KOReader: a document reader for PDF, DJVU, EPUB, FB2, HTML, ... (GPLv3)

hawhill · 03-26-2013, 04:49 PM

Hi,

some of you may have come across the KindlePDFViewer (KPV) application in the past. Since a couple of month, we - the development team - tried to port its functionality over to touch based devices like the Kindle 5 (Touch) and the Kindle Paperwhite. The effort has now gotten far enough to warrant a first official release.

Since KindlePDFViewer got support for many more document formats than just PDF, that called for a new name. We settled on KOReader as the new name.

Moderator Notice

KOReader, which runs on several brands of devices, now has a dedicated forum of its own.

From now on, please address any general questions about KOReader (anything which applies equally no matter what device you are running KOReader on) in the KOReader forum.
Going forward, let's dedicate this thread to issues which involve KOReader-on-Kindles only (e.g. device integration, getting KOReader to run, anything where it matters that you are using a Kindle and not a Kobo/Pocketbook/Android).

This ensures that the Kindle experts can help you with Kindle-specific problems, and the KOReader experts can help you with KOReader-specific problems.

KOReader's features

supported document formats: PDF, DJVU, CBZ, FB2, TXT, HTML, RTF, CHM, MOBI, EPUB (and maybe even more?).
KUAL integration: The reader comes with configuration files for KUAL (and, which doesn't make much sense right now, also for launchpad - but there is only support for touch input so far in the application).
alternatively, you can use KPV Booklet to launch KOReader
Open Source Software: you're invited to help us and start hacking on KOReader! The frontend is coded in Lua, so you need only an editor to get going.

Installation

install KUAL (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=203326) or KPV Booklet (not sure if there's a matching release already, this post will be updated soon)
download a current nightly or release build, which should be linked to from here: http://github.com/koreader/koreader/wiki/Download
copy the ZIP's contents (so: extract it!) to the root folder (in drive mode, it's /mnt/us internally) of your Kindle

Current limitations

KOReader is still in an early stage. You will notice some inconveniences, some incoherences in the user interface and maybe even a bug here and there. Feel free to ask questions in this thread and report bugs in our issue tracker (link at the bottom of this posting). Documentation is lacking. Help is welcome!

There is currently no support for pure keyboard-based devices. For those, you're encouraged to have a look at the stable version - KindlePDFViewer. An alternative, especially for the Kindle 4 (NT) is Librerator, a fork of KindlePDFViewer.

However, it is already usable - so feel free to give it a try. And of course, expect updates, so come back and check this post from time to time.

Links

All releases and nightlies are linked here: http://github.com/koreader/koreader/wiki/Download

The wiki page with install & usage instructions is here: https://github.com/koreader/koreader...der-User-Guide

You can find the source code here: https://github.com/koreader/koreader
Please report bugs here: https://github.com/koreader/koreader/issues

The source code of KPV Booklet is available here: https://github.com/koreader/kpvbooklet

Legacy, stable code for keyboard-based devices (K2, KDX, K3): KindlePDFViewer - https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=157047

Forked version, especially for the K4 (NT), but also for other keyboard-based devices: Librerator - https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=198742

hawhill · 03-26-2013, 05:02 PM

This post is reserved for FAQs

FAQ

I installed the latest Nightly Build and it crashes!
You decide: Either invest time and get in contact with the developers to help debugging. But please check beforehand if this is already actively discussed. But then, you could also decide to not bother. Nightly Builds are untested almost by definition and there will always be some builds that don't work at all, don't work fully, etc. etc.

twobob · 03-26-2013, 05:05 PM

HOW DO I CHANGE THE FONT SIZE etc?

EDIT: Since more and more people are asking about this I have added these instructions here

Quote:

Here is what I originally said many moons ago...
Does ROCK HANDS!!!

Let me know if you want this indexed or something. or anything.

Beastly awesomeness.

hawhill · 03-26-2013, 05:08 PM

Thanks! Let it get settled for a moment, I guess we'll have a flurry of updates in the coming days and weeks to really bring it in shape. It's still a bit rough around the edges. Still some work to do.

This is probably a good place to say big thanks to other contributors, first and foremost to @chrox and @houqp (Github names) who did awesome work to make this happen.

twobob · 03-26-2013, 05:39 PM

Okay mate. Undying admiration from our camp.

dave2008 · 03-26-2013, 05:48 PM

Finally it's there

We are also working on the user document for installation and usage etc.

BTW, @twobob I am thinking of using KUAL to do update, should we write anupdate script and call it in KUAL or does KUAL supports customupdate features like launchpad?

twobob · 03-26-2013, 05:58 PM

Since I dont know what the customupdate thingy is I am am going to say it doesnt.

But if you can point me to a spec on that it could well do in the future.

So. In précis, for now a script, in the future was could look to include the functionality - once I know what it is!

hawhill · 03-26-2013, 06:07 PM

Launchpad's custumupdates macro was a simple script that
- checked the folder "customupdates" for any ZIP files
- if there were some, it would extract them to the /mnt/us (usb drive root) file system and delete the ZIP if successfully extracted

That allowed easy installation for apps - just drop a ZIP file in the "customupdates" folder, run the macro - done.

I guess such a thing could easily be made available for KUAL, too. Question is, however, if KUAL should be extended with such a script - I guess the discussion about that should go to the KUAL thread.

twobob · 03-26-2013, 06:10 PM

Agreed. Shutting up now. Noise ends here

otichy · 03-26-2013, 08:13 PM

Hooray! Can I just update the older nightlies from Chrox's repo with the new ones - is it a simple update like that?
And thanks!

chrox · 03-27-2013, 01:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by otichy

Hooray! Can I just update the older nightlies from Chrox's repo with the new ones - is it a simple update like that?
And thanks!

The former builds of kindlepdfviewer-touch are deprecated and replaced by new koreader. However, the history files of kindlepdfviewer-touch are completely compatible with koreader. Actually the last nightly build of kindlepdfviewer-touch is byte-to-byte identical to the first build of koreader except some differences of file names. You can have a fresh installation of koreader and move kindlepdfviewer/history directory into koreader directory. BTW, If you installed KPVBooklet to launch Kindlepdfviewer directly from Kindle home screen, you need to update KPVBooklet to version 0.4.3 or above to launch Koreader in the same way.

Kai771 · 03-27-2013, 07:05 AM

I'm a bit late, but... Congratulations on the first official release! Keep up the good work!

Regards,
Kai

hello_world · 03-28-2013, 10:48 AM

And the Kindle 4 version will be quite soon, won't it?

hawhill · 03-28-2013, 11:40 AM

For the Kindle 4, currently Librerator is recommended (as is written - and linked to! - in the OP). I doubt that there will be a K4 version of the new KOReader code base faster than there will be a K2/KDX/K3 one.

daffy · 03-30-2013, 05:24 PM

Hi,

I managed to jailbreak, install KUAL, and install the application on my brand new Kindle Paperwhite (one day old) without any issues. I am on Kindle firmware version 5.3.4 (explicitly updated), the matching jailbreak, matching KUAL.

With koreader-v2013.03-18-g66d7de0.zip, I seem to be unable to terminate the KOReader application?

Whenever I touch the "Home" button in the upper toolbar, I always get taken back to the FileManager, but never to the Kindle main screen?

In the end I resorted to rebooting the device (press power button for 20 seconds). Being completely without experience with the Kindle, I was lost for a different way.

As a simple-minded consumer (completely clueless with the Kindle at the moment) and as a software developer I would expect that touching the "Home" icon would take me back to the "original" Kindle launch screen?

Defect or not? RTFM (err, wiki) did not really point me into a specific direction.

Many thanks in advance for your support!

03-26-2013, 04:49 PM	#1
hawhill Wizard Posts: 1,379 Karma: 2155307 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Goettingen, Germany Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Mini	KOReader: a document reader for PDF, DJVU, EPUB, FB2, HTML, ... (GPLv3) Hi, some of you may have come across the KindlePDFViewer (KPV) application in the past. Since a couple of month, we - the development team - tried to port its functionality over to touch based devices like the Kindle 5 (Touch) and the Kindle Paperwhite. The effort has now gotten far enough to warrant a first official release. Since KindlePDFViewer got support for many more document formats than just PDF, that called for a new name. We settled on KOReader as the new name. Moderator Notice KOReader, which runs on several brands of devices, now has a dedicated forum of its own. From now on, please address any general questions about KOReader (anything which applies equally no matter what device you are running KOReader on) in the KOReader forum. Going forward, let's dedicate this thread to issues which involve KOReader-on-Kindles only (e.g. device integration, getting KOReader to run, anything where it matters that you are using a Kindle and not a Kobo/Pocketbook/Android). This ensures that the Kindle experts can help you with Kindle-specific problems, and the KOReader experts can help you with KOReader-specific problems. KOReader's features supported document formats: PDF, DJVU, CBZ, FB2, TXT, HTML, RTF, CHM, MOBI, EPUB (and maybe even more?). KUAL integration: The reader comes with configuration files for KUAL (and, which doesn't make much sense right now, also for launchpad - but there is only support for touch input so far in the application). alternatively, you can use KPV Booklet to launch KOReader Open Source Software: you're invited to help us and start hacking on KOReader! The frontend is coded in Lua, so you need only an editor to get going. Installation install KUAL (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=203326) or KPV Booklet (not sure if there's a matching release already, this post will be updated soon) download a current nightly or release build, which should be linked to from here: http://github.com/koreader/koreader/wiki/Download copy the ZIP's contents (so: extract it!) to the root folder (in drive mode, it's /mnt/us internally) of your Kindle Current limitations KOReader is still in an early stage. You will notice some inconveniences, some incoherences in the user interface and maybe even a bug here and there. Feel free to ask questions in this thread and report bugs in our issue tracker (link at the bottom of this posting). Documentation is lacking. Help is welcome! There is currently no support for pure keyboard-based devices. For those, you're encouraged to have a look at the stable version - KindlePDFViewer. An alternative, especially for the Kindle 4 (NT) is Librerator, a fork of KindlePDFViewer. However, it is already usable - so feel free to give it a try. And of course, expect updates, so come back and check this post from time to time. Links All releases and nightlies are linked here: http://github.com/koreader/koreader/wiki/Download The wiki page with install & usage instructions is here: https://github.com/koreader/koreader...der-User-Guide You can find the source code here: https://github.com/koreader/koreader Please report bugs here: https://github.com/koreader/koreader/issues The source code of KPV Booklet is available here: https://github.com/koreader/kpvbooklet Legacy, stable code for keyboard-based devices (K2, KDX, K3): KindlePDFViewer - https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=157047 Forked version, especially for the K4 (NT), but also for other keyboard-based devices: Librerator - https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=198742 Last edited by eschwartz; 02-11-2016 at 03:56 PM. Reason: mention new KOReader forum

03-26-2013, 05:02 PM	#2
hawhill Wizard Posts: 1,379 Karma: 2155307 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Goettingen, Germany Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Mini	This post is reserved for FAQs FAQ I installed the latest Nightly Build and it crashes! You decide: Either invest time and get in contact with the developers to help debugging. But please check beforehand if this is already actively discussed. But then, you could also decide to not bother. Nightly Builds are untested almost by definition and there will always be some builds that don't work at all, don't work fully, etc. etc. Last edited by hawhill; 07-10-2013 at 11:14 AM.

03-30-2013, 05:24 PM	#15
daffy Junior Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: Kindle PW	Terminating the application? Hi, I managed to jailbreak, install KUAL, and install the application on my brand new Kindle Paperwhite (one day old) without any issues. I am on Kindle firmware version 5.3.4 (explicitly updated), the matching jailbreak, matching KUAL. With koreader-v2013.03-18-g66d7de0.zip, I seem to be unable to terminate the KOReader application? Whenever I touch the "Home" button in the upper toolbar, I always get taken back to the FileManager, but never to the Kindle main screen? In the end I resorted to rebooting the device (press power button for 20 seconds). Being completely without experience with the Kindle, I was lost for a different way. As a simple-minded consumer (completely clueless with the Kindle at the moment) and as a software developer I would expect that touching the "Home" icon would take me back to the "original" Kindle launch screen? Defect or not? RTFM (err, wiki) did not really point me into a specific direction. Many thanks in advance for your support!

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03-26-2013, 05:08 PM	#4
hawhill Wizard Posts: 1,379 Karma: 2155307 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Goettingen, Germany Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Mini	Thanks! Let it get settled for a moment, I guess we'll have a flurry of updates in the coming days and weeks to really bring it in shape. It's still a bit rough around the edges. Still some work to do. This is probably a good place to say big thanks to other contributors, first and foremost to @chrox and @houqp (Github names) who did awesome work to make this happen.

03-26-2013, 05:39 PM	#5
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	Okay mate. Undying admiration from our camp.

03-26-2013, 05:48 PM	#6
dave2008 Addict Posts: 251 Karma: 183457 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: k3G, KDXG, AuraHD	Finally it's there We are also working on the user document for installation and usage etc. BTW, @twobob I am thinking of using KUAL to do update, should we write anupdate script and call it in KUAL or does KUAL supports customupdate features like launchpad?

03-26-2013, 05:58 PM	#7
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	Since I dont know what the customupdate thingy is I am am going to say it doesnt. But if you can point me to a spec on that it could well do in the future. So. In précis, for now a script, in the future was could look to include the functionality - once I know what it is!

03-26-2013, 06:07 PM	#8
hawhill Wizard Posts: 1,379 Karma: 2155307 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Goettingen, Germany Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Mini	Launchpad's custumupdates macro was a simple script that - checked the folder "customupdates" for any ZIP files - if there were some, it would extract them to the /mnt/us (usb drive root) file system and delete the ZIP if successfully extracted That allowed easy installation for apps - just drop a ZIP file in the "customupdates" folder, run the macro - done. I guess such a thing could easily be made available for KUAL, too. Question is, however, if KUAL should be extended with such a script - I guess the discussion about that should go to the KUAL thread.

03-26-2013, 06:10 PM	#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	Agreed. Shutting up now. Noise ends here

03-26-2013, 08:13 PM	#10
otichy Connoisseur Posts: 82 Karma: 5072 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: KPW	Hooray! Can I just update the older nightlies from Chrox's repo with the new ones - is it a simple update like that? And thanks!

03-27-2013, 07:05 AM	#12
Kai771 Just a Noob Posts: 145 Karma: 162610 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Kindle 3	I'm a bit late, but... Congratulations on the first official release! Keep up the good work! Regards, Kai

03-28-2013, 10:48 AM	#13
hello_world Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: kindle 4	And the Kindle 4 version will be quite soon, won't it?

03-28-2013, 11:40 AM	#14
hawhill Wizard Posts: 1,379 Karma: 2155307 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Goettingen, Germany Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Mini	For the Kindle 4, currently Librerator is recommended (as is written - and linked to! - in the OP). I doubt that there will be a K4 version of the new KOReader code base faster than there will be a K2/KDX/K3 one.

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