Quote:
Originally Posted by alexul
The original PDF is properly formatted so something doesn't go right at the conversion. Anyone has some tips for converting PDF for PB? I will try later with the FB format.
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PDF is not a good format as an e-book source. Whether you talk about using pdf directly or use it as a base for conversion.
The only pdf file that works perfectly is the one that was formatted specifically for the device screen size. Most pdf files are formatted for A4 or Letter page size.
When you generate pdf file you throw away large amount of formatting information. This is by design. It means, nobody can take your pdf reformat it easily and publish it as their own.
[ordinary] Pdf format isn't even aware of difference between paragraph break and end of line on page. So the conversion software has to guess. Calibre does excellent job, but you would need and artificial intelligence that understands the text to do reformatting with 100% accuracy.
If you have no choice and there is only pdf version of your book available, I suggest you run it through an OCR program. Abby FineReader or Readiris from I.R.I.S. do great job in creating RTF files from your pdf. (do experiment with various layout options. "recreate exact layout of document" is not a good option)
Readiris that I sometimes use at work for this purpose came bundled with a cheapo scanner/printer/copier/fax combo from Hewlett Packard.