eSlick Reader 2 columns PDF support (pics inside)

zmarty · 04-23-2009, 12:40 AM

Hi everybody,

I wrote an e-mail to Foxit Support asking them if the eSlick supports 2 column PDF files. I attached one of my research papers to the e-mail. This is what they sent me back (check attachment). Quite decent. Except that the reflow feature (second picture) doesn't handle spaces between words that well (I wonder why, it should be easy enough to fix).

Ovi
http://www.ovidiudan.com/

wanchope · 04-23-2009, 03:49 AM

I promise you the font will be too small to read in either portrait or horizontal way. (The pictures are misleading, coz things look bigger than they really are. Just thing how big the device is). The only feasible way would be the reflow mode, as shown in the 2nd pic in your zip. But as you said, the page layout is not pretty in this case. And since there's no bookmark function, it's also troublesome to get back the the part you last read if it's reflowed.

So if you really need to read some double-column files, you'd better mannually edit em to single-column with acrobat pro or something. It's quite easy if the files contain text only. But with diagrams and pictures, it'd be a different story.

DDHarriman · 04-23-2009, 06:22 PM

Hi

Portrait viewing (first picture) is useless - font too small - and it’s just what every 6” eBook reader will show.

Reflow is useless (second picture).
If this is an example of the reflow PDF output from the reader, it’s a disgrace, the one in the Sony (505 or 700) is way much better - never seen a reflowed PDF in me 505 so messed up, and for sure never with the letters “on top of each other” like it’s shown in the image.

Landscape viewing is acceptable, but again you can obtain this reading experience with all the 6” eBook readers who support PDF. The Sony 505 and 700 are great as they “cut” the page in 2 and thus give a half of page each time, the Cybook is more difficult as one must test several “zoom” options until finding the correct correlation between enough font size and page navigation.

So I do not see why the eSlick is so special (besides the bad reflowing), and others are offering something very similar for quite some time now.

If you want, you can post here the same paper and I can text it in the 505 and the Cybook and post the results, so you can compare.

Best regards,

zmarty · 04-23-2009, 09:59 PM

Hi,

Please do .. the paper is here: http://www.ovidiudan.com/papers/Newistic.pdf

I am guessing that the eSlick has better PDF support than most readers; I'm very curious how the paper would look like on a Sony, and any other reader for that matter.

Thanks,
Ovi

wallcraft · 04-23-2009, 10:13 PM

The screenshots are from Sony's Windows eBook Library Viewer. This emulates a PRS-700. The 1st screenshot is the full page view (note there is no margin trimming). The 2nd is the "M" option for the smallest reflow font (there is also larger L and XL options). The actual PRS-700 also has a landscape mode, which isn't available on the PC. The 3rd screenshot is still in reflow mode, showing the image from the same page of the PDF. Don't forget that these screenshots will most likely be larger on you PC's screen than on the actual device.

wallcraft · 04-23-2009, 10:19 PM

However, page 7 does not reflow in Sony's Windows eBook Library Viewer.

zmarty · 04-24-2009, 12:24 AM

Hmm.. interesting. Thank you.

I'm also wondering if these devices would know how to handle papers that contain mathematical formulas.

Ovi

wanchope · 04-24-2009, 01:02 AM

No 6-inch-screen device is good for fomulas and charts. Getting a 8-inch or 10-inch one is probably the only option.

DDHarriman · 04-24-2009, 10:37 AM

Hi

Here I am with the promised results.

First let me say two things:
1 - my photos are not very focused, I apologise for that, still I think they give a clear idea of what to expect;
2 - the example scientific text has (all of them have) a big white margin; in the eSlick photos one does not see that, so or the reader can itself make it disappear or, for the purpose of the comparing one must do that before load the file into a reader, this can easily be done in Acrobat by choosing document/crop pages/remove white margins, also in these forums one can find several solutions to do this, some pen source some not, in this situation I have made it with Acrobat 8.

So here we go…

Sony 505

Photo 1 - this is the portrait without any zoom from the first page, as I state, and others did the same before, it’s useless because the letters are too small and can not be read;
Photo 2 - reflowed first page, this is a quite good result, and all similar to what walcraft shows above in windows and, as he says too, page 7 does not reflow, wish I think as to do with the fact that it has a graphic on the top who occupies both columns, and thus the reader does not know how to reflow that. This option is much better then the eSlick one, one can see that the text is perfectly readable, and nothing like the crumpled letters the eSlick shows in it’s photo;
Photo 3 - page 7 in landscape, same result as the eSlick and other 6” eBook readers;

Cybook Gen3

This reader as not a PDF reflow option, but is supposed to be getting it in the next firmware upgrade, and that we are expecting to happen any day (cough…cough…cough…) now. What it permits is that one can zoom the page to several levels (50% to 90%, etc…).

Photo 4 - this is the landscape of the first page without any special zoom, as one can see gives a equal result to the same function in the 505 above (photo 3) or the eSlick;
Photo 5 - this is the portrait of the first page zoomed at 90%, this is great for reading scientific (2 column) papers as ne can read the left column first and then the right one, the unique problem I see is that at 90% one as to page 3 times to read the full column, instead 2 times in Sony’s landscape, the positive is the clarity and size of the text and images/graphics;
Photo 6 - same situation as photo 5 but one screen down.

Hope this helps your decision.
My personal opinion is 6” eBook readers are not comfortable enough for the reading of A4/letter PDF files even with reflowing besides occasional reading.
For that my advice is (something you already have put away) a tabletpc or the Irex 1000 reader.

Best regards,

zmarty · 04-24-2009, 12:45 PM

Wow, thanks for the pictures

My conclusion, after about a week of searching, plus your opinions, is that I will either buy an iRex, or wait until the end of the year when the 9.7 inch readers come out (hopefully they will be cheaper).

Thanks again,
Ovi

DDHarriman · 04-24-2009, 01:42 PM

Good choice.

Best regards,

imaredr · 05-01-2009, 08:50 PM

I just received my eslick a couple fo days ago. I was disappointed that no cover for the device was included. Also my laptop is Vista 64 bit so I can install the software. So now I have to dig out my older laptop with Win XP.
My questions is this: Is it possible to reflash the eslick and install the Cybook software on it?

Thanks,

Ellen

Mach1.9pants · 05-01-2009, 11:05 PM

Hi

I just got my eSlick as well. I used PaperCrop to crop all my 2 and 3 column PDFs, it has been fine so far (I have done them in anticipation... I really didn't think any reflow would be good). So you can give PC a try: http://jupiter.kaist.ac.kr/~taesoo/p...index_eng.html

Also you can install all the Foxit software on Vista 64bit. I am running XP Pro at the moment (a gaming issue

) but I previous had Vista HP 64 bit and all my Foxit software worked fine.. reader and editor I had prior to the eSlick purchase.

04-23-2009, 10:13 PM	#5
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	The screenshots are from Sony's Windows eBook Library Viewer. This emulates a PRS-700. The 1st screenshot is the full page view (note there is no margin trimming). The 2nd is the "M" option for the smallest reflow font (there is also larger L and XL options). The actual PRS-700 also has a landscape mode, which isn't available on the PC. The 3rd screenshot is still in reflow mode, showing the image from the same page of the PDF. Don't forget that these screenshots will most likely be larger on you PC's screen than on the actual device. Attached Thumbnails

04-23-2009, 10:19 PM	#6
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	However, page 7 does not reflow in Sony's Windows eBook Library Viewer. Attached Thumbnails

04-24-2009, 01:02 AM	#8
wanchope Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Beijing, China Device: Foxit Eslick, Mobireader on Nokia 6220c	No 6-inch-screen device is good for fomulas and charts. Getting a 8-inch or 10-inch one is probably the only option. Last edited by wanchope; 04-27-2009 at 01:12 AM.

04-24-2009, 10:37 AM	#9
DDHarriman Guru Posts: 860 Karma: 4380 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Almada, Portugal Device: Cybook Gen3, Sony PRS 505, Kindle DXG and Samsung Galaxy Note	Hi Here I am with the promised results. First let me say two things: 1 - my photos are not very focused, I apologise for that, still I think they give a clear idea of what to expect; 2 - the example scientific text has (all of them have) a big white margin; in the eSlick photos one does not see that, so or the reader can itself make it disappear or, for the purpose of the comparing one must do that before load the file into a reader, this can easily be done in Acrobat by choosing document/crop pages/remove white margins, also in these forums one can find several solutions to do this, some pen source some not, in this situation I have made it with Acrobat 8. So here we go… Sony 505 Photo 1 - this is the portrait without any zoom from the first page, as I state, and others did the same before, it’s useless because the letters are too small and can not be read; Photo 2 - reflowed first page, this is a quite good result, and all similar to what walcraft shows above in windows and, as he says too, page 7 does not reflow, wish I think as to do with the fact that it has a graphic on the top who occupies both columns, and thus the reader does not know how to reflow that. This option is much better then the eSlick one, one can see that the text is perfectly readable, and nothing like the crumpled letters the eSlick shows in it’s photo; Photo 3 - page 7 in landscape, same result as the eSlick and other 6” eBook readers; Cybook Gen3 This reader as not a PDF reflow option, but is supposed to be getting it in the next firmware upgrade, and that we are expecting to happen any day (cough…cough…cough…) now. What it permits is that one can zoom the page to several levels (50% to 90%, etc…). Photo 4 - this is the landscape of the first page without any special zoom, as one can see gives a equal result to the same function in the 505 above (photo 3) or the eSlick; Photo 5 - this is the portrait of the first page zoomed at 90%, this is great for reading scientific (2 column) papers as ne can read the left column first and then the right one, the unique problem I see is that at 90% one as to page 3 times to read the full column, instead 2 times in Sony’s landscape, the positive is the clarity and size of the text and images/graphics; Photo 6 - same situation as photo 5 but one screen down. Hope this helps your decision. My personal opinion is 6” eBook readers are not comfortable enough for the reading of A4/letter PDF files even with reflowing besides occasional reading. For that my advice is (something you already have put away) a tabletpc or the Irex 1000 reader. Best regards, Attached Thumbnails

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04-23-2009, 03:49 AM	#2
wanchope Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Beijing, China Device: Foxit Eslick, Mobireader on Nokia 6220c	I promise you the font will be too small to read in either portrait or horizontal way. (The pictures are misleading, coz things look bigger than they really are. Just thing how big the device is). The only feasible way would be the reflow mode, as shown in the 2nd pic in your zip. But as you said, the page layout is not pretty in this case. And since there's no bookmark function, it's also troublesome to get back the the part you last read if it's reflowed. So if you really need to read some double-column files, you'd better mannually edit em to single-column with acrobat pro or something. It's quite easy if the files contain text only. But with diagrams and pictures, it'd be a different story.

04-23-2009, 06:22 PM	#3
DDHarriman Guru Posts: 860 Karma: 4380 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Almada, Portugal Device: Cybook Gen3, Sony PRS 505, Kindle DXG and Samsung Galaxy Note	Hi Portrait viewing (first picture) is useless - font too small - and it’s just what every 6” eBook reader will show. Reflow is useless (second picture). If this is an example of the reflow PDF output from the reader, it’s a disgrace, the one in the Sony (505 or 700) is way much better - never seen a reflowed PDF in me 505 so messed up, and for sure never with the letters “on top of each other” like it’s shown in the image. Landscape viewing is acceptable, but again you can obtain this reading experience with all the 6” eBook readers who support PDF. The Sony 505 and 700 are great as they “cut” the page in 2 and thus give a half of page each time, the Cybook is more difficult as one must test several “zoom” options until finding the correct correlation between enough font size and page navigation. So I do not see why the eSlick is so special (besides the bad reflowing), and others are offering something very similar for quite some time now. If you want, you can post here the same paper and I can text it in the 505 and the Cybook and post the results, so you can compare. Best regards,

04-23-2009, 09:59 PM	#4
zmarty Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: eSlick Reader?	Hi, Please do .. the paper is here: http://www.ovidiudan.com/papers/Newistic.pdf I am guessing that the eSlick has better PDF support than most readers; I'm very curious how the paper would look like on a Sony, and any other reader for that matter. Thanks, Ovi

04-24-2009, 12:24 AM	#7
zmarty Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: eSlick Reader?	Hmm.. interesting. Thank you. I'm also wondering if these devices would know how to handle papers that contain mathematical formulas. Ovi

04-24-2009, 12:45 PM	#10
zmarty Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: eSlick Reader?	Wow, thanks for the pictures My conclusion, after about a week of searching, plus your opinions, is that I will either buy an iRex, or wait until the end of the year when the 9.7 inch readers come out (hopefully they will be cheaper). Thanks again, Ovi

04-24-2009, 01:42 PM	#11
DDHarriman Guru Posts: 860 Karma: 4380 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Almada, Portugal Device: Cybook Gen3, Sony PRS 505, Kindle DXG and Samsung Galaxy Note	Good choice. Best regards,

05-01-2009, 08:50 PM	#12
imaredr Collector Posts: 440 Karma: 1002238 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Harker Heights, Texas Device: Cybook	I just received my eslick a couple fo days ago. I was disappointed that no cover for the device was included. Also my laptop is Vista 64 bit so I can install the software. So now I have to dig out my older laptop with Win XP. My questions is this: Is it possible to reflash the eslick and install the Cybook software on it? Thanks, Ellen

05-01-2009, 11:05 PM	#13
Mach1.9pants Member Posts: 21 Karma: 112 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: DR1000S	Hi I just got my eSlick as well. I used PaperCrop to crop all my 2 and 3 column PDFs, it has been fine so far (I have done them in anticipation... I really didn't think any reflow would be good). So you can give PC a try: http://jupiter.kaist.ac.kr/~taesoo/p...index_eng.html Also you can install all the Foxit software on Vista 64bit. I am running XP Pro at the moment (a gaming issue ) but I previous had Vista HP 64 bit and all my Foxit software worked fine.. reader and editor I had prior to the eSlick purchase.

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