Public Library Downloads

[Hartsock]

I downloaded a book from the local library, an Adobe PDF version. ADE let me drag the book to the Aura HD library. But it was really impossible to read, the print being too small for my eyes. Increasing to 125% size was simply not a good reading experience. It looks as if I will need to only choose books that are in the epub format.

Anyone else experienced this? Are there any satisfactory workarounds? My Sony T1 handles the PDFs much more satisfactorily.

[davidfor]

It is a well discussed "feature" of the Kobo ereaders. They display the PDF fairly well, but don't do the PDF reflow that Sony's do. So, because of the screen size, they aren't great for PDF. If you can find an epub version of the same book, it will be much better.

[Gaffer]

Originally Posted by Hartsock

I downloaded a book from the local library, an Adobe PDF version. ADE let me drag the book to the Aura HD library. But it was really impossible to read, the print being too small for my eyes. Increasing to 125% size was simply not a good reading experience. It looks as if I will need to only choose books that are in the epub format.

Anyone else experienced this? Are there any satisfactory workarounds? My Sony T1 handles the PDFs much more satisfactorily.

Does your library have the title in epub format? I ask because mine often has various format available.

PDF format, by design, is not meant for text reflowing. It's intended to keep all the elements of a page in the same relationship so that it will print properly. It simply doesn't work well on small screens. It's great for graphic intensive documents, but you need a larger screen to appreciate that.

[Hartsock]

The local library's collection of ebooks is less than satisfactory. You can never tell what formats will be available. In the case I presented there was the Kindle version and the PDF version. So it is usually some combination of 2 out of 3. (PDF, Kindle, epub). I doubt I will try the PDF books again.

[bookaho!ic]

i have to say that i always download epubs as when i had the sony prs350 if you put a pdf and epub from library on the ereader it had a hissy fit and crashed.

[JSWolf]

I cannot speak for the Aura HD, but anyRreader with a 6" or smaller screen is a very poor choice to use to read PDF.

[paola]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I cannot speak for the Aura HD, but anyRreader with a 6" or smaller screen is a very poor choice to use to read PDF.

Hate to contradict you, but on my Pocketbook 360 I could read statistics texbooks perfectly well. Great little reader, pity they don't do it anymore.

Of course I am not saying I don't much prefer to read pdf files on my 9.2" Pocketbook, but the PB360 was perfectly usable for hours on end.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by paola

Hate to contradict you, but on my Pocketbook 360 I could read statistics texbooks perfectly well. Great little reader, pity they don't do it anymore.

Of course I am not saying I don't much prefer to read pdf files on my 9.2" Pocketbook, but the PB360 was perfectly usable for hours on end.

I should send you some of the tech manuals I use. The expletive deleted diagrams are barely usable on an iPad with it's Retina display never mind a small ereader screen. An area where reflow does no good since reflowing one of the diagrams would make it useless. On a Kindle DX, they were pretty useless as well -- 1200x824 didn't cut it but better than a 15cm display. The Aura doesn't do too badly on the display as far as resolution but again, the screen is just too small for anything other than emergency use.

Regards,
David

[paola]

Hi David,

again I am not saying it was making me long to read on the PB360 but it was perfectly fit for the purpose - you could work on the go with it, and I think the render has a lot to do with it. Never used reflow, but for instance pocketbook allows you to zoom by column, which magnifies the thing enormously (well, a certain percentage )

I was simply trying to make the point that if the readers (and the software!) are well designed, even smaller screens will be acceptable - or maybe I have a low bar (though Kobo does fall below that one) ).

I would have bought a Glo already had it not been for the poor pdf rendering - but I just find the Pocketbook Touch too large to be portable, so I may as well stick to the larger reader I've already got.

[TechniSol]

I'm not sure if it'll work on the Aura due to the need for the kobotweaks plug-in, but there are two PDF reader programs with PDF reflow available in the Developer's Corner. They're in the KindlePDFReader thread. There is also another alternative available.

There is a "satisfactory"(really quite effective), but perhaps slightly ethically questionable method... One can visit Apprentice Alf, download the appropriate plug-in for Calibre to strip the protection while importing, convert the title to epub format and enjoy the book. Finish it, and delete it from reader and calibre prior to the end of your lending period and the ethical conundrum is minimized, if not wholly eliminated for most.

I think as long as you're deleting the text, it's probably fair to consider the rest of the process as simply translating it into a machine readable form compatible with your reader -though I'll be surprised if someone doesn't verbally impale me for this practical expedience. I will retort in advance that had Adobe any sense at all they could easily provide the conversion while keeping the DRM in effect as a function of ADE -though I suspect the DRM crowd would still collectively pass an example of rectangular three dimensional baked building material.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by paola

Hi David,

again I am not saying it was making me long to read on the PB360 but it was perfectly fit for the purpose - you could work on the go with it, and I think the render has a lot to do with it. Never used reflow, but for instance pocketbook allows you to zoom by column, which magnifies the thing enormously (well, a certain percentage )

I was simply trying to make the point that if the readers (and the software!) are well designed, even smaller screens will be acceptable - or maybe I have a low bar (though Kobo does fall below that one) ).

We have a hard copy edition of one of the manuals. It was printed on on A4 sized paper but a couple of the diagrams are on tri-folded sheets (about 27cm x 60cm when unfolded). Rotate the image to fit the ereader screen and on an Aura, the image is about 11.5cmx5.5cm. Zooming in helps but makes it a pain trying to follow the diagram. Even on the iPad with its larger screen, it's not great.

Regards,
David

[jusmee]

For some reason, the example always given as to why pdf can't work on small screens, is always large manuals and textbooks with pictures, diagrams etc.

However the thread is most often started by someone trying to read a book that is most probably a novel. Adobe state, on their web site, that reflow SHOULD be implemented for small devices (6" and below etc), and when it is done, as on the Sony, Hanlin, BeBook, Astak readers, and by Calibre, it does enable a reasonable reading experience.

Kobo has been slack on this, and I don't expect they'll ever do it.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by jusmee

For some reason, the example always given as to why pdf can't work on small screens, is always large manuals and textbooks with pictures, diagrams etc.

Those are the only books that I am forced to use pdf format for. If I can get an epub, that's what I get. I've found far more novels where epub is available and pdf is not available than novels where pdf is available and epub is not.

As for the pdf text reflow, I suspect that Kobo is not that interested in investing any more time in working on the Adobe ARM renderer. They seem to be tying their global future to epub3 with it's improved language support.

Regards,
David