Viewing PDF Files on the Kindle: DIY Kindle PDF Conversion
Now that the Amazon Kindle DX has released, Amazon no longer has to answer thousands of questions about Kindle PDF incompatibility. Except that the older Kindle 2 still has to native PDF reader. If you want to view a PDF on your Kindle 2, you still have to convert it. Initially, this could be done through Amazon which can convert the files for a small charge. E-mail them the PDF and they e-mail you back the converted file. But all those little charges can add up and many people wanted something different. Most were even willing to do the conversions themselves. While it isn’t completely flawless, there are programs that allow you to do this conversion.
The Kindle can recognize several file types. However, PDF is not one of them. Some programs, such as Mobipocket Creator on the PC and Stanza on the Mac let you convert your PDFs to recognizable PRC files. No matter what of the program you end up using, you will likely end up with a very similar process and end product.
The PC program Mobipocker Creator is a fairly uncomplicated process. You just open the program and find the Import File option. Pick the PDF that you want to convert from the list. The program will create an HTML file for you and all that is left is to click the Build option. Depending upon the size of the file, the conversion time may vary, but you will eventually end up with a PRC file. If you get errors along the way, you can just ignore them since there is no good way to fix them. The file will be legible, but it isn’t perfect as you lose a few features of the PDF file.
If you are on a Mac, Stanza makes the process even easier. Simply find your file in the database and choose the Export Book As option. You will see that Amazon Kindle is one of the conversion choices.
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.
You still have the alternative to e-mail your documents to Amazon and have them converted, but the price can add up over time. If you don’t mind spending the time to do it yourself, these are just two programs that give you the opportunity. There may be programs out there that you like better, but you will have to try them out to find that out. For simple and straightforward Kindle PDF conversions you can’t really go wrong with either of these programs.