Format for recipes?

[Catlady]

I would like to set up a selection of recipes on my JBL, and I'm wondering what might be the best file format to use.

These are in all sorts of formats now--pdf, txt, html, doc, tif. I'm thinking I would just want to create a folder called "Recipes" with a few subfolders (Desserts, Main Dishes, etc.) and then have each recipe as a separate file. Some of the recipes have photos, but mostly they're just text.

What format would display best in the JBL and be easiest to deal with? Any advice?

[Ken Maltby]

PDF has some obvious advantages, if you are generating your own documents, BUT
the tools to do it easily can be quite expensive. If OpenOffice.org did a better job of
importing PDF, that might be a good option. If you are using existing PDF files you might
want to find a PDF "Virtual Printer" program (like "doPDF") that has a "Custom" page size
setting so you can match the JBL's 3x4" display in the files it creates.

As it is I would suggest the simpler .rtf format. RTF is about as simple as it could be
for a format that includes the ability to imbed objects. The WordPad program included
with windows provides easy access to the editing of the format. Many recipe ebooks/
files have pages with both text and embedded graphics of text, in addition to pictures.

The only downside is the WordPad's page size selections don't give you a "custom"
option and the closest to the JBL's 3x4", that is available is the "A6" setting. Still, you
can work around that.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the JBL has no problem dealing with a large number
of formats all in the same folder if you want. If you have a number of files from many
sources you might want to run them through Calibre, with the output profile setting for
the "Jetbook 5-inch", just to impose some common rules on them.

Luck;
Ken

P.S. You might consider making it as your "Cooking SD" and have it separate from your
regular "Books SD". That could make it a little easier to keep updated and supply copies
to your friends and family.

[GhostHawk]

I'd have to agree with Ken that .RTF is about as good as anything, and its much easier to edit than pdf or epub.

Personally I think it formats the best of the basic text formats.
I've converted my .lit files to rtf for years now. Recently I upgraded my PDF converter so that it too will save to .rtf.

[smg927]

I have some documents I've written which I keep on my Jetbook. I compose them in Word and save them as docx, and then do a "save as" and save them again as PDF.

When I want to edit the documents, I edit the docx version and save twice, as docx and as PDF.

PDF works better for me that using RTF, because my documents use tables. I use Word to specify page size. I'm using A5.

I keep both versions in the same file and use SyncToy to move them to my Jetbook's SD card. The Jetbook ignores the docx version and recognizes the PDF version.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I use Word to create files, such as a book list from calibre, my address/phone book, prescription list, etc. then convert them to PDF. I start with a page size that is the same as my JBL's screen, add the content, then save the file for future editing. I then link Word with Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard to create a PDF to put on my JBL.

PDF's are ideal when one needs a stable page size and layout for a specific reader. Once the source document sets the font size and layout of the document, converting it to PDF ensures it will not change on the reader, something that is critical if the document includes tables. Tables are often used for formatting charts, lists, etc. even though the table lines may not be visible (in this case, the use of tables is often called framing and the tables themselves are called frames). PDFs will lock in that formatting and ensure it will not change when viewed on the reader, even if one zooms in on it.

Adobe Acrobat is an expensive way to create PDFs but it is the easiest and most stable way to go. Virtual printers, such as CutePFDF or PDFCreator, can be used to create PDFs but are a pain when using custom page sizes (it requires a little program hacking)and sometimes will change the page orientation (something you have no control over). I don't recommend going out and buying Adobe Acrobat just to create a few PDFs but if you do work with PDF's a lot (like I do), then I do recommend it.

[Ken Maltby]

Right PDF, especially with the Adobe Reader Mobile on the JBL (FW 0.16e) allows you to
create and display a good document and if you can afford and wish to spend what it
costs for MS Word and Adobe Acrobat; you should be able to easily produce great
looking e-books, for your JBL. Some of us are way too che... Ah.. Frugal to go that
route.

I wouldn't suggest creating a PDF with a Virtual Printer Program, but the OP mentioned
already having PDF Cookbooks that were to be displayed on the JBL. The free "doPDF"
program does let you set its output/print page size to your own custom setting, in this
case the 3x4" for the JBL.

When creating "tables", you can insure they retain their formatting by making them as
their own graphic file/image. That is a good practice for PDF as well as RTF. For the
JBL your graphics only need to be Grayscale, at the most, saving both file size and in
complexity, speeding up its display. GIMP2 is a great free program for the creation and/
or manipulation of graphic files. Your table can have any background and be constructed
using any fonts you have, they will retain their formatting and appearance when
displayed in the JBL, from an RTF or a PDF.

Hmm... It looks like I'm just restating my original reply, sorry.

Luck;
Ken

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

...if you can afford and wish to spend what it
costs for MS Word and Adobe Acrobat; you should be able to easily produce great
looking e-books, for your JBL. Some of us are way too che... Ah.. Frugal to go that
route.

I also was too...frugal...to get Acrobat until I got as part of my ADF scanner package. Now, I'll never be without it. I was also spooked off from it by tales of how difficult it was to use but even this computer challenged, old broad was able to start using it right away. It is a complex program and I've only just barely started to scratch the surface on what it can do but I feel if one works frequently with PDFs, it is well worth it even at the level I'm using it.

Don't be too quick to condemn virtual printers for creating PDFs. For quick and simple PDF creation, they are hard to beat, even if tricky to use at times and especially since excellent ones can be had for free. One, PDF Creator, can also be used to create other graphic files, such as Tiff, JPEG, etc.

[Catlady]

Thanks for the advice. I've tried rtf, and that looks OK on the JBL for the single sample recipe I've created, except that then I'm stuck with sans-serif font, which I dislike and would prefer to avoid. Then I tried a pdf--making a custom size page in Word and using CutePDF--but for some reason in the JBL, the ingredients list, which was a single line per ingredient, runs together, and that's not going to work either.

I guess next I will have to try making the ingredients list into a table; maybe that will work, though I don't understand why I should need a table for this.

I am not frugal, I am cheap. I have been happily using CutePDF for years, though this is my first attempt at creating something that will read nicely on an e-reader.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by Catlady

...I guess next I will have to try making the ingredients list into a table; maybe that will work, though I don't understand why I should need a table for this...

Tables help to stabilize formatting. They are frequently used stabilize the formatting of websites and vanity press printings directly from Word files.

Originally Posted by Catlady

...I am not frugal, I am cheap. I have been happily using CutePDF for years, though this is my first attempt at creating something that will read nicely on an e-reader.

Nothing wrong with cheap as long as it doesn't adversely affect anyone else. Have you tried PDFCreator? As good as Cute PDF is, PDFCreator is much better. To be able to create a PDF page that will properly fill your e-reader screen, you will have to add a custom page size to the virtual printer. I've done this in PDF Creator but it's been so long, I can't remember how now.

[Catlady]

When I made the page a custom size in Word, the pdf "printed" by CutePDF looked pretty good; my only problem was the way the list items ran together. I didn't do anything with the CutePDF settings.

I tried a lot of the free PDF printers before I settled on CutePDF; I don't recall if I ever tried PDFCreator though.

I'll use tables first and see how that goes; I might decide to just stick with rtf and live with the sans-serif type, as I'm not really going to be sitting and reading through these recipes! Thanks again.

[GhostHawk]

You might try the free Foxit reader for editing PDF files.

Its free and you have some options that adobe doesn't have.
Plus it loads files in 1/4 of the time and it isn't a resource hog.

[Ken Maltby]

Here is a simple example of a .pdf file made in the free OpenOffice.org program
setup to fit on the JBL's screen. If you put it on your JBL with 0.16e FW, try it
both with and without the reflow on.

(The graphic file [a .bmp], that you can see when the Reflow is OFF, could have
been formatted text or a table, instead of my mug.)

Luck;
Ken