Formatting Doc. files for public speaking

RChance · 02-15-2008, 05:22 PM

Hi, I am a pastor and just bought the reader to use for my sermon notes.

My question is how do I format doc. files so that a sentence is never broken between pages. I have worked on it for a few hours now, and have found no threads that help, and nothing i have tried has been 100% effective...

any ideas?

benong · 02-15-2008, 06:31 PM

Hi RChance,

Welcome to the Sony Reader community! This problem can be resolve easily, but first of all you have to let us know what software you use to generate the file for the Reader. Currently there are a few options such as BookDesigner, or libprs500, both are freely available. If you wish, you may email me your doc and I'll do the conversion for you and send them back to you as an example so that you can see for yourself how that was done. You may reach me at ben.ong@gmail.com

JSWolf · 02-15-2008, 06:49 PM

RChance, one thing you can do to make sure it's how you want is to make a screen sized PDF. That will work quite well.

The screen size is 90mmx120mm.

RWood · 02-15-2008, 07:32 PM

Welcome to MobileRead.

In answer to your exact question, there is no way to make DOC files page break at a specific point. All new page or section break commands in the DOC file are ignored (read unsupported) by the Reader. Likewise, TXT files do not support the new page command.

The only way to achieve your goal is through the use of other formats such as PDF or LRF files. As Jon pointed out, the Sony screen is 90 mm by 120 mm so making a correct sized PDF is a simple matter. On the other hand, the speed and flexibility of an LRF file can be an asset and use of the free tool BookDesigner should be considered. There is a great storehouse of knowledge about BD in the MobileRead community so assistance is just a question away.

Good luck and keep us informed on your progress.

HarryT · 02-16-2008, 02:33 AM

Use a tool such as BD, and insert hard page breaks at points less than 1 "screen length" of the Reader. Experimentation will show you how often you need them.

RChance · 02-16-2008, 10:20 AM

thanks for all the input... it helped tremendously! Here is what i did...
I work in MS word 2003 btw.

I did as you guys said, and made a screen sized page(3.54 inches wide by 4.72 inches tall)with margins at .12 on all sides. I then used a 18 pt Times new Roman font. And made sure that i formatted the paragraphs to keep lines together, with justified text alignment. When done typing the sermon, I saved it as a pdf. then uploaded it to my Prs505... and it worked perfectly!!!

Thank God I had adobe acrobat, or i would be pulling my hair out trying to learn BD or some of these other programs you guys are talking about. The one and only draw back is that in going to the reader sized notes I had about 36 pages rather than my normal 8 to 10 pages on a normal sized paper. All in all i know that I am going to be thrilled with the reader as my speaking notes.

Another great plus, for any public speakers out there... I travel often, and now I dont have to carry a heavy notebook, or a travel printer for speaking engagements on the road. You cant get any better than this! Once again thanks for the help... i couldnt have figured it out without you guys...

thanks again!

dhbailey · 02-17-2008, 06:27 AM

You don't need Acrobat to produce PDFs anymore -- there are fine programs which are either free or very inexpensive (CutePDF, PDF995 are a couple) which install as printer drivers and you simply print to that instead of one of your real printers and you get a very fine PDF file for very little money.

Of course, since you have Acrobat you might as well keep on using it, I just wanted to let you know in case you advise others who don't have acrobat.

What a great use for the reader -- do let us know after you've used it a bit longer, since it would also be great for any public speaking occasion!

RChance · 02-17-2008, 07:04 PM

I used the Reader for a baby dedication today, as well as for my sermon.... it worked perfectly! I would highly recommend it for public speakers, after just one use! I figured out that I could go with a little smaller font (I used 18 pt.) and reduce the number of page turns. Instead of having two piles of notes for these two seperate speeches, It was great to have a sleek reader with my bible overlapping it (they are exactly the same size). So far as I can see the only challenge is waiting on the page to turn, but it worked seamlessly for me since i read ahead anyhow...

those are my initial thoughts... will post more thoughts as they come, although they tend to be rare for me. lol

dhbailey · 02-18-2008, 07:43 AM

Excellent -- now if you were to share your newly learned insights with other ministers, a brand new market for the device might develop which would further increase the visibility for the devices.

And I would think that the publishers of books aimed at ministers and other religious scholars might be enticed to make their books available in reader format, further increasing visibility for the devices.

In any event, I'm delighted it works so well for you! It's a use I hadn't thought of, but will certainly consider for any occasions where I need prepared notes for public presentations!

02-15-2008, 05:22 PM	#1
RChance Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: prs505	Formatting Doc. files for public speaking Hi, I am a pastor and just bought the reader to use for my sermon notes. My question is how do I format doc. files so that a sentence is never broken between pages. I have worked on it for a few hours now, and have found no threads that help, and nothing i have tried has been 100% effective... any ideas?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Zipped DOC files?	TheHutt	PocketBook	3	01-30-2010 08:18 AM
Mac and .doc files	MickeyC	Sony Reader	9	08-22-2009 12:10 PM
Saving Formatting Doc -> LRF?	jaxx6166	LRF	3	03-08-2009 09:06 PM
Getting .doc files onto my PRS-505	jhempel24	Sony Reader	3	01-17-2008 04:21 PM
iLiad Linking to other files from HTML doc?	marussell01	iRex Developer's Corner	2	01-14-2008 08:45 PM

02-15-2008, 06:31 PM	#2
benong Enthusiast Posts: 26 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Petaling Jaya, Malaysia Device: Kindle Fire HD 8.9, Kobo Aura HD, Sony PRS-950	Hi RChance, Welcome to the Sony Reader community! This problem can be resolve easily, but first of all you have to let us know what software you use to generate the file for the Reader. Currently there are a few options such as BookDesigner, or libprs500, both are freely available. If you wish, you may email me your doc and I'll do the conversion for you and send them back to you as an example so that you can see for yourself how that was done. You may reach me at ben.ong@gmail.com

02-15-2008, 06:49 PM	#3
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 74,468 Karma: 129668758 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	RChance, one thing you can do to make sure it's how you want is to make a screen sized PDF. That will work quite well. The screen size is 90mmx120mm.

02-15-2008, 07:32 PM	#4
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	Welcome to MobileRead. In answer to your exact question, there is no way to make DOC files page break at a specific point. All new page or section break commands in the DOC file are ignored (read unsupported) by the Reader. Likewise, TXT files do not support the new page command. The only way to achieve your goal is through the use of other formats such as PDF or LRF files. As Jon pointed out, the Sony screen is 90 mm by 120 mm so making a correct sized PDF is a simple matter. On the other hand, the speed and flexibility of an LRF file can be an asset and use of the free tool BookDesigner should be considered. There is a great storehouse of knowledge about BD in the MobileRead community so assistance is just a question away. Good luck and keep us informed on your progress.

02-16-2008, 02:33 AM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Use a tool such as BD, and insert hard page breaks at points less than 1 "screen length" of the Reader. Experimentation will show you how often you need them.

02-16-2008, 10:20 AM	#6
RChance Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: prs505	thanks for all the input... it helped tremendously! Here is what i did... I work in MS word 2003 btw. I did as you guys said, and made a screen sized page(3.54 inches wide by 4.72 inches tall)with margins at .12 on all sides. I then used a 18 pt Times new Roman font. And made sure that i formatted the paragraphs to keep lines together, with justified text alignment. When done typing the sermon, I saved it as a pdf. then uploaded it to my Prs505... and it worked perfectly!!! Thank God I had adobe acrobat, or i would be pulling my hair out trying to learn BD or some of these other programs you guys are talking about. The one and only draw back is that in going to the reader sized notes I had about 36 pages rather than my normal 8 to 10 pages on a normal sized paper. All in all i know that I am going to be thrilled with the reader as my speaking notes. Another great plus, for any public speakers out there... I travel often, and now I dont have to carry a heavy notebook, or a travel printer for speaking engagements on the road. You cant get any better than this! Once again thanks for the help... i couldnt have figured it out without you guys... thanks again!

02-17-2008, 06:27 AM	#7
dhbailey Guru Posts: 604 Karma: 733 Join Date: Mar 2007 Device: HP iPAQ211 / PRS 500, 700 and 505	You don't need Acrobat to produce PDFs anymore -- there are fine programs which are either free or very inexpensive (CutePDF, PDF995 are a couple) which install as printer drivers and you simply print to that instead of one of your real printers and you get a very fine PDF file for very little money. Of course, since you have Acrobat you might as well keep on using it, I just wanted to let you know in case you advise others who don't have acrobat. What a great use for the reader -- do let us know after you've used it a bit longer, since it would also be great for any public speaking occasion!

02-17-2008, 07:04 PM	#8
RChance Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: prs505	I used the Reader for a baby dedication today, as well as for my sermon.... it worked perfectly! I would highly recommend it for public speakers, after just one use! I figured out that I could go with a little smaller font (I used 18 pt.) and reduce the number of page turns. Instead of having two piles of notes for these two seperate speeches, It was great to have a sleek reader with my bible overlapping it (they are exactly the same size). So far as I can see the only challenge is waiting on the page to turn, but it worked seamlessly for me since i read ahead anyhow... those are my initial thoughts... will post more thoughts as they come, although they tend to be rare for me. lol

02-18-2008, 07:43 AM	#9
dhbailey Guru Posts: 604 Karma: 733 Join Date: Mar 2007 Device: HP iPAQ211 / PRS 500, 700 and 505	Excellent -- now if you were to share your newly learned insights with other ministers, a brand new market for the device might develop which would further increase the visibility for the devices. And I would think that the publishers of books aimed at ministers and other religious scholars might be enticed to make their books available in reader format, further increasing visibility for the devices. In any event, I'm delighted it works so well for you! It's a use I hadn't thought of, but will certainly consider for any occasions where I need prepared notes for public presentations!

Advert

Advert