PDF to EPUB conversion, 2 column pbs

geoff3 · 03-13-2011, 12:05 PM

Hi,
I have a PDF document which is formatted 2 columns wide.
When I try to convert to EPUB I get both columns merged across the screen as though the converter didn't see the column space in the middle.
Any ideas?
Geoff

cybmole · 03-13-2011, 12:32 PM

open pdf in adobe reader - copy all to clipboard, open MSword, paste clipboard into word. tidy as needed save as filtered html, add to calibre library, convert zip to epub in calibre.

that worked form em with a 2 column document - no guarantee that it works in all casese though.

theducks · 03-13-2011, 12:35 PM

Moderator Notice
Did you read Paragraph 1 in the first sticky? (and follow the link)

itimpi · 03-13-2011, 12:35 PM

At the moment Calibre does not support conversion of multi-column PDF files. Support for this is in a new PDF conversion engine that is under development, but there is no ETA for its availability.

geoff3 · 03-13-2011, 01:16 PM

Thanks for the comments,
I finally did a "Save as Text" from Adobe Reader and converted the text to EPUB in Calibre, lost my pictures but you can't see them very well anyway with an ebook.

dwig · 03-13-2011, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geoff3

Thanks for the comments,
I finally did a "Save as Text" from Adobe Reader and converted the text to EPUB in Calibre, lost my pictures but you can't see them very well anyway with an ebook.

This can often be manually fixed:

Convert the original PDF to EPUB using Calibre, ignoring the text errors.
Change the EPUB's extension to ZIP.
Extract the contents of the ZIP to reveal any pictures sucessfully converted.
Convert the good TXT version to EPUB using Calibre.
Edit that EPUB in Sigil and manually insert the images extracted from the ZIP, using the original PDF viewed in Acrobat Reader for placement reference.
Convert the edited EPUB to your desired final format in Calibre if you need something other than EPUB.

I just used this method to do a conversion yesterday. Its not a "one click" procedure, but it does work.

Sami · 03-14-2011, 04:39 PM

I upload the pdf to google docs making sure to tick both convert boxes then copy/paste into sigil, correct any formatting issues I have then import to calibre. This does only work on short pieces (2mb) but I got 12 stories done in 10 minutes the other day.

03-13-2011, 12:05 PM	#1
geoff3 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Cybook Orizon	PDF to EPUB conversion, 2 column pbs Hi, I have a PDF document which is formatted 2 columns wide. When I try to convert to EPUB I get both columns merged across the screen as though the converter didn't see the column space in the middle. Any ideas? Geoff

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03-13-2011, 12:32 PM	#2
cybmole Wizard Posts: 3,720 Karma: 1759970 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: none	open pdf in adobe reader - copy all to clipboard, open MSword, paste clipboard into word. tidy as needed save as filtered html, add to calibre library, convert zip to epub in calibre. that worked form em with a 2 column document - no guarantee that it works in all casese though.

03-13-2011, 12:35 PM	#3
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,802 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Moderator Notice Did you read Paragraph 1 in the first sticky? (and follow the link)

03-13-2011, 12:35 PM	#4
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,552 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	At the moment Calibre does not support conversion of multi-column PDF files. Support for this is in a new PDF conversion engine that is under development, but there is no ETA for its availability.

03-13-2011, 01:16 PM	#5
geoff3 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Cybook Orizon	Thanks for the comments, I finally did a "Save as Text" from Adobe Reader and converted the text to EPUB in Calibre, lost my pictures but you can't see them very well anyway with an ebook.

03-14-2011, 04:39 PM	#7
Sami Member Posts: 18 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Ipod Touch, Sony 350	I upload the pdf to google docs making sure to tick both convert boxes then copy/paste into sigil, correct any formatting issues I have then import to calibre. This does only work on short pieces (2mb) but I got 12 stories done in 10 minutes the other day.

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