v54

This release adds the remaining missing patches and a few new patches for 4.18.13737. If you're coming from a version older than 4.16.13337 or patches older than v51, you probably want to read the release notes for v52 and v53 as well.

Patrick Gaskin (@geek1011):

• docs Added release info to webpage
• 4.18.13737 Added new "Swap reading header/footer" patch
• docs Added "Swap reading header/footer" to header/footer demo
• github Added CODEOWNERS file
• 4.18.13737 Added Libra stuff to "Custom font sizes" patch
• 4.18.13737 Added note about string gobbling to "Rename new home screen footer"
• all Cleaned up some old TODOs

Semwize (MobileRead):

• 4.18.13737 Updated "My 24 line spacing values" patch
• 4.18.13737 Updated "Custom font sizes" patch

NiLuJe (@NiLuJe):

• 4.15.12920 4.16.13162 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Added new "Prevent nickel from grabbing event0" patch

Jackie (@jackiew1, jackie_w):

• 4.18.13737 Updated "Custom new header/footer font" description
• 4.18.13737 Updated "Custom page navigation scrubber" description

Bald Eagle (MobileRead):

• 4.18.13737 Updated Greek and Cyrillic keyboard patches

Note that on macOS Catalina, you may get a warning from GateKeeper (see this article) without an option to run kobopatch (see the post on MobileRead). To run kobopatch, you need to go to System Preferences - Security and Privacy - General, then confirm that you want to open it after you run it the first time. Then, you will be able to successfully run kobopatch.

v53

This is the initial release for 4.18.13737. If you're coming from a version older than 4.16.13337 or patches older than v51, you probably want to read the release notes for v52 as well.

Patrick Gaskin (@geek1011):

• scripts Convert CRLF to LF for shell scripts when building on Windows.
• docs Added "Remove title from reading header/footer" to header/footer demo.
• docs Added "Custom header/footer page number text" to header/footer demo.
• docs Improved header/footer demo highlighting.
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Added ReturningReaderDialog to "Disable all tutorial dialogs" patch.
• 4.15.12920 4.16.13162 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Made "Custom Sleep/Power-off timeouts" multi-version.
• 4.15.12920 4.16.13162 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Added new "Larger Sleep/Power-off timeouts" patch
• 4.15.12920 4.16.13162 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Made "Custom kepub default margins" multi-version.
• 4.15.12920 4.16.13162 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Made "Change dicthtml strings to micthtml" multi-version.
• 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Made "Allow rotation on all devices" also show icon on new reader menu.
• 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Updated "Allow rotation on all devices" to also fix popup sizing.
• docs Added customization page for "Larger Sleep/Power-off timeouts".
• docs Added loading/saving to timeout customization page.
• 4.18.13737 Added testdata for 4.18.13737 (#28).
• 4.18.13737 Updated most patches for 4.18.13737 (#28).
• 4.18.13737 Fixed "Custom collection/author header title font" (#28).
• 4.18.13737 Updated "Disable orphans/widows avoidance" for 4.18.13737 (#28).
• docs Added webpage for patches.
• 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Added new "Make book header/footer lowercase" patch (renamed later to "Don't uppercase header/footer text").
• 4.18.13737 Fixed some header/footer segfaults with 4.18.13737 (#28).
• 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Added combination of header/footer text patches (#26).
• 4.15.12920 4.16.13162 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Made "Custom Sleep/Power-off timeouts" multi-version.

Jackie (@jackiew1, jackie_w):

• 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Updated "Reduce top/bottom page spacer" with minor description correction.
• 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Added "Custom new header/footer font"
• 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Added "Custom page navigation scrubber"
• 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Moved "Custom header/footer page number text" from jackie_w to geek1011
• 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Added note about the "Larger Sleep/Power-off timeouts" patch (#28)

NiLuJe (@NiLuJe):

• 4.17.13694 4.18.13737 Renamed "Make book header/footer lowercase" to "Don't uppercase header/footer text".

v52

This release does not contain any major changes for firmware versions below 4.16.13162. Scroll to the end of these notes for download links.

---

This is the initial release for 4.17.13694 (plus 4.17.13651 and 4.16.13337 which were released the same week). This is one of the largest releases of both the patches and the firmware (the new reader interface, and quite a bit of refactoring since 4.15.12920).

This release would not have been possible without the extensive work of:

• jackie_w (@jackiew1), who did the majority of the testing, rewrote many CSS patches, worked on new patches, and helped find changes in the new firmware.
• GeoffR (@geoffreynolds), who made many of the original patches, and who will probably update a few more patches for the next release.
• NiLuJe (@NiLuJe), who provided help and code review where it was needed (and helped with another kobo-related project which will be made public soon).
• davidfor (@davidfor), who provided some information about the new firmware features on MobileRead.
• geek1011 (@geek1011), who updated the majority of the patches, worked on new patches, wrote the build script, and helped find changes in the new firmware.
• Kobo, who created the new reader interface, and fixed many bugs over the last few firmware releases.

Patch changes (4.16.13162+)

The usual patch updates (i.e. not different than between other firmware versions) are not listed here.

New:

• Allow showing info panel on random screensaver
  Allows showing the info panel while using a random screensaver (see here for how to use it). By @geek1011.
• Remove title from reading header/footer
  Removes the title/chapter name from the new reader's header/footer. By @geek1011.
• Reduce new header/footer height
  Reduces the height of the new reader's header/footer. By @jackiew1.
• Custom navigation menu page number text
  Changes the page number text above the scrubber. By @jackiew1.
• FeatureSettings/PowerSettings/DeveloperSettings patches
  A few patches have been made by @geek1011 to allow setting certain commonly-used configuration file settings as a patch. This is mainly intended for those who have multiple readers and/or want to automate changing settings.

Renamed:

• Increase the view details container size
  Renamed to Increase Book Details synopsis area along with updates by @jackiew1.
• Custom footer (page number text)
  Rewritten by @jackiew1 as Custom header/footer page number text.
• Dictionary text font-family/font-size/line-height - beta
  Updated by @jackiew1 as Dictionary text font-family/font-size/line-height and taken out of beta.
• Increase the cover size in library
  Rewritten by @jackiew1 as Increase library cover size.
• Custom font to collection and author titles
  Rewritten by @jackiew1 as Custom collection/author header title font.
• Enable rotation on all devices
  Renamed by @geek1011 to DeveloperSettings - ForceAllowLandscape because all it does now (it used to be more complex) is change a setting.
• Set slide to unlock
  Renamed by @geek1011 to PowerSettings - UnlockEnabled because all it does now (it used to be more complex) is change a setting.
• Wikipedia Search language
  Renamed to Change Wikipedia search language.
• Dictionary, remove long winded closest match notification
  Renamed to Shorten dictionary entry not found message.
• New home screen increasing cover size
  Renamed to Increase home screen cover size.

Rewritten:

• Increase size of kepub chapter progress chart
  Rewritten by @geek1011 to work with new firmware and make easier to update.
• Both buttons go next:
  Simplified by @geek1011.
• Increase Book Details synopsis area
  Rewritten by @jackiew1 to work with new firmware, add Libra values, and make easier to update.
• Increase library cover size
  Rewritten by @jackiew1 to make easier to update.
• Custom font for Collection/Author header titles
  Rewritten by @jackiew1 to work with new firmware and make easier to update.
• Many more patches have not been rewritten, but offsets have changed greatly compared to previous versions and needed to be found again by @geek1011.
• Other CSS patches have also been simplified and updated for the Libra by @jackiew1.

Removed:

• Clock display duration
  Not needed anymore, as there is now a persistent clock in the top-right of the new status bar (thanks Kobo!).
• Fix three KePub fullScreenReading bugs
  These bugs have been fixed since 4.11.11911, and haven't been seen since then.
• Always display chapter name on navigation menu
  The new reader view does this by default (thanks Kobo!).
• Fix reading stats/author name cut off when series is showing
  Now fixed in the firmware (thanks Kobo!).
• Remove extra space on selection menu
  Doesn't make a difference anymore.
• Set reading footer height
  Only applies to the old reader, not needed for new reader anymore (see Reduce new header/footer height).
• Rename settings
  Was made just to test something, not really used by anyone.
• Custom reading footer style
  Doesn't apply properly to the new reader, and would need to be completely rewritten anyways if it's even needed.
• Disable reading footer
  No effect on new reader view.
• Custom menubar - reduce height by 33/50%
  Not needed anymore.

Other:

• New cross-platform, reproducible, and fast build script
  The build script for the patches has been rewritten by @geek1011 in Go (see #19), and reviewed by @NiLuJe. It now works on Windows, is up to 30% faster, and produces identical outputs on multiple runs.
• Header/footer patch documentation
  A new interactive demo page has been made by @geek1011 (see #21) to help show the behavior different header/footer patches.

There have also been various grammar, spelling, and formatting fixes and improvements to many patches. Comments have also been updated to match the changes in recent firmware versions. Also, values for the Libra H2O (Storm) have been added to a number of CSS patches.

Changelog

This changelog has been somewhat abbreviated due to the large volume of changes. See the commit log for more details. Also, the versions listed are the versions which the change was directly made to. Usually, unless stated otherwise, this means the newer versions also inherited the change too.

Patrick Gaskin (@geek1011):

• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Added upgrade confirmation and upgrade blocking patches to a PatchGroup.
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Added header/footer patch interactive demo (fixes #21).
• template Made patch template readme more consistent.
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Updated description for "Reduce top/bottom page spacer".
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Made patch arrangement more consistent.
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Updated most patches for 4.17.13651.
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Added testdata for 4.17.13651 (and it was released the day after we finally finished the previous version...).
• 4.17.13651 Added note about how to prevent Kobo from importing dotfiles/folders (and made a LD_PRELOAD mod for it).
• scripts Fixes, improvements, and refactoring for new build script.
• 4.17.13651 New "Remove title from reading header/footer" patch.
• 4.17.13651 Removed some unnecessary zero offsets from ReplaceZlib instructions.
• 4.17.13651 Added documentation for build and test scripts.
• 4.17.13651 Removed 4.16.13337 (replaced by 4.17.13651, not on any released device anymore).
• 4.16.13337 4.17.13651 Tested 7 libnickel patches, offsets, and numbers.
• 4.16.13337 4.17.13651 Updated TODO list and notes for 4.17.13651.
• 4.16.13337 4.17.13651 Made spacing of patch files more consistent.
• 4.17.13651 Updated most of GeoffR's patches for 4.17.13651.
• 4.17.13651 Ported my patches to 4.17.13651.
• 4.17.13651 Started updating patches for 4.17.13651 based on work for 4.16.13337.
• 4.17.13651 Added testdata for 4.17.13651.
• 4.16.13337 Updated jcn363's patches for 4.16.13337.
• 4.16.13337 Updated jackie_w's libnickel patches for 4.16.13337.
• build Updated Drone script for new build tool.
• scripts Rewrote build script in Go.
• template Make kobopatch.sh executable.
• 4.16.13337 Updated nickel patches for 4.16.13337.
• 4.16.13337 Updated libadobe and librmsdk patches for 4.16.13337.
• 4.16.13337 Added testdata for 4.16.13337.
• 4.16.13162 Added config file override patches (FeatureSettings, DeveloperSettings).
• 4.16.13162 New "Allow showing info panel on random screensaver" patch.
• 4.16.13162 Rewrote "Increase size of kepub chapter progress chart" patch.
• build Set pipefail in Drone script.
• 4.16.13162 Updated more patches for 4.16.13162.
• 4.16.13162 Updated most patches for 4.16.13162.
• 4.16.13162 Added testdata for 4.16.13162.

NiLuJe (@NiLuJe):

• 4.16.13162 Improved "DeveloperSettings - AutoUsbGadget" patch description.

NiLuJe has also done quite a bit of code review and has been helpful in general with updating the patches.

Jackie (@jackiew1, jackie_w):

• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Added new "Reduce new header/footer height" patch.
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Updated comments for "New home screen increasing cover size".
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Updated "New home screen increasing cover size" for Libra H2O.
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Updated "Custom synopsis font size" for Libra H2O.
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Updated "Custom synopsis details line spacing" for Libra H2O.
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 Updated "Reduce top/bottom page spacer" for Libra H2O.
• 4.17.13651 4.17.13694 R...

v51

Patrick Gaskin (@geek1011):

• template Updated kobopatch to v0.14.0 (note that Windows XP is no longer supported, but a v0.13.0 binary will still work for now if you need it).
• 4.15.12920 Made indentation of commented lines more consistent.
• build Updated Drone image version.

v50

Geoff Reynolds (@geoffreynolds):

• 4.15.12920 New "Set font scale factor" patch

Patrick Gaskin (@geek1011):

• build Switched from Travis to Drone for automatic builds (it is faster and simpler)

v49

Geoff Reynolds (@geoffreynolds):

• 4.10.11591 4.10.11655 4.11.11911 4.11.11976 4.11.11980 4.11.11982 4.11.12019 4.12.12111 4.13.12638 4.14.12777 4.15.12920 New "ePub uniform font scale" patch

v48

Geoff Reynolds (@geoffreynolds):

• 4.15.12920 Updated "My 24 line spacing values" patch
• 4.15.12920 Updated "ePub fixed/adjustable top/bottom margins" patch

v47

Initial release for 4.15.12920.

Patrick Gaskin (@geek1011):

• 4.15.12920 Added testdata for 4.15.12920
• 4.15.12920 Updated patches for 4.15.12920
• 4.15.12920 New patch to fix TOC extra indentation level bug
• 4.15.12920 New patch to make TOC indentation level more visible

v46

Geoff Reynolds (@geoffreynolds):

• 4.14.12777 Updated "My 24 line spacing values" patch
• 4.14.12777 Updated "ePub fixed/adjustable top/bottom margins" patch

v45

Initial release for 4.14.12777.

Patrick Gaskin (@geek1011):

• 4.14.12777 Added testdata for 4.14.12777
• 4.14.12777 Updated patches for 4.14.12777
• 4.14.12777 Redid "Remove recommendations (row1col2) from home screen" patch
• 4.14.12777 Removed "Disable wishlist" patch for now

asettico (MobileRead):

• all Dictionary match text patch improvements
• all Fixed sleep/power-off text replacements