@kidblue,
I have given your 'read-a-PDF-screenplay-on-my-Kindle' problem a bit more thought - I like a little challenge now and again.
I used the following simple process to create an HTML file which converts to an EPUB which reads quite nicely in portrait mode on my 6" PRS-505. I'm hoping the same HTML will convert to a MOBI which reads nicely on your Kindle, but as I don't have a Kindle I can't guarantee it...
I hope nothing here is Op System dependent.
- Open the attached screenplay template file in a plain text editor (I use Notepad++). It's just a simple HTML file containing
Code:
<html>
<head>
<title>Screenplay</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body>
<pre>
</pre>
</body>
</html>
- Open the original PDF, select the whole text and copy to clipboard using the standard features of your PDF viewer.
- Paste the text into the template between the <pre> and </pre> tags.
- Use the text editor's find-and-replaceall to remove a fixed number of leading spaces on each line which represents the wasteful left margin. (This can be done in one hit on Notepad++.) You could also remove any other "waste" if you wanted.
- Save the template file and rename to screenplay.html (or any other name with a .html extension).
- Import the HTML file into Calibre in the normal way.
- Convert to MOBI in the normal way. (I converted to EPUB)
- (Optional) If you want a darker font just type
Code:
pre {font-weight: bold}
in the Calibre Convert - Look&Feel - ExtraCSS box.
I also had to experiment with the Look&Feel - 'Base font size' and 'Font size key' to get the reader display just right. However, this is mainly because of the PRS-505's limited zoom options, I believe the Kindle is much better in this respect.
In an EPUB on a Sony reader, by default, the <pre> tags will cause the text to display in the reader's EPUB default monospace font. I'm not sure whether the Kindle has a monospace font, but if not, I'm hoping that it's default serif font will still display the screenplay MOBI OK.
The first attached screenshot shows a page of the EPUB in my Sony monospace font.
The second shows an EPUB page in the Caecilia serif font which I believe is similar to (the same as?) the Kindle.
...and finally...I'm not sure the purist's would approve of using the <pre> tags because if you zoom too high on your reader the text will disappear off the right-hand edge of the screen. However, if your sample screenplay is typical, the lines seem short enough to get away with it.