How to convert text into narrow columns for faster reading

GRINDELWALD · 06-08-2025, 07:15 PM

Hey folks,

I read faster when the text is arranged into narrow columns on the page (like a newspaper) rather than the standard wide column (like most books). But I like to read on my laptop and most PDFs have the standard width column.

Are there any apps around this? How can I quickly convert a document - a PDF, for example - that originally is laid out in just the one standard wide column into two narrow columns, without losing any of the text?

I tried two websites, but no dice: they seem to either lose text or simply slice the page in half, without rearranging the text (https://deftpdf.com/split-pdf-down-the-middle
*and*https://online2pdf.com/en/cut-pdf-pages-into-halves)

Thanks!

DNSB · 06-08-2025, 07:17 PM

Double posting should not be done.

jackm8 · Yesterday, 07:56 PM

There are no perfect solutions. The best would be converting pdf into reflowable ebook format like epub, and using a reader that supports at least two columns. But know that converting pdf to epub can cause many problems, depending on original pdf. It's not an easy process. You can also try and look at tools from Pdf24, they offer the best tools in my experience.

Quoth · Today, 05:23 AM

Many people don't find columns faster, but slower.

Line width for best "speed" is different for different people.

Is "faster" better?

PDF is an end delivery format for a fixed layout and fixed bpage size. It one of the worst formats to convert, being electronic WYSIWYG, not an ebook. As others have said there is no automatic way to convert. Sometimes there is text that can be copy & pasted, that always needs edited/reformated/proofed and other times OCR is needed (which always needs edited/reformated/proofed).

Real ebooks are reflowable, and you can make the margins bigger to have a narrower column. Multiple columns are slower than one column (assuming the same width per coloumn).

06-08-2025, 07:15 PM	#1
GRINDELWALD Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2025 Device: PC laptop	How to convert text into narrow columns for faster reading Hey folks, I read faster when the text is arranged into narrow columns on the page (like a newspaper) rather than the standard wide column (like most books). But I like to read on my laptop and most PDFs have the standard width column. Are there any apps around this? How can I quickly convert a document - a PDF, for example - that originally is laid out in just the one standard wide column into two narrow columns, without losing any of the text? I tried two websites, but no dice: they seem to either lose text or simply slice the page in half, without rearranging the text (https://deftpdf.com/split-pdf-down-the-middle andhttps://online2pdf.com/en/cut-pdf-pages-into-halves) Thanks!

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06-08-2025, 07:17 PM	#2
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 45,582 Karma: 168929301 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	Double posting should not be done.

Yesterday, 07:56 PM	#3
jackm8 Addict Posts: 316 Karma: 3000000 Join Date: Nov 2015 Device: none	There are no perfect solutions. The best would be converting pdf into reflowable ebook format like epub, and using a reader that supports at least two columns. But know that converting pdf to epub can cause many problems, depending on original pdf. It's not an easy process. You can also try and look at tools from Pdf24, they offer the best tools in my experience.

Today, 05:23 AM	#4
Quoth Still reading Posts: 13,843 Karma: 103895653 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	Many people don't find columns faster, but slower. Line width for best "speed" is different for different people. Is "faster" better? PDF is an end delivery format for a fixed layout and fixed bpage size. It one of the worst formats to convert, being electronic WYSIWYG, not an ebook. As others have said there is no automatic way to convert. Sometimes there is text that can be copy & pasted, that always needs edited/reformated/proofed and other times OCR is needed (which always needs edited/reformated/proofed). Real ebooks are reflowable, and you can make the margins bigger to have a narrower column. Multiple columns are slower than one column (assuming the same width per coloumn).

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