Kindle Touch: Resizing PDFs

Bluecore · 08-15-2012, 05:11 PM

Hello everybody.

I was thinking which eBook reader to buy with the best PDF support, so I could read technical PDFs that I need for school. Once I found out that Kindle Touch works like a multi-touch tablet, I was pretty happy, because it means that you can resize your document with many more resize options than those predefined on let's say Kindle 4. It worked great and I was pretty happy with it, altough I must admit the device was not built for PDF and I need it primary for PDF.

However, once I updated to 5.1.0 and then to 5.1.2 - it immediately changed the minimum resize option to 200% (before update I could resize however I wanted, now it jumps to 200% and after that it resizes however I want).

Is there a way to get back previous resizing and still keep the landscape mode released with 5.1.0?

Thanks,
Matt

tomsem · 08-15-2012, 10:44 PM

Well, I don't remember what it did before in terms of zoom, but prior to 5.1.0 it was pretty useless (no landscape) so I didn't use it much. But there's no way to manually adjust zoom between 100% and 200% now, even after zooming to 200%.

Kindle Touch does have an interesting 'fit-column-to-screen-width' mode that sometimes helps: Double tap and it will zoom the tapped text column to fit the width of the screen (if you only have one column it will trim some of the margin whitespace on each side). Then just use page turn taps to advance to the bottom of the column, then to the next column (or page), etc. This effectively zooms to the zoom levels you'd like to use, and works in either orientation. It does have problems with column detection (tables and graphics) but for many PDFs it is workable.

And for viewing PDF on small screens, it helps to crop whitespace/margins, so the default view isn't wasting so much space.

The Sony PRS-T1 has pretty good PDF support, and allows on-the-fly cropping (automatic and manual). Also PDF reflow FWIW (not much, usually). Zoom is a little smoother as I remember (don't have mine handy at the moment). And of course it will read PDFs with Adobe DRM, should you run into those. You can also draw free-form annotations with the included stylus (I don't think these interoperate with other PDF readers however). I guess you can root it and install Android PDF reading apps also (same is true of Nook Touch).

But any tablet (even 7"-ers) will do a better job with PDF.

techiemonkey · 08-15-2012, 10:59 PM

You can try Duokan.It allows manual cropping, smart crop, pdf reflow, epub support, custom fonts and much more.

Bluecore · 08-16-2012, 12:53 AM

tomsem: I was thinking about Sony before, but from start I wanted to go with Kindle. If I am right, Kindle was first to announce eBook reader, all the other companies then started to release their own also. I just like to stuck with those who made the thing first - usually if it sells the inventors know what they're doing. If I am wrong and Sony was first then I failed miserably. :-D

techiemonkey: I didn't even know that Kindle can support another software. That's great, but what I can read there is no version for Kindle Touch for now. :-(

Anyway thank you guys for answers, gonna check the solutions you provided.

techiemonkey · 08-16-2012, 11:11 AM

No there is one. Go to www.duokan,com, click on left box under kindle, sxroll down, download kt version.

08-15-2012, 05:11 PM	#1
Bluecore Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2012 Device: Kindle Touch	Kindle Touch: Resizing PDFs Hello everybody. I was thinking which eBook reader to buy with the best PDF support, so I could read technical PDFs that I need for school. Once I found out that Kindle Touch works like a multi-touch tablet, I was pretty happy, because it means that you can resize your document with many more resize options than those predefined on let's say Kindle 4. It worked great and I was pretty happy with it, altough I must admit the device was not built for PDF and I need it primary for PDF. However, once I updated to 5.1.0 and then to 5.1.2 - it immediately changed the minimum resize option to 200% (before update I could resize however I wanted, now it jumps to 200% and after that it resizes however I want). Is there a way to get back previous resizing and still keep the landscape mode released with 5.1.0? Thanks, Matt

08-15-2012, 10:44 PM	#2
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,939 Karma: 27060151 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	Well, I don't remember what it did before in terms of zoom, but prior to 5.1.0 it was pretty useless (no landscape) so I didn't use it much. But there's no way to manually adjust zoom between 100% and 200% now, even after zooming to 200%. Kindle Touch does have an interesting 'fit-column-to-screen-width' mode that sometimes helps: Double tap and it will zoom the tapped text column to fit the width of the screen (if you only have one column it will trim some of the margin whitespace on each side). Then just use page turn taps to advance to the bottom of the column, then to the next column (or page), etc. This effectively zooms to the zoom levels you'd like to use, and works in either orientation. It does have problems with column detection (tables and graphics) but for many PDFs it is workable. And for viewing PDF on small screens, it helps to crop whitespace/margins, so the default view isn't wasting so much space. The Sony PRS-T1 has pretty good PDF support, and allows on-the-fly cropping (automatic and manual). Also PDF reflow FWIW (not much, usually). Zoom is a little smoother as I remember (don't have mine handy at the moment). And of course it will read PDFs with Adobe DRM, should you run into those. You can also draw free-form annotations with the included stylus (I don't think these interoperate with other PDF readers however). I guess you can root it and install Android PDF reading apps also (same is true of Nook Touch). But any tablet (even 7"-ers) will do a better job with PDF. Last edited by tomsem; 08-15-2012 at 11:01 PM.

08-16-2012, 12:53 AM	#4
Bluecore Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2012 Device: Kindle Touch	tomsem: I was thinking about Sony before, but from start I wanted to go with Kindle. If I am right, Kindle was first to announce eBook reader, all the other companies then started to release their own also. I just like to stuck with those who made the thing first - usually if it sells the inventors know what they're doing. If I am wrong and Sony was first then I failed miserably. :-D techiemonkey: I didn't even know that Kindle can support another software. That's great, but what I can read there is no version for Kindle Touch for now. :-( Anyway thank you guys for answers, gonna check the solutions you provided. Last edited by Bluecore; 08-16-2012 at 01:04 AM.

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08-15-2012, 10:59 PM	#3
techiemonkey Tech Geek Forever Posts: 230 Karma: 568824 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: USA Device: Kindle Touch hacked	You can try Duokan.It allows manual cropping, smart crop, pdf reflow, epub support, custom fonts and much more.

08-16-2012, 11:11 AM	#5
techiemonkey Tech Geek Forever Posts: 230 Karma: 568824 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: USA Device: Kindle Touch hacked	No there is one. Go to www.duokan,com, click on left box under kindle, sxroll down, download kt version.

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