LaTex Formatted PDF for Kindle Screen / Moby Dick Test

[valex]

Originally Posted by SiTeX

When I upload these files to a Kindle, the TOC appears but the links are not active.

Kindle's PDF viewer does not supports hyperlinks. The TOC problem can be alleviated somewhat by this little tool (I did not use it myself yet)

http://www.the-ebook.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17547

(ignore the Russian, just download the program using the link at the very end of the first message)

It is supposed to be able to parse the PDF and create a file containing Kindle bookmarks corresponding to the items in TOC. The file will have .pdr extension, copy it to the Kindle's documents folder alongside the original PDF.

[physics]

Hi all-

There's a bug in pdfs compiled with pdflatex when viewed on the Kindle (and also on the nook, the sony readers, the entourage edge, and pocketbooks)- the letter beta is written on top of the previous letter. This problem doesn't appear if you compile to postscript first and then convert to pdf. (Which is what I've been doing.)

It seems like you're working with pdfs of books, so it may not be relevant to you; I read physics papers on my dx and that's where I run into it. I just wanted to give you all a heads up in case you're doing all this work to read papers on the QCD beta function... :-)

[chalimac]

Valex,

I get an error at:

\cropdef\cornerCrop\cornerCrop\cornerCrop\cornerCrop{cornerDots}
\crop[cornerDots]

Undefined control sequence.

Is there some typo?

Thanks for all you info on latex.

[valex]

Make sure you include the whole code fragment, it loads the packages in the beginning. \cropdef is defined in the crop package.

[valex]

Originally Posted by physics

Hi all-

There's a bug in pdfs compiled with pdflatex when viewed on the Kindle

Did you try using xelatex instead of pdflatex? I thought the dictionary issue was pdflatex specific but using xelatex did not help so I am back to pdflatex which has huge advantage of supporting microtypography.

[physics]

I haven't tried xelatex; I'm not very familiar with it at all. I've been compiling using regular latex, and then using ps2pdf to convert to pdf. Do you see the same problem? Does it go away with xelatex?

[chalimac]

Thanks to all the latex gurus here (Valex et al), I have managed to create a satisfactory template (screenshots attached)

It has the following features: custom title page, custom chapter page, lettrine (with faked small caps), fleuron, generous white and invisible trims to prevent vertical centering.

It was compiled with MiKTex 2.9 and xelatex. To replicate the results, the font Dante-Medium has to be installed in the system. I am just learning so take the following code with a grain of salt:

Spoiler:

\documentclass[oneside,10pt,showtrims]{memoir}
\setstocksize{110.985mm}{84.560mm}
\settrimmedsize{110.985mm}{84.560mm}{*}
\settrims{0pt}{0pt}
\setlrmarginsandblock{3mm}{*}{*}
\setulmarginsandblock{3mm}{*}{*}
\setlength{\parskip}{0pt}
\setheadfoot{0mm}{0mm}
\setheaderspaces{*}{0mm}{*}
\setmarginnotes{0mm}{0mm}{0mm}
\checkandfixthelayout
\frenchspacing
\sloppy
\pagestyle{empty}

\title{Para una tumba sin nombre}
\author{JUAN CARLOS ONETTI}
\date{1959}

\usepackage[spanish]{babel}
%Begin font
\usepackage{fontspec}
\setmainfont{DanteMTStd-Medium}
%\linespread{1.05} % Use if need more leading (space between lines)
\usepackage{scalefnt} %Use to change font size
%End font

%Begin Decorative packages
\usepackage{lettrine}
\setcounter{DefaultLines}{3}
\usepackage{pifont}
\usepackage{fourier-orns}
\usepackage{color}

%End decorative packages

%Begin title Style
\makeatletter
\def\thickhrulefill{\leavevmode \leaders \hrule height 1pt\hfill \kern \z@}
\def\maketitle{%
\null
\thispagestyle{empty}%
\vskip 1cm
\begin{flushright}
\normalfont\Large \@author
\end{flushright}
\vfil
\hrule height 2pt
\par
\begin{center}
\Huge\strut \@title \par
\end{center}
\hrule height 2pt
\par
\vfil
\vfil
\null
\cleardoublepage
}
\makeatother
%\author{Isidore Ducasse, Comte de Lautréamont}
%\author{Lautréamont}
%\title{Les Chants de Maldoror}
%\date{1874}
%End Title Style

%Begin Chapter Style
\makeatletter
\newcommand\thickhrulefillm{\leavevmode \leaders \hrule height 1ex \hfill \kern \z@}
\setlength\midchapskip{10pt}
\makechapterstyle{VZ14}{
\renewcommand\chapternamenum{}
\renewcommand\printchaptername{}
\renewcommand\chapnamefont{\Large\scshape}
\renewcommand\printchapternum{%
\chapnamefont\null\thickhrulefillm\quad
\@chapapp\space\thechapter\quad\thickhrulefillm}
\renewcommand\printchapternonum{%
\par\thickhrulefillm\par\vskip\midchapskip
\hrule\vskip\midchapskip
}
\renewcommand\chaptitlefont{\Huge\scshape\centerin g}
\renewcommand\afterchapternum{%
\par\nobreak\vskip\midchapskip\hrule\vskip\midchap skip}
\renewcommand\afterchaptertitle{%
\par\vskip\midchapskip\hrule\nobreak\vskip\afterch apskip}
}
\makeatother
\chapterstyle{VZ14}
%End Chapter Style

%Begin Invisible trim
\definecolor{light-gray}{gray}{0.95}
\renewcommand*{\trimmarkscolor}{\color{light-gray}}
%End Invisible Point

\begin{document}

\scalefont{1.020}
\maketitle
\mainmatter
\chapter{I}
\aliaspagestyle{chapter}{empty}
\pagestyle{empty}
\lettrine[slope=0pt,findent=0em,nindent=-.4em]{T}{}
\small ODOS NOSOTROS\normalsize \scalefont{1.020}, los notables, los que tenemos derecho a jugar al póker en el Club Progreso y a dibujar iniciales con entumecida vanidad al pie de las cuentas por copas o comidas en el Plaza. Todos nosotros sabemos cómo es un entierro en Santa María. Algunos fuimos, en su oportunidad, el mejor amigo de la familia; se nos ofreció el privilegio de ver la cosa desde un principio y, además, el privilegio de iniciarla.

Es mejor, más armonioso, que la cosa empiece de noche, después y antes del sol. Fuimos a lo de Miramonte o a lo de Grimm, «Cochería Suiza». A veces, hablo de los veteranos, podíamos optar; otras, la elección se había decidido en rincones de la casa de duelo, por una razón, por diez o por ninguna. Yo, cuando puedo, elijo a Grimm para las familias viejas. Se sienten más cómodas con la brutalidad o indiferencia de Grimm, que insiste en hacer personalmente todo lo indispensable y lo que inventa por capricho. Prefieren al viejo por motivos raciales, esto puede verlo cualquiera; pero yo he visto además que agradecen su falta de hipocresía, el alivio que les proporciona enfrentando a la muerte como un negocio, considerando al cadáver como un simple bulto transportable.
\renewcommand{\pfbreakdisplay}{%
\decofourright\quad\decofourright\quad\decofourrig ht}
\fancybreak{\pfbreakdisplay}
Hemos ido, casi siempre en la madrugada, serios pero cómodos en la desgracia, con una premeditada voz varonil y no cautelosa, a golpear en la puerta eternamente iluminada de Miramonte o de Grimm. Miramonte, en cambio, confía todo, en apariencia, a los empleados y se dedica, vestido de negro, peinado de negro, con su triste bigote negro y el brillo discretamente equívoco de los ojos de mulato, a mezclarse entre los dolientes, a estrechar manos y difundir consuelos. Esto les gusta a los otros, a los que no tuvieron abuelos arando en la colonia; también los he visto. Golpeamos, golpeo bajo el letrero luminoso violeta y explico mi misión a uno de los dos, al gringo o al mulato; cualquiera de ellos la conocía cinco minutos después del último suspiro y aguardaba. Grimm bosteza, se pone los anteojos y abre un libro enorme.
\end{document}

[valex]

Originally Posted by chalimac

It has the following features: custom title page, custom chapter page, lettrine (with faked small caps), fleuron, generous white and invisible trims to prevent vertical centering.

Thank you for your example! I am in the process of switching to memoir class myself but since I do not use latex directly but convert texts in docbook format using dblatex, it is a little tricky. The problem is memoir defines a lot of functionality provided by other packages (which dblatex includes in its output tex file) so I have to deal with all the packages on a case by case basis. I will definitely use ideas from your example.

Another thing, I chose not to use xelatex but stick to pdflatex. The main reason is xelatex does not support microtypography enhancements (microtype package) which is really noticeable on kindle's small pages.