Page size question - pdf to kindle create

[kayvon]

I have written an ebook using a fixed layout due to many pictures. I was given advice by Amazon to upload Kindle create using a pdf format. everything looks good and all the hyperlinks function as expected. Except, the page does not fit the device "previewer" quite right. the BOTTOM of the page is being cut off so you have to scroll up to see it all.
Questions:
1. Which Kindle device actually allows a fixed layout format viewing, I want to get one and test it myself if I can. The previewer gives me only one option for "device" but does not tell me what it is.
2. what is the ideal page size? my page is an 816 x 612 pixels which works perfect on an ipad.
3. is there a "fit to screen" function that I am missing?

thank you very much for your help.

PS. I am using InDesign (Adobe products)

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by kayvon

I have written an ebook using a fixed layout due to many pictures. I was given advice by Amazon to upload Kindle create using a pdf format. everything looks good and all the hyperlinks function as expected. Except, the page does not fit the device "previewer" quite right. the BOTTOM of the page is being cut off so you have to scroll up to see it all.
Questions:
1. Which Kindle device actually allows a fixed layout format viewing, I want to get one and test it myself if I can. The previewer gives me only one option for "device" but does not tell me what it is.

Kindle Fires are probably your best bet, but they also give you the most "optimistic" view, in a way.

2. what is the ideal page size? my page is an 816 x 612 pixels which works perfect on an ipad.

Kindle Fires are a 1:1.6 aspect ratio. Not a 1:1.3 like an iPad. The ideal size, according to the Publishing Guidelines, is 1024 x 600, for a first-gen Fire. Extrapolate that out for larger, newer devices.

3. is there a "fit to screen" function that I am missing?

Nope.

thank you very much for your help.

PS. I am using InDesign (Adobe products)

Well...the software used to make the pdf or the display file doesn't really matter, but the good news is, at least with InDesign you can make your measuremeants precise.

Your file shouldn't really be extending past the margins. That sounds like something is wrong to me. You did tell Kindle Create that you were making a fixed-layout file, right?

Hitch

[kayvon]

Thank you Hitch for taking the time to answer my question. I started with a 816X612 and decided for simplicity to change the ratio to 980X 612, in this way I eliminated the need for any adjustments to the content. That is a 1:1.6 ratio and it looks fine on the previewer in Kindle Create. I am a bit confused however with the 1024X600 ratio mentioned in your note as it is 1:1.7 ratio. in any case, I believe I am all set. please let me know if I am missing something. Thank you again.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by kayvon

Thank you Hitch for taking the time to answer my question. I started with a 816X612 and decided for simplicity to change the ratio to 980X 612, in this way I eliminated the need for any adjustments to the content. That is a 1:1.6 ratio and it looks fine on the previewer in Kindle Create. I am a bit confused however with the 1024X600 ratio mentioned in your note as it is 1:1.7 ratio. in any case, I believe I am all set. please let me know if I am missing something. Thank you again.

Hi:

Nope, just another one of those wee quirks with Amazon; some Fires are 1:1.6, some are 1:1.7 aspect ratio. :-) Either--the 1.6 or 1.7--will work fine on 99% of the devices, so you're good.

I do want to say--not to upset you--that making your file so small in dimension may not be exactly what you want to do. Setting the sizes that way isn't going to give you much in the way of zoom, for readability or closer viewing.

Perhaps you could consider 1960x1224? So that your customers can get a bit of zoom? And what happens if they buy that and open it on a Fire 10? A Fire 10" has 1920x1200 pixels in the base screen rez, and that's un-zoomed. What happens when Suzie Q buys it, zooms it, and it's already at 2x on her base display? Before being zoomed? Isn't that gonna get a bit blurry?

Just a suggestion.

Hitch

[kayvon]

Thank you Hitch for staying with me a bit longer. I am frankly very confused myself about this. I am using the page size 816x612 in InDesign for my ipad version. I am also exporting my objects (pictures) at 150ppi. when I look at the epub on my ipad, not only does it look great, it also zooms very nicely. intuitively I hear what you are saying and it makes sense, but when I see it up close, it is working perfectly for me.
I am not a software expert, I had to learn the Adobe suite to be able to finish this ebook. so I may not be saying things the right way. part of me is confident and another part of me is freaked out a bit. I am happy to send you a copy to hear your thoughts if you are willing. Thank you.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by kayvon

Thank you Hitch for staying with me a bit longer. I am frankly very confused myself about this. I am using the page size 816x612 in InDesign for my ipad version. I am also exporting my objects (pictures) at 150ppi. when I look at the epub on my ipad, not only does it look great, it also zooms very nicely. intuitively I hear what you are saying and it makes sense, but when I see it up close, it is working perfectly for me.
I am not a software expert, I had to learn the Adobe suite to be able to finish this ebook. so I may not be saying things the right way. part of me is confident and another part of me is freaked out a bit. I am happy to send you a copy to hear your thoughts if you are willing. Thank you.

Hi:

Well...my suggestion, then, is to make your Kindle version and view it on Previewer and see what you think. Amazon compresses images, even if you don't want them to, so..you may not love the result.

Do you have a device, other than an Apple device, upon which you might be able to view the end result of the MOBI-fication process? Well, wait, never mind, you can't do that with a KC file, anyway.

So..how's it look in Kindle previewer?

Hitch

[kayvon]

when viewed on the kindle create previewer, it looks very nice. I zoomed to 200% and it looked good. I also exported one of may pages as a pdf, opened it in photoshop and the image size was 2550 x 4083. this is where my ignorance (Out Out, you demons of stupidity) shines through. my document "set up" in InDesign says page size 980 x 612 pixels. somehow, this number is not related to the actual page's pixels, I don't quite understand why but there it is. Thank you for your patience, I am going to keep it as is for now.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by kayvon

when viewed on the kindle create previewer, it looks very nice. I zoomed to 200% and it looked good. I also exported one of may pages as a pdf, opened it in photoshop and the image size was 2550 x 4083. this is where my ignorance (Out Out, you demons of stupidity) shines through. my document "set up" in InDesign says page size 980 x 612 pixels. somehow, this number is not related to the actual page's pixels, I don't quite understand why but there it is. Thank you for your patience, I am going to keep it as is for now.

Hi:

I've seen this phenomena before--the whole "pixels make no sense in inches" sort of thing.

If your exported image is is 2250x4083, I'd say it's pretty perfect, really, for ALL the various devices, etc.

Thanks for the nod to the avatar. Old Dogbert's been with me a looooong time. :-)

Hitch

[Notjohn]

You're better off IMHO not using Kindle Create at all.

KC is a tool with no other real purpose than to lock you into Amazon and prevent you from selling your books elsewhere. In time, it hopes to control the market so absolutely that it can return us to the 35 percent royalty it paid before Apple began selling ebooks.

Best of all, of course, is to get down & dirty with the html. I upload books in the epub format, which works everywhere, including the KDP.

It may be that Amazon no longer provides any tool other than Kindle Create for building a fixed-format book. I don't know; I've also always avoided fixed format because of the very problem you have encountered, that few e-readers support it.