uxjulia/CrossInk v1.5.0-rc-2

on GitHub

Release Notes

This release might be one of the largest ones so far as it brings a LOT of changes. I've also been working on a companion web app for Crossink called Inky. It's got various tools that I thought would be helpful. As someone who doesn't particularly like having to connect via the File Transfer method to send files, I made a standalone EPUB optimizer that can send EPUBs to your device via USB (only possible if you're unlocked, if not you can still download the file to transfer to your SD manually). I also made a dictionary prep tool to speed up dictionary lookups, a downloads page for fonts and pre-prepped dictionaries, and a dedicated Crossink flash tool. I hope you guys find it useful!

Changes in RC-2

• HTML markup is skipped when the dictionary contains poor formatting (fixes #430)
• Highlighting/clipping in dark mode now shows the proper inverted selection (fixes #431)
• Browsing files in the web server should avoid rebooting when memory is low (fixes #432)
• Syncing the clock on RTC-enabled devices should be more stable now (fixes #436)
• Screenshots in a dictionary definition should behave as expected now (fixes #437)
• Button labels in portrait mode of dictionary lookup now display accurately as Left/Right instead of Up/Down
• Added support for latest X4 battery latch on newer models (without this patch, newer X4's could seem unresponsive unless connected to USB power)
• Dictionary lookup should now support accented and non-Latin words, including Cyrillic, Hebrew, Arabic, and CJK text better.

New

• Full touch support for Seeed Sticky (Shoutout to the Seeed team for sending me an early development unit)
• Dictionary lookup has been added, including suggestions and lookup history. "Look Up Word" can also be assigned as a short or long-press action. Dictionary lookup works with any compatible StarDict dictionary.
  • To get you started with some dictionaries, I've included 4 monolingual English dictionaries already optimized that you can download here: Inky
  • If your dictionary includes IPA transcriptions, you can also download Crossink fonts that include the IPA glyphs under Dictionary Fonts from the above link.
• This release re-introduces upstream Crosspoint's incremental indexing, however this time you can choose between Incremental or Full Sectionindexing globally or per book. Incremental indexing prepares a few pages ahead while Full Section indexing (the old default behavior and will remain the default) prepares the entire section/chapter from the beginning.
  • There are pros and cons to each method. Learn more: https://www.crossink.dev/epub-indexing.html.
  • Incremental indexing is still considered experimental. Use Full Section indexing if you generally don't have issues with EPUBs rendering.
• Nearby File Transfer can send EPUB, TXT, XTC, XTCH, PNG, and BMP files directly between two CrossInk devices without a Wi-Fi network. Long-press from the File Browser or Recent Books to see the new option for Send to Nearby Device. On the receiving device, navigate to File Transfer >
• Word Spacing setting has been added to Settings > Reader > Font Options > Word Spacing. This allows you to set the spacing between words up to 5 levels.
• RTC-enabled devices can choose the date format shown in the settings menu and numeric separator in Settings > System > Device.
• The web EPUB optimizer now splits oversized chapters into more device-friendly sections before sending them to the device. This is on by default. Note: Split sections may cause unexpected paragraph breaks where the optimizer has split the section. This is normal. Split sections will also show a "~" when estimating the chapter pages.
• Small-caps rendering using a modified capitalized version of the font. This eliminates the need for the font to include small-caps.

Changed

• The setting for Download Font Size Range now displays the font point-size ranges: 8–12pt, 10–16pt, 14–20pt, and 8–20pt, replacing the old build names it corresponded to.
• The Download All option has been removed to avoid excessive screen ghosting after very long Wi-Fi usage (downloading all fonts takes a very long time and is not recommended); fonts can still be downloaded individually or updated together.
• File Transfer, KOReader Sync, OTA updates, and OPDS browsing now start with more memory available for network operations by doing a silent restart and loading only the necessary data before starting the activity.
• The web file manager can delete non-empty folders and, when hidden files are shown, remove hidden or system-managed SD card items after confirmation.
• Underlines and strikethroughs now display connected instead of just word by word.
• Max number of clippings has increased from 64 to 256. The limit exists to bound RAM usage.

Fixed

• Background silent indexing on the 2nd to last page of a chapter should work again for Full Section indexing (fixes #383)
• EPUB footnote and cross-reference previews now show the complete note when the link targets the middle of a paragraph. (fixes #406)
• EPUB clipping now keeps the correct text, font, Bionic Reading layout, and descenders when highlighting/clipping when memory is low (fixes #405 and #385)
• Reader popups, sleep messages, and KOReader Sync labels now keep the correct orientation. Long menus show a scrollbar. (fixes #409)
• Manage Fonts is more reliable with large font catalogs and returns to Font Options when leaving without changes. (fixes #401)
• KOReader Sync, web transfers, and authentication now recover more reliably from fragmented memory, stalled connections, and inactive saved Wi-Fi connections. (fixes #391 and #404)
• When doing a manual screen refresh, anti-aliasing should be preserved for EPUB and TXT(fixes #398)
• XTC and XTCH readers show the configured time-left estimate. (fixes #399)
• Split Cyrillic texts should render more reliably now (fixes #400)
• Estimated time left should display for XTC files now (fixes #399)
• Web UI should work more reliably when navigating to Settings and Fonts tab (fixes #351)
• Reading stats button labels now correspond to the user's mapped buttons (fixes #411)
• Clippings/highlights should preserve the highlighted text better after font changes (fixes #426)