# PDF's again



## moosmutzel (Mar 13, 2009)

Ok I know but I am feeling kind of stupid right now. So i send the file to @free.kindle.com and it came back with a link and I downloaded the link and copied it to the kindle and ... nothing. What am I doing wrong?? That leads me to number two - any nice programs for conversion that work with a mac??

Thanks.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Did you add it to the Document file on the Kindle? That's where it needs to go.

As for mac, sorry, can't help you there.


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

Yea, Macs are a different territory.


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## webhill (Feb 12, 2009)

moosmutzel said:


> Ok I know but I am feeling kind of stupid right now. So i send the file to @free.kindle.com and it came back with a link and I downloaded the link and copied it to the kindle and ... nothing. What am I doing wrong?? That leads me to number two - any nice programs for conversion that work with a mac??
> 
> Thanks.


I use a mac. I have sent files, eg document.pdf, to the free.kindle.com address, downloaded it, and dragged it into the documents folder on the Kindle just fine. What kind of files are you trying to convert? I generally just use the built-in PDF maker through the printing panel... if I have a file that i want to save as a PDF, I just try to print it, and then choose "save as PDF" from the printing control panel. (you don't actually end up printing).


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## Kind (Jan 28, 2009)

^^ Ditto. My bro-in-law has a Mac and it works fine for him


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

The most common mistake is to not put the files in the Documents folder on the Kindle.

There's a highly regarded program called callibre that works on the Mac--you might be interested in it

http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/download

Betsy


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## Gruntman (Feb 9, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> The most common mistake is to not put the files in the Documents folder on the Kindle.
> 
> There's a highly regarded program called callibre that works on the Mac--you might be interested in it
> 
> ...


I used calibre to convert some work manuals for my Kindle and it worked fine, but I don't have a mac.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I believe Verena (Pidgeon92) has used both Calibre and Stanza on her Mac to do conversions, but I can't find the posts...  Calibre recognizes the Kindle as an attached device, which is a nice feature for managing files.

Betsy


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## moosmutzel (Mar 13, 2009)

Thanks all - yes I dragged it in the documents folder and yes it was a PDF I created with the mac through the print option.

I'll try again with another file, maybe the kindle doesn't like knitting patterns.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

How did you convert it to an AZW file?

Betsy


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## moosmutzel (Mar 13, 2009)

with the @free.kindle.com email option.

And it came back fine and I just downloaded the link and than drag it in the documents folder on the kindle.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I've used several different methods on the Mac to convert PDF files to work on the Kindle:

Stanza - works mostly OK. Doesn’t write metadata (title and author info) to the converted file (unless you use ePub, which cannot be read on the Kindle).

Calibre - works mostly OK. Can write metadata to the converted file, but gets the author name backward in the generated file if you enter the information the way Calibre wants it in order to sort properly in the program (i.e., switches last name and first name, and an put commas in strange places).

Sending to Amazon to convert  - gives the second best formatting as far as line breaks and paragraph breaks, etc. Doesn't write metadata at all.

Opening PDF in Acrobat and exporting to RTF or DOC (or HTML) file, then hand-adjusting in OpenOffice or NeoOffice. I save as HTML and use mobi2mobi to generate a PRC file with correct metadata. Alternatively, I use Mobicreator running on Parallels to convert the DOC file to a PRC file. This is my preferred method for things I'm serious about.

I have also used an application called Trapeze, but it doesn't do anything Stanza won't do.

Mike


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