Viewing PDF Files on the Kindle: DIY Kindle PDF Conversion
The capability to natively read PDF files is one of the more important and useful features that the Kindles 1 and 2 lacked. In the Amazon Kindle DX, Amazon finally addressed this issue. But what of the 1st and 2nd generations of the Kindle? The problem of course, remains. Load a PDF file into your device and nothing turns up. There are two answers to this. The first involves sending an email to Amazon with the file as an attachment and asking them to convert the PDF into a file readable by the Kindle. The second is a do-it-yourself Kindle PDF conversion.
One thing you should know about the Kindle is that while it does not recognize PDF files, it can read PRC files. So what we’re essentially doing here is to convert the original documents into files that are recognized by the device. If you’re using a PC, the Mobipocket Creator is one of the programs that you can use for the conversion process, while if you’re Mac user, you can use Stanza. The end result is the same.
The conversion process that you would need to go through using the Mobipocket Creator is a relatively simple one. Just open the program, select the import file option, then browse your PC and click on the PDF file you wish to have converted. Then select the HTML created and click on the build button. Depending on the file size, the build process can be done quickly enough, and in the end you get the file format that you need. Errors may come up during the conversion process but you can just ignore these. The file you get may be readable on the Kindle but it’s not a perfect copy and some elements may be lacking like a table of contents.
The conversion is even more straightforward when using Stanza. Just click on the file, select import book from the options, then choose Amazon Kindle.
It’s important that you understand that even with this conversion process, you don’t always get the exact document as you had in the PDF. As mentioned earlier, the table of contents could be missing, although you are given the option to create one. If your have a large table of contents, or you have a way of organizing it, then making the table of contents yourself could be a good option. There could also be sections that don’t look as smooth as they should be, but readable nevertheless. If you get a legible document on your Kindle, your conversion was a success.
Of course, you could always take that option of having your files converted by Amazon, but if you have numerous files, this could cost some, and there’s also the waiting time to consider. If you want to just go ahead and do the conversion yourself, Mobipocket and Stanza are just two of the programs you can use. There may be other conversion tools that you can find if you take the time to find them. The important thing is that you will be able to do your Kindle PDF conversion to make the most of your device.