Pocketbook Pro 912: Help with Using Notes Function

[ChristianReader]

This is to inquire about how to copy notes from the Pocketbook Pro 912 (this may be similar in the previous 903 version). The reader arrived today. After an upgrade to the newest firmware (the one delivered with the reader is full of bugs), I am capable of reading and highlighting PDFs, the main reason of being for the reader for me (even though the highlights are terribly slow, and the deletion of highlights literally allows you to read a whole new book while waiting for them).

The reader stores the highlights in the notes section on the device, albeit without spaces between the words. However, I need to be able to extract these highlights unto my computer (in text files) to be able to further work with them (otherwise the device is useless to me). I was instructed by Pocketbook Support PRIOR to purchasing the reader that the reader does exactly this, i.e. simply creates a text file with the extracted highlights for each book (after the purchase their phone line kindly seems to be disconnected). The notes folder of the reader, however, is empty when connecting it to a PC.

Can anybody tell me whether the reader stores the highlights somewhere and, if so, how I can access them on my PC? If it does not do that, I would try to return the device...

Many thanks for your help!

[jbaach]

Originally Posted by ChristianReader

Can anybody tell me whether the reader stores the highlights somewhere and, if so, how I can access them on my PC? If it does not do that, I would try to return the device...

Many thanks for your help!

On my 903 (the 912 might be different) the notes are stored on the sd card under notes/jhb. Not sure where they are on the 912. Maybe in system/profiles/[yourname]/notes or something?

Anyhow, the notes are an html file, which contain highlights and (commented) pointers to the scribbles (which in return are stored as svg files). With a smallish script they could probably be transformed into something ready-to-use. But the info is there in an understandable format, imho.

[ChristianReader]

Thanks a lot for your reply. I now scavenged through the file system of the reader. In a sub-sub-folder of the system folder one can locate the html files (who on earth programmed this?).

More generally, however, I have been having trouble using the highlight function in the reader. In some pdfs this seems to work halfway acceptable (very slow, but somewhat functional). In others, however, it does not work at all even though other readers (such as the Sony PRS 650) have no problems at all with the smae files (and one can of course, read highlight and copy them in the Adobe reader on the PC as well). Would you happen to have any idea why that is the case? Seems to be a software issue with the pdf viewing software/highlighter on the Pocketbook... Is there a way to remedy this?

[Dulin's Books]

which pdf viewer are you using?

[ignacio ferrer]

Originally Posted by ChristianReader

Thanks a lot for your reply. I now scavenged through the file system of the reader. In a sub-sub-folder of the system folder one can locate the html files (who on earth programmed this?).

More generally, however, I have been having trouble using the highlight function in the reader. In some pdfs this seems to work halfway acceptable (very slow, but somewhat functional). In others, however, it does not work at all even though other readers (such as the Sony PRS 650) have no problems at all with the smae files (and one can of course, read highlight and copy them in the Adobe reader on the PC as well). Would you happen to have any idea why that is the case? Seems to be a software issue with the pdf viewing software/highlighter on the Pocketbook... Is there a way to remedy this?

Welcome to the crowd.

"Is there a way to remedy this?"

Get something decent - but what?

Because they use Linux and not Android or Windows, PDF-Handling will be falling short of expectations for some time.

[ignacio ferrer]

Originally Posted by ChristianReader

Can anybody tell me whether the reader stores the highlights somewhere and, if so, how I can access them on my PC? If it does not do that, I would try to return the device...

Many thanks for your help!

"An interesting new feature is the export of handwritten notes in PDF files into a new separate file (PDF) that can be transferred to another device or computer."
This applies to the M92 Onyx.

[ChristianReader]

Many thanks for these useful replies. The highlighting problems in the pdf occur independent of which of the pre-installed pdf viewers I use on the Pocketbook (I assume there are no others that one can install on the PB that would be helpful in this regard?).

As it was noted that this may stem from the PB's reliance on Linux, is the Onyx different in this regard? Are there reviews available in terms of how well it performs its highlight function? I am still within the 14-day return period of the PB and would love to replace it with the Onyx provided it does with pdfs what I need it to do (and there is no way to remedy the PB)...

Many thanks for your help!

[jbaach]

Originally Posted by ChristianReader

As it was noted that this may stem from the PB's reliance on Linux, is the Onyx different in this regard? Are there reviews available in terms of how well it performs its highlight function?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAkDyIvClLA (no sound)

As for Linux: lots of devices use Linux (including 912/m92), Android is Linux as well. The question of how good the highlighting works has nothing to do with Linux/Windows/whatever - its a question of the reader software, not the operating system. I'd rather compare the actual software/devices themself.

From what I have seen so far with the 903 and m92: they both have pros and cons when it comes to highlighting/notes in pdfs:

- m92 highlights better (903 doesn't work well in my experience)
- both take scribbles (drawing) in the pdf
- the m92 merges the scribbles into a new pdf, but not the highlights
- the m92 has no list/table of scribbles (but has one for highlights)
- the 903 can take 'screenshots' of selectable areas of a pdf page
- the 903 has a complete list of all highlights, scribbles and screenshots (nice
when you later on want to see what your notes were in a book)

I probably will write down a better list of pro and cons. My feeling is that _taking_ notes is better on the m92, _reading_ them maybe as well, but _finding and working_ with the notes is better on the 903.

[ChristianReader]

Many thanks for this useful reply. Please excuse that I now have a further request for clarification: you noted that the M92 does not store the highlights in a separate document? If that is true, it would regrettably be useless to me. As noted, I highlight pdfs to later on work with the extracted highlights (I do not really take notes). As such, I need the (automatically extracted) highlight function. If that is missing in the Onyx, then the PB is at the same time the only 9.7 screen reader with that function on the market and there is no way to remedy its defects in this regard (aka I'm screwed)?

[jbaach]

maybe I was bit unclear. The m92 stores highlights and scribbles in an sql database. So one could figure out the format and extract the hightlights/scribbles from there.
On the device itself: the scribbles can also get merged into a new pdf (but there is no overview/toc of all the scribbles). The highlights have a record/toc, but don't get merged into the new pdf.

Is that more clear?