Place Books On Launcher Home Screen - Nook Color General

I have an Auto-Nootered Nook running Zeam. Is there any way to place shortcuts to my books on my Zeam launcher desktop, something like the way book shortcuts can be placed on the BN desktop?

See first:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=871996
Then:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=872295

cruud said:
See first:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=871996
Then:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=872295
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the links, but I'm not asking about side loaded books; I'm asking if it's possible to put shortcuts to my BN books on my Zeam launcher desktop.

Does anyone have any assistance they can provide?

It works the same with B&N books. They are located at /media/B&N Downloads/Books
They sometimes have the book title in the filename, but most are random numbers (at least for me). You have to figure out which book you want.

The "random numbers" are ISBN numbers, so you can match your books that way.

peiziyu said:
The "random numbers" are ISBN numbers, so you can match your books that way.
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Click to collapse
Ah, that's very clever.

This works well, except that when it opens my book of choice, it opens it without all of the bookmarks, notes and highlights that I made in the book using the BN launcher. Is it possible to open it with all of those items?

Karine said:
This works well, except that when it opens my book of choice, it opens it without all of the bookmarks, notes and highlights that I made in the book using the BN launcher. Is it possible to open it with all of those items?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It actually opens another copy of the book. Strange, yes. You have to make the choice of getting to your book using the shortcut or via the stock library. You can't switch between the shortcut and the book in the library.
You may want to finish reading the book in the stock library or start your reading over (placing new bookmarks, notes, and highlights).

Related

[Q] Alternative eReader app ?

I was wondering if there was some other eReader out there that I could install on my rooted NC. The one that comes with the NC is pretty basic I was also hoping that I could find one that has text-to-voice.
Any advice ?
The only one I know that can do text to voice is called Wordplayer but it's a pretty clunky app.
You can try Moon Reader which is pretty good and has a fancy 3d page turning affect.
But my ultimate recommendation is to stick to the build in app since no other app will have access to B&N purchased stuff. And if you don't use B&N, you should return your nook.
Pinesal said:
And if you don't use B&N, you should return your nook.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the recommendations I will look those apps up. I would never return my NC. Even tho I don't use the B&N store I have 100's of books that are ePub and work perfectly well on my Nook. B&N is not the only source for books.
Cheers
FBReader is what I use.. I didn't like Moon+ because it's WAY too easy to flick when I want to turn; and I don't like flicking to scroll personally.. I like to just tap and let it change the page..
I've found the B&N Book app is slow as balls, has anyone else noticed that? I have some epub's that load fine on my computer, Moon+, FBReader... but they take 2+ minutes to open in the B&N reader app.
I'll just keep using FBReader. If I actually have some B&N books (buy or borrow from wife) I'll use the built-in but otherwise.. Oh, and for night reading, I like white on BLACK with the brightness down, TYVM. No more white on grey.
FYI, this is how I set up FBReader:
First off, you gotta have Softkeys working so you can hit the menu button as the notification/status bar is hidden by default. I personally set the Softkeys tool to Double-click home button and launch Softkeys, works pretty well when I need to access it.
So then hit the Menu, pick the More option, then the Settings option. Fiirst thing I do is to make it easier to get to settings and such, I go into Appearance and check Show status bar. Then in the Scrolling options, I uncheck everything. That makes it scroll on tap, and scrolls "up down", ie: you tap the bottom half of the screen anywhere, and it scrolls down. top half anyway, scrolls up. If you like the left/right (like the Nook app does), leave the "Horizontal Scrolling" option checked.
As for book locations, you guys might have a place you put them.. I left it /sdcard/Books and just put my epubs there for now. I might revise this later so the Nook app and FBReader are looking in the same place.
Pinesal said:
And if you don't use B&N, you should return your nook.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for telling us how to use our stuff.
Thibor69 said:
Thanks for the recommendations I will look those apps up. I would never return my NC. Even tho I don't use the B&N store I have 100's of books that are ePub and work perfectly well on my Nook. B&N is not the only source for books.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, of you have a source of free ebooks then that's cool. But if you are buying books, B&N should be your first stop. They built the awesome tablet and some suspect that he hardware is subsidized by book sales. Just a recommendation. I mean if you can find book cheaper somewhere else, I guess the choice is obvious.
Thibor69 said:
Thanks for the recommendations I will look those apps up. I would never return my NC. Even tho I don't use the B&N store I have 100's of books that are ePub and work perfectly well on my Nook. B&N is not the only source for books.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forget using the B&N store. If your going to buy a book i'd recommend Amazon solely based on their whispersync.
As far as ereaders apps, i have tried most of them. FYI the smoothest browser i've found so far has been Opera 10. With skyfire being second and dolphin HD third although its pretty slow. My current favorites ereaders are Aldiko, and the Amazon Kindle reader. Both run much smoother on the nook than the stock app.
Aldiko: It will read several different types and will allow you to import epub files directly which is great if your have a lot of epub books. I like the layout of the books a little bit better than fbreader but thats a personal preferance. Fb reader has a lot of the same features. They both allow you to change the brighness of the screen on the fly but sliding your finger vertically along the left side of the page. I think thats a great feature that i wish more apps would incoporate.
Amazon Kindle:
I use this a little bit differently. If you have an account with them it allows you to use their whispersync. This basically syncs up the page number you are on across different devices, this works for books you already have not just ones you buy from them. This allows me to read things on my nook and on my phone without having to chase down my current position in the book on each device. I also like that it offers a sepia background option.
Importing books you already have or books from other sources is a little more involved with the kindle app. I use a free program called calibre to convert my ebooks, any format, to a .mobi format. Then you have to copy them onto the sd card of each device you want to read them on. Dropbox is your friend with this.
If you buy the book off amazon you don't have to go through this as you can just download them from amazon. But i'm not one to buy books really so i have to go through all the steps.
Anyway good luck, this post got long quickly.
A side note, sightly off topic: The NC can view any epub or txt file uploaded to your SD card., so even if you don't get your material from B&N you can still use the NC very well.
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/nook/3902-side-loading-books-not-buying-frm-b-n.html#post22438
Aldiko is my personal favorite. (epub format)

Alternate Library App?

I recently got my NST and I simply love it. So much lighter and easier to carry than my Nook Color... So my question is: is there an alternate library app available? Something that has a bookshelf display like the B&N app, but can launch any ereader program I specify? Reason being, Fbreader is my reading app of choice, but it does not show up as a launch option from the B&N library. But when I launch epubs from something like ES file manager, the option to use Fbreader pops up. I would love to be able to select my book from a bookshelf and launch into Fbreader if possible... any advice would be great!
I use cool reader and I am asked to choose a reader when opening a book from B&N library. Are you sure that you didn't set the stock reader as default previously?
There are a few in development, such as EpubBrowser and eBookLauncher. Both have their own problems, some are just features that have yet to be implemented, others are severe and cause the screen to flash continuously even in the screen saver. I'm thinking the eBookLauncher will go farther though.
cceerrtt said:
I use cool reader and I am asked to choose a reader when opening a book from B&N library. Are you sure that you didn't set the stock reader as default previously?
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Click to collapse
I've had the same experience with cool reader, but for some reason I don't like the font quality. It doesn't look really sharp like real type to me. Also, it seemed to add big line spaces between paragraphs on some of the books I was reading. I have Fbreader, cool reader, mantano reader currently loaded, but fbreader does not show up as a choice when I launch from the B&N bookshelf.
Googie2149 said:
There are a few in development, such as EpubBrowser and eBookLauncher. Both have their own problems, some are just features that have yet to be implemented, others are severe and cause the screen to flash continuously even in the screen saver. I'm thinking the eBookLauncher will go farther though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I like these too, the issue is that I am really happy with the customizations I made with my go launcher setup, I really just want a library bookshelf like the B&N one....
Personally I think that the native Reader.apk is just fine.
This thread started about alternative libraries.
I have a Library.apk replacement that I've been working on.
It probably only suits me, though.
I don't keep a lot of books on my Nook, just a handful.
I don't use bookshelves.
I don't care for cover thumbnails since they are not supplied with many books.
I do care about lending expiration dates for books from my library. It shows those.
How many books do you folks keep on your Nooks?
Renate NST said:
How many books do you folks keep on your Nooks?
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Click to collapse
Anywhere between 3 and 15 at a time. Not many, and most I'm never going to read, I just keep them there because I 'want' to read them.
Hi, i find standard library.apk almost perfect too, but i wish a way to incorporate the calibre description for sideload books like those purchased trough B&N site
someone has succeded?
rawos said:
Hi, i find standard library.apk almost perfect too...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I hate Library.apk. It's Reader.apk that I can live with.
It's Shop.apk that show you the info on books.
It's responsible for that really lame screen when you hit "More" on the Reader screen.
That's the one where it can only tell you the local file path of the book that you're reading.
This is through my own Library.apk, which replaces Home.apk and Shop.apk also.
You can either long click on a book in the search list or hit "More" in Reader.
Since I play it straight with library books, I like to know when they expire.
Just to show you all the stuff going on under the hood.
Here is a diagram of all the intents used in Home/Library/Reader/Shop.
Oh! It reduced it to nothing, even when you click on it.
The full version (3000 x 1250 pixels) is attached as a zip.
Here's a better version of the intents of the B&N reader stuff.
derelict said:
I've had the same experience with cool reader, but for some reason I don't like the font quality. It doesn't look really sharp like real type to me. Also, it seemed to add big line spaces between paragraphs on some of the books I was reading. I have Fbreader, cool reader, mantano reader currently loaded, but fbreader does not show up as a choice when I launch from the B&N bookshelf.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tested quite a number of apps and I really like that Cool Reader has an incredible amount of options to configure how it looks. In the image you can see how I configured it, totally minimally.
Cool Reader does a great job of reflowing the text with justification, hanging punctuation, hyphenation, kerning... I have not found any other app that could do this. The photo is what Cool Reader made from a simple textfile. And it even supports the buttons of the NST without any hacking.
But as you said, the rendering quality of the font is not that great. You can add custom fonts, on the photo it is the Windows version of Garamond (strangely, Adobe Garamond Pro looks significantly worse).
For the moment I am sticking with the default reader app and use it on PDFs that I prepared manually on my PC. That way I get really good type (using Garamond Pro). But of course that is more work.
Was liest du?
Renate NST said:
Was liest du?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kafka_on_the_shore
Renate NST said:
Personally I think that the native Reader.apk is just fine.
This thread started about alternative libraries.
I have a Library.apk replacement that I've been working on.
It probably only suits me, though.
I don't keep a lot of books on my Nook, just a handful.
I don't use bookshelves.
I don't care for cover thumbnails since they are not supplied with many books.
I do care about lending expiration dates for books from my library. It shows those.
How many books do you folks keep on your Nooks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So... newby here. I love my nook touch glow, but i hate the library, i wish i can see more info, (series, autor, genre), any sugestions? pretty please?
Well, my app is just a boring list of books, about 15/page, sortable a couple of ways.
A long press brings up some metadata, including when the library book expires.
I've never run into series, so it doesn't do that.
I've modified Reader.apk so that it uses the "Back" button, handy for returning directly to the library.
After seeing the screenshots of some of the nice graphical libraries folks have produced, I'm loath to oversell my app.
It's really quite minimal.
Renate NST said:
Well, my app is just a boring list of books, about 15/page, sortable a couple of ways.
A long press brings up some metadata, including when the library book expires.
I've never run into series, so it doesn't do that.
I've modified Reader.apk so that it uses the "Back" button, handy for returning directly to the library.
After seeing the screenshots of some of the nice graphical libraries folks have produced, I'm loath to oversell my app.
It's really quite minimal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response. You are so kind. Since I dont know almost anything about android progamming, (and english isnt my first languaje) I hoping you can help me (or point me somwhere) to do this. I tried to remap the buttons but when i did replace the android.policy.jar i bricked my nook (glow) so i had to restore it.
I also wish i could have a quick way to navigate the library, (like lists) or something because a i like to read 3 or 4 books at the same time.
Any Ideas? I tried relaunch but its to slow...
Anyway, Im rambling.... thanks!
A quick response:
Yes, the android.policy.jar is incompatible between the Touch and the Glow.
I use edited smali which causes the "n" button to go directly to the launcher.
With that, the QuickNav, the buttons at the bottom never appear.
I think that you need the QuickNav to turn on the glow, correct?
Renate NST said:
A quick response:
Yes, the android.policy.jar is incompatible between the Touch and the Glow.
I use edited smali which causes the "n" button to go directly to the launcher.
With that, the QuickNav, the buttons at the bottom never appear.
I think that you need the QuickNav to turn on the glow, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, well the n button also turns off/on the light, but i would like anyway to put shortcuts ther for another apps, like cool reader, because the way i have it its just to much fuss to change readers!!! any suggestions!!!
I like the look and feel of the standard library app, but I hate the way you have to search through it. I have all my metadata set up but you can't access it. FBreader does allow the reading of tags, but I'm not sure if I like the gui yet.
Which apps support metadata?

[Q]New nook library

1. It is posible?
2. How?
3. What you can edit in library.apk?
Yes, I have my own Library.apk (that's in a thread here somewhere).
No, it's nowhere as flashy as your version but it serves my needs.
It just uses a basic list but it displays library expiration dates which are important to me.
You must change the whole library.apk? or configure someting in /data/data...
You have to write your own application, or coerce somebody into doing it.
Somebody do it !!!
I actually stopped by to see if there was anything out there like what the OP is asking for, either a custom ROM or launcher or even just a better library app. I'm honestly kind of shocked that there isn't something like this out there. I guess devices like this don't get a ton of home brew mods like phones do?
Headcase_Fargone said:
I actually stopped by to see if there was anything out there like what the OP is asking for, either a custom ROM or launcher or even just a better library app. I'm honestly kind of shocked that there isn't something like this out there. I guess devices like this don't get a ton of home brew mods like phones do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I finally dumped the stock B&N reader and library after losing shelves too many times and wanting to read PDFs. I've replaced both with Mantano Reader, which works well on the NST, and handles epubs and PDFs nicely. I've used Nook Touch Tools to remap my QuickLaunch Libary buttons to take me to the Mantano home screen and I never even see the B&N stuff anymore.
Mantano also has a for-fee cloud sync service that I'm using to keep reading positions and collections consistent between several devices.
I think now I've got a Mantano Simple Touch reader.
bobstro said:
I finally dumped the stock B&N reader and library after losing shelves too many times and wanting to read PDFs. I've replaced both with Mantano Reader, which works well on the NST, and handles epubs and PDFs nicely. I've used Nook Touch Tools to remap my QuickLaunch Libary buttons to take me to the Mantano home screen and I never even see the B&N stuff anymore.
Mantano also has a for-fee cloud sync service that I'm using to keep reading positions and collections consistent between several devices.
I think now I've got a Mantano Simple Touch reader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent you a PM on this, you've got me curious. Do the hardware buttons work with this reader? I take it you just launch Mantano whenever you reboot the device and stay in it? Any shortcomings?
Headcase_Fargone said:
Sent you a PM on this, you've got me curious. Do the hardware buttons work with this reader? I take it you just launch Mantano whenever you reboot the device and stay in it? Any shortcomings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the left buttons work. You can't customize them, but they do work. Lower is forward, upper is back.
I replaced the B&N Library option with Mantano on the QuickLaunch menu using Nook Touch Tools. It provides pretty much the same functionality. I also pointed the recent read button to Mantano. Now I don't see the B&N reader or library at all.
On 1st boot, I am in ADW until I launch an app. After that, I pick from my most used (Mantano, Maildroid, Calendar Pad, Astrid Tasks, Orientation) off the QuickLaunch menu.

Ways to access books/pdfs outside of Kindle?

Ok. the topic title was a little confusing even for me. I appoligize. I have a brand new kindle fire hd 8.9. Rooted it yesterday with a few hitches but those were mostly due to my own silly mistakes. Regardless, i got it up and running but have ran into a sort of problem. The way to access books, by how I know it, is though Kindle Home 'app'. Which takes me to the original screen with the carousel and everything. But that seems like a really round about way to access everything. Is there a way/app/etc to choose specific books to simply add to the main screen? (I'm using GO HD, but have been checking both to see which I prefer) It just seems a bit silly to need to go through hoops rather then be able to add 'Books, Docs, etc' as seperate things on the main screen. Or even just add a specific book itself. I was asking simply cause it makes it easier/faster to access textbooks like this.
If its impossible thats fine too, but I'm new to this all and can't seem to find anything of this sort. Hope its not too dumb a question.
There isn't an application in KFHD to go directly to Books, but curiously there is a Documents path. I think it is because the DRM(protection) that almost all Amazon books have. You can convert your own books to Movi with a PC or Linux program called Calibre(whisper: "even unprotect them")) to make them visible in the Book shelf.
But if you want them to be more accessible and better reading, you can go to Cool Reader, an app that lets you configure all aspects of a book presentation, much better than Kindle. Inside Cool Reader there is a directory browser to find the books wherever they are, The worse is that it can't read DRM protected books, but I've whispered you the program to jump that fence(search google "how to remove DRM from Amazon". You have the right to do it if you have paid money for the book....But not all countries allow that.
How to setup books and pdf documents on the Kindle Desktop
unspunreality said:
Ok. the topic title was a little confusing even for me. I appoligize. I have a brand new kindle fire hd 8.9. Rooted it yesterday with a few hitches but those were mostly due to my own silly mistakes. Regardless, i got it up and running but have ran into a sort of problem. The way to access books, by how I know it, is though Kindle Home 'app'. Which takes me to the original screen with the carousel and everything. But that seems like a really round about way to access everything. Is there a way/app/etc to choose specific books to simply add to the main screen? (I'm using GO HD, but have been checking both to see which I prefer) It just seems a bit silly to need to go through hoops rather then be able to add 'Books, Docs, etc' as seperate things on the main screen. Or even just add a specific book itself. I was asking simply cause it makes it easier/faster to access textbooks like this.
If its impossible thats fine too, but I'm new to this all and can't seem to find anything of this sort. Hope its not too dumb a question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unspunreality,
Absolutely, you can view just about any document on the Kindle. If I understand you correctly, you would like to have direct access to books from your main desktop, is that correct? Kind of like a Windows or Linux desktop where you are able to place documents and shortcuts to documents directly on the desktop.
If you are looking for software, the following are what we consider the top 5 document readers for the Kindle Fire HD Series:
1. Google Docs
2. Quickoffice Pro
3. Olive Office Premium
4. Camscanner - PDF Creator
5. Openoffice Document Reader
The original Kindle Carousel stores the history of open documents through the carousel which are stored in the order of last opened.
The after market launchers allow you to place anything on the main desktop by long pressing the document and then moving to the desktop.
You are also able to create what are called 'containers' on the desktop, these are really just folders created on the desktop. You can download and install a File Manager like ES File Explorer or Root Explorer which both allow you to create symbolic links or 'shortcuts' from within the application.
Finally, you can also install the Dropbox or Google Drive application on your Kindle and on your office PC, then create shortcuts to the document folders on each network drive - this option allows seamless integration between your Kindle desktop and your office/home PC desktop.
Does this answer your question or did I misunderstand your question?
My favorite reader is ebookdroid. If you go in an tweak the performance settings to use all your cores and prerender pages it is significantly quicker than any other reader I've tried. Plus It'll scan directories and add them to your shelf.
unspunreality said:
Ok. the topic title was a little confusing even for me. I appoligize. I have a brand new kindle fire hd 8.9. Rooted it yesterday with a few hitches but those were mostly due to my own silly mistakes. Regardless, i got it up and running but have ran into a sort of problem. The way to access books, by how I know it, is though Kindle Home 'app'. Which takes me to the original screen with the carousel and everything. But that seems like a really round about way to access everything. Is there a way/app/etc to choose specific books to simply add to the main screen? (I'm using GO HD, but have been checking both to see which I prefer) It just seems a bit silly to need to go through hoops rather then be able to add 'Books, Docs, etc' as seperate things on the main screen. Or even just add a specific book itself. I was asking simply cause it makes it easier/faster to access textbooks like this.
If its impossible thats fine too, but I'm new to this all and can't seem to find anything of this sort. Hope its not too dumb a question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can shortcut to documents using a FM app like Astro. You can also use this to create shortcuts to books as well if you have root access, i think.
Something ive noticed is that if you open a book in the sdcard/books folder using es explorer and choose the kindle app, the kindle app will open fine. If you do this once when you first boot, suddenly the kindle app opens from the app drawer when you try it. Ive only tested this using Nova Launcher Prime but it should work in other launchers. Now all we need to do is create a script that opens and closes a book during boot, this should then allow the kindle books app to be accessed from any launcher instead of using the current approach of going through the 'Home' Launcher.
Sent from my KFTT using xda app-developers app
Ways to access books/pdfs outside of Kindle? - Kindle Feature Request
Katalystik said:
Something ive noticed is that if you open a book in the sdcard/books folder using es explorer and choose the kindle app, the kindle app will open fine. If you do this once when you first boot, suddenly the kindle app opens from the app drawer when you try it. Ive only tested this using Nova Launcher Prime but it should work in other launchers. Now all we need to do is create a script that opens and closes a book during boot, this should then allow the kindle books app to be accessed from any launcher instead of using the current approach of going through the 'Home' Launcher.
Sent from my KFTT using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Katalystik,
We have been looking around for people who can recommend features and you just gave us a great idea for our software. Are you interested in a Startup Manger? We could integarte this feature into our software Kindle Fire First Aide. What I mean by a Startup Manger is an program that would allow you to setup a scenario that would in turn design a script and insert it to the proper location. So, it would work like this, on Monday Wednesday and Friday open a book named "Upon Awakening" or open the book after 8am if the tablet has been left on. Is this the idea you had in mind? This would be very easy a very easy program to write.
Any other ideas or features you would like to see on the Kindle?
Katalystik:
Your approach returns to the last book open, it not lets you to search from there in the book shelf (the Books application). Even so it is a good trick, but appropriate only for a single owner, not for the Kindle shared with the whole family, each with their own book to read ...
There is not need to open the book from ES Explorer nor resetting the Kindle, only open a book from the Books application and press house. Press the "Amazon Kindle" icon and then you are back.
This happens because if you press the house button the app(any app) then waits silently in the background. On the other side, if you press back it obviously returns to the program you were coming. But programs left open in the background consume memory and resources...
Amazon has provided short cuts for all the free aspects of the Kindle, but not for the book shelf, that is not simply a folder. If you copy a DRM book to the Documents folder it don't work. And there Amazon knows good who are his enemies: epubs.
Correction: If you open a DRM book (prc) or mobi from other folder than Books with ES Explorer, it works fine with Kindle app.
I've learned the proper way to go directly to read a particular book! My launcher is ADW but I think it can serve for others.
It is simple and always has been there: In ES Explorer put your finger on the file you want and keep it until it opens a long list of options. Slide it down and find "short-cut" and press on it.
Then, when you return to the main screen of your launcher you'll notice a new icon. press it and select the application that will open, but do not forget to mark the square to open it always with the same program.
Then you can create a folder to put them all in, but that step is different for each launcher and you have to investigate it.
Thanks for the replies. Havent been around. Got class now but with all these options Im certain Ill find something nice to use. Using the kindle books app felt so.. ugh, wrong and backwards. Im glad to be told that I have a lot more options now though.
Fbreader
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire2 using Tapatalk 2
I use Mantano Reader ! It works great for epub and pdf files!:thumbup:
Sent from my 5860E using xda app-developers app
I use Moon+ Reader Pro. Within your bookshelf it will allow you to send a shortcut to the desktop. I actually have my book on my dock. I click it and it opens straight to Moon+ ready to read.
Here i made a guide for this and it works great. Heres the thread. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2146269
Sent Using My Rooted Kindle Fire HD 7"

A new reader app

There are any number of things that annoy me about the stock B&N reader.
I've been writing my own reader app from the ground up.
It's missing a lot of features, but it's still become my standard reader.
I have a lot of technical references in PDF.
At least my reader will allow me to see them in landscape mode fit to width.
The app has adjustable overscan to get rid of the paper margins.
For EPUBs, there are 17 font sizes, 30 margin sizes, 21 line spacings.
EPUBs or PDFs can be viewed in either orientation.
The app is eInk smart but runs on standard cell phones too.
I assume that you plan on making this app available to the community at some point. When you are ready for other users to test, I would be glad to volunteer.
Yes, as soon as I get rid of the worst bugs, I'll let this loose.
It doesn't have text search or word lookup or annotations or bookmarks.
From MY perspective, bookmarks would be priority #1, followed by dictionary look up. I have never used annotations or word search, though I am sure others have.
Just my $0.02. Other's opinions will vary.
From MY perspective, dictionary look up would be priority #1, and never bookmarks, as I am Russian speaking person. I have never used annotations or word search.
Just my $0.02. Good luck in your efforts.
I'm still working on this.
One of the things I found most lacking was good navigation on large PDFs.
It can get a bit hairy dealing with the table of contents on some PDFs.
Sometimes a page number is more specific than a TOC entry and sometimes it's the other way around.
Will you be supporting mobi files as well ?
It seems it's hard to find a nice reader that support both epub and mobi ...
No, it will not read MOBI.
MOBI is a really stupid format based on database files for Palm OS.
EPUB is a halfway reasonable format.
HTML based reflowable text and a table of contents.
What more do you need?
Of course, all the manufacturers (like Kindle) are pushing for whiz-bang HTML5 formats.
Renate NST said:
No, it will not read MOBI.
MOBI is a really stupid format based on database files for Palm OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) I really liked Palm
just kidding, nostalgia kicked in
2) I already have some books in MOBI format, that's why I'm asking.
Yes, I know I can convert them to EPUB ...
Thanks!
Finally ready for a super pre-alpha preview.
Very short user manual:
Hit the right screen edge or PAGEDOWN for forward a whole page
Hit the left screen edge or PAGEUP for backward a whole page
Hit the top screen edge for the navigation menu
Hit the bottom screen edge for table of contents view
Hit the middle of the screen when viewing PDFs to go down a chunk of one page
(These 4 edges are actually the edges of the page view.
When the TOC is showing, the left edge will be somewhere in the middle of the screen.)
There are separate config dialogs for EPUB and PDF.
In TOC view, the +/- are indicators and not controls.
The app tries to keep everything as compact as possible.
TOC scrolls with a drag, selects with a push on a chapter title, dismisses with a bottom push in the page side.
You can call up navigate, page forwards and backwards while the TOC is showing.
A single empty square and the title indicates that the PDF has no TOC.
The eInk special handling only works with 1.2.1 software.
If you are using nofresh/fast refresh/whatever, then no guarantee nor interest in what it will do.
It may be self-delusion, but it seems to me that the text is clearer than the stock reader?
You can just install this as a regular app.
You can set it as default for EPUB or PDF separately.
Unless you're me, you shouldn't get rid of the stock reader just yet. :cyclops:
Hmm, I'm not sure if it will handle Last Reading Point correctly if you are using the stock library.
Oh! It will list all the fonts on your system, but it won't handle the fonts that the underlying library files don't like.
Renate NST said:
Unless you're me, you shouldn't get rid of the stock reader just yet. :cyclops:
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First problem: On my nook it didn't show up in adw so I can't run it
richardcoop said:
On my nook it didn't show up in adw...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it wouldn't, would it?
The stock reader doesn't show up there either.
For an application to show up in a launcher its AndroidManifest.xml would have to have:
Code:
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
File viewers normally don't have that, they are invoked by other intents.
Use your "Last Read" icon, a library application or a file manager to open an EPUB or a PDF.
Renate NST said:
Finally ready for a super pre-alpha preview.
I
It may be self-delusion, but it seems to me that the text is clearer than the stock reader?
You can just install this as a regular app.
You can set it as default for EPUB or PDF separately.
Hmm, I'm not sure if it will handle Last Reading Point correctly if you are using the stock library.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think the text is clearer!
Doesn't remember the Last Reading Point for me but not using the stock library.
---------- Post added at 10:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:58 PM ----------
Also, looses my place when the screen saver kicks in.
Thanks for the good work Renate. I think the display is better than other epub/pdf readers and maybe stock reader too. As most of my reading is done with my Glow version in bed, a "Night Mode" switch for white font on black background would be great if possible?
Thanks again.
richardcoop said:
Also, loses my place when the screen saver kicks in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the integration between a reader app and a library app is close.
Tracking of last point is usually done in the library app.
I was planning on adding a single LRP directly in the reader for files that aren't tracked in the library.
Is it possible to run this on an Android 2.3.4 installation or its code assumes a Nook?
The reason I ask, is because I have a Kobo Glo with android installed, and I would like to check it there, if it is e-Ink optimized.
The problem with supporting eInk is that the interface classes in Java are all different.
Even in the Nook 1.1, 1.1.5. 1.3 are incompatible with 1.2.1
(Notice that the latest 1.3 on the white Nook uses an older scheme than the 1.2.1)
They all use android.hardware.EpdController in /system/framework/framework.jar
I have no idea what the Kobo is using.
I can guarantee that the application posted above will do no special eInk handling as it checks the system build fingerprint for compatibility.
If you are using Nook 1.1.5 or 1.3 it will also not do any special eInk handling.
The application should work on any device if you copy over these two library files:
/system/lib/libpdfhost.so
/system/lib/libbndeviceinfo.so
I have this app running on my (old) Kyocera Rise (cell phone).
It should run (without any special eInk handling) on your Kobo.
Anything further would require research and programming.
Renate NST said:
Hmm, I'm not sure if it will handle Last Reading Point correctly if you are using the stock library.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does not handle Last Reading Point correctly when using the stock library.
Great work! I used this for all of 10 minutes and the potential is evident. With some more of your excellent development work you will have a real winner on your hands.
Question, as this obviously will not read books with B&N DRM, is there some way to make this reader the default when using your library app and allow the stock reader to be the default when using the stock library? Perhaps a setting in your library app to use either the "device default" (stock or other) reader or Temblast Reader specifically when a book is selected.
With regard to the text being clearer than the stock reader, I don't notice a difference. However, I am using the Tweaked Modded ROM, which states:
"Forced all rendering to be done on the GPU." I noticed the text was darker using this ROM when I first installed it. Perhaps your reader essentially does the same thing? This might account for the those who notice the text being clearer when using your reader.
David0226 said:
"Forced all rendering to be done on the GPU."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, that's not what I explicitly did, but maybe it's effectively what I did.
Font display doesn't seem as good as stock reader upon closer inspection.
For PDF reader I still use two particular versions of Repligo and ezPDF-Reader both: fast, full of options and pinch in-out for zoom on txt/image based files and more, opening all pdfs.
The epub reader is suffering on some files with wrapping longer lines so I get remainder lines with two or three words, unless fonts are much smaller even with little margins so back to AlReader and FBReader I'm afraid.

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