Touch Unable to read PDF books

jusmee · 02-22-2012, 08:13 PM

I just borrowed my first PDF book from the local library. It opens, but I cannot read it because the text is way too small, and if I zoom in, then the page turning no longer works (unless you laboriously slide it off the side and touch on the arrow that appears)

How are we meant to read PDFs when the software behaves like this?

My previous ereader would 'reflow' the PDF text when you zoomed to a larger font. Seems this kobo software has no concept of using a different larger font for PDFs.

robko · 02-22-2012, 09:14 PM

Kobo doesn't have pdf reflow. If they do add it down the road, they need to make it optional because a lot of the pdf stuff I use are not friendly to reflow.

jusmee · 02-22-2012, 11:19 PM

Meanwhile I cannot read any PDF books from my library!!

PeterT · 02-22-2012, 11:31 PM

Try zooming out to one stop before max zoom.... I seem to recall that lets some of the other movement functions work.

I think its safe to say tjough that most people do not read PDF's on the Touch....

jusmee · 02-22-2012, 11:48 PM

The print is still too small.

I feel cheated as I bought this device because they advertise that it is compatible with Adobe, and some books are ONLY in PDF format.

BWinmill · 02-23-2012, 01:57 AM

Alas, there isn't much that we can do about it at the moment. This is due to a limitation of PDF files colliding with a limitation of eInk displays. Different vendors deal with these limitations in different ways and clearly Kobo's implementation doesn't satisfy you. (It doesn't satisfy me either, which is why I have a Vox to deal with PDFs and a Touch for ePubs.) It is worth considering that no single solution will satisfy everyone since all of these solutions are kludges.

You have a couple of options here. You can try making a constructive suggestion to Kobo to improve page turning when zoomed in (easy to implement, thus realistic) or to add an option to reflow text in PDF files (more difficult, thus less realistic). Since they issue frequent updates that improve their products, they may be willing to listen. The second option is to return the Touch and find a reader that is more geared towards your needs.

jusmee · 02-23-2012, 02:30 AM

It's really not a question of satisfaction. You simply cannot read the PDF I tried. Zoomed out, it is far to small to be human readable. Zoomed in, you can read it - only bits at a time as you pan around, and you can't turn to the next page without multiple swipes or touches. I am starting to wish it wasn't a touchscreen device, and they'd provided a button to turn the page.

What is most annoying is that I bought the Kobo Touch as an upgrade to the cheap Astak/Jinke reader I already had. The Jinke is a few years old, and THEY have had PDF reflow right from when I bought it. I never imagined the kobo software would be so far behind in it's capabilities, as the device itself has all the new/better hardware - i.e. wifi, much clearer pearl screen, touch screen etc.

My solution is obviously to use my old device for PDF reading, and hope the world turns to epub in a big way, and drops the PDF format.

Beryll Snyder · 02-23-2012, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jusmee

The print is still too small.

I feel cheated as I bought this device because they advertise that it is compatible with Adobe, and some books are ONLY in PDF format.

Even people who bought 9.7" readers have enormous problems with their devices.
PDF on a small screen reader: only in rare cases will you get satisfying results.

jusmee · 02-23-2012, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beryll Snyder

Even people who bought 9.7" readers have enormous problems with their devices.
PDF on a small screen reader: only in rare cases will you get satisfying results.

No, sorry, but my old ereader does it beautifully. It allows you to change the font, bigger or smaller, then it reflows it all nicely. It's only PDFs that are essentially a collection of images that can't be handled this way. Most PDF books are in fact text documents and can be reflowed with different size fonts.

danskmacabre · 02-23-2012, 07:16 AM

agreed the KT does a bad job of PDF support. I did research before I bought my KT via reviews rather than the manufacturer's blurbs, they all exaggerate capabilities of devices, so I knew that I bought my KT.

BWinmill · 02-23-2012, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jusmee

No, sorry, but my old ereader does it beautifully. It allows you to change the font, bigger or smaller, then it reflows it all nicely.

Here's the thing: PDF is a page description language. This is quite different from a stream of text with some markup inserted (e.g. ePub). The vendor of your old ereader decided to take a chance at being able to take a PDF file, pull out the text, and reformat it properly. Maybe that always worked for you given the types of books that you read, but it does not work in general. The types of publications that I've read produced everything from random spacing, to mixed up passages, to garbled text, to nothing at all. It is quite probable that Kobo was left with the option of adding a feature that produces unpredictable results or leaving things as they were and decided that the latter is the best option. After all, unpredictable results result in more calls to technical support and poor reviews.

jusmee · 02-23-2012, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Here's the thing: PDF is a page description language. This is quite different from a stream of text with some markup inserted (e.g. ePub). The vendor of your old ereader decided to take a chance at being able to take a PDF file, pull out the text, and reformat it properly. Maybe that always worked for you given the types of books that you read, but it does not work in general. The types of publications that I've read produced everything from random spacing, to mixed up passages, to garbled text, to nothing at all. It is quite probable that Kobo was left with the option of adding a feature that produces unpredictable results or leaving things as they were and decided that the latter is the best option. After all, unpredictable results result in more calls to technical support and poor reviews.

So why do authors publish in PDF then ? Seems a bit limiting to only be able to read books on certain size devices.

Anyway, in the end, I'd rather Kobo fixed the horrible bugs in their latest firmware offering, specifically page turning.

Marbles · 02-23-2012, 06:44 PM

I have both the Kobo Touch and the Kobo Vox. I find reading PDF's easier on the Touch even though you have to screw around with the page turns. It at least keeps it the size that I have chosen. The Vox on the other hand you have to go back to the original size to turn each page. Some books unfortunately are still to tiny of print to read on the Touch. This to me is the way that they were created and not a problem with the Touch. What I find really strange is that when developing the Vox they did not make it so that it could handle PDF's with little difficulty. Instead you have to download all sorts of different programs to be able to read library books and PDF's. Oh well I enjoy both of my readers and just put up with the inconviences as to my way of thinking all readers have things that are good and others that are bad and you may never find the one that does all the things you want perfectly.

jusmee · 02-23-2012, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marbles

Oh well I enjoy both of my readers and just put up with the inconviences as to my way of thinking all readers have things that are good and others that are bad and you may never find the one that does all the things you want perfectly.

An attitude I need to cultivate for myself! !

BWinmill · 02-24-2012, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jusmee

So why do authors publish in PDF then? Seems a bit limiting to only be able to read books on certain size devices.

ePub and PDF serve two entirely different purposes. ePub's are fine for things like novels, but their shortcomings become evident when you have detailed figures, tables, or moderately complex page layouts. PDF files can handle that stuff, and other things, much better. The other thing is that more people recognize PDF files, and know what to do with them.

02-22-2012, 08:13 PM	#1
jusmee Wizard Posts: 1,047 Karma: 203682 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Libre 2	Unable to read PDF books I just borrowed my first PDF book from the local library. It opens, but I cannot read it because the text is way too small, and if I zoom in, then the page turning no longer works (unless you laboriously slide it off the side and touch on the arrow that appears) How are we meant to read PDFs when the software behaves like this? My previous ereader would 'reflow' the PDF text when you zoomed to a larger font. Seems this kobo software has no concept of using a different larger font for PDFs.

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02-22-2012, 09:14 PM	#2
robko Wizard Posts: 2,454 Karma: 5469320 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo	Kobo doesn't have pdf reflow. If they do add it down the road, they need to make it optional because a lot of the pdf stuff I use are not friendly to reflow.

02-22-2012, 11:19 PM	#3
jusmee Wizard Posts: 1,047 Karma: 203682 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Libre 2	Meanwhile I cannot read any PDF books from my library!!

02-22-2012, 11:31 PM	#4
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,532 Karma: 78910202 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	Try zooming out to one stop before max zoom.... I seem to recall that lets some of the other movement functions work. I think its safe to say tjough that most people do not read PDF's on the Touch....

02-22-2012, 11:48 PM	#5
jusmee Wizard Posts: 1,047 Karma: 203682 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Libre 2	The print is still too small. I feel cheated as I bought this device because they advertise that it is compatible with Adobe, and some books are ONLY in PDF format.

02-23-2012, 01:57 AM	#6
BWinmill Nameless Being	Alas, there isn't much that we can do about it at the moment. This is due to a limitation of PDF files colliding with a limitation of eInk displays. Different vendors deal with these limitations in different ways and clearly Kobo's implementation doesn't satisfy you. (It doesn't satisfy me either, which is why I have a Vox to deal with PDFs and a Touch for ePubs.) It is worth considering that no single solution will satisfy everyone since all of these solutions are kludges. You have a couple of options here. You can try making a constructive suggestion to Kobo to improve page turning when zoomed in (easy to implement, thus realistic) or to add an option to reflow text in PDF files (more difficult, thus less realistic). Since they issue frequent updates that improve their products, they may be willing to listen. The second option is to return the Touch and find a reader that is more geared towards your needs.

02-23-2012, 02:30 AM	#7
jusmee Wizard Posts: 1,047 Karma: 203682 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Libre 2	It's really not a question of satisfaction. You simply cannot read the PDF I tried. Zoomed out, it is far to small to be human readable. Zoomed in, you can read it - only bits at a time as you pan around, and you can't turn to the next page without multiple swipes or touches. I am starting to wish it wasn't a touchscreen device, and they'd provided a button to turn the page. What is most annoying is that I bought the Kobo Touch as an upgrade to the cheap Astak/Jinke reader I already had. The Jinke is a few years old, and THEY have had PDF reflow right from when I bought it. I never imagined the kobo software would be so far behind in it's capabilities, as the device itself has all the new/better hardware - i.e. wifi, much clearer pearl screen, touch screen etc. My solution is obviously to use my old device for PDF reading, and hope the world turns to epub in a big way, and drops the PDF format.

02-23-2012, 07:16 AM	#10
danskmacabre Guru Posts: 733 Karma: 3593438 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Glo. Galaxy Tab S 8.4	agreed the KT does a bad job of PDF support. I did research before I bought my KT via reviews rather than the manufacturer's blurbs, they all exaggerate capabilities of devices, so I knew that I bought my KT.

02-23-2012, 06:44 PM	#13
Marbles Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 6296 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Albert, Canada Device: KoboTouch & Kobo Vox iPad2	I have both the Kobo Touch and the Kobo Vox. I find reading PDF's easier on the Touch even though you have to screw around with the page turns. It at least keeps it the size that I have chosen. The Vox on the other hand you have to go back to the original size to turn each page. Some books unfortunately are still to tiny of print to read on the Touch. This to me is the way that they were created and not a problem with the Touch. What I find really strange is that when developing the Vox they did not make it so that it could handle PDF's with little difficulty. Instead you have to download all sorts of different programs to be able to read library books and PDF's. Oh well I enjoy both of my readers and just put up with the inconviences as to my way of thinking all readers have things that are good and others that are bad and you may never find the one that does all the things you want perfectly.