View source for Kindle ebooks with embedded Tibetan font -- CURRENTLY BROKEN

[[Image:KindleTibetan.png|thumb|400px|A converted ebook from [http://www.lotsawahouse.org/bo/tibetan-masters/mipham/two-kinds-of-selflessness Lotsawahouse.org] displayed on Kindle Voyage]]
==Introduction==
Since 2016, even the 70 EUR [https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-New-E-Reader-Glare-Free-Touchscreen-Display/dp/B0186FESVC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473184339&sr=8-2&keywords=kindle+8 entry model Kindle 8] is able to correctly display Tibetan script, once configured correctly.

Kindles can support display of Tibetan within Kindle's UI and correctly formatted Tibetan script in ebooks. Two conditions must be fulfilled: 
* A Tibetan font needs to be installed on the device. (This font will only be available after a device '''reboot''', s.b.)
* A Tibetan font needs to be embedded into every Tibetan ebook.

==Update: latest Kindle firmware breaks Tibetan script==
Amazon integrated use of user defined fonts into Kindle's UI with firmware 5.9.6. Unfortunately, '''this broke support for Tibetan and Dzongkha rendering'''. There are two problems:
* Book titles in Tibetan/Dzongkha can no longer be displayed
* Kindle's latest firmware fails to render stacked letters correctly.

So far there is no fix available. A possible solution might be to downgrade the firmware, but this has not been tested.

Once a solution has been found, this page will be updated.

==Installation of a Tibetan font on kindle devices==
[[Image:KindleMenu.png|thumb|400px|Mixed English and Tibetan script in Kindle's book overview]]
===Copy the font files to the kindle===
* Make sure that you have the latest (but older than 5.9.6, see update above) firmware for your Kindle: On Kindle's home screen, select the menu button [[Image:KindleMenuButton.png|20px]], "<code>Settings</code>". Then, again select the menu [[Image:KindleMenuButton.png|20px]], and "<code>Device Info</code>". The firmware version should be at least 5.6.x.<ref>This software version seems to be model depend, see below for more information on supported models: older Kindle devices might not support display of Tibetan script.</ref>
* Download the preconfigured font files: [http://www.digitaltibetan.org/Media/Resources/Kindle-Tibetan-Fonts.zip Tibetan fonts for the Kindle]. Source: <code>DDC_Uchen.ttf</code> by Chris Fynn.<ref>DDC Uchen, a font designed by [http://sites.google.com/site/chrisfynn2/ Chris Fynn] for the [http://www.dzongkha.gov.bt/index.en.html Dzongkha Development Commission], can be downloaded from: [http://www.dzongkha.gov.bt/IT/download/fonts/DDC_Uchen.ttf http://www.dzongkha.gov.bt/IT/download/fonts/DDC_Uchen.ttf]</ref>
* Unpack the zip file
* Connect the Kindle to your computer and copy the content of the folder Kindle-Tibetan-Fonts to your Kindle.
* Your Kindle then should show a new folder "<code>fonts</code>" (it contains four Tibetan fonts) and a new file <code>USE_ALT_FONTS</code>. [[Image:KindleFileSystem.png|thumb|480px|two new objects in kindle's file system after font-file installation]]
===Restart the kindle===
The new fonts wont be recognized until the kindle is rebooted:
* Now your kindle needs to be restarted: disconnect the kindle from your computer, go to the home screen, select the menu button [[Image:KindleMenuButton.png|20px]], "<code>Settings</code>". Then, again select the menu [[Image:KindleMenuButton.png|20px]], and "<code>Restart</code>".

The kindle will reboot, and afterwards ebooks that contain Tibetan script and an embedded Tibetan font can be read on the kindle.

==How to embed a Tibetan font into an ebook==
* The kindle format needs to be <code>AZW3</code>. <code>mobi</code> does not support correct rendering of Tibetan script.
* A Tibetan font needs to be embedded into the <code>AZW3</code> ebook file.

===Step by step conversion===
====1. Convert your ebook file to <code>epub</code>====
* You can add a Tibetan font easily yourself to an existing ebook, using the powerful ebook managment tool [https://calibre-ebook.com/ Calibre]. Calibre is open source and available for Linux, Mac and Windows.
* Simply drag your existing ebook file into calibre.
* If it is not already in <code>epub</code> format, convert it using calibre's "Convert books" option.

====2. Embedding of a Tibetan font====
[[Image:CalibreFontEmbedding.png|thumb|400px|Calibre supports automatic font embededing]]
Select the <code>epub</code> formatted ebook in calibre, and (again) use option "Convert books", "Look & Feel", "Embed font family" to add a Tibetan font (recommended is "[[Tibetan Fonts|DDC Uchen]]").
Save the ebook. Calibre has now update the style sheet and included the the font file into the ebook document.

See the ''the-ebook-reader blog'' for more information on handling ebook fonts.<ref>[http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2015/04/28/how-to-use-custom-fonts-with-kindles-embed-fonts-in-kindle-ebooks/ How to Use Custom Fonts with Kindles – Embed Fonts in Kindle eBooks]</ref>

====3. Convert to <code>AZW3</code>====
The <code>epub</code> ebook now needs to be convert to <code>AZW3</code>. Again make use of "Convert books" to convert the <code>epub</code> to <code>AZW3</code>. Make sure that you do '''not''' accidentally use an unsuitable format like <code>mobi</code> as conversion source.

====4. Install the ebook on the kindle====
Now use calibre to send the new <code>AZW3</code> ebook that contains the correct fonts to the kindle device. Consider to remove <code>mobi</code> versions.

==Troubleshooting==
* Make sure you installed a Tibetan font on the kindle.
* Make sure you rebooted the kindle (it's not enough to switch it on and off, use the "settings" menu to actually reboot the kindle).
* Make sure you've embedded a suitable Tibetan font into the ebook.
* If your Kindle has a firmware >= 5.9.6, then Tibetan/Dzongkha rendering is broken.
===Tibetan titles are not displayed correctly in kindle's book lists===
If you see square boxes with numbers instead of Tibetan script of book titles in the book overview:
* You either did not follow the steps for "copying font files to the kindle"
* You did not correctly restart the kindle using kindle's "setting / reboot" option
* Your kindle firmware is just too old, or your device is too old to be supported.
===The kindle ebook displays some approximation of Tibetan script but stacks are smashed===
* You are probably using <code>mobi</code> format instead of <code>AZW3</code>.
===Kindle stops displaying Tibetan===
Kindle version 5.6.x (Paperwhite Gen 1) doesn't seem to display Tibetan reliably over time. If Tibetan support suddenly fails, or behaves erratically, restart your kindle:
* Go to Settings / "Restart".
* In case the menu stops responding, press the hardware off switch for several seconds. You should see a dialog with restart option.
* If everything else fails, try a cold reset: press the power off button for at least '''30''' secs.

==Ebooks on the Web and the Kindle==
* In order to install ebooks on the Kindle, they must be converted into the proprietary <code>AZW3</code> format. The easiest way to convert and install those books is to use [https://calibre-ebook.com/ Calibre]. Note that the Amazon <code>mobi</code> format does not support Tibetan script.
* Ebooks from [https://www.lotsawahouse.org Lotsawahouse.org]: For the time being, download of <code>epub</code> format is recommended, in order to display Tibetan correctly on the Kindle, since <code>mobi</code> format does not support correct rendering of Tibetan syllables. See above for the required <code>AZW3</code> conversion.

==Internal Links==
* [[Tibetan ebooks]]

==External Links==
* [https://kindlegen.s3.amazonaws.com/AmazonKindlePublishingGuidelines.pdf Amazon Publishing Guidelines], see chapter on ''Using Embedded Fonts''
* [http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2015/04/28/how-to-use-custom-fonts-with-kindles-embed-fonts-in-kindle-ebooks/ How to Use Custom Fonts with Kindles – Embed Fonts in Kindle eBooks]
* [http://www.tibetanebook.com/ http://www.tibetanebook.com/] - A large collection of free Tibetan ebooks with embedded Tibetan font.
* [http://www.lotsawahouse.org/ http://www.lotsawahouse.org/] - A large collection of Tibetan texts and translations. A conversion is required (s.a.).

==Supported Kindle models and firmware versions==
'''Note:''' Support for Tibetan is broken for firmware older than 5.6.1 and newer than 5.9.6.

{| class="wikitable" style="color:black;background-color:#f7f7f7;" width="50%" cellspacing="5" border="0" text-align:left,top"
|+
|-
|style="width:20%; color:black;background-color:#e0e0e0;"|'''Kindle device''' ||style="width:10%; color:black;background-color:#e0e0e0;"| '''Firmware''' ||style="width:10%; color:black;background-color:#e0e0e0;"| '''Tibetan support'''
|-
|style="color:black;background-color:#f0f0f0;"|Kindle 5, Kindle touch, all models from 2011 or older || older than 5.6 || no 
|-
|style="color:black;background-color:#f0f0f0;"|Kindle 8 (2016) || 5.8.1, < 5.9.6|| yes 
|-
|style="color:black;background-color:#f0f0f0;"|Kindle Paperwhite Gen 1 || >= 5.6.1, < 5.9.6 || partial<ref>Version 5.6.x sometimes fails to render Tibetan script, see [[Kindle ebooks with embedded Tibetan font#Troubleshooting]].</ref> 
|-
|style="color:black;background-color:#f0f0f0;"|Kindle Voyage, Oasis || >= 5.8.1, < 5.9.6 || yes 
|}

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle Wikipedia] gives an overview on the latest software version available for each kindle model.

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Software]]
[[Category:Tools]]