CNet blogger needs help converting PDF for his Reader

TadW · 10-20-2007, 07:21 PM

Someone should really point Mr. Glaskowsky to PDFLRF!

Quote:

The real slowdowns kick in when you open up large files, especially PDFs. Bad PDF rendering was the PRS-500's biggest weakness, and I'm sorry to say it hasn't been improved at all in the PRS-505. Rendering large PDF files takes a long time, and most PDFs don't even look very good. In fact, PDFs meant to be printed on 8.5" x 11" paper (or A4 size, or anything larger) are often entirely illegible on the Reader.

The problem is that there's just no way to zoom in to a PDF page very far. The best you can do is switch the display into landscape mode and use the "Medium" zoom setting to put the width of the printed area across the screen. But that isn't good enough for many textbooks, product brochures, maps, etc.

Link: article

JSWolf · 10-20-2007, 07:32 PM

I have added a comment about pdflrf and gave the link to the thread. I hope he shows up here.

pglaskowsky · 10-22-2007, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have added a comment about pdflrf and gave the link to the thread. I hope he shows up here.

I don't see how that solves the problem. I didn't want to discuss it in the CNET comments section, but this is a good place.

If there's a science textbook like the one I linked to, or something else formatted for printing on letter paper with small print, how much can pdflrf really help? It would have to reflow the document, which is difficult enough with text alone. If the document has large figures with small print, it's impossible.

I mean, seriously, if there's a line of text that is 150 characters long, what can pdflrf really do?

I haven't tried it since I'm not running DOS, Windows, or Linux, but when I get some free time I may take a stab at porting it to the Mac.

. png

kovidgoyal · 10-22-2007, 01:47 AM

Reflowing a pure text document is easy. pdf2lrf (note the 2) does it pretty well. As for science textbooks, the reader is no good for reading textbooks anyway, because it's not designed for random access reading. Also with a lot of the freely available textbooks, you can always contact the author and ask them to generate reader sized PDFs, most of them are quite nice about doing it.

JSWolf · 10-23-2007, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pglaskowsky

I don't see how that solves the problem. I didn't want to discuss it in the CNET comments section, but this is a good place.

If there's a science textbook like the one I linked to, or something else formatted for printing on letter paper with small print, how much can pdflrf really help? It would have to reflow the document, which is difficult enough with text alone. If the document has large figures with small print, it's impossible.

I mean, seriously, if there's a line of text that is 150 characters long, what can pdflrf really do?

I haven't tried it since I'm not running DOS, Windows, or Linux, but when I get some free time I may take a stab at porting it to the Mac.

. png

As long as the PDF is not protected too much, pdflrf allows you to chop off the margins, it thickens the text. Basically it makes the PDF as readable as it can be on a 6" screen in either portrait or landscape. Lets you have running pages or convert pages one to one. I took a book from Wowio and was able to convert it so I was able to read it.

pglaskowsky · 10-23-2007, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

As long as the PDF is not protected too much, pdflrf allows you to chop off the margins, it thickens the text. Basically it makes the PDF as readable as it can be on a 6" screen in either portrait or landscape. Lets you have running pages or convert pages one to one. I took a book from Wowio and was able to convert it so I was able to read it.

That would help some, but it can't solve the basic problem, which is that the Sony Reader can't zoom into PDF files any tighter than a "fit width" type of view. With limited resolution, this just isn't good enough for some PDF files.

Which is all I said in my blog.

. png

NatCh · 10-23-2007, 05:14 PM

And with which we would pretty much all agree.

For good measure, we might go on to add a long treatise/rant about how PDF is a lousy format for e-books, but I won't go there today.

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10-20-2007, 07:32 PM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,505 Karma: 145863177 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I have added a comment about pdflrf and gave the link to the thread. I hope he shows up here.

10-22-2007, 01:47 AM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,267 Karma: 27111060 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Reflowing a pure text document is easy. pdf2lrf (note the 2) does it pretty well. As for science textbooks, the reader is no good for reading textbooks anyway, because it's not designed for random access reading. Also with a lot of the freely available textbooks, you can always contact the author and ask them to generate reader sized PDFs, most of them are quite nice about doing it.

10-23-2007, 05:14 PM	#7
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	And with which we would pretty much all agree. For good measure, we might go on to add a long treatise/rant about how PDF is a lousy format for e-books, but I won't go there today.

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