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Old 10-25-2006, 07:42 PM   #1
sfernald
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Reformatting PDF Files for Sony Reader

Ok, first of all, happy to be here. I just got my sony reader and absolutely love it. It's one of those wonderful gizmos that get me excited because I see the future changing because of it. Give it 5 or 10 years and every kid in school will have one of these with a set of their textbooks on it.

Anyway - somebody just said they wanted a clock - a clock? No clock please Sony. Please just keep working on all the new features for actual "book reading" such as better resolution, better contrast, support html and more ebook formats , searching text, notetaking, text-to-speech, etc.


Anyway as I was about to ask, I have 100s maybe 1000s of pdfs formatted for normal size page. These are really too small for me to read comfortably on my reader even in landscape mode.

So what is the best way to reformat these for the reader screen? Is there software path however complicated that will get us there?

One path I was thinking of was convert the pdf to an rtf file. Then in Microsoft Word, use that Lit plugin to convert it a .lit file, and the use a .lit conversion program to go into one of the formats that the reader supports.

Anyone tried something like this and had any luck?

I tend to read technical books with code and stuff and any time I just go to text, the formatting gets really messed up (assuming the text transfers at all - I noticed it doesn't pick up some text from the pdf for some reason, perhaps something to do with the fonts I think).

Thanks!~

Last edited by sfernald; 10-25-2006 at 08:03 PM.
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Old 10-25-2006, 08:13 PM   #2
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If you can make an rtf, then you're already there... rtf's look great on the Sony Reader!

To make it look nicer, you may want to make three or four adjustments depending on the file, and all can be done with MS Word:
1) Remove extraneous paragraph marks (that leave jagged end of lines)
2) Set full justification
3) Set the font to, say Arial or Times New Roman at about 18pt or 20pt
4) Set the properties to get the Author and Title the way you want it
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Old 10-25-2006, 08:16 PM   #3
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Ok, I'll try a transfer from pdf to rtf, mess with it a little in Word and see how it goes. I'll report back here if it is a workable solution.

Thanks!
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Old 10-25-2006, 08:27 PM   #4
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It's remarkable to me how many people suggest that text search is a sorely lacking feature (including, recently, the Boston Globe reviewer), and yet each time it comes up Sony always says it wasn't something that made their priority list...???
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Old 10-25-2006, 09:49 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by airlik
It's remarkable to me how many people suggest that text search is a sorely lacking feature (including, recently, the Boston Globe reviewer), and yet each time it comes up Sony always says it wasn't something that made their priority list...???
I think Sony was viewing the device as I do - a tool for reading fiction. Certainly their Connect store offerings and marketing seems to indicate that. How often do you wish for a tool to search fiction?

Now, a good reader for reference work is definitely a big niche waiting to be filled - there are all the college students, academic types, businesses, and programmers who would love such a device. That device would have a few key features that the Reader lacks: a large screen (8.5x11, ideally), indexes, page-selecting, searching, annotation, and others.

But think of the features of a device for reading fiction, and I think you'll come up with the Reader's feature list, basically. Some of the features of the two devices even conflict - a large screen is great for reference works but makes the device less portable than a paperback.

So maybe the tech reviewers really want a reference reader. So do I, for that matter. But the PRS isn't a reference reader, it's a fiction reader, and should be judged on those qualifications.

Here's a Penny Arcade comic along a similar vein, just for fun ;-)
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Old 10-25-2006, 10:21 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bingle
But the PRS isn't a reference reader, it's a fiction reader, and should be judged on those qualifications.
I know what you are saying but I should point out that I'm staring at the Sony Reader box and no where does it say that it is a "fiction only" reader. It calls itself a "Portable Reader System". Searching text is not some esoteric thing. Multi-billion dollar companies were formed out of the usefulness of searching text. The Reader is basically a computer and a computer whose focus is documents should provide searching capabilities; it is really a no-brainer. Really I don't see any technical reason why searching shouldn't be possible on the PRS-500. The 0-10 buttons would make text entry as easy as most cell phones. All of the cpu expensive processing of the search could be done upfront by the computer and the connect software when the document is loaded into the reader. And I can't see the search functionality taxing the display any more than google taxes a html page.

That said, I agree there should be a PRS-1000 with a "Letter" size screen with seaching capabilities and notetaking - maybe even leave out the mp3 player on that one. I would get one of each, one for novels and one for technical documents and textbooks. Go for it Sony! Get busy.
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Old 10-25-2006, 10:31 PM   #7
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I actually used search quite a bit it even in fiction on my old Gemstar readers. It's nice to be able to jump back to a particular quote, and search for an interesting passage that you vaugely recall.

The sony reader, however, is the first fiction reading hardware I've owned that doesn't allow searching - probably because it's the first one without a touch screen or keyboard.

It's not a deal breaker for me, but I can see how people would miss it. I hope they add some basic search function in the next revision.

BTW, does anyone know why Sony didn't go for a touch screen? Is it just that touch screen would interfere with the eInk? Or was it a cost saving issue?
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Old 10-25-2006, 11:39 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sfernald
I know what you are saying but I should point out that I'm staring at the Sony Reader box and no where does it say that it is a "fiction only" reader. It calls itself a "Portable Reader System". Searching text is not some esoteric thing.
No, it's not some esoteric thing, but it isn't, strictly speaking, reading either. It is, as you note, a "Portable Reader System" -- Sony has aimed to optimize their Reader for exactly that: reading, page by page, front to back (which it does do pretty darn well). From that perspective, the lack of a search is a bit more reasonable sounding.

However, I'd like to have the text search on occasion too, I don't see it as being something I'd need/want frequently, so the PC side searching will probably serve my meager needs well enough in that area, but that's just me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sfernald
I agree there should be a PRS-1000 with a "Letter" size screen with seaching capabilities and notetaking - maybe even leave out the mp3 player on that one. I would get one of each, one for novels and one for technical documents and textbooks. Go for it Sony! Get busy.
To this, I can only add my enthusiastic agreement. I really think that the sort of device you're describing could go a very long way toward actually eliminating a lot of the paper in settings like the office, medical, academic, legal, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.


Quote:
Originally Posted by BuddyBoy
BTW, does anyone know why Sony didn't go for a touch screen? Is it just that touch screen would interfere with the eInk? Or was it a cost saving issue?
I don't know anything about it, but I think it's interesting that iRex decided to go straight for the Wacom RF digitizer. Also there have been a few incidents that suggest the screen is sensitive to pressure.

On the other hand, I seem to remember reading something (somewhere, a couple of years ago, unfortunately) that was discussing what sort of 'viewability' degradation might occur as a result of adding a touch screen to the mix, so it apparently can be done.

As to why Sony didn't do it, I can only guess that it's another artifact of their interest in optimizing the Reader for reading. I think it's a reasonable guess, but it's only a guess.
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Old 10-26-2006, 01:03 AM   #9
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Anyway, I just converted one of my technical ebooks to rtf using ABC Amber PDF Converter. Then I used openoffice to clean up the rtf file the best I could (don't have office on this computer right now). I increased the font size and tried to get rid of the garbage.

The result was still kind of a mess, but at least I think it was something workable. I could read it and follow it, if not easily. There were places where sentences would end midway through the page, page listings that were quite off embedded throughout in the document, and a bunch more issues. Not too good, but I think it could be improved quite a bit once I learn how to use openoffice.

There has got to be a better way though. The opportunity is ripe for an application that I can drag pdf files onto and get back perfectly sized reader format ebooks - one or in batch.

My wallet would snap open quickly for something like that. Maybe I'll have to create it myself.
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Old 10-26-2006, 02:34 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sfernald
Anyway, I just converted one of my technical ebooks to rtf using ABC Amber PDF Converter. Then I used openoffice to clean up the rtf file the best I could (don't have office on this computer right now). I increased the font size and tried to get rid of the garbage.

The result was still kind of a mess, but at least I think it was something workable. I could read it and follow it, if not easily. There were places where sentences would end midway through the page, page listings that were quite off embedded throughout in the document, and a bunch more issues. Not too good, but I think it could be improved quite a bit once I learn how to use openoffice.

There has got to be a better way though. The opportunity is ripe for an application that I can drag pdf files onto and get back perfectly sized reader format ebooks - one or in batch.

My wallet would snap open quickly for something like that. Maybe I'll have to create it myself.
if you do create something like that I'm sure lots of people would be willing to buy it
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Old 10-26-2006, 10:30 AM   #11
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I would nix the touch screen idea for sure, nice as it could be to have: touch screens require a lot more (and constant) power! The device has to keep polling etc. to determine if (and where) it's being touched. I really enjoy the very low power consumption of the Sony Reader - continues to amaze me.
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Old 10-26-2006, 11:28 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jake
I would nix the touch screen idea for sure, nice as it could be to have: touch screens require a lot more (and constant) power! The device has to keep polling etc. to determine if (and where) it's being touched. I really enjoy the very low power consumption of the Sony Reader - continues to amaze me.

Same here... Have seen too many touch screens go mad over the years. Every design item in the Reader indicats max bat live. It could do a pole only when needed but just another thing to go wrong... There is also the write window like on other ebook readers. And Sony does not need that right now...

Search would be nice but not a top tear items.

QUERY: What are the different ways to create PDF, RTF and LRT foramat's... That woulbe be a handy sticky.
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Old 11-11-2007, 08:50 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Russell View Post
If you can make an rtf, then you're already there... rtf's look great on the Sony Reader!

To make it look nicer, you may want to make three or four adjustments depending on the file, and all can be done with MS Word:
1) Remove extraneous paragraph marks (that leave jagged end of lines)
2) Set full justification
3) Set the font to, say Arial or Times New Roman at about 18pt or 20pt
4) Set the properties to get the Author and Title the way you want it
I have been trying for 3 weeks to view Google or Internet Archive PDFs on my PRS505. I got a hold of a copy of Pdf Converter 4 to change the pdf to RTF. Looks great, text readable even for this old guy, but text needs to be bigger. When I use Office to format to make text bigger etc. Then the Reader does not see the RTF file. I think because it is too big. The size goes up quiet a bit just making the text bigger.


Allen
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Old 11-11-2007, 08:52 AM   #14
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I've displayed RTF before. I've set the base font size to 16 so it is large enough at small to read comfortably. But what I would do now is toss that RTF into Book Designer, make sure it's formatted properly, generate an LRF and read from there.

You could try rtf2lrf if you wanted as well.
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