A Tip for Kindle DX users

Daithi · 09-25-2009, 09:08 AM

Here is a tip on how to quickly create PDF ebooks for your Kindle DX.

If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro it is simple -- view a webpage and from the toolbars menu at the top of your browser press File--> Print... then select Print to PDF and Bob's your uncle (I always wanted to say that).

If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Pro then you can use Firefox with a free plug-in. Just google "Firefox print to PDF".

One of the advantages of Acrobat Pro is that you can combine several PDFs into a single PDF. However, there is probably some free stuff on the web that will allow you to do the same thing. (Acrobat Pro retails for almost $500, but if you are in school or have a kid in school then you can get an educational discount bringing the cost down to around $100. There are also several sites selling it for around $80 but caveat emptor).

Lately I've become interested in Natural Language Processing (NLP) using the Python programming language. There is a ton of stuff on both NLP and Python on the web, and I have found it extremely useful to convert these webpages into PDF documents, which I can then view on my Kindle DX. I now have tons of documentation and tutorials as nice little PDF docs on my Kindle.

Bottom line -- Print to PDF is wicked awesome.

Mike L · 09-25-2009, 10:45 AM

Thanks for that, Daithi. But did you know that you can read the webpage (or at least, the text on it) directly on the Kindle, without converting it to PDF? Just save the page in an HTML file, rename it with the extension TXT, and load it onto your Kindle.

You won't get an accurate representation of the layout, but all the text and most of the formatting should be rendered correctly, including internal hyperlinks. I use this method to read PD titles from Project Guthenberg, and it works perfectly.

(I'm not sure how important it is to change the extension to TXT. I read somewhere that it was necessary, but haven't tried leaving it as HTM.)

Daithi · 09-25-2009, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike L

Thanks for that, Daithi. But did you know that you can read the webpage (or at least, the text on it) directly on the Kindle, without converting it to PDF? Just save the page in an HTML file, rename it with the extension TXT, and load it onto your Kindle.

You won't get an accurate representation of the layout, but all the text and most of the formatting should be rendered correctly, including internal hyperlinks. I use this method to read PD titles from Project Guthenberg, and it works perfectly.

(I'm not sure how important it is to change the extension to TXT. I read somewhere that it was necessary, but haven't tried leaving it as HTM.)

Yes, I knew you could do that, but if a page contains tables and other formatting features they get lost. The nice thing with the PDF conversion is they are all maintained. This is really nice for programming related material like I am reading now. However, for regular text type material, your method would probably be preferable as I imagine the html files are much smaller than PDF files.

BenG · 09-25-2009, 11:28 AM

I use CutePDF. You can use it for anything you print, not just Firefox.

pilotbob · 09-26-2009, 01:02 PM

..or if you have a Mac printing to PDF from any app is built into the OS. Just select File -> Print, then in the bottom select the "PDF" button and choose "Save as PDF..."

BOb

catsittingstill · 09-27-2009, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

..or if you have a Mac printing to PDF from any app is built into the OS. Just select File -> Print, then in the bottom select the "PDF" button and choose "Save as PDF..."

BOb

Yeah. I thought every computer could do this by now, but I guess not...

pilotbob · 09-28-2009, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catsittingstill

Yeah. I thought every computer could do this by now, but I guess not...

If MS put this into Windows, Adobe would throw a major hissy fit. Look how much they complained when MS was going to ship a Print to PDF in Office 2007. (Which ended up becoming a d/l-able add-on.

Of course, Adobe claims PDF is an "open standard" so their objections were very curious to me.

BOb

tklaus · 09-28-2009, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daithi

One of the advantages of Acrobat Pro is that you can combine several PDFs into a single PDF. However, there is probably some free stuff on the web that will allow you to do the same thing.

http://www.pdfsam.org/

Free, open-source, and easy to use.

jacksonunit · 09-29-2009, 11:18 AM

My MS Word 2007 has PDF option in the Save As file menu option. Can't wait to try it.

How does DX do with docx?

pilotbob · 09-29-2009, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacksonunit

My MS Word 2007 has PDF option in the Save As file menu option. Can't wait to try it.

You should try it before you need it. The first time you use it if you haven't installed the add-on it will tell you you need to get it, and help you with that. So don't wait, get it set up before you need it.

Not that it is hard to set up.

BOb

Blog Kindle · 10-04-2009, 01:36 AM

I compared several PDF converters and ended up using PDFCreator to feed my Kindle DX.

daffy4u · 10-04-2009, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blog Kindle

I compared several PDF converters and ended up using PDFCreator to feed my Kindle DX.

I noticed you wrote this about CutePDF:

Quote:

CutePDF by Acro Software Inc. Requires you to install the printer driver and Ghostscript separately. Printer driver installation is not Vista/Windows 7 friendly as it requires you to disable UAC (user account control) which requires a reboot (and then another one to turn it back on). There is not proper excuse for such sloppy software writing in 2009 when Windows Vista has been around for years. Otherswise the converter works fine.

I don't recall ever having a UAC issue with CutePDF in the many years I've used it with Vista and now Windows 7 (or XP) on several computers. Could there be an issue with your particular computer set-up?

Blog Kindle · 10-04-2009, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I don't recall ever having a UAC issue with CutePDF in the many years I've used it with Vista and now Windows 7 (or XP) on several computers. Could there be an issue with your particular computer set-up?

It only happens once when you install it. As for Windows XP - it has no UAC so there will be no issues

Could be that they've fixed it since.

daffy4u · 10-04-2009, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blog Kindle

It only happens once when you install it. As for Windows XP - it has no UAC so there will be no issues

Could be that they've fixed it since.

That's why I put XP in parentheses (I know it doesn't have UAC).

As I said, I've used it for years and have installed it on all my computers (most recently a netbook dual booting XP and Windows 7) and didn't have those issues. I guess it this is a true case of YMMV.

pboss · 10-06-2009, 04:29 PM

I've tried quite few converters over this year but always find I come back to Nitro PDF.

09-25-2009, 09:08 AM	#1
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	A Tip for Kindle DX users Here is a tip on how to quickly create PDF ebooks for your Kindle DX. If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro it is simple -- view a webpage and from the toolbars menu at the top of your browser press File--> Print... then select Print to PDF and Bob's your uncle (I always wanted to say that). If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Pro then you can use Firefox with a free plug-in. Just google "Firefox print to PDF". One of the advantages of Acrobat Pro is that you can combine several PDFs into a single PDF. However, there is probably some free stuff on the web that will allow you to do the same thing. (Acrobat Pro retails for almost $500, but if you are in school or have a kid in school then you can get an educational discount bringing the cost down to around $100. There are also several sites selling it for around $80 but caveat emptor). Lately I've become interested in Natural Language Processing (NLP) using the Python programming language. There is a ton of stuff on both NLP and Python on the web, and I have found it extremely useful to convert these webpages into PDF documents, which I can then view on my Kindle DX. I now have tons of documentation and tutorials as nice little PDF docs on my Kindle. Bottom line -- Print to PDF is wicked awesome. Last edited by Daithi; 09-25-2009 at 09:11 AM.

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09-25-2009, 10:45 AM	#2
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	Thanks for that, Daithi. But did you know that you can read the webpage (or at least, the text on it) directly on the Kindle, without converting it to PDF? Just save the page in an HTML file, rename it with the extension TXT, and load it onto your Kindle. You won't get an accurate representation of the layout, but all the text and most of the formatting should be rendered correctly, including internal hyperlinks. I use this method to read PD titles from Project Guthenberg, and it works perfectly. (I'm not sure how important it is to change the extension to TXT. I read somewhere that it was necessary, but haven't tried leaving it as HTM.)

09-25-2009, 11:28 AM	#4
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,730 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	I use CutePDF. You can use it for anything you print, not just Firefox.

09-26-2009, 01:02 PM	#5
pilotbob Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,832 Karma: 11844413 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa, FL USA Device: Kindle Touch	..or if you have a Mac printing to PDF from any app is built into the OS. Just select File -> Print, then in the bottom select the "PDF" button and choose "Save as PDF..." BOb

09-29-2009, 11:18 AM	#9
jacksonunit Sand Bender Posts: 107 Karma: 35218 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: San Antonio, Tx Device: Kindle1/iPhone/iPad/Droid/KindleDX/Kindle 3G/Kindle Touch/Kindle Fire	My MS Word 2007 has PDF option in the Save As file menu option. Can't wait to try it. How does DX do with docx?

10-04-2009, 01:36 AM	#11
Blog Kindle Addict Posts: 224 Karma: 25122 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 1/2/3/4/Touch/DX/Fire\|PRS-600/350\|Nook(color)\|iPad\|iPad2\|EVO 4G	I compared several PDF converters and ended up using PDFCreator to feed my Kindle DX.

10-06-2009, 04:29 PM	#15
pboss Evangelist Posts: 408 Karma: 646 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: none	I've tried quite few converters over this year but always find I come back to Nitro PDF.