Re: Pali fonts work on eReaders, Tipitaka PDF unzip problem, make Pa

Dear Venerable Yuttadhammo and a big Hello to Lennart!

Nice work, Lennart!

I haven't had time to test everything yet but a couple of notes and questions for now :

1) The download format is .rar - is .zip available? I would suggest that the .zip format is better known and understood.

Question : As far as you know : Is rar supported natively by Windows, Linux and Mac computers?

2) How do you handle the font problem? To the best of your knowledge : what eReaders make it possible to support the Pali fonts?

3) How long have you had these ePub files available on the web?

4) Some months ago, I tried using Calibre to convert the Access to Insight Pali Canon web pages to ePub format. I found that Calibre would "recurse" and eventually fail due to the file size being created (ie any section of the AtoI site links back to the AtoI main page which links forward into the entire AtoI web site).

I "solved" the problem by:
- editing the html (in 2 - read two - spots) at the top and bottom of the index page of the section that I was interested in converting and
- moving the directory with the AtoI pages in question out of the path specified by the other AtoI pages (example : create a new Folder on your desktop and put the folder for the AtoI section that you want to convert into an ebook in there for conversion)
It was a hack but it worked fine. The final problem was getting font support done in a way that was simple, free and reliable. It has only been a few days since I found an eReader with simple Pali font support.

5) I found that Calibre did not work with the VRI Pali Canon pages because they use "frames" for the web pages and the index is managed by a little Javascript plugin (making PATH discovery impossible to Calibre). To VRI : It's very nice the way it is! I'm not suggesting here that you change the format of the pages!

Also to VRI : your Pali Canon pages work great embedded into applications that use web browser support. Examples are C# applications, Python applications, and JQuery applications using tabs, etc. I know because I tested all of them using your web pages! The way you have your Pali Canon web pages now is perfect for using in applications because they are very minimalist - no waste of screen real estate.

As I mentioned : the only eReader I've tested that has really simple Pali font support is the Kobo eReader Touch Editions. Are there other eReaders with good Pali font support?

I'm rambling a bit, here. I hope this helps!

Many thanks for getting the Canon into ePub format! and peace from

Andy

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Lennart Lopin <novalis78@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Andy, Bhante
>
> ...having used the tools you mentioned, we created a collection of most of
> the Sutta Pitaka books as epubs:
>
> http://books.nibbanam.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=3&Itemid=29&vmcchk=1&Itemid=29
>
> metta,
>
> Lennart
>
> On Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 3:09 AM, Yuttadhammo <yuttadhammo@...> wrote:
>
> > **
> >
> >
> > Also, Calibre does a good job with many options from pdf to epub:
> >
> > http://calibre-ebook.com/
> >
> >
> > On 12/15/2011 11:09 AM, palitechguy wrote:
> > > Hi!
> > >
> > > I spent the last couple of days getting Pali Texts from VRI plus Access
> > to Insight web pages formatted into ePub format and onto an eReader I have
> > for testing.
> > >
> > > The bottom line :
> > >
> > > 1) There is at least one inexpensive eReader that allows you to install
> > Pali fonts and use them without any problem.
> > >
> > > 1.a If you know how to copy files onto a USB key then you can install
> > the Pali fonts onto the eReader.
> > >
> > > 1.b If you can choose a font from the list in your word processor then
> > you have the skills needed to activate the font and use it.
> > >
> > > The eReader I tested with is the Kobo eReader Touch Edition.
> > >
> > > (My Sony eReader PRS-650 does not allow me install and activate fonts in
> > a way that any normal human being can understand. It is such a complicated
> > fuss that I won't bother detailing it).
> > >
> > > 2. The Pali Tipitaka as PDF files - bug?
> > >
> > > I downloaded the PDF files from tipitaka.org a few times over the last
> > year but they didn't unzip properly on my Windows XP computer and I didn't
> > have time to fuss with it.
> > >
> > > I think I found the problem. You cannot "Extract All..." files on
> > Windows XP if there are Pali special characters in the file name?
> > >
> > > In any case, I renamed the zip files that I downloaded and they unzipped
> > fine.
> > >
> > > BTW : the computer I used is installed in French so this might have
> > affected the unzip?
> > >
> > > Conclusion : If you have not been able to unzip the PDF files from
> > tipitaka.org then try renaming them.
> > >
> > > If you have the font installed on the eReader then these PDF files show
> > all pali characters. This is nice but...
> > >
> > > 3. It turns out that it is very fast and easy to create ePub books for
> > Pali (and the Access to Insight web site or other web sites).
> > >
> > > There is a program called "SIGIL The ePub Editor" (under the GNU GPL v3)
> > that makes it very easy to create ePub format books for yourself or others.
> > >
> > > 3.1 If you just want to create a fast ePub book then
> > >
> > > - Open Windows Notepad
> > > - Copy and Paste some Pali or a web page into Notepad
> > > - "Save As..." - After Filename and File Type there is a little
> > pull-down list Code (Encodage in French). Change it from ANSI to UTF-8
> > >
> > > almost done!
> > >
> > > - Open Sigil
> > > - Open your file
> > > - Save As... - There is a pulldown box for the file type. The default is
> > EPUB file (*.epub)
> > >
> > > and you have just created your first Pali ePub book.If a pali font is
> > installed on your eReader then all Pali characters will show properly.
> > >
> > > Optional : If you are going to be sharing the book then you will
> > probably want to add a cover, create section headings, generate a table of
> > contents and much more but it is not necessary.
> > >
> > > 4. Links
> > >
> > > I blogged about the Pali Tipitaka pdf file bug and about adding fonts to
> > the eReader at :
> > >
> > >
> > http://emsjuwel.com/pali.dictionary/buddhist-pali-tipitaka-pdf-files-an-unzip-problem-solved/
> > >
> > > You can download Sigil and see the Basic Tutorial (on the left side
> > under "Wiki Pages") at :
> > >
> > > http://code.google.com/p/sigil/
> > >
> > > Hopefully we will soon be able to offer pali materials in the very handy
> > ePub format.
> > >
> > > peace from
> > >
> > > Andy
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------
> >
> > >
> > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> > > Paa.li-Parisaa - The Pali Collective
> > > [Homepage] http://www.tipitaka.net
> > > [Pali Document Framework] http://www.tipitaka.net/forge/pdf/
> > > [Files] http://www.geocities.com/paligroup/
> > > [Send Message] pali@yahoogroups.com
> > > Yahoo! Groups members can set their delivery options to daily digest or
> > web only.Yahoo! Groups Links
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
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>