Size is important

slayda · 10-06-2006, 08:29 PM

Haven't seen any pictures that show size so here are mine.

slayda · 10-06-2006, 08:34 PM

Also imortant to me is the ability to create .rtf files with larger text. My mother is virtually "legally" blind. She can read large print books but still needs a magnifying glass. However she can read 21 - 24 pt. font without the magnifying glass, so I created this .rtf as a test. Others may also be interested.

Slava · 10-06-2006, 08:52 PM

wow, your came in proper box, mine was in plastic bag

Bob Russell · 10-06-2006, 09:02 PM

Mine was in a bag also, but the cradle came in a box.

I'm intrigued about the large text for those who are visually impaired. There's a guy at work that is also legally blind, who might be interested in this. Although it might not be the easiest way to read a book... audiobooks are pretty common these days also.

With respect to the size, I think those pics are good because it seems people expect it to be bigger than it is. I like the size, but it really is just about paperback size, but thinner.

Greg G · 10-06-2006, 09:45 PM

I ordered mine on the first day and it came in a box as well.

I actually find the reader pretty big after getting used to reading on an pocket pc for the last 5 years. I'm not used to having to move my head as much and I'm used to changing pages more often. The .txt book I'm reading now was 1200 pages on my IPAQ but is 400 pages on the reader in the middle font size.

Alexander Turcic · 10-07-2006, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slayda

Also imortant to me is the ability to create .rtf files with larger text. My mother is virtually "legally" blind. She can read large print books but still needs a magnifying glass. However she can read 21 - 24 pt. font without the magnifying glass, so I created this .rtf as a test. Others may also be interested.

I am most comfortable with 14-16pts here.

Bob Russell · 10-07-2006, 06:51 PM

Slayda, what font did you use for that test?
I played with some docs really quick with different fonts and sizes, and not enough to make any conclusions yet for rtf files, but it seems like different fonts affect the size a lot.

Hmmm...Maybe one of us, (might even be me), should create and post an rtf file with various standard fonts and sizes patterned after your document to get a good idea of what fonts we prefer.

raevyn1 · 10-07-2006, 07:27 PM

Slayda,
How does using the size button affect the appearance. I noticed your screenshots were at the "S" zoom level. Could you use a smaller font (say 16 or 20 pt) and allow her to adjust it further with zoom?

slayda · 10-07-2006, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Russell

Slayda, what font did you use for that test?

Bob, I used Ariel. It also appears that the reader's font size (at large) is just smaller than printed font sizes. At small ane medium it is smaller still. She can read 24 pt Ariel when printed but at the small size I have to go up to 36 pt.

Quote:

Originally Posted by raevyn1

Slayda,
How does using the size button affect the appearance. I noticed your screenshots were at the "S" zoom level. Could you use a smaller font (say 16 or 20 pt) and allow her to adjust it further with zoom?

Yes that works, however she is technologically challenged as well as visually.

Now I feel -

&

with my reader. I'm not sure how much I'll let my mother use it.

Bob Russell · 10-07-2006, 08:12 PM

I found that, in my first round of quick tests, I like Times New Roman at 20pt in an rtf file. I don't like really tiny text, so I have to bump it up to that size to get a reasonable s/m/l size. Other people might not want that big. It's just what seems to work for me. More experimentation might change my opinion in the days to come. The other thing I have to do to prepare the text is to remove and paragraph marks or double line breaks that are where text should flow within a paragraph.

To do that, I use MS Word mass replace (all occurances) as follows:
*) Mass replace ^p with <$$> (anything that's a distinct pattern works)
*) Mass replace <$$><$$> with ^p (to remove the double paragraph marks)
*) Mass replace <$$> with a space, to allow text to flow naturally
*) Mass replace ^l^l with ^l to remove double line breaks.

I don't know if this works for every document, but it seems to be a reasonable way to do it.

I use rtf instead of txt because I think it stores formatting like bold in the document, and it also probably keeps track of the font. I don't know exactly what it stores, but it must be more than txt, so that's enough for me!

randyman · 10-07-2006, 08:54 PM

Like Bob, I'm using rtf as well - it seems more flexible and better looking than pdfs, at least for plain text.

As a Mac user, though, there's the drawback that the first time the file is accessed on the Reader (without using the Connect software), it takes a few moments to format it... and for a large file, like a Dickens novel, this can take a while. It needs to do this for each of the three size variations.

Once it's done, though, it remembers it. It's really no big deal, and I'm loving my Reader. Gads, what a great device! Last night I did my first bathtub read... I know I'll use it a lot through the cold New England winter.

slayda · 10-07-2006, 10:22 PM

What do we need to do to let Sony know that we want rtf with workable links on our readers?

ultim8fury · 10-07-2006, 10:38 PM

and inline images. (rtfd according to my mac)

Slava · 10-07-2006, 10:46 PM

Forget Links & Pics, what's about Unicode support

boradicus · 04-20-2008, 05:14 PM

I also have a Sony Reader. I have found some great tools out there. One is the ABC converter series. RTF is the easiest format to which to convert, and is accessible via the ABC converters. But perhpaps more practical is a tool called HTMLtoRTF Converter. There are many texts I have found online that were not already coded into some convertible format; this tool was quite easy to use in capturing HTML books and documents. Also, some great sites exist that have RTF ebooks for free: Manybooks.net is my favorite, and Munseys.com is runner up.

I'm currently working on a way to batch edit the author fields in my RTF ebooks with a C# implementation. If anyone already knows of a tool that can do this easily, please let me know !

10-06-2006, 08:29 PM	#1
slayda Retired & reading more! Posts: 2,764 Karma: 1884247 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Alabama, USA Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One	Size is important Haven't seen any pictures that show size so here are mine. Last edited by slayda; 07-15-2013 at 01:12 PM.

10-06-2006, 08:34 PM	#2
slayda Retired & reading more! Posts: 2,764 Karma: 1884247 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Alabama, USA Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One	Also imortant to me is the ability to create .rtf files with larger text. My mother is virtually "legally" blind. She can read large print books but still needs a magnifying glass. However she can read 21 - 24 pt. font without the magnifying glass, so I created this .rtf as a test. Others may also be interested. Last edited by slayda; 07-15-2013 at 01:12 PM.

10-07-2006, 08:54 PM	#11
randyman Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 8851 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bristol, RI Device: Now, iPad!	Like Bob, I'm using rtf as well - it seems more flexible and better looking than pdfs, at least for plain text. As a Mac user, though, there's the drawback that the first time the file is accessed on the Reader (without using the Connect software), it takes a few moments to format it... and for a large file, like a Dickens novel, this can take a while. It needs to do this for each of the three size variations. Once it's done, though, it remembers it. It's really no big deal, and I'm loving my Reader. Gads, what a great device! Last night I did my first bathtub read... I know I'll use it a lot through the cold New England winter. Last edited by randyman; 10-07-2006 at 08:57 PM.

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10-06-2006, 08:52 PM	#3
Slava Addict Posts: 285 Karma: 129 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New England Device: PRS-500 · iPad · K3	wow, your came in proper box, mine was in plastic bag

10-06-2006, 09:02 PM	#4
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Mine was in a bag also, but the cradle came in a box. I'm intrigued about the large text for those who are visually impaired. There's a guy at work that is also legally blind, who might be interested in this. Although it might not be the easiest way to read a book... audiobooks are pretty common these days also. With respect to the size, I think those pics are good because it seems people expect it to be bigger than it is. I like the size, but it really is just about paperback size, but thinner.

10-06-2006, 09:45 PM	#5
Greg G Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 66 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NJ Device: Kindle Papwerwhite	I ordered mine on the first day and it came in a box as well. I actually find the reader pretty big after getting used to reading on an pocket pc for the last 5 years. I'm not used to having to move my head as much and I'm used to changing pages more often. The .txt book I'm reading now was 1200 pages on my IPAQ but is 400 pages on the reader in the middle font size.

10-07-2006, 06:51 PM	#7
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Slayda, what font did you use for that test? I played with some docs really quick with different fonts and sizes, and not enough to make any conclusions yet for rtf files, but it seems like different fonts affect the size a lot. Hmmm...Maybe one of us, (might even be me), should create and post an rtf file with various standard fonts and sizes patterned after your document to get a good idea of what fonts we prefer.

10-07-2006, 07:27 PM	#8
raevyn1 Connoisseur Posts: 56 Karma: 148 Join Date: Jul 2006 Device: iLiad, Sony Reader, Treo 755p, Palm T\|X	Slayda, How does using the size button affect the appearance. I noticed your screenshots were at the "S" zoom level. Could you use a smaller font (say 16 or 20 pt) and allow her to adjust it further with zoom?

10-07-2006, 08:12 PM	#10
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	I found that, in my first round of quick tests, I like Times New Roman at 20pt in an rtf file. I don't like really tiny text, so I have to bump it up to that size to get a reasonable s/m/l size. Other people might not want that big. It's just what seems to work for me. More experimentation might change my opinion in the days to come. The other thing I have to do to prepare the text is to remove and paragraph marks or double line breaks that are where text should flow within a paragraph. To do that, I use MS Word mass replace (all occurances) as follows: ) Mass replace ^p with <$$> (anything that's a distinct pattern works) ) Mass replace <$$><$$> with ^p (to remove the double paragraph marks) ) Mass replace <$$> with a space, to allow text to flow naturally ) Mass replace ^l^l with ^l to remove double line breaks. I don't know if this works for every document, but it seems to be a reasonable way to do it. I use rtf instead of txt because I think it stores formatting like bold in the document, and it also probably keeps track of the font. I don't know exactly what it stores, but it must be more than txt, so that's enough for me!

10-07-2006, 10:22 PM	#12
slayda Retired & reading more! Posts: 2,764 Karma: 1884247 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Alabama, USA Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One	What do we need to do to let Sony know that we want rtf with workable links on our readers?

10-07-2006, 10:38 PM	#13
ultim8fury Addict Posts: 219 Karma: 368 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: UK Device: PRS500, Looking at 700	and inline images. (rtfd according to my mac)

10-07-2006, 10:46 PM	#14
Slava Addict Posts: 285 Karma: 129 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New England Device: PRS-500 · iPad · K3	Forget Links & Pics, what's about Unicode support

04-20-2008, 05:14 PM	#15
boradicus Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony	I also have a Sony Reader. I have found some great tools out there. One is the ABC converter series. RTF is the easiest format to which to convert, and is accessible via the ABC converters. But perhpaps more practical is a tool called HTMLtoRTF Converter. There are many texts I have found online that were not already coded into some convertible format; this tool was quite easy to use in capturing HTML books and documents. Also, some great sites exist that have RTF ebooks for free: Manybooks.net is my favorite, and Munseys.com is runner up. I'm currently working on a way to batch edit the author fields in my RTF ebooks with a C# implementation. If anyone already knows of a tool that can do this easily, please let me know !

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