How do you read PDF files?

[LazyScot]

It depends a lot on the contents and size of the file.

Very short ones (2 or 3 pages) I try to read on the computer.

Those with detailed graphics that I need to follow I almost always print out.

Others I'll read on the iLiad, usually rotated.

Pure text get converted, usually to mobi or html/rtf depending on the device I intend to read it on.

[kaidoy021]

I'm a newbie since I got my sony 505 last week. But I use PDFLRF to convert my pdf books. No complaint, but I havent seen what PDF Read yields in results.

Patrick

[ePossum]

"other approach" = iLiad

iLiad was my e-reading device of choice precisely because it is so well suited to reading non-secured pdfs

Since getting the iLiad at the begining of the year, I've come to love the pdf viewer so much that I even print MS Word docs to pdf so I can read them on the iLiad...

[jakeluck]

rasterize the pdf into image-based LRF and read it on the sony 505

[power100]

As a graduate student, I read pdf articles a lot.
I print them out, so I can write on them.

[HappyMartin]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Maybe "I print them out" should be added to the poll. It's what I do with most of PDF files

Yep, me too. I print and bind the sucker.

[BlackVoid]

Thanks for the responses to my questions.

I have a lot of PDF files that I plan to read on my Sony 505. Here is how I convert
- Load the file in Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Crop the pages to remove headers and footers (see how on page 3 of this thread).
- Save the text as RTF or DOC (still experimenting which is better)
- Load the file in BookDesigner (this is MUCH better than Calibre)
- Create the LRF file

This gives perfect result for all-text PDFs and even retains images! Formatting is very nicely converted (with Calibre this is not so).
Unfortunately page cropping is ignored by BookDesigner so you need the interim RTF / DOC format.
With this method (and a few additional steps) I can now also convert PDFs from my native language (Hungarian) with a full character set. PM me if you need details on this.

[HowGozit]

Like many, I use a tablet with a 12" screen to read Technical ebook PDF's if I want nice formatting. I have started to just copy the PDF's to my Sony 505 (new ROM update). The text is very small, but I can read it (just). But the graphics come across OK. If I expand the text, then it becomes fine to read, but the graphics vanish.

Having said that, the Sony is always handy and it weigh's nothing... :-)

Ross

[hansl]

I crop pdfs with cutepdf, convert them with pi and feed its output to rasterfarian (I have not tested pi's new lrf capability yet) and read them on my PRS-500 in portrait mode.

I read non-fiction pdfs most of times on a PC or laptop because I cannot afford eons waiting for converted pdfs at work, because the PRS-500 has no search or markup capability and because pi cuts one page into multiple pages and therefore footnotes appear usually on another page than their reference (flipping back and forth 3 pages 5 times for an average A4 page is annoying and battery consuming. Without pi's cuts the text would be too small for my aged eyes).

I occasionally print pdfs with nice graphics (mostly coloured) or beautiful layout to paper.

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by Gibbo

Is it possible to convert an .etd (Adobe Digital Edition) file to... what whatever?

Copistar

If you can open the file on your PC then the program should work. It's worked for all my Digital Editions. You end up with an unrestricted PDF.

[C6REW]

Originally Posted by BlackVoid

Thanks for the responses to my questions.

I have a lot of PDF files that I plan to read on my Sony 505. Here is how I convert
- Load the file in Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Crop the pages to remove headers and footers (see how on page 3 of this thread).
- Save the text as RTF or DOC (still experimenting which is better)
- Load the file in BookDesigner (this is MUCH better than Calibre)
- Create the LRF file

This gives perfect result for all-text PDFs and even retains images! Formatting is very nicely converted (with Calibre this is not so).
Unfortunately page cropping is ignored by BookDesigner so you need the interim RTF / DOC format.
With this method (and a few additional steps) I can now also convert PDFs from my native language (Hungarian) with a full character set. PM me if you need details on this.

Hi blackvoid,

Many thanks, just converted a couple of photography books using your method and this seems the best solution so far.

Best regards

Chris

[Faenad]

Originally Posted by alexxxm

So whenever I happen onto an unreadable PDF, it is a wonderful surprise.
I print it at once in booklet A5 (ask if interested), then work on the binding, finding the aptest one for the book kind, etc.
Highly recommended.
alessandro

I am interested
How do you print in Booklet A5? Do you use some kind of software?

[hansl]

Originally Posted by BlackVoid

...
- Load the file in Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Crop the pages to remove headers and footers (see how on page 3 of this thread).
- Save the text as RTF or DOC (still experimenting which is better)
- Load the file in BookDesigner (this is MUCH better than Calibre)
- Create the LRF file

This gives perfect result for all-text PDFs and even retains images! ...

Hi BlackVoid,
your method sounds like you have to manually reinsert the pictures from the original document for use with BookDesigner. Is that so?

Thanks,
Hansl

[BlackVoid]

Originally Posted by CO'Neil

Did try the latest version of Calibre with some all-text pdf's to lrf's for my Sony 500. They came out 10 times larger than converting the same contents from lit to lrf, so in future I'll try to avoid pdf's for the Sony.

That said, the Calibre conversion did work, albeit with a slight resolution deficiency. It was waaay easier to read than a straight split-landscape pdf.

Chris

Try conversion with Book Designer, it is much better.

[BlackVoid]

Originally Posted by vegetrendian

I have been trying in vain to find a good way to load Lonely Planet's newly released PDF versions of their travel guides onto a PRS-505 and none of it is working very well.
If anyone has a solution for that I would extremely grateful.

Try with BookDesigner. If there are headers and footers you may watn to crop them first and export the text to RTF / DOC., then convert with Bookdesigner.