twobob ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°){ʇlnɐɟ ƃǝs}Týr Posts: 6,586 Karma: 6299991 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: uti gratia usura (Yao ying da ying; Mo ying da yieng) Device: PW-WIFI\|K5-3G+WIFI\| K4\|K3-3G\|DXG\|K2\| Rooted Nook Touch	Tee hee hee a) Thanks, was probably one of the hideous wangles performed by WinScp (I'll have a look at that file) b) Ah righto, It was late by the time I had done the full rounds, thanks c) Aye, fair point. technically it did actually start out as a WAF and then became simplified as I realised it could be one liners scripts. "Symstem!k Extensions" it is d) I know : ) People from the UK clearly should treat the language with more reverence (The rest of the world think us all mad or stupid) Ah thanks. I'll go check out the file endings. It was really just a way to push out the little tweaks I use everyday to the general public. Time willing I may work on it. But I doubt it Thanks mate. Last edited by twobob; 10-04-2012 at 09:18 AM.

10-05-2012, 10:15 AM	#14
twobob ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°){ʇlnɐɟ ƃǝs}Týr Posts: 6,586 Karma: 6299991 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: uti gratia usura (Yao ying da ying; Mo ying da yieng) Device: PW-WIFI\|K5-3G+WIFI\| K4\|K3-3G\|DXG\|K2\| Rooted Nook Touch	My K5 still will NOT go into ssh in DIAGS. it's a mystery. EDIT (MONTHS LATER) -> My version of the DIAGS executable actually had a command embedded in it to clear down /var/local.... Evil!!! ^^ ... Patched it. fine now. on another note. Re: System!k I'm going to change the layout a little so it works better on large font devices. To be continued.. Last edited by twobob; 01-11-2013 at 10:14 AM. Reason: Evil!!! ^^

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
How and where to put tables in Kindle ebook?	Sara_J	Writers' Corner	14	11-05-2012 03:02 AM
Just put kindle on new ipod touch but...	20LEgend	Amazon Kindle	7	11-24-2011 08:42 AM
i just put a pdf on my kindle dx (no conversion)	Ditchleyportrait	Amazon Kindle	3	09-30-2011 07:04 PM
Put our own pics on the Kindle?	shu246	Amazon Kindle	8	04-03-2011 10:30 AM
Just had my SF novel put on Kindle so I joined up	newscribe	Introduce Yourself	2	09-15-2008 03:24 PM

10-03-2012, 02:30 PM	#5
knc1 Going Viral Posts: 17,212 Karma: 18210809 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Central Texas Device: No K1, PW2, KV, KOA	Where did you find those copies of the lab126 UI flowcharts?

10-03-2012, 02:48 PM	#6
twobob ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°){ʇlnɐɟ ƃǝs}Týr Posts: 6,586 Karma: 6299991 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: uti gratia usura (Yao ying da ying; Mo ying da yieng) Device: PW-WIFI\|K5-3G+WIFI\| K4\|K3-3G\|DXG\|K2\| Rooted Nook Touch	HEHEHE!!! lol. Just thought I would make an ACTUAL use of something I make obvious for a change.

10-04-2012, 10:10 AM	#11
knc1 Going Viral Posts: 17,212 Karma: 18210809 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Central Texas Device: No K1, PW2, KV, KOA	And (c) - The character: ! is a special character (in bash, maybe not in ash) that does expansion of abbreviated commands. Similar to in-line tab expansion. I.E: system!c will probably be expanded to: systemcd

10-04-2012, 10:38 AM	#12
twobob ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°){ʇlnɐɟ ƃǝs}Týr Posts: 6,586 Karma: 6299991 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: uti gratia usura (Yao ying da ying; Mo ying da yieng) Device: PW-WIFI\|K5-3G+WIFI\| K4\|K3-3G\|DXG\|K2\| Rooted Nook Touch	yepo - that's why I spelled it with an "i" in the machine

Advert

Advert