Questions about syncing + accessibility question

[DavidB]

I've started using freda yesterday and have just activated the "synch using the internet" option in the Settings. So, I now have a /freda/save and a /freda/sync folder in my OneDrive. Neat.

Within the "save" folder, I have a "books" folder which, I suppose, serves as a book repository to sync books between all devices? 

I have three questions: 

1/ Will freda automatically add books in this folder when I open it on a another device? Or do I need to use the sync/merge button menu?
2/ Are the books I imported in freda before activating the sync option supposed to appear there too, or do I need to reimport them? So far they, do not sync at all. 
3/ Aren't bookmarks/note/page reads supposed to sync between devices for each synced book? I've only tested with one book so far (it's saved in the freda/save/books folder, I right-clicked it to open it with freda), but there is no syncing going on between my two devices. 

That said, I've a really terrible eyesight and would not be surprised if you told me I missed some setting or did something wrong 

Talking about eyesight and accessibility: the background image in the home screen makes it hard for me to see the book covers and read the text. Is there a way to turn it off and/or is there a way to make the covers/text bigger?

Thx (and thx for the app)

[jim_chapman]

Hi David,

The "synch using the internet" option will only synchronise your latest-read position between devices, for books that you have opened recently. It will do that automatically, whenever the app is running, but it won't synchronise anything else (bookmarks, highlights, books, settings).

Those other things can be synchronised manually, using the 'backup (merge/load/save)' button menu. There is a bit more information about that here: http://www.turnipsoft.com/forums/showthr...p?tid=1701

As for the main screen background image, you can alter that using the 'ui theme' setting. Tap on that item in the settings list, then (in the setting popup window) adjust the colour transparency for the background colour - set the rightmost (alpha) slider to 255, and you will now have a solid dark green background. That might be more readable for you.

Concerning accessibility generally, this is something I am specifically working on, aiming to make Freda more easily usable for people with poor eyesight, and other specific accessibility needs. So I would be glad to get your feedback regarding any other possible areas for improvement.

Thanks.

[DavidB]

Thx for the explanations. It makes sense, now.

And thx for background image solution. It's now much more readable for me.

Any plan to let us change the covers size, too?

Concerning accessibility generally, this is something I am specifically working on, aiming to make Freda more easily usable for people with poor eyesight, and other specific accessibility needs.  So I would be glad to get your feedback regarding any other possible areas for improvement.

That's great to know, thx for considering this!

Of course, I can only talk about low vision, and only about my specific needs, but I'll gladly help if I can.

You already provide some great stuff, btw.

One of them is the ability to import/export our settings. Tweaking an app is a long process when you can't see that well, so being able to easily reapply all settings on a new machine or after a clean install is great, and it's reassuring.

Another neat thing is the "Presets" list, and the so many settings one can save in each. It's something I'm still experimenting with, but I intend to use it to quickly change the book layout (font, size, font family, colors, and so on) depending how good is my eyesight at any given time of the day. And it can vary quite drasticaly.

What would make Presets even better would be the ability to reorder their list, putting the most useful first. Or even better yet, have a keyboard shortcut associated with the most used. Could that be an option? Or is it already?

Also, using simpler names for some settings would help. I mean, thx a lot for explaining me how to remove the background image: it helps a lot. But that's something I probably would not have figured out by myself. Have you considered naming this option 'Customise the app color and background", instead of "ui theme"? And maybe have a checkbox next to a "Display background image" option?

Also, would it be possible to let the user change the app UI font-size, without having to change Windows settings?

Regarding colors: sliders can be difficult to use. Have you considered using the color picker instead?

There are other stuff that I'd gladly discuss with you, but be assured that considering any one of these would already make a huge difference

If you're interested and if you ever need a beta tester, feel free to contact me: I've been doing it for a long time, mostly on Mac and then iOS but since I'm also using Windows a lot now, I'ld be happy to help.

Thanks again.