Database Users

[Q] Swype installs but you cant enable

I got Swype to install but the rom wont let you select it

Right, you can't access the stock android settings page to enable it. Will likely need a custom rom before this can be done.

I dont have a fire yet so this is pure speculation....
Can you sideload a home screen replacement (like launcher pro) and have better access to the settings menus? Thus allowing ability to select swype?

I installed Go Launcher Ex, which worked for me, and I was unable to access any other settings other than the customized Kindle Settings.

sanewicked said:
I installed Go Launcher Ex, which worked for me, and I was unable to access any other settings other than the customized Kindle Settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, well guess at least we know those work! Will have to wait for some devs to get other stuff working I guess (or learn ourselves).
Edit: And im guessing they disabled the function to where you can long press on a text entry field to change input methods?

big gulps huh? said:
Edit: And im guessing they disabled the function to where you can long press on a text entry field to change input methods?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I was going to suggest trying.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

big gulps huh? said:
Edit: And im guessing they disabled the function to where you can long press on a text entry field to change input methods?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There *is* a menu for input method that has only one entry, "Kindle Keyboard".
masayang

The kb has to be enabled in settings before it will show up in the input selection menu. Of course there is no way of doing that just yet
Sent from my ADR6400L

SikYou said:
The kb has to be enabled in settings before it will show up in the input selection menu. Of course there is no way of doing that just yet
Sent from my ADR6400L
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I totally forgot about that. Oh well...

I am getting my kindle fire tomorrow and I've been looking at how to enable other keyboards. See if you can manually edit the file where settings are store: /data/data/com.android.providers/settings/databases/settings.db using an sql editor look for the field "enabled_input_methods". Type in the proper info for the keyboard you are adding and see what happens. Root is required obviously. With any luck this might work.

Swype working just fine.
Psxtreme said:
I am getting my kindle fire tomorrow and I've been looking at how to enable other keyboards. See if you can manually edit the file where settings are store: /data/data/com.android.providers/settings/databases/settings.db using an sql editor look for the field "enabled_input_methods". Type in the proper info for the keyboard you are adding and see what happens. Root is required obviously. With any luck this might work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got swype working last night after a few trials. Here's what I did (though I'm sure not all steps are necessary).
I of course first grabbed the swype APK from my ATTSGS2 and side loaded onto the fire (without root). I know you all said it wouldn't work, but this is just the way I troubleshoot issues.
Swype installed fine, but as you said I could not select it from the input options list (when you long click a text field it gives you the option to select input method).
Now, I haven't permanently rooted my fire. I quite like software updates, video, and security on my device. That said, I don't mind dabbling with the stock load a bit. I pushed zergRush out to /data/local and ran that to get a temporary root.
I then downloaded the settings.db as suggested above and used sqlite3 (included by default in Mac OS X) to edit the input methods list to add swype.
Here's a dump of the resulting field:
INSERT INTO "secure" VALUES(21,'enabled_input_methods','com.android.inputmethod.latin/.LatinIME:com.swype.android.inputmethod/.SwypeInputMethod');
If you aren't comfortable editing an sqlite database file I'm not going to walk you through it, a mistake with that file could brick your kindle.
You'll see I added Swype to the stock LatinIME.
That did the trick. After a reboot (which by the way removes my temporary root). I could select Swype. Of course upon launching the swype keyboard I discovered I was missing the swype core library. After another zergRush and an install of the library which I also found on my ATTSGS2 I got swype launched!
Great the keyboard came up .. and .. "license failure". Damn, that's the first piece of android I've seen with license enforcement.
That's okay though, I knew swype corp (now a division of Nuance) somehow gives away copies of the software. I left settings.db as is but removed the swype apk and corelibs.
Then I headed over to the swype website, signed up for the beta, downloaded the swype installer -- which by the way I had to do from my ATTSGS2 because the swype website insisted my kindle was not running android.
I side loaded the installer onto the kindle (without root), ran the installer, and everything went in smooth. I didn't even have to go back into settings.db to change the default input method -- the installer seemed to do that for me.
I'm not sure if the settings.db changes were necessary at all in fact, and if not this would be a completely safe procedure with no root required.
Some feedback would be good. I'm sure everyone would love to use this workaround to get swype running, though for most of you you'd better not touch sqlite databases directly. Its my opinion if editing that file IS necessary, then you're probably better off waiting for ROM support. Though it would of course be a violation of copyright law to distribute a ROM with swype preinstalled. Beware developers who ignore copyright law, their missing scruples may extend to other areas of software development.

I imagine at some point in the future someone will release a .apk that can modify those settings but it's good to know the settings are there and functional, just obfuscated by amazon. Also there is an android market app that lets you edit the sql database more easily but definitely not for the faint of heart.

Psxtreme said:
I imagine at some point in the future someone will release a .apk that can modify those settings but it's good to know the settings are there and functional, just obfuscated by amazon. Also there is an android market app that lets you edit the sql database more easily but definitely not for the faint of heart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I looked quick in the market and couldn't find one. Do you know the name?
It would be much easier than adb shuffles back and forth.

It's not free but I think it's worth it, it's called "SQLite Editor"

[email protected] said:
I'm not sure if the settings.db changes were necessary at all in fact, and if not this would be a completely safe procedure with no root required.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They appear to be - just tried installing the swype beta without rooting yet and the new keyboard is not showing up.

I just used the same method to enable Swiftkey X (the non-tablet version). Works great!
My "enabled_input_methods" field is: "com.android.inputmethod.latin/.LatinIME:com.touchtype.swiftkey/.KeyboardService"
Don't forget after uploading the modified settings.db back to the device to reset the owner ("chown system.system settings.db") and permissions ("chmod 660 settings.db") on the file. And as always, back up everything you change before you do it.
I'll post a step-by-step later if I'm not too busy.

i'll make a script tomorrow to change the enabled keyboard from stock to swype for y'all
you'll have to be rooted

I got my fire now and edited the db on the device using SQLite Editor and it worked after a reboot. I tested using Simeji (Japanese IME).

Swyping this on my kindle fire ;-). Thanks for the post! I had already kindle rooted and I happened to have the beta swype account, so for me it was much easier. all I had to do was to install swype installer from their beta web site and then use SQLlite editor to modify enabled_input_methods
Off topic: looking for decent home launcher to replace kindle's. Any suggestions. Tried the Go launcher but it isn't optimized for tablet

Can't you just move Swype to system/app and then the lib to system/lib, and reboot? You don't have to enable system keyboards
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

Swiftkey Bugs / Swiftkey problems / Swiftkey issues

For 1 whole year I regularly contacted Swiftkey by email and their facebook page and asked to fix this and they never fixed it, the biggest issue/bug is, Swiftkey is taking COPIED text as TYPED text. It should take typed words only (this is big reason behind inaccurate/unneeded word prediction). Could you do something about it?
Below is the email i wrote to Swiftkey and they never implemented or fixed these in their recent versions.
:
Improvement idea #1:
This is the big reason behind incorrect/inaccurate word prediction.
I was a die hard fan of Swiftkey until I realized that Swiftkey is taking COPIED text as TYPED Text resulting in unwanted prediction of words we already removed by selecting 'Do not predict xxxx'. STOP THIS PLZ
I checked this twice thrice and informing you. The problem is: Saving the words what we type is good but BAD/WORST part is, it also saves the words when you just copy text from other sources for example: Copying random text or paragraph from webpages, Ebooks and Documents. Those text are NOT TYPED by the user and those words GET COPIED to internal dictionary of Swiftkey which I don't like to be predicted while I type. I copy some text/paragraphs from webpages to read it later but it doesn't mean that I like all the words from that copied text/paragraphs and would not want those words predicted--as it can contain whatever words which i never typed and just copied it and while typing those words come across as prediction.
You can Experiment yourself.
1. Just copy the below words in a new note and save it. (do this on your android mobile not on PC) I would never use the below words ever.
2. Now, Suppose, you do not want the word 'Chateau' never ever to appear or predicted.
3. Open another new note and try to type 'chateau', you'll see 'chateau' appears in prediction bar. Long press the word 'Chateau', a message pop out saying 'Do not predict 'chateau' again.', hit 'OK.
4. Now, open the first note with all the below words saved and copy word 'Chateau' and see it will stupidly gets added to the dictionary of Swiftkey and you'll see them come across while you type.
Did you just observed ? You copied the word, you could have copied 2-3 paragraphs from the webpage which could contain more or few words which you never wish to type/use. it should not be added by Swiftkey.---this is exactly what is happening and it is leading to worst word predictions. Yes, if you rather type the entire word 'Chateau' then it should predict. Got my point ?
Words:
chateau
chatman
chatham
zuzana
zyban
zuma
zu
beau
beaune
beauregard
Improvement idea # 2:
I use Swiftkey's compact mode only to type and it is good in portrait mode. But in landscape mode, the other half screen is occupied with the empty space of keyboard. (Please check the attached picture).
Improvement idea # 3:
Sync from Whatsapp needed as many guys use whatsapp than facebook these days.
Improvement idea # 4:
Want to view dictionary words in each language and want to remove the words i never use.
Improvement idea # 5:
Shortcuts for cut, copy, paste like swype keyboard please.
Improvement idea # 6:
'Choose input method' notification bugging.
Improvement idea # 7:
Provide option to set flow trials color and width.
Could anyone fix atleast the idea #1 ? Swiftkey team is waste they give irrelevant replies to our emails, they never carefully read what user is saying.
Thank you,
Athar

Done
Good post

What options need shut off to reduce memory usage.... Maybe add a few other check boxes with notes about memory savings
Sent from my A1-810 using Tapatalk

I thing I manage to disable the method that executes learning from text copy. Try it and let me know how it works.

nijel8 said:
I thing I manage to disable the method that executes learning from text copy. Try it and let me know how it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I LOVE IT. Thank you very much for this mod. It's working 99% the 1% which is lacking is: It pridicts the word 'zyban' from the below list of unwanted words and that word force remains added when i delete it.
chatman
chateau
Chatham
zuzana
zyban
May be the word is the last one so remains force added?

Atharkhan101 said:
I LOVE IT. Thank you very much for this mod. It's working 99% the 1% which is lacking is: It pridicts the word 'zyban' from the below list of unwanted words and that word force remains added when i delete it.
chatman
chateau
Chatham
zuzana
zyban
May be the word is the last one so remains force added?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can easy add logging for you to watch what and when was blocked from learning in that particular method. The logcat message is displayed as array of all copied words. That way you can see if something else is not blocked as well. Just let me know...

nijel8 said:
I can easy add logging for you to watch what and when was blocked from learning in that particular method. The logcat message is displayed as array of all copied words. That way you can see if something else is not blocked as well. Just let me know...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would love to let you know but i can't read those catlog or logfiles. I'm a noob and very far from being a dev. I tried to delete that word Zyban like 10 times, it is still there. Are you too facing the same?

Atharkhan101 said:
I would love to let you know but i can't read those catlog or logfiles. I'm a noob and very far from being a dev. I tried to delete that word Zyban like 10 times, it is still there. Are you too facing the same?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't played with it much so I can't answer your question. All I know is that pasted words are no longer added to swiftkey learned words.

nijel8 said:
I haven't played with it much so I can't answer your question. All I know is that pasted words are no longer added to swiftkey learned words.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With this Solution came in a new problem that is the words are not being deleted.
I've attached the screenshot of the words which i want to delete.

[Q] How to set intent on the Nook Simple Touch to open "Reading Now"?

I am not at all a wizard in code, so if anyone could help me set an intent to open "reading now" on the Nook Simple Touch, that would be really helpful. I'm using it to have a "reading now" link on my desktop with an app. It lets me copy and paste any intent I want into it, and I thought this one would be handy. The app is Desktop VisualiseR.

ALinkToTao said:
I am not at all a wizard in code, so if anyone could help me set an intent to open "reading now" on the Nook Simple Touch, that would be really helpful. I'm using it to have a "reading now" link on my desktop with an app. It lets me copy and paste any intent I want into it, and I thought this one would be handy. The app is Desktop VisualiseR.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have it, but not with me. Search the forum for Reading Now. It's there somewhere. Or when I return from vacation...
Edit: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20046625&postcount=5

nmyshkin said:
I have it, but not with me. Search the forum for Reading Now. It's there somewhere. Or when I return from vacation...
Edit: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20046625&postcount=5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks brother. I appreciate it.

No hurry on a response, but I'm still trying to figure this out.
So what I'm trying to do is use Desktop VisualizeR to open the reader via the "Reading Now" Intent. I am making a very simple and intuitive browser like the one you have made, @nmyshkin for my friends and family who are not at all techie.
Here that post you referred me to below:
ros87 said:
No, not directly in Reader, but you can do it like this:
Code:
am broadcast -a com.bn.nook.launch.LAST_BOOK -n com.bn.nook.home/.HomeBroadcastReceiver
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a desktop I'm playing with. These images won't be the final product, but I would like to make an eye image that directly opens "Reading Now"
In the Desktop VisualizeR Widget, I go to "Select Action"-->"Clipboard" (with this exact text copied in the clipboard without quotes: "am broadcast -a com.bn.nook.launch.LAST_BOOK -n com.bn.nook.home/.HomeBroadcastReceiver" )
All I get are two options which pertain to "MX Player" which is merely a video player I have installed. Choosing either one of these and tapping to widget to run it yields no results. Is there a particular way to format the intent for Desktop VisualizeR to run it?

By the way, this homescreen thing is looking awesome! Here is what I've got now!
So I've been messing with using SMWidgets to create a shortcut with the "Eye" symbol on my desktop using this procedure here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1509030
Here were my results:
I was disappointed to find that the reader app did not launch, and the Script Manager app stayed with that message. I don't honestly know what it means. Anyone know what would be better to input?

ALinkToTao said:
In the Desktop VisualizeR Widget, I go to "Select Action"-->"Clipboard"/B]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just got into Cairo. You've been busy. To my knowledge the clipboard does not work on the NST, at least not for me, so there's one thing.
I can easily create an app with Tasker that does the Reading Now thing. But not without my NST. Would that work?

nmyshkin said:
Just got into Cairo. You've been busy. To my knowledge the clipboard does not work on the NST, at least not for me, so there's one thing.
I can easily create an app with Tasker that does the Reading Now thing. But not without my NST. Would that work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would, for sure!
I have gotten the clipboard to work in the attempt to do this! It works with the attached keyboard app "Multiling Keyboard". There is an option to switch to a keyboard that has arrow keys, select all, copy, paste, cut, delete, etc.

nmyshkin said:
Just got into Cairo. You've been busy. To my knowledge the clipboard does not work on the NST, at least not for me, so there's one thing.
I can easily create an app with Tasker that does the Reading Now thing. But not without my NST. Would that work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What might be better is if you're going to use tasker, to send me a backup of the macro that you create for the reading now action. That may suffice instead of writing a whole new app. I will probably install tasker since I already have so many tasker apps running it may save some RAM that way, not sure. I can also use tasker for other options on the desktop like toggling wifi etc. The attached version of tasker is the one I know is the latest and best for the NST.
Whichever is easier for you to do is whatever works for me. I really appreciate your help, and hope you have a wonderful and unforgettable trip in Cairo.

ALinkToTao said:
What might be better is if you're going to use tasker, to send me a backup of the macro that you create for the reading now action. That may suffice instead of writing a whole new app. I will probably install tasker since I already have so many tasker apps running it may save some RAM that way, not sure. I can also use tasker for other options on the desktop like toggling wifi etc. The attached version of tasker is the one I know is the latest and best for the NST.
Whichever is easier for you to do is whatever works for me. I really appreciate your help, and hope you have a wonderful and unforgettable trip in Cairo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, when I get home. In the meantime you might try just
com.bn.nook.launch.LAST_BOOK
as the intent. Seems like that's what's in the RN Menu app, although that might be in a shell which I'm not seeing. Not sure of the intent format for DesktopVisualizer.

nmyshkin said:
Yeah, when I get home. In the meantime you might try just
com.bn.nook.launch.LAST_BOOK
as the intent. Seems like that's what's in the RN Menu app, although that might be in a shell which I'm not seeing. Not sure of the intent format for DesktopVisualizer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank! I'll try that and let you know.

ALinkToTao said:
I was disappointed to find that the reader app did not launch, and the Script Manager app stayed with that message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't have to put the component name in, that is no "-n com.bn....."
The broadcast receiver component might have changed in different versions.
The newer Nooks seem to use com.bn.nook.intent.action.OPEN_LAST_READ_BOOK

ALinkToTao said:
What might be better is if you're going to use tasker, to send me a backup of the macro that you create for the reading now action. That may suffice instead of writing a whole new app. I will probably install tasker since I already have so many tasker apps running it may save some RAM that way, not sure. I can also use tasker for other options on the desktop like toggling wifi etc. The attached version of tasker is the one I know is the latest and best for the NST.
Whichever is easier for you to do is whatever works for me. I really appreciate your help, and hope you have a wonderful and unforgettable trip in Cairo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so here is a simple little app and the xml task file that is used to create it. You can, of course, assign a different icon using DesktopVisualiser.

Awesome, man! I will try it!

ALinkToTao said:
I have gotten the clipboard to work in the attempt to do this! It works with the attached keyboard app "Multiling Keyboard". There is an option to switch to a keyboard that has arrow keys, select all, copy, paste, cut, delete, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've installed this but can't figure out what to do with it! The first "step" (1. Enable Multiling) says it cannot do an autosetup so see the FAQ. This I did, but nowhere can I find anything about how to proceed with the app
Any pointers on set-up or somewhere you can point me that actually tells you how to do it?

@nmyshkin Here's a way to easily access the copy paste function when typing: In the multiling app go to "keyboard settings" then go to "gestures" each section you see here refers to a different swipe on the keyboard ims over the keys when its active. I know the second one programs a swipe to the right and the fourth is a swipe left. Program one of these to "toggle mode". Swipe your gesture when ims is active.
You will see what you want here.
Swipe again to switch back to QWERTY keyboard.
Try that.

ALinkToTao said:
@nmyshkin Here's a way to easily access the copy paste function when typing: In the multiling app go to "keyboard settings" then go to "gestures" each section you see here refers to a different swipe on the keyboard ims over the keys when its active. I know the second one programs a swipe to the right and the fourth is a swipe left. Program one of these to "toggle mode". Swipe your gesture when ims is active.
You will see what you want here.
Swipe again to switch back to QWERTY keyboard.
Try that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I finally figured all that out. My big hurdle was how to get the NST to use the keyboard instead of stock. It can be done using sqlite but I ended up using Nook Color Tools for the first (and last) time and in the process initiating an erase/deregister which made me very unhappy
Having trouble with the dictionary plugin at the moment. I have the keyboard app in system/app but installed the dictionary plugin as normal. Maybe that was a mistake.
But...it's almost back to where it was before the event, then I'll make a more current backup.
Edit: I finally got the dictionary plugin so that it's not whining about memory issues, but it does not seem to do anything.
More importantly, I can only seem to select ALL when using copy/paste. Is there a way to select only part of something? Also the function does not work in all contexts, for example in Documents to Go.
Edit-Edit: Well, I figured out the selection process for copy/paste. Who knew the "shift" key was needed to bound the area to copy? I'm sure this keyboard can do lots of things but it's profoundly lacking in any material to explain how they can be done. Still can't get the word suggestions to work, which is probably just as well since I immediately turn that off on my other devices.

I tried to get word suggestions to work for that keyboard, as it's my go-to keyboard on my Atrix 4g, but it never worked for me on the NST. If it did, that would be my daily user. I use ICS keyboard which actually has autocorrect. It's the only one I know of that works for it. If multiling had autocorrect, I wouldn't switch between the two on the NST.

ALinkToTao said:
I tried to get word suggestions to work for that keyboard, as it's my go-to keyboard on my Atrix 4g, but it never worked for me on the NST. If it did, that would be my daily user. I use ICS keyboard which actually has autocorrect. It's the only one I know of that works for it. If multiling had autocorrect, I wouldn't switch between the two on the NST.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm....OK. Whilst looking for an "ICS keyboard" in the YalpStore I was bemused to find that while I had typed "ics keyboard" what appeared in the search box was "Icarus keyboard". First time I noticed something like that and exactly why I always turn this "feature" off on all my devices. Perhaps removing the plugin will squelch that behavior.
Meanwhile, can you give me a link for the ICS keyboard you mention?
Edit: On further investigation, there is definitely auto"correction" going on as I type. What is missing is the typical display of potential substitutions and therefore any way to specify a choice. It just does what it wants by its own arcane rules.
In addition to having the English plugin installed, in the Settings for the Multiling keyboard under "Word suggestion settings" I originally had the first three selections checked as well as "Quick fixes" and "User dictionary". For me, this produced the behavior described.
I was able to stop auto"correct" by unchecking the first two options. This greyed-out everything else in the category.

nmyshkin said:
Mmm....OK. Whilst looking for an "ICS keyboard" in the YalpStore I was bemused to find that while I had typed "ics keyboard" what appeared in the search box was "Icarus keyboard". First time I noticed something like that and exactly why I always turn this "feature" off on all my devices. Perhaps removing the plugin will squelch that behavior.
Meanwhile, can you give me a link for the ICS keyboard you mention?
Edit: On further investigation, there is definitely auto"correction" going on as I type. What is missing is the typical display of potential substitutions and therefore any way to specify a choice. It just does what it wants by its own arcane rules.
In addition to having the English plugin installed, in the Settings for the Multiling keyboard under "Word suggestion settings" I originally had the first three selections checked as well as "Quick fixes" and "User dictionary". For me, this produced the behavior described.
I was able to stop auto"correct" by unchecking the first two options. This greyed-out everything else in the category.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm so sorry I haven't responded to your request for this. I've been busy building a house (a tiny house) to live in for my girlfriend and I. It's coming along very well, I have to say.
I've attached the apk file.

ALinkToTao said:
I'm so sorry I haven't responded to your request for this. I've been busy building a house (a tiny house) to live in for my girlfriend and I. It's coming along very well, I have to say.
I've attached the apk file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I'll take a look at it. I gave up on the other alternate keyboard. While it was able to copy and paste within an app, it didn't seem to have true clipboard capabilities to carry a line of text or a URL from one app to another. That's what I'd really like.

Rooting Nook simple touch e-reader for reading non-english character books

Hi All
Recently want to read some books on my Nook with non-english (simplified chinese) characters, but it fails to display them, only shows squares.
I then search for solution and people say i should root the device replace some fonts.
I then use NookManager to root it, and when I go to /system/fonts, I actually see the fonts that I want to use, but when I go to read the book, the font is not available for me to choose.
What is the solution now please?

luckyvictor said:
I then search for solution and people say i should root the device replace some fonts.
I then use NookManager to root it, and when I go to /system/fonts, I actually see the fonts that I want to use, but when I go to read the book, the font is not available for me to choose.
What is the solution now please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The NST can only use the set fonts that it comes with (without a lot of tinkering). If you just place different fonts in /system/fonts they will be ignored. The trick is to rename your new font so it has the same name as one of the stock fonts (preferably one you don't want to use). So that means you have to rename the stock font you are replacing first (change ttf to bak or something like that) and then rename your new font. Reboot.
Theoretically that should work if your font is compatible.

i cant rename it, do i need a special app to do it? if so, how may I install apps on NST please?

luckyvictor said:
i cant rename it, do i need a special app to do it? if so, how may I install apps on NST please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get the font onto the NST in the first place? If you could do that you should be able to rename a file.

i didn't, i just discover it is there after i root the device.

luckyvictor said:
i didn't, i just discover it is there after i root the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's kind of difficult to help because you are giving so little information. It comes out in very slow drips. So let me guess a little and see if we can get this figured out.
You're talking about DroidSansFallback.ttf?
My understanding of that font is that the system uses it when there are characters to display that are out of range (standard or extended ASCII) for the other fonts. So you can't actually select it yourself in the Reader (as you probably found out). Any font you select will "fall back" to DroidSansFallback if characters are encountered beyond extended ASCII (or so).
What seems to be happening is that you have books (PDF? EPUB? It would help to know...) which do not display the simplified Chinese characters. So if you are trying to read EPUBs we need to see if DroidSansFallback includes these characters. If not, then you need to find a different DroidSansFallback that does. If it does have those characters and you are trying to look at an EPUB, there is something about the encoding in the EPUB that is preventing the Nook from interpreting the font characters correctly.
If your books are PDFs it's maybe more complicated.
In your original post it sounds like you read about doing this (i.e., reading Chinese books on the NST) somewhere. Can you refer me to the source and would you be willing to share one of the books here (attach to your next post) so that I can see what you are describing?
Edit: OK, I tracked down a Chinese language epub. The titles displayed OK (I think) in the Library but when I opened the book I just got a bunch of boxes, most with question marks. This seems to be what you described.
I tapped on the screen to bring up the font/size, etc. options. I noticed that "publisher's defaults" was unchecked. When I checked that, I instantly had Chinese characters! See screenshot below. I didn't have to do anything else.

Because it had embedded fonts in the EPUB?

Renate said:
Because it had embedded fonts in the EPUB?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe, but I don't think so. I opened it up with Sigil and there is nothing in the Fonts folder.

sorry i was being inactive because of easter holiday with kids.
yes i am trying to read a epub book and the front page display the chinese correctly.
and I did try publisher default, when it is unchecked, I got empty square box displayed, when it is checked, it display square box with question mark inside.
and for the font, i got only options of Caecilia, malabar, amasis, gill sans, helvetica heue and trebuchet, cant; scroll up or down to see more options.
btw, when i tap to show the menu of content/find/go to/text/more, the chinese title of the book displayed correctly at the top left corner together with the time at top right corner.

luckyvictor said:
sorry i was being inactive because of easter holiday with kids.
yes i am trying to read a epub book and the front page display the chinese correctly.
and I did try publisher default, when it is unchecked, I got empty square box displayed, when it is checked, it display square box with question mark inside.
and for the font, i got only options of Caecilia, malabar, amasis, gill sans, helvetica heue and trebuchet, cant; scroll up or down to see more options.
btw, when i tap to show the menu of content/find/go to/text/more, the chinese title of the book displayed correctly at the top left corner together with the time at top right corner.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So could you post a copy of an epub here (or pm me and attach a copy if you prefer) so that I can see what is the difference?

nmyshkin said:
So could you post a copy of an epub here (or pm me and attach a copy if you prefer) so that I can see what is the difference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. I think I have a "fix" for you. I can't take credit for it. I found it in a Mobilread forum posting from 2012. It has worked for me with the book you provided as well as others I have downloaded myself from various places.
The short explanation is that you need to choose a reader font you don't much like (I do not care for either Caecilia or Trebuchet) and rename each version of the font in /system/fonts something like Trebuchet.ttf.bak, etc. Each variety of the font, bold, italic, etc., needs to be similarly renamed.
Then you download this font and rename it to Trebuchet.ttf (or Caecilia.ttf or whichever you have chosen) and copy it into /system/fonts.
Then you reboot.
When you open your book, select the "new" Trebuchet or whichever as the font. You should see Chinese characters. You can still change size, line spacing, etc.

Thankfully I have found the solution to this issue in post #11. I like my BOOK and don't want to buy a new one. It is a present from my mother, which means a lot to me, and I got used to it. It helped me to understand the importance of reading. I wasn't enjoying reading books, The NOOK made reading books extremely comfortable, and I started to read whenever I had some free time. It is compact, so I can carry it wherever, so I always read it while on the bus, taking lunch at my office or home before going to sleep.

NancyPollard said:
Have you found a solution to this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try what's in post #11?

Looking for help with modding Multiling keyboard

Thread reboot begins in post #14: AIType Keyboard!
It was user @ALinkToTao who first acquainted me with Multiling Keyboard. I don't care much about the potential for other languages (and I think maybe the Hacker's Keyboard does a better job), but I do really like the secondary keyboard which gives access to the system paste buffer or clipboard. It's nearly impossible to find an application which will allow a long press on an item to copy it to the clipboard (the URL line in Opera Mini is a notable exception). I've found this very useful in moving from a text editor to, say, Tasker, or even Opera Mini. Anyway, the keyboard is not without issues.
The principal issue I would like to solve is the invisibility of key options on a long-press. For example, a long press of the "u" key should bring up the number "7" along with a variety of diacritical variations of "u". I've installed the keyboard on a small KitKat device and it does display properly, with a highlight rectangle that can be moved around before releasing and accepting the character. In that particular installation, the potential characters are displayed in a line, just like they "might" be if they were only visible. The background is always dark (as on the stock NST) and the character font is always white, regardless of the font color on the keyboard.
I've taken the app apart and inspected every xml reference to font colors. Changing them all to "black" or "white" depending on the theme (and even adding some) has had no effect. I have been able to change the background color of the rectangle which should show the key options, but that's it. The selection process does work, but it's blind.
Just to see if this is an e-ink thing, I installed the keyboard on the NST-CM11 ROM. I've shown side-by-side screenshots of the board on the stock ROM and the CM11 ROM. Although the configuration of the rectangle has changed for some reason, the function remains the same and clearly works on the CM11 ROM.
This leads me to suspect that this could be a framework issue. I hope not.
So, if anyone is interested in working on this with me, I'd really like the extra input. I've attached a copy of the (unaltered) apk.

If I had the know-how, I would help you. But I'm ignorant in these matters. Glad to hear that you're still at it. I still freaking love my Nook Simple Touch that you've helped me with. I've gifted dozens of those to my friends customized specifically for them. I still use that DesktopVisualizer app on my Atrix 4g and all my Nooks. Thank you brother.

ALinkToTao said:
If I had the know-how, I would help you. But I'm ignorant in these matters. Glad to hear that you're still at it. I still freaking love my Nook Simple Touch that you've helped me with. I've gifted dozens of those to my friends customized specifically for them. I still use that DesktopVisualizer app on my Atrix 4g and all my Nooks. Thank you brother.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, thank you for this keyboard which is nearly perfect for my use. Just this one niggling thing.
BTW, I finally worked out a way to make the RNMenu app user-customizable (within limits). If you still use it, you might want to take a look here.

Thanks I'll check that out, and yes I do use it!

Code:
C:\>adb install com.klye.ime.latin-1.apk
Performing Push Install
com.klye.ime.latin-1.apk: 1 file pushed, 0 skipped. 3.4 MB/s (949941 bytes in 0.265s)
pkg: /data/local/tmp/com.klye.ime.latin-1.apk
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_INVALID_APK]
W/PackageManager( 809): Native ABI mismatch from package file
You might need to rename lib/armeabi to lib/armeabi-v7a

Renate said:
Code:
C:\>adb install com.klye.ime.latin-1.apk
Performing Push Install
com.klye.ime.latin-1.apk: 1 file pushed, 0 skipped. 3.4 MB/s (949941 bytes in 0.265s)
pkg: /data/local/tmp/com.klye.ime.latin-1.apk
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_INVALID_APK]
W/PackageManager( 809): Native ABI mismatch from package file
You might need to rename lib/armeabi to lib/armeabi-v7a
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh. I'll try that tomorrow morning. Thanks!

Renate said:
Code:
C:\>adb install com.klye.ime.latin-1.apk
Performing Push Install
com.klye.ime.latin-1.apk: 1 file pushed, 0 skipped. 3.4 MB/s (949941 bytes in 0.265s)
pkg: /data/local/tmp/com.klye.ime.latin-1.apk
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_INVALID_APK]
W/PackageManager( 809): Native ABI mismatch from package file
You might need to rename lib/armeabi to lib/armeabi-v7a
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was interesting. I've actually never tried installing this as a user app. I've always just copied the apk file into /system/app and rebooted. There, it behaves just as you would expect a keyboard app to except for this annoying display issue.
It won't install on the original NST as a user app. Via ADB it gives the error you show above, with or without lib/armbei renamed to lib/armbei-v7a.
If I try to install via file manager it warns that another version already exists on the device (it doesn't) and then the installation fails.
So that's not the way to address this problem--but it is interesting.
Edit: oh, and if I rename the lib sub-folder and then place the apk file in /system/app as I normally would, it is ignored.

nmyshkin said:
with or without lib/armbei renamed to lib/armbei-v7a.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spelling counts: armeabi-v7a
Work-in-progress (named "ThemeSpy")
Code:
01010036 android:attr/textColorPrimary -> 01060001 android:color/primary_text_dark -> "res/color/primary_text_dark.xml"
01010037 android:attr/textColorPrimaryDisableOnly -> 01060040 android:color/primary_text_dark_disable_only -> "res/color/primary_text_dark_disable_only.xml"
01010038 android:attr/textColorSecondary -> 01060005 android:color/secondary_text_dark -> "res/color/secondary_text_dark.xml"
01010039 android:attr/textColorPrimaryInverse -> 01060003 android:color/primary_text_light -> "res/color/primary_text_light.xml"
0101003a android:attr/textColorSecondaryInverse -> 01060007 android:color/secondary_text_light -> "res/color/secondary_text_light.xml"
0101003b android:attr/textColorPrimaryNoDisable -> 01060002 android:color/primary_text_dark_nodisable -> "res/color/primary_text_dark_nodisable.xml"
0101003c android:attr/textColorSecondaryNoDisable -> 01060006 android:color/secondary_text_dark_nodisable -> "res/color/secondary_text_dark_nodisable.xml"
0101003d android:attr/textColorPrimaryInverseNoDisable -> 01060004 android:color/primary_text_light_nodisable -> "res/color/primary_text_light_nodisable.xml"
0101003e android:attr/textColorSecondaryInverseNoDisable -> 01060008 android:color/secondary_text_light_nodisable -> "res/color/secondary_text_light_nodisable.xml"
0101003f android:attr/textColorHintInverse -> 01060032 android:color/hint_foreground_light -> #ff555555

Renate said:
Spelling counts: armeabi-v7a
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh my...I hope I didn't do something that stupid
I'll check tomorrow morning...

Renate said:
Spelling counts: armeabi-v7a
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it does, but I'm apparently more careful when working with Apktool than when typing a post. I had the change right in the app, but it is not recognized by the NST as a system app and will not install as a user app.
I've searched for other potential mentions of "armeabi" elsewhere in the app just to be sure something didn't have to be changed to be consistent, but there were none.
Square one.
Edit: it just gets weirder. I located three previous versions of the app. None will install as user apps, always claiming they will replace an existing app (there is none) and then failing to install. Placed in /system/app instead, they are ignored. Only version 1.1.7 behaves as a system app on the NST (but will not install as a user app). So it's this version or none I guess.
I'm wondering if this version (1.1.7) has not already been modified by someone. @ALinkToTao, do you remember where you got this version?

Ah. Something, maybe a thread to tug on.
There are a couple of T9/compact keyboard modes. On the first of these, a long-press shows the sort of thing that ought to appear on the standard keyboard with a long-press. See screenshot below.
So the thing is doable on the device, but for some reason it's not working on the full-size keyboard.
Time to look at the xml again...

If it doesn't install normally you'll have to show the logcat why.
My NST has props:
Code:
[ro.product.cpu.abi]: [armeabi-v7a]
My contemporary (but cheap) cellphone has props:
Code:
[ro.product.cpu.abi]: [armeabi-v7a]
[ro.product.cpu.abi2]: [armeabi]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist]: [armeabi-v7a,armeabi]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist32]: [armeabi-v7a,armeabi]
My Onyx Poke3 has props:
Code:
[ro.product.cpu.abi]: [arm64-v8a]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist]: [arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a,armeabi]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist32]: [armeabi-v7a,armeabi]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist64]: [arm64-v8a]

Renate said:
If it doesn't install normally you'll have to show the logcat why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yours has props, mine has peeps (but only me).
This is one for the Journal of Irreproducible Results. I think I see part of the crazy message source now. I deleted the apk file from /system/app, removed the folder for the app from /data/data and removed the dalvik-cache entry for the app. Then I tried to install the app again as a user app, following the logcat. I saw no errors but a lot of shuffling around of stuff. I forgot that the package manager and i guess packages.xml would retain information of previous installations, so it all became sort of a mush.
But I did see in logcat that it was sorting out the change from a system app to a user app. It did not complain about the armaebi business but did remark on it. And it installed.
Next I did what all the old threads about keyboards say to do. I moved the apk file from /data/app to /system/app, fixed the permissions and rebooted. The app showed up in the drawer and functioned as before--sadly.
But.
I believe I have something better. Time for a thread reboot when I have more time.
"My child, the Duke of Plaza-Toro does not follow fashions--he leads them. He always leads everybody. When he was in the army he led his regiment. He occasionally led them into action. He invariably led them out of it."
--The Gondoliers

Time for a thread reboot!
Since the Multiling keyboard would not play nice with me, no matter what I tried to fix the issue with the long-press options display in the normal keyboard mode, my attentions began to wander. Somewhere in the dark recesses of the forum I found a reference to the AIType Keyboard app. I searched for an old copy, found it and began to test it out.
It has a more limited language range then the Multiling keyboard, but those other languages on the Multiling required an addon and the last time I tried to help someone with it, we could not get it to work. Also, there is no finger-tracing recognition (I'll really miss that!). I tried to track down a few language plugins for the AIType Keyboard, but the ones I found refused to install (Arabic, for example). As it is, it works fine with languages using a Latin or modified Latin alphabet, Greek, Korean (surprise), and languages using Cyrillic. Much of that probably has to do with what the NST can support. "Download" invitations in the initial part of Settings do not work. The app contains a custom certificate which I'm sure has long-since expired. I also suspect the language addons are not actually free, so even if you track down an old one, it's not going to work.
I could not figure out the "prediction" stuff (possibly because I don't care about it), so I won't say it does not work. The app can even read your text in the edit mode using TTS.
And yes, the long-press options work on all the keys in all the modes!
Also there are many different keyboard styles to choose and you can change the colors of many things. Alas the color changing is done with the typical graphical picker. While a hex value for the selection is shown immediately after it is chosen, if you take a peek at the preferences.xml file, the colors have been obfuscated for some reason. They look like signed twos complement. Don't get me started.
Anyway....I played around trying to get something clean, resembling the stock keyboard. In the end when I had what I wanted I noticed that the navigation arrows in the edit keyboard were nearly invisible, being white on a white background with just a ghostly outline. I therefore altered those few images to make them gray. No other changes (except the signature, of course) have been made. See screenshots below for what I came up with.
If you like the looks of what I did or want to use it as a point of departure, see the spoiler that follows. If you would rather have the original, un-modded app and work with it yourself, you can download it from here.
To install and use, just treat this as a user app. It can figure out what to do. If you decide you don't like it, uninstalling will give you back the stock keyboard.
Spoiler: Reproducing my settings
In order to use the provided xml file that will make the keyboard look like it does in the screenshots, you need to be able to control which keyboard the NST is using. Nook Color Tools can access the Android Input chooser, but you should not fool around with other stuff in there. Some things can cause a spontaneous factory re-image from which there is no escape (I speak from experience). Safer would be my Nook Settings app (shameless plug) which has an Input option in the System section.
Here's the sequence:
1. Install the AIType Keyboard app.
2. Tap on the app icon and allow the app to access the Input chooser. You select the new keyboard and "Finish" at the bottom of the screen. This should be sufficient to generate the xml file in /data/data/com.aitype.android/shared_prefs.
If you want to be sure, access the keyboard with something just for a bit.
3. Now bring up the Input chooser using the Nook Settings app or Nook Color Tools (I guess there is an ADB option too...). Select the stock keyboard.
4. Download and upzip the file containing the preferences xml file.
5. Copy this file into /data/data/com.aitype.android/shared_prefs, overwriting what is there. Permissions on the file should be rw-rw-r.
6. With the Input chooser, select the AIType Keyboard and you're good to go!
Edit: 7-30-22--Ah, nagware. You gotta hate it.... How to stop the "limited time only" nuisance that comes up too often when the keyboard opens? I played around with this awhile and discovered that a likely setting in the xml preferences file I attached seemed to do the trick. I changed a date to some time in 2025 and no more nags. After that, well, I'll just change it again. I've updated the zip in the downloads, but if you have already made settings changes and don't want to start over, you can do this yourself. Look for this line in the xml file:
Code:
<long name="next_expiration_reminder" value="1657490536337" />
Your actual value (extended date time format) may be a little different, but what you want to do is change the second digit to a "7" so the line looks like this:
Code:
<long name="next_expiration_reminder" value="1757490536337" />
You should do this by copying out the file, making the change and then copying back over the original file.