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Old 07-04-2009, 11:54 PM   #16
SpiderMatt
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Originally Posted by rijker View Post
Mac, I use basically just three: Acrobat Pro, Microsoft Word 2007 (with Microsoft's Create PDF add-in) and Adobe Photoshop. (other programs for less $$ probably work too - if you are student or faculty you can often get academic discounts on the software). The PDF forum here in Mobileread has a ton great info about PDF processing btw.

for really tough cases it's fairly easy to set up an automated process in Photoshop (export jpgs from Acrobat Pro, dump into Photoshop, run the process to darken text, lighten background, remove speckling etc. and create PDF. Once you get things to your liking, you can apply to other documents with ease. Sounds like a lot of time but isn't - once you get going, just minutes. Btw, we do this kind of stuff at work for archival kinds of material - so if you just want to more easily read an e-book, photoshopping may be bigtime overkill!


You can do a lot of improvement (and quickly!) in Acrobat Pro, including my favorite - 'fit to width' which can really make some PDFs more readable in the DX. File size can often be nearly cut in half with no discernable loss in quality (makes things load faster)

Since the DX doesn't have PDF zoom, I've found that a surprising number of (non facimile) PDFs can be made a lot more legible simply using Word and Acrobat Pro:

1. Open PDF in Acrobat Pro and export it as HTML 3.2 (my machine takes forever if I try to export directly to MS Word format or fancier HTML - your luck may be better, play around). Time = less than 1 min.

2. Right-click and open html document in Word 2007. Marvel at how well it survived the transition! Increase font size (Times 18pt works best for my DX) Use search & replace to add space between paragraphs or etc. (tip: you can automate this entire process with a macro) Reflow text, align left, get rid of parts you don't want etc. time = less than 1 min - 4 min depending on skill level.

3. Use Microsoft's free "Create PDF" add-in to save as PDF. 30 seconds. Done.

Just the tip of the iceberg -there are too many tools, sites, tutorials, forums out there to list, since so many of us deal with PDFs every day. good luck - r.
If you're going to convert it anyway, why would you even bother converting it back to PDF? From HTML, you could just as easily make a PRC file, which works much better on the Kindle. The idea of having native PDF support is that you DON'T have to convert files. Unfortunately, it seems Amazon didn't pay too much attention to the PDF experience on the Kindle DX.
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Old 07-05-2009, 01:51 AM   #17
Mac Jones
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Originally Posted by SpiderMatt View Post
If you're going to convert it anyway, why would you even bother converting it back to PDF? From HTML, you could just as easily make a PRC file, which works much better on the Kindle. The idea of having native PDF support is that you DON'T have to convert files. Unfortunately, it seems Amazon didn't pay too much attention to the PDF experience on the Kindle DX.
I know. I'm not going to want to bother fiddling with this right now. I just want it to do what I need (which isn't wasting time trying to iron out flaws).
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Old 07-05-2009, 01:54 PM   #18
ny10522
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Thanks for all the feedback. I just packed up the DX to be returned. Too bad. Really liked that huge screen and Amazon's excellent dictionary support. The deciding factor ultimately was the weight and inability to surf the web. It couldn't access even a few webpages without stalling or crashing.

I still have a Jetbook which is a very nice light, portable device. It's LCD display is as good and in some ways better than eink. Only downside is the lame English-English dictionary that is included.
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Old 07-05-2009, 03:06 PM   #19
gws456
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I've had my DX for nearly three weeks now and while there are many things to like about it, I do have some disappointments, notably the way it handles PDFs. I got it because of the larger screen size and so-called "native" PDF handling. Changing the orientation helps somewhat, but the inability to control font size etc. leaves them too hard for me to read (I am blind in one eye).
I can also compensate for the DX weight by shifting to the horizontal orientation which makes it a tad easier to balance.
The keyboard size makes it very difficult for me to use and I peck at the keys with fingernails not fingers because they are so small.
If I decide to keep the DX since I do like the larger screen very much, I will probably get a Decagirl skin in a dark tone which should make the e-paper seem lighter to the eye.
I do wish there was also a way to navigate quickly to the end of a document and I haven't found a way to do that expeditiously yet. There must be a shortcut for it somewhere.
Finally, the text to speech function is a real plus for me and I will not be buying any Random House publications because they have specifically disabled TTS.
Oh yes, Folders. Definitely needed for the larger storage capacity in the DX. Nuff said for now.
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Old 07-10-2009, 02:37 AM   #20
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I returned my DX to Amazon. I had looked forward to this reader with its pdf support as well as its larger screen, but it felt bulky, heavy, hard, and cold (in a steely way) to my hand. The final deal breaker for me was the lack of a left side button. I'm probably the exception to the rule, but I LOVE my Kindle 1. The K-1 feels like satin paper. I am reminded of a high quality book with I run my thumb over the front of it. I like the SD card slot. I like the rubber back. I even like (well, mostly) the included leather cover. None of the new Kindles seem to offer the feel or quite the same sort of reading experience of the first Kindle. I wish Amazon would go back to it's funky K-1 roots. Not everything needs to look like a technological wonder. The feeling that I get when I slide my thumb over the K-1's smooth exterior is akin to the emotional response so many seem to have when reading a tree book.
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Old 07-10-2009, 11:08 AM   #21
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Originally Posted by Just4Fun View Post
I'm probably the exception to the rule, but I LOVE my Kindle 1. The K-1 feels like satin paper. I am reminded of a high quality book with I run my thumb over the front of it. I like the SD card slot. I like the rubber back. I even like (well, mostly) the included leather cover. None of the new Kindles seem to offer the feel or quite the same sort of reading experience of the first Kindle.
Would you two get a room. I too like the Kindle1. The rubberized back makes it easy to hold without the cover.

Hey wait, I got a pleather cover. How did you get a leather one?

BOb
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