PRS950 and PDFs

ring0_event · 01-27-2011, 08:33 PM

Hello all,

In addition to my Kindle 3G (a gift), I managed to get a PRS950 as well based on the reviews which I read and my disappointment with PDF support from the Kindle. Well, it turns out that while the PRS950 is an overall (IMHO) better device for me, it's not quite the PDF champ I was hoping for. In particular, I have these 3 problems, and I'm hoping there is a solution (I have the latest firmware):

a) Landscape mode scrolling does not align on line last read, meaning that I have to search for where to resume reading from. This is almost bitterly disappointing to me, because the Kindle3 does this well enough (but is crippled in others ways for PDFs). I doubt there is a workaround, but I have to ask.

b) Dictionary lookup not supported on all (text) PDFs. Does anyone know why? On some PDFs it works, on others it selects many groups of words. Is there something I can do about this? Could Adobe Reader Pro help?

c) Reflow sometimes breaks up whole words. Anyone know why, and what I can do about it? Again, this doesn't seem to be the case for all (text) PDFs.

Sorry if I come off being a bit disappointed, but as I expected, there is no champ reader for PDFs atm. Converting from PDFs to mobi/epub through Calibre results in all formatting being lost, so that doen't help me! Any solutions or insights would be appreciated.

elcreative · 01-27-2011, 10:20 PM

The problems you're describing aren't reader or pdf problems, they're really pdf creation problems... a lot of pdfs are improperly constructed by the publisher/producer... they can be fixed, if you know what you're doing, using Adobe Acrobat Pro or any other fully featured pdf editor.

As an example, a recent problem pdf which I looked at, had managed to be made with all the text technically given a hidden attribute. This still allowed reading but screwed up word selection for dictionary use... there are, unfortunately, many other traps for the unwary or "just plain don't care" producers, to fall into... good luck

ring0_event · 01-28-2011, 08:51 AM

Hi elcreative, and thanks for your reply! Could you very quickly list some of those other traps which you mentioned? I know I have a long learning curve ahead of me, but if I keep these concepts in mind while I learn Adobe Reader Pro it might help me.
Concerning issue a) in my original post, I suppose there is no way around that, right?

01-27-2011, 08:33 PM	#1
ring0_event Zealot Posts: 142 Karma: 39918 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Kindle3 (3G), PRS-950 (x2), PRS-T1	PRS950 and PDFs Hello all, In addition to my Kindle 3G (a gift), I managed to get a PRS950 as well based on the reviews which I read and my disappointment with PDF support from the Kindle. Well, it turns out that while the PRS950 is an overall (IMHO) better device for me, it's not quite the PDF champ I was hoping for. In particular, I have these 3 problems, and I'm hoping there is a solution (I have the latest firmware): a) Landscape mode scrolling does not align on line last read, meaning that I have to search for where to resume reading from. This is almost bitterly disappointing to me, because the Kindle3 does this well enough (but is crippled in others ways for PDFs). I doubt there is a workaround, but I have to ask. b) Dictionary lookup not supported on all (text) PDFs. Does anyone know why? On some PDFs it works, on others it selects many groups of words. Is there something I can do about this? Could Adobe Reader Pro help? c) Reflow sometimes breaks up whole words. Anyone know why, and what I can do about it? Again, this doesn't seem to be the case for all (text) PDFs. Sorry if I come off being a bit disappointed, but as I expected, there is no champ reader for PDFs atm. Converting from PDFs to mobi/epub through Calibre results in all formatting being lost, so that doen't help me! Any solutions or insights would be appreciated.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
PRS-950 Cheapest way to get PRS950 to Europe?	lotusmonk	Sony Reader	34	01-18-2011 02:11 AM
PRS-950 Waterproof case for PRS950?	jissaLB	Sony Reader	8	01-15-2011 06:43 PM
Sony PRS950 or BeBook Neo?	jessie102	Which one should I buy?	5	12-08-2010 09:26 AM
Error loading to Sony Prs950	billyray	Calibre	1	11-13-2010 12:15 PM
Replacing PRS900 with PRS950	vxf	Sony Reader	3	10-28-2010 09:06 PM

01-27-2011, 10:20 PM	#2
elcreative Wizard Posts: 2,888 Karma: 5875940 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: PRS505, 600, 350, 650, Nexus 7, Note III, iPad 4 etc	The problems you're describing aren't reader or pdf problems, they're really pdf creation problems... a lot of pdfs are improperly constructed by the publisher/producer... they can be fixed, if you know what you're doing, using Adobe Acrobat Pro or any other fully featured pdf editor. As an example, a recent problem pdf which I looked at, had managed to be made with all the text technically given a hidden attribute. This still allowed reading but screwed up word selection for dictionary use... there are, unfortunately, many other traps for the unwary or "just plain don't care" producers, to fall into... good luck

01-28-2011, 08:51 AM	#3
ring0_event Zealot Posts: 142 Karma: 39918 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Kindle3 (3G), PRS-950 (x2), PRS-T1	Hi elcreative, and thanks for your reply! Could you very quickly list some of those other traps which you mentioned? I know I have a long learning curve ahead of me, but if I keep these concepts in mind while I learn Adobe Reader Pro it might help me. Concerning issue a) in my original post, I suppose there is no way around that, right?

Advert