Exporting annotated files so others can view them on any computer

I'm a woot-PE buyer from this week. I'm planning to use it for my class prep, so that I can do an integrated file that includes the readings and/or webpages for the week with my annotations on discussion topics and questions, plus links and videos.

I have been wondering: if I create files that I can see on the PE, are those files exportable in a form that a student could view without an eDGe? In other words, can the annotations be part of a new PDF or epub, or are they stored separately in an edge-specific format, not in the base file?

What I am hoping but can't quite sort out from the documentation is that I can create such files and post them on the class website so that students can use them. (Right now instead I post lists of links, plus they have the readings: not integrated.)

I'm also crossing my fingers that I can find a way for students to submit assignments in a form the ereader side can annotate (which they usually do in MSWord or in OpenOffice) maybe by having them submit rtf files and then converting them to epub with Calibre? Is that correct?

... and that I can send them back an annotated file where they'd be able to read my comments. (Preferably not an epub, as my students aren't hugely tech-savvy and most haven't heard of epub files; at least pdfs their computers should know how to open without downloading anything else)

Anyone done something similar?

(though I will be please with the PE options even if I can't)

You can export as pdf every annotated file, with notes in. The file size increases a lot.

Thanks.

Am I right in reading that embedded links lose functionality in the exported pdf because it's an image file?

Another way to use the files the student send you is to print to PDF with something like dopdf on your PC. I put all those file in my Dropbox for easy access. Although you may find the epub format easier on the PE.

Originally Posted by North19

Thanks.

Am I right in reading that embedded links lose functionality in the exported pdf because it's an image file?

I don't know about that specifically, but the PDF can be re-converted back to searchable text on your PC if you have the full version of Acrobat (or something like it). I mark up articles, send them to myself as PDFs, and then convert them back to text with OCR. Then I have the best of both worlds: a searchable PDF and my handwritten annotations.

Welcome North 19!

I have been wondering: if I create files that I can see on the PE, are those files exportable in a form that a student could view without an eDGe? In other words, can the annotations be part of a new PDF or epub, or are they stored separately in an edge-specific format, not in the base file?

On the ereader side, your annotations are stored within the library. You can export them as a pdf image file only.

What I am hoping but can't quite sort out from the documentation is that I can create such files and post them on the class website so that students can use them. (Right now instead I post lists of links, plus they have the readings: not integrated.)

When they are exported from the library as pdf image files, your written annotations and highlights are included but any links you have included are not live.

I'm also crossing my fingers that I can find a way for students to submit assignments in a form the ereader side can annotate (which they usually do in MSWord or in OpenOffice) maybe by having them submit rtf files and then converting them to epub with Calibre? Is that correct?

You could do rtf convert to epub. But that seems like a lot of work to me. Both MSWord and OpenOffice can export directly to pdf. Were I you, I would experiment with different margin widths in an office program and export to pdf, then read on the Edge, to arrive at an optimum margin width that gives you adequate and easy room for annotating. When annotating pdfs on the edge it is best to choose the zoom setting you want to work at and stay there because when you annotate at one zoom level and change to another you won't see your annotations at the second zoom level. So, if you begin with an office document with wider margins and then export to pdf you have part of the zoom/annotating thing already looked after. If all your students create their work with the same margin space you should be able to 'zoom' through your marking.

... and that I can send them back an annotated file where they'd be able to read my comments. (Preferably not an epub,

When you are finished marking/annotating you simply export that file as pdf. This will be an 'image' pdf file, showing all your written comments.

After that very long reply, it just dawned on me why you might prefer the epub format.... the PE screen size? I am an EE user. Sorry about that. But I suppose you could work with a smaller page size in an office program and experiment with font sizes along with the margin sizing to arrive at a pdf solution?