[mommacomet]

My son would like to know if he can download pdf files (books) to a kindle.  He has many of his D&D books in pdf files and was thinking about a kindle for them.  .

 

[Vegas_Asian]

My son would like to know if he can download pdf files (books) to a kindle. He has many of his D&D books in pdf files and was thinking about a kindle for them. .

It isn't the best way to view it. The kindle can display the file. Thought depending on the font size it will take some twicking with the view settings. I would try converting it to Mobi with mobi reader/creator or another program

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

 

[Linjeakel]

I don't have a lot of experience with .pdfs but this is a question that's been asked before so I just did a quick search and found this thread.

One of the answers on there from Ann in Arlington covers most of what you need to know:-

The answer is a qualified YES. The Kindle will display PDF files natively. BUT, most PDF's are designed to layout best on an 8.5x11 sheet. . . .as the Kindle's screen is only a 6 inch diagonal, many folks find that it's just too small to be useful. There are 'pan' and 'zoom' options but they are not ideal. PDF's work much better on the larger Kindle, the DX model, because of the bigger screen.

Now, if the PDF is basically text and is not copy protected in anyway, it can be converted to Kindle format, which will allow for resizing the print, making notes, etc. But you'll lose any specific layout design and if there are non-text elements, like charts and graphs, the conversion is problematic.

 

[NightGoat]

I don't have a lot of experience with .pdfs but this is a question that's been asked before so I just did a quick search and found this thread.

One of the answers on there from Ann in Arlington covers most of what you need to know:-

The answer is a qualified YES. The Kindle will display PDF files natively. BUT, most PDF's are designed to layout best on an 8.5x11 sheet. . . .as the Kindle's screen is only a 6 inch diagonal, many folks find that it's just too small to be useful. There are 'pan' and 'zoom' options but they are not ideal. PDF's work much better on the larger Kindle, the DX model, because of the bigger screen.

Now, if the PDF is basically text and is not copy protected in anyway, it can be converted to Kindle format, which will allow for resizing the print, making notes, etc. But you'll lose any specific layout design and if there are non-text elements, like charts and graphs, the conversion is problematic.

Ann's post about sums up my experience with pdfs on Kindle or any other ereader. I don't believe I've ever converted a pdf to another format and enjoyed the results, at least not to my satisfaction.

 

[kisrita]

I've done both:
1. Converted to .mobi with Calibre. It usually turns out good enough for fiction, but not always perfect. It is a terrible option if it's non-fiction containing any type of tables, graphs or pictures. Then it completely messes up formatting.
2. When option 1 doesn't work well, I just load it direct to the Kindle using the USB cord. Then I turn it into landscape. In my experience this makes it readable, but the font is too small for extended reading. It works good enough for me for reference documents though, especially since it is still searchable.

If you're buying it for .pdf reading only, I'd get the larger Kindle, the Kindle DX. You should have no problem viewing pdf files on that, though I have no personal experience regarding it.

 

[balaspa]

The good news is that he can do it.  It was a real godsend for me to find this out.  I ran a special thing for a charity where they gave away a USB Flash Drive with PDFs of all of my novels, plus two that were in first-draft form, as a prize...  Amazing to me that enough people have Kindles or Nooks that such a give-away was even possible!

 

[rbbyrbsn]

I've done both:
1. Converted to .mobi with Calibre. It usually turns out good enough for fiction, but not always perfect. It is a terrible option if it's non-fiction containing any type of tables, graphs or pictures. Then it completely messes up formatting.
2. When option 1 doesn't work well, I just load it direct to the Kindle using the USB cord. Then I turn it into landscape. In my experience this makes it readable, but the font is too small for extended reading. It works good enough for me for reference documents though, especially since it is still searchable.

If you're buying it for .pdf reading only, I'd get the larger Kindle, the Kindle DX. You should have no problem viewing pdf files on that, though I have no personal experience regarding it.

 

[Me and My Kindle]

I'm reading a long PDF ebook on my Kindle -- and I've discovered a trick that really helps.

I use the "font" button to change the screen's orientation to "landscape" whenever I'm reading my PDF file. Then I change the PDF zoom level to "stretch to fit" -- since now there's much more horizontal screen space for each line.  This makes the fonts larger -- large enough so I can actually read them.

Yes, it can be difficult to read a PDF file on the Kindle.  But if you're willing to try a few things, you can probably make it work!