Please Help: Good format for reading?

Aukel · 12-14-2008, 12:05 AM

Hiya,

So I had a PRS-500 for years and loved it.

Found no problem converting books using Calibre, or just using rtf files.

Then it broke, bottom half of the screen faded until it stopped being readable.

So I bought a HanLin V3 since it is available in Aus and I can actually get a warranty for it, which is nice.

So I got it, plonked the new firmware from Jinke on it and proceed to try and load a book onto it.

No problem with the loading just with the viewing and not going insane.

Here are my results:
.txt files - Font is too large I barely get two and a half paragraphs to the page.
.pdf files - on smallest zoom, way to small to read, on medium zoom, the page is split across two pages so the first page is full but the second page is only about a quarter of a page.
.doc - font too large

So then I though I would try .fb2 files.
After working my way through elementary Russian to find and download some software I managed to get "Any to FB2" working.
If I convert from a .doc, .rtf, or .htm file it puts the whole book in italics, and gives me a left margin of about an inch and a half.
So I converted a text file to fb2 and it was good.

Finished that book and thought well swell, I can start converting books and reading to my hearts deisre.
So I convert another book over and now this book has random sections in large font, or italics, or weird margins, all within the one book.

So my round about way of getting to a question leaves me with this:

What is a good format for reading on the HanLin v3, I am happy to run conversion software happy to reformat, happy to use macros, happy to do anything that is reproducable, and gives me a decent book format.

Please Help!!!

HarryT · 12-14-2008, 04:46 AM

MobiPocket support is supposed to be pretty decent with the latest firmware upgrade.

See my various tutorials on Mobipocket book creation if you need help. Or just try downloading some books from the Mobi section of the "Book Uploads" forum and see how they look.

sianon · 12-14-2008, 05:40 AM

You will find that your RTF files should display pretty well. You can also open your text files in MS word and then adjust the font as well as make the font smaller. Both options will work well, but RTF is very well supported by the Hanlin and associated clones. Harry is right about mobi pocket being pretty well supported now.

Karen

JSWolf · 12-14-2008, 08:04 AM

You can also try using Book Designer to generate FB2 and see how that works since following HarryT's tutorial includes using Book designer. Cannot hurt to try both and see what works best for you.

javimm · 12-14-2008, 08:57 AM

I convert all my files to fb2 with Book Designer. BD can do every formatting you can think of and more.

I usually import the file, and use the Element Browser tool to make the Book title, Book Author and remove all the bad assigned titles (chapters) and subtitles.
I end up with a file that has a Book Title, Book Author, and chapters. I also check for broken lines, and that's it. Then I convert it to fb2. Read Harry's tutorials. They're great.

I'm using Openinkpot as my firmware now, and I love it. Doesn't have support for pdf, but pdf reading is not great in many devices anyway.

javimm · 12-14-2008, 08:58 AM

Ah, and don't forget to add fonts to your device. It's easy, and read better than the installed ones. I use Djvu Seriff. Looks great.

wallcraft · 12-14-2008, 10:52 AM

I have seen reports of the FB2 support being a bit flaky, and it has locked up once for me in the week I have had my EZ Reader. Apparently the RTF support (using the same Cool Reader library) is more robust, but with no images. The MOBI Reader isn't as nice as FB2/RTF but it may be "good enough", and MobiPocket's own tools for creating MOBIs work well if you have a Windows PC.

The other option is to switch to OpenInkPot. I have not tried this yet, but FBReader is in general very robust and full featured with fairly consistent quality across many formats.

javimm · 12-14-2008, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallcraft

The other option is to switch to OpenInkPot. I have not tried this yet, but FBReader is in general very robust and full featured with fairly consistent quality across many formats.

Indeed. OpenInkPot uses FBReader and it's way better than Coolreader. FB2 files bigger than 2 Mbytes doesn't open with the original Hanlin firm (or Bebook firm for that matter). I haven't got any problem with those files in OI.

The only problem I can see is if the OP needs PDF support now. If he doesn't OI is a better choice in my opinion.

slayda · 12-14-2008, 06:10 PM

When/if you add fonts, note that with the EZ Reader manual, it says to put them into the "font" folder. The folder name needs to be "fonts" not "font".

HarryT · 12-15-2008, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by javimm

Indeed. OpenInkPot uses FBReader and it's way better than Coolreader. FB2/Mobi files bigger than 2 Mbytes doesn't open with the original Hanlin firm (or Bebook firm for that matter). I haven't got any problem with those files in OI.

Really? Does that mean that you can't open the Dickens books I've uploaded here? Most of those are considerably larger than 2MB.

javimm · 12-15-2008, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Really? Does that mean that you can't open the Dickens books I've uploaded here? Most of those are considerably larger than 2MB.

HarryT, I haven't tried to open those. I couldn't open Ken Follett's World Without End, and the Jerusalem Bible. I created the first one with Book Designer, and the second one came included in the SD card shipped with the Hanlin.

These two files caused the machine to think for about 1 minute and then it threw you back to the bookshelf. With OI these files are opened fast without problems.

Maybe somebody could try your Dickens files and then the ones I have?.

javimm · 12-15-2008, 09:30 AM

Just wanted to add:
The files I was having trouble with were both FB2 files, and not MOBI. Sorry for the misinformation. I don't usually use Mobi files.

kapaka · 12-15-2008, 12:36 PM

Quote:

.txt files - Font is too large I barely get two and a half paragraphs to the page.

the font size is adjustable for .txt and .rtf but you have to do it for each tipe of file, once for .txt and again for .rtf (at least for the spanish firmware Papyre) once adjusted it stays for the file type until you change it again.

themadthinker · 12-15-2008, 06:38 PM

Seeing as .fb2 seems to be the format of choice for the EZ Reader, does anyone know of a program that can convert to that format for the mac?

wallcraft · 12-15-2008, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by themadthinker

Seeing as .fb2 seems to be the format of choice for the EZ Reader, does anyone know of a program that can convert to that format for the mac?

There is OOo FBTools, an OpenOffice extension, but its documentation is in Russian, see FB2 creation.

12-14-2008, 12:05 AM	#1
Aukel Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Townsville, Queensland, Australia Device: Used MSReader on Laptop; then ony PRS-500; now HanLin V3	Please Help: Good format for reading? Hiya, So I had a PRS-500 for years and loved it. Found no problem converting books using Calibre, or just using rtf files. Then it broke, bottom half of the screen faded until it stopped being readable. So I bought a HanLin V3 since it is available in Aus and I can actually get a warranty for it, which is nice. So I got it, plonked the new firmware from Jinke on it and proceed to try and load a book onto it. No problem with the loading just with the viewing and not going insane. Here are my results: .txt files - Font is too large I barely get two and a half paragraphs to the page. .pdf files - on smallest zoom, way to small to read, on medium zoom, the page is split across two pages so the first page is full but the second page is only about a quarter of a page. .doc - font too large So then I though I would try .fb2 files. After working my way through elementary Russian to find and download some software I managed to get "Any to FB2" working. If I convert from a .doc, .rtf, or .htm file it puts the whole book in italics, and gives me a left margin of about an inch and a half. So I converted a text file to fb2 and it was good. Finished that book and thought well swell, I can start converting books and reading to my hearts deisre. So I convert another book over and now this book has random sections in large font, or italics, or weird margins, all within the one book. So my round about way of getting to a question leaves me with this: What is a good format for reading on the HanLin v3, I am happy to run conversion software happy to reformat, happy to use macros, happy to do anything that is reproducable, and gives me a decent book format. Please Help!!!

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12-14-2008, 04:46 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	MobiPocket support is supposed to be pretty decent with the latest firmware upgrade. See my various tutorials on Mobipocket book creation if you need help. Or just try downloading some books from the Mobi section of the "Book Uploads" forum and see how they look.

12-14-2008, 05:40 AM	#3
sianon Addict Posts: 352 Karma: 572 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Melbourne Device: Sony 500, Bebook, Kindle, Eco reader Drs and soon the Archos 9	You will find that your RTF files should display pretty well. You can also open your text files in MS word and then adjust the font as well as make the font smaller. Both options will work well, but RTF is very well supported by the Hanlin and associated clones. Harry is right about mobi pocket being pretty well supported now. Karen

12-14-2008, 08:04 AM	#4
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,277 Karma: 145488788 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	You can also try using Book Designer to generate FB2 and see how that works since following HarryT's tutorial includes using Book designer. Cannot hurt to try both and see what works best for you.

12-14-2008, 08:57 AM	#5
javimm Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 20 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Hanlin V3	I convert all my files to fb2 with Book Designer. BD can do every formatting you can think of and more. I usually import the file, and use the Element Browser tool to make the Book title, Book Author and remove all the bad assigned titles (chapters) and subtitles. I end up with a file that has a Book Title, Book Author, and chapters. I also check for broken lines, and that's it. Then I convert it to fb2. Read Harry's tutorials. They're great. I'm using Openinkpot as my firmware now, and I love it. Doesn't have support for pdf, but pdf reading is not great in many devices anyway.

12-14-2008, 08:58 AM	#6
javimm Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 20 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Hanlin V3	Ah, and don't forget to add fonts to your device. It's easy, and read better than the installed ones. I use Djvu Seriff. Looks great.

12-14-2008, 10:52 AM	#7
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,977 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	I have seen reports of the FB2 support being a bit flaky, and it has locked up once for me in the week I have had my EZ Reader. Apparently the RTF support (using the same Cool Reader library) is more robust, but with no images. The MOBI Reader isn't as nice as FB2/RTF but it may be "good enough", and MobiPocket's own tools for creating MOBIs work well if you have a Windows PC. The other option is to switch to OpenInkPot. I have not tried this yet, but FBReader is in general very robust and full featured with fairly consistent quality across many formats.

12-14-2008, 06:10 PM	#9
slayda Retired & reading more! Posts: 2,764 Karma: 1884247 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Alabama, USA Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One	When/if you add fonts, note that with the EZ Reader manual, it says to put them into the "font" folder. The folder name needs to be "fonts" not "font".

12-15-2008, 09:30 AM	#12
javimm Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 20 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Hanlin V3	Just wanted to add: The files I was having trouble with were both FB2 files, and not MOBI. Sorry for the misinformation. I don't usually use Mobi files.

12-15-2008, 06:38 PM	#14
themadthinker Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Don't know yet...	Seeing as .fb2 seems to be the format of choice for the EZ Reader, does anyone know of a program that can convert to that format for the mac?

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