MapleRead - eBook Reader and Server for iOS

[sbaylor]

MapleRead is an advanced versatile ebook reader app with plenty of useful customization options.

There are 3 editions, SE, CE and CX where SE is the most feature-rich edition. All three of them have become universal apps that run on iPad and iPhone by version 3.0.

• SE: EPUB+PDF reader+server
• CE: EPUB reader
• CX: EPUB reader (free demo with some limitation)

MapleRead is still under active development. For the latest updates, please see What's New.



Before version 1.5, MapleRead was named BookMaster.

With the change of the app family name, I think it is appropriate to start a new MapleRead thread here for me to answer any question you may have about MapleRead.

In case your question or comment is specific to iPhone (CX) or iPad (CE, SE), including visual design aspects, it will be very helpful to mention it. Moreover, mentioning the version number (e.g. CX 1.5) always helps.

For those of you who are new to MapleRead, the questions your have in mind might have already been addressed in the old BookMaster thread in this forum or on our website's FAQ. I strongly encourage you to check them out first.

MapleRead (BookMaster) apps are developed by Maplepop LLC, a small private company based in USA. I am a member of this wonderful team. I'll be glad to help you with your questions and listen to your ideas on how MapleRead may evolve to be even better.

Thanks

[sbaylor]

This is a major release with many new features and enhancements across iPad and iPhone models.

• Introduced MapleRead CX (free new iPhone app)
• Renamed BookMaster SE (existing iPad app) as MapleRead SE
• Renamed BookMaster CE (existing iPad app) as MapleRead CE
• Enabled migration of all contents and settings of any MapleRead app to any MapleRead app via backup and restore operations. For example, backup from SE/CE and then restore to CX, and vice versa.
• Introduced Reading Dimmer as a convenient way to choose between system-wide and app-specific brightness control, optionally dependent on night mode, good for battery-saving and extra dimming
• Added new page layout features applicable to EPUB Modern Book style
  • Page margin settings: independent control of left/right and top/bottom margins
  • Page turn effect: additional page curl effect like Classic Book style (or iBooks)
• Added new EPUB multi-language text translation support
• Fine-tuned EPUB layout algorithms for rendering fidelity of Publisher's style and enforcing of User's override
• Simplified Library View's book search bar
• Drastically speeded up book set copy, move and remove operations when Library has many books
• Addressed some performance issues when browsing in Library views
• Upgraded all built-in theme and scene images to retina resolution
• Upgraded BMD, the file format for import and export of notes, scenes and themes, to be much more compact for user-defined themes that share images with built-in themes
• Gave better visual feedback when the book Download button is pressed in Exchange views
• Gave better visual feedback of import results of books, themes, scenes and notes in PC Upload and Queue views
• Fixed some minor UI inconsistency, popover and rotation issues

More related screenshots may be added to this webpage later.

[slantybard]

@sbaylor - do you have any data on how much battery drainage occurs with using in-app dimming vs global brightness control?

[odamizu]

MapleRead 1.5

Did you ever finalize a privacy policy? I'm guessing reading data is associated with the email address used when registering and then stored on your private server. Any chance you might sync through iCloud in the future?

Other than privacy concerns, I'm really happy with MapleRead 1.5

[cedhax]

Originally Posted by odamizu

MapleRead 1.5

Did you ever finalize a privacy policy? I'm guessing reading data is associated with the email address used when registering and then stored on your private server. Any chance you might sync through iCloud in the future?

Other than privacy concerns, I'm really happy with MapleRead 1.5

@odamizu - Obviously you are very eager to see the privacy policy. I'm just curious as to how you can overlook it? There are at least two such obvious places to look at.

(1) On your iPhone or iPad, for every app you may download at the App Store, if you scroll down to the bottom, you'll see Privacy Policy button, two rows below Version History. There is indeed a valid link for MapleRead apps. Did you overlook this when you download the new CX?

(2) When you try to create a new Maplepop account, you'll also see the Privacy Policy if you press Help (below Create Account). Since I'm using an app, I expect this is a standard practice for the developer to provide such a button near the place when I want to read the privacy policy first before giving them email address or other personal information. In this aspect, the developer (Maplepop) completely meets my expectation. Have you ever opened the Sign In dialog in the first place or overlook the Help button?

Only an email address is asked for in order to create a Maplepop account. This is very reasonable. Otherwise, how can it associate whatever data you're going to sync with your devices?

[gunbad]

@sbaylor Thanks for devoting time here to answer questions and for the faq link which I found very useful.

I bought the MapleRead SE 1.5 for my ipad and use CX 1.5 for the iphone. Loading books and syncing between devices is working very well. Looking forward to exploring the many features of this app. Thanks again for your efforts.

[tbergman]

I wanted to thank you for the latest version and all the improvements.
The addition of the margin settings is great. It doesn't appear that the ability to adjust the appearance of the Title, chapter etc. has been added, did I miss something or will this be added later?

Although I rarely read on my iPhone, it's a nice addition and will come in handy occasionally.

I did notice some issues doing a backup/restore in order to "Enabled migration of all contents and settings of any MapleRead app to any MapleRead app via backup and restore operations. ".

After going through the extremely convoluted process using iTunes, especially for the restore, I finally got it to work. This probably needs it's own set of instructions. I realize that it's mostly iTunes fault for how annoying this is but it's really awkward.
All of my settings were not transferred. The ones I noticed that were not were my OPDS sites, the background image (it shows the MR symbol) and the settings I had for night theme (amber on black). There may be more but I only just completed this.

Before I ask my question, a bit of information about how I use MapleRead.
All my books are stored in a Calibre library. I load books onto my iPad from the Calibre OPDS server.
I can certainly continue to do this for my iPhone as well whenever I have the occasion to read on the phone but I'm wondering if this is the best way or if there are easier alternatives. I don't necessarily need all my content on the phone but would like to hear your recommendations.

Thanks,

Tom

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by slantybard

I just saw that BookMaster was updated and renamed to MapleRead on my iPad. Having been a MapleRead iPhone beta tester, I checked to see if MapleRead is available for the iPhone in the AppStore and it is!

If you can't see it in the AppStore, then go to the "maplepop" website (developer of MapleRead) and there is a AppStore link on their website. It's also on sale and imho, way too cheap!

Also, all versions of MapleRead have been updated with new features requested by the users including page margin controls

I love this app and think it looks great on my iPhone and iPad (and I have no conflict of interest - I have purchased both versions).

Thanks for your posting. I delayed my announcement for the following reason.

Since MapleRead CX is a new app, it has taken Apple at least over 8 hours to propagate it to several major App Stores (in US, Europe, Asia). Even after 12 hours, "mapleread" is still not searchable in some stores.

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by slantybard

@sbaylor - do you have any data on how much battery drainage occurs with using in-app dimming vs global brightness control?

Are you referring to the following new feature called Reading Dimmer ?

Originally Posted by sbaylor

...

• Introduced Reading Dimmer as a convenient way to choose between system-wide and app-specific brightness control, optionally dependent on night mode, good for battery-saving and extra dimming

...

In general, power consumption by the iPhone/iPad screen is proportional to its system brightness, as indicated in the System Control Panel. If you google on the topic, you can find some third-party data.

System-wide brightness control is the same as the System Control Panel, but MapleRead gives you the extra convenience, such as brightness control by vertical swipe. App-specific brightness (dimming) control gives you the extra dimming relative to the current system brightness through the application of a translucent black layer. It's most useful for night-time reading, as the lowest system brightness is still too bright for some users, including myself. The power consumption in this case should still be the same as expected from the underlying system brightness level. The really new thing in Reading Dimmer is to automatically turn on app-specific dimming mode when "Night On" is set. See this screenshot for how the UI looks. It works for both EPUB and PDF. I believe this is a new feature not found in any other reader app. Have you seen it before? If this turns out to be as useful as we think, this feature will be copied by other similar apps too.

[sbaylor]

@gunbad - Your feedback is much appreciated here. Hope visitors to App Store will see your comments there too. Thanks!

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by tbergman

I wanted to thank you for the latest version and all the improvements.

I know you have written an App Store review for an earlier version of BookMaster/MapleRead. Thank you. But do you know that you can now write a new review for each version without overwriting the old ones? Please consider doing so, as this will give us an extra incentive to update the apps. We're not getting more money for each app update, but how about more praise at the App Store?

The addition of the margin settings is great. It doesn't appear that the ability to adjust the appearance of the Title, chapter etc. has been added, did I miss something or will this be added later?

When the top & bottom page margin is small enough, the header and footer will disappear, as there is not enough room (margin) to display them properly.

As for the content of header and footer, it is not supposed to be different from previous version (v1.4.1). As I mentioned in some post in the old BookMaster thread, this issue will be addressed in future releases.

Although I rarely read on my iPhone, it's a nice addition and will come in handy occasionally.

I did notice some issues doing a backup/restore in order to "Enabled migration of all contents and settings of any MapleRead app to any MapleRead app via backup and restore operations. ".

After going through the extremely convoluted process using iTunes, especially for the restore, I finally got it to work. This probably needs it's own set of instructions. I realize that it's mostly iTunes fault for how annoying this is but it's really awkward.
All of my settings were not transferred. The ones I noticed that were not were my OPDS sites, the background image (it shows the MR symbol) and the settings I had for night theme (amber on black). There may be more but I only just completed this.

Thank you for your report. We have not got around to try to reproduce this problem yet.

Before I ask my question, a bit of information about how I use MapleRead.
All my books are stored in a Calibre library. I load books onto my iPad from the Calibre OPDS server.
I can certainly continue to do this for my iPhone as well whenever I have the occasion to read on the phone but I'm wondering if this is the best way or if there are easier alternatives. I don't necessarily need all my content on the phone but would like to hear your recommendations.

Thanks,

Tom

If you are using SE on iPad, I suggest you try using SE as your flagship, and serve books to your CX on iPhone. With respect to this screenshot, imagine that the two IP addresses are those of your two iPhones. Let me know if you encounter any problem. I may then use your feedback to improve our FAQ.

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by cedhax

Obviously you are very eager to see the privacy policy. I'm just curious as to how you can overlook it? There are at least two such obvious places to look at ...

Ha! My bad. I kept looking on the Maplepop web site and FAQ page. I did indeed overlook the other two places

Thanks!

[Kai Winters]

I like the CX version and have been using it all day on my iPhone 6+, which is my primary reading device.
I also upgraded to the paid version...nice price...thank you.
I've used all three methods to download books and find the Calibre server method the easiest of all though the other two weren't bad just a bit more effort required.
I'm having a good time tailoring the app to my visual preferences and am happy for the choices.

My only wish is for the page turning in Classic View to be a bit slower, start from the top right corner rather than the full right side and not have a white back page when flipping. It is almost like a flash. When looking at the website the screen shots, perhaps for the iPad versions?, look like turning a page in a book much more than how it works in the CX version. Perhaps we could have some choices in how the pages turn?
Otherwise...great job !

PS: The FAQ you provide is one of the best written and easiest to understand I've read in some time...well done.

[svenlind]

I also want to praise the new version of MapleRead.

I am especially pleased with the new EPUB multi-language text translation support. It is a Google service but it works far better than expected in Mapleread.

I don't read very often on my iPhone but Mapleread CX could really tempt me to do so.

[cedhax]

Originally Posted by sbaylor

...
[*] Introduced Reading Dimmer as a convenient way to choose between system-wide and app-specific brightness control, optionally dependent on night mode, good for battery-saving and extra dimming
...

That's exactly what I really want!

Originally Posted by cedhax

I want this too. To me, sometimes even setting the system brightness to the lowest at night won't be dark enough. Bookmaster allows me to dim it to a more comfortable level with the convenient vertical swipe control. During daytime, however, I would often like to see it applies to the system brightness. When reading at different angles, I need to adjust the system brightness slightly. It's just frustrated to use the tiny iOS system brightness slider.

Back then, I thought that the toggle switch between system-wide and app-specific brightness control was already very good. Now that I've tried Reading Dimmer, I can't live without it!

I like the fact that I can fine-tune my night-time brightness/dimness level. This is way better than just a crude extra-dimming toggle switch offered in some other app(s). I also appreciate the change of the brightness icon(s) by the brightness slider and %indicator during vertical swipe, so that I should never be confused about what kind of brightness I'm controlling.

Overall, it's a small innovation compared with many other big features already embedded in MapleRead, but it really reflects the level of details and the quality of service of your great product.