What do you set your margins to?

[Derek87]

hi all,
no flames here, please, i just want to get some insights. i've always set my margins to be as small as possible on all of the Kindles i've used/owned, but do some of you out there use wider margins? if so, why?

one reason i could think of doing that is to avoid any shadows/light cones or reducing the effect of screen gradients upon the text being read... i tried that but after a few moments really missed using the full screen real estate.

thanks for sharing your experiences/preferences!

[Deskisamess]

When I am laying on my side in bed reading, I sometimes set the margins as wide as I can so my eyes don't have as far to track. When I read that way, I have my glasses off, and the screen about 7" from my eyes, so a shorter track works better for me.

When reading normally with my glasses on, I set the margins as narrow as they go.

[Atunah]

I have always had them set the same way on my kindles, smallest margins. I know other devices can go all the way to the frame, but I wouldn't want it. I like it like a book, space still on the white before it hits the frame. So for me the kindle margin, narrow margin, not narrow text, is just perfect.

I think maybe some like the text more narrow so not having to move the eyes much? For me, as long as things fit into my bifocals and still be in focus, I am good. The Oasis2 is about as wide as I can go without having to turn my head.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Atunah

I have always had them set the same way on my kindles, smallest margins. I know other devices can go all the way to the frame, but I wouldn't want it. I like it like a book, space still on the white before it hits the frame. So for me the kindle margin, narrow margin, not narrow text, is just perfect.

I think maybe some like the text more narrow so not having to move the eyes much? For me, as long as things fit into my bifocals and still be in focus, I am good. The Oasis2 is about as wide as I can go without having to turn my head.

What if the frame were the same color as the screen? Wouldn't the outer edge of the device be the outer edge of the page, just like a book?

A device that absolutely positively enforces a minimum margin greater than a couple of pixels or so is wasting display space. Amazon only has 3 margin settings. I don't see how anyone would be harmed by a 4th that would provide a truly minimal margin.

[Atunah]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

What if the frame were the same color as the screen? Wouldn't the outer edge of the device be the outer edge of the page, just like a book?

A device that absolutely positively enforces a minimum margin greater than a couple of pixels or so is wasting display space. Amazon only has 3 margin settings. I don't see how anyone would be harmed by a 4th that would provide a truly minimal margin.

Not for me no. A paper page is all the same, same texture, same everything Any kind of frame on a reader, no matter the color will be separate so its like a frame. I would never like having the text run right into that. I just wouldn't like that. Wouldn't be like a book at all to me. The book is whats inside the frame for me.
I don't have any need to squeeze every milimeter of space out of my pages. I don't see the point of that. It would not even be a word, just a couple of letters.

I want it to be a pleasant experience is what matters to me. But no, of course there is no harm for them to add it, I just don't think its something a lot of folks have asked for. Just like they don't care that I want my status bar back they took away when they introduced the paperwhite. My K3 and basic with buttons still has it. But I am sure I am in the minority wanting it back, so I deal, grumbling

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

A device that absolutely positively enforces a minimum margin greater than a couple of pixels or so is wasting display space. Amazon only has 3 margin settings. I don't see how anyone would be harmed by a 4th that would provide a truly minimal margin.

With the Kindle 3 (Keyboard) or Kindle 4 you can (by hand) change the margin to the very edge if you want. It's a simple (non jailbreak) hack. Just hook the Kindle up to your computer, click the system folder, then the com.amazon.ebook.booklet.reader, then open the reader.pref file in a text editor. You'll see something like this ...

#User preferences for Reader Booklet
#Sat Dec 09 16:40:07 CST 2017
FONT_SIZE=21
DICTIONARYen=The New Oxford American Dictionary
LINE_SPACING=1
JUSTIFICATION=full
HORIZONTAL_MARGIN=20
LAST_BOOK_READ=/mnt/us/documents/Ashley Bell A Novel-asin_B00VCZOKM6-type_EBOK-v_0.azw3
FONT_FAMILY=serif

Change the HORIZONTAL_MARGIN= setting to your preference. In the narrowest margin it defaults to 40. I've set mine to 20, but you can go down to 0 if you want. You'll have to restart the Kindle for this change to take effect.

Any change in your margin settings via the font menu will cause the Kindle to go back to its default and, if you want narrower margins again, you'll have to repeat this procedure.

I should mention, this is not something I've discovered. It's something I read in the Kindle Developer Forum under the heading "Collection of Hacks" or something like that. (Sorry I don't know exactly where it is right now.)

[Deskisamess]

I remember that hack...it worked on the K2 also, because I did it on mine.

[barryem]

I always set my margins at the minimum on my Kindles but when I began also reading on my phone when I'm away from the house I soon realized I read faster on the phone. Quite a lot faster and with no extra effort. I remembered reading in some kind of article years ago that newspaper columns were narrow because people could read them faster that way. I decided maybe that's why.

So I experimented with setting my Kindle margins at the maximum and sure enough, I read faster that way. It doesn't take any extra effort or cost me any comprehension that I'm aware of. It think it just helps me not get lost when transitioning to the start of the next line, something I've always done a bit of.

I've been keeping the margins wide for months now and I like it and I have no plan to go back. I feel like it's improved my reading pleasure.

Barry

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by barryem

I always set my margins at the minimum on my Kindles but when I began also reading on my phone when I'm away from the house I soon realized I read faster on the phone. Quite a lot faster and with no extra effort. I remembered reading in some kind of article years ago that newspaper columns were narrow because people could read them faster that way. I decided maybe that's why. ...

Yeah. I think when I was being taught how to set up columns (way back in the late 70s) the "ideal" was supposedly 35 characters. (I'm guessing at a certain font size, but it's been a long time now.) I think, supposedly, this was the right distance for your eyes to scan the line without losing your place in the paragraph (when going to the next line). May be, but I still like my margins narrow on my eReaders. I don't seem to have any trouble scanning over and down properly and something about having to turn too many pages irritates me.

[patrickt]

Narrow margins, minimal line spacing, left justified. That's how I read, always, on my Paperwhites.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by rcentros

With the Kindle 3 (Keyboard) or Kindle 4 you can (by hand) change the margin to the very edge if you want. It's a simple (non jailbreak) hack. Just hook the Kindle up to your computer, click the system folder, then the com.amazon.ebook.booklet.reader, then open the reader.pref file in a text editor.

Thanks.

I take it there is nothing similar for Kindle 5?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Thanks.

I take it there is nothing similar for Kindle 5?

I think you have to jailbreak the Kindle 5 to do this. (Not even positive if it's possible then, but I'm pretty sure it would be.)

EDIT: It looks like it is (or was) possible with the Kindle Touch anyhow – but you'll need a HEX editor.

You might want to read this whole thread to be sure this hack still works ...

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=168361

[spindlegirl]

I have the most margin space possible on my Kindle. I also use Calibre to put more space between paragraphs.

I toggle between the "medium margin" and "large margin" and I find my reading flows better with my preferred settings.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

I have the most margin space possible on my Kindle. I also use Calibre to put more space between paragraphs.

I toggle between the "medium margin" and "large margin" and I find my reading flows better with my preferred settings.

With settings like that, I'd have to go back to pBooks.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

With settings like that, I'd have to go back to pBooks.

I am very aware that my preferences are not popular. But it works for me.