Yet another PDF to LRF converter

[gimmmo]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

... easier to recompile the LaTeX source of physics papers into pdf files sized for the reader using the geometry package.

Hi kovidgoyal. What is the size for geometry package to have pdf output good for PRS-505?

[kovidgoyal]

Sorry don't remember, I use a tablet for reading papers these days as I need to be able to annotate.

[ambertape]

cacapee
I have many pdf files of magazines I have downloaded. Will your program allow me to convert 7mb files into readable files on the ereader in either portrait or landscape with pictures or images embedded into the pdf files as they are now ? Will your latest version have a GUI that all I have to do is enter the name of the file, it converts into your format that is readable on the ereader and then I can start reading these files ?
Thanks.

[slav]

Hi cacapee,

I have a problem converting one of my PDF's using version 0.9 or 0.99 (it just exits after converting like 5-10% of file)

I managed to convert the file using version 0.7...

the PDF is 18 megs large and is secured....

any ideas?

btw. thanx for great program

[guineapiguser]

Hey cacapee,

I'd just like to comment that your PDF to LRF converter is the best converter I've found to convert PDFs to LRF period. The main advantage I've found is a) how your program automatically bolds the text so that stuff is more readable on the Reader's screen (regularly sending PDF files have fonts which are thin and hard to make out) b) the simple to use Windows interface where I can just drag a bunch of PDF files in a folder and leave it processing and have well formatted LRF files waiting for me to transfer.

However, I recently migrated to the Amazon Kindle (though I gave my dad the Sony PRS-505) and still use it, but I now have to reconvert several of my PDF files to be read on the Kindle. The advantage with the Kindle is that it can search through content, and so with text based PDFs it converts pretty well. However Amazon's PDF conversion for Text + Image mangles the PDF pretty badly, so what I usually do is keep a text version around for search, and a full imaged PDF around to for image references. I came up with a workflow documented below (I'll post a better detailed guide to the Kindle section soon).

PDF to Kindle Workflow:
The workflow I've come up with is this.
1) Use PDF2LRF to input the PDF and output to a .zip file filled with PNG files. (I have to use PDF2LRF in command line format to accomplish this).
2) Then use the program that jbenny posted (PNG2PDF) to generate a PDF file in commandline from the Zip files
3) Afterwards, I run Mobipocket Creator to import PDF file and output to .PRC format which is then readable with the Kindle.
Note: The advantage of this is I don't have to email the file to Amazon at all to get it converted and readable on kindle! (Since Gmail's 20 meg limit which I find quite limiting). And best of all the output is split nicely with high contrast, 2 pages/ landscape rotated which makes it as readable as on my Sony device compared to Amazon's default PDF conversion.

So in summary: PDF -> PDF2LRF -> PNG2PDF -> MobiPocket Creator -> Kindle.

One request I have is: Can you modify your PDF2LRF program for Windows with a flag so that it default outputs to a ZIP file filled with PNG files instead of defaulting to only LRF? I can do this through command line, but I prefer the simplicity of batch drag and dropping multiple PDF files and having them batch converted which can currently be done with LRF files.

Note: any ideas to speed up/ automating this PDF -> Kindle reformatting would be appreciated.

[kimstudio]

This is a great tool for reading pdfs on any other 800*600 (480) devices also with png zip file output.

[outie]

I like this tool a lot. I am able to convert comics and Chinese PDF ebooks perfectly. I wish there's an option to set margin though.

[ambertape]

cacapee,

I solved the problem of small fonts. I went to Wall-Mart and bought the strongest glasses that would enlarge the fonts on my PRS-500 using your windows pdflrf program and now I see things clearly, but this isn't the right way of reading. I have tested the same pdf file on all the filters in your GUI and frankly I don't see too much of a difference in selecting the different filters. I have a few suggestions to ask if possible be incoporated in your next version.

1. please add scale to 4X height and scale to 6x height. This will take care of font sizing.

2. could you add a brightness control, say 4 different levels because in my case, a lot of pdf files of magazines I download have white letrters on black backgrounds or black letters on grey backgrounds and even if the font size is larger it is hard to read. Maybe a contrast control will alleviate this problem.

3. could you add a sharpness control.

I used Ghostscript 8.61 and selected Ghostscript as one of the poarameters.

Please go to maximumpc.com, scroll down to PDFArchive, select a issue and see what I am saying after you convert it into a lrf file.

Might the command line of PDFLRF program give me more controls that I need ? If so, could you please give me various examples to try ? nAlso your cancel button doesn't close the Windows GUI

Thanks

Ambertape

[ambertape]

Hi all,

I have left numerous messages and was hoping to get help from some of the members who frequent this thread. Alas it isn't forthcoming yet. I am frustrated in that there seems to be many obstacles to using the PRS500 in a way to enjoy e-books and pdf files.

I am a novice and would like to contribute info once I get it correct.

Thanks

[gimmmo]

Originally Posted by ambertape

I have many pdf files of magazines I have downloaded. Will your program allow me to convert 7mb files...
Thanks.

I converted 14MB of a pdf file to lrf without any problem of reading with my PRS-505, eventhough it's in book format, not magazine.

Originally Posted by ambertape

... portrait or landscape with pictures or images embedded into the pdf files as they are now ?
Thanks.

If your pdf file contains big picture then of course the picture will be splited between pages. In that case, try portrait instead of lanscape. Let's see the result on your own PRS...

The best way is try yourself... I did many try and error on pdflrf setting before I find the setting good enough for me...

[gimmmo]

Originally Posted by ambertape

cacapee,
Might the command line of PDFLRF program give me more controls that I need ? If so, could you please give me various examples to try ?
Ambertape

That's my case. I prefer command line rather than GUI. Just write command line option that you usually use, paste it next to your monitor screen for later usage.

With GUI, I always confuse with so many setting options, and which one do I need to change Unless I take photo of the GUI and paste it next to the monitor

Another advantage of CLI is than I can use it in any environment. I usually use Linux, and Windows sometimes. CLI works well in both environment ( so far, in my experience ).

This is what I normally do when converting:

pdflrf --input="your_file.pdf" --output="your_file.lrf" --title="Book Title" --author="The Author" --publisher="The Publisher" --rotation="0" --smartcut --nosplitpage

That's it. Easy. If you worry to forget the setting, just write a note in your handphone so you can carry it all the time

[kucing]

hi, just wondering if i'm doing something wrong
i'm using the 0.99 GUI, but it takes forever to convert a 400-500 page novel from pdf to lrf...
they're just text, nothing fancy =/ it takes 10-25 minutes to do them, is this normal?

[ambertape]

Kucing,

I haven't finished playing but I can tell the faster the computer the faster 0.99 GUI will convert a file. I tried it on four computers so far and my 2.4GHZ worked the fastest in conversions. Get a 3GHZ computer withg 2GB of ram minimum and it will speed up converting.

[ambertape]

Gimmmo.

I haven't finished testing using the GUI but wherever I downloaded pdflrf file isn't working. I did see pdflrfdos.exe. Is this the file I should use in DOS ? Should this file be in the root directory to do the conversion ? Could you please spell out the correct syntax. I am downloading pdf files from Maximumpc and there is the file name the guy who probably made into a pdf file and should the output name be the same as the input or can be something else ? These files do not have a author.

The name of a file is MPC0707.pdf. That is all I see but when I did use the GUI it gave me the name of the first page and the author but no publisher.

Thanks for helping me so far.

Ambertape

[InStim]

Two options I would be interested in would be centering the result on the page, and/or specifying a background "color."

I have a number of comics in PDF form I would like to convert and I am using the fit to height option to view the whole page without splitting. In this case I prefer to see the layout and I am comfortable with text-size. The result is the comic panel left aligned with an inch-wide white strip along the right.

The quality of the converted file is great, but I'd love the aesthetic of it central on the screen.