# word documents, how to transfer them to my kindle



## anja (Sep 8, 2010)

hello everyone, my name is Anja. I live in Italy and got my first Kindle (3) a week ago. I've got lots of questions. first of all Lesly; thank you for your clear answers in the FAQ. I tried to read it before writing here and learned a lot.  but, correct me if i'm mistaken; some explanations don't fit anymore now that there is the new Kindle 3  For instance,  it says that you can buy a Kindle abroad but I live in Italy and just ordered my Kindle on Amazon.com. 
on the Kindle 3 one doesn't have to send an e-mail to send PDF files to the Kindle one can just drag and drop them in the Kindlefolder. but I did the same thing with a word-document; it shows up in the folder on my computer but as soon as I disconect I don't find it back on my Kindle. I tried sending it to my Kindle email but it didn't show up. Pardon me if this topic has already been talked about, in that case please tell me where I can find the discussion
greetings to all Kindle lovers!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Welcome, anja . . . yes, the FAQ threads currently at the top of this forum are specifically for the 1st and 2nd generation Kindles. Some things are the same with the Kindle 3, but some no longer apply. . .we're working on an FAQ for the K3, and there's a thread here to enter info if you you think it should be included, but it's not fully formed yet.

As to your question about moving documents to the K3.

If you haven't done so, definitely read the user's guide that came on the device. . . it will answer a lot of questions. There are some file formats the Kindle can read without conversion: .prc, .mobi, .txt for example. These files can be dragged from your computer and dropped into the "documents" folder on the Kindle while you have it connected to USB. The files should open just fine once you disconnect.

Other file formats, need to be converted -- .doc for example. There are several ways you can do this. There are 3rd party software solutions available that will let you do the job yourself. MobiPocket Creator and Calibre are two popular ones. There are also some web based solutions as well; an example is 2epub.com.

You can also send the file to <yourkindlename>@kindle.com and Amazon will convert it and send it directly to the device, assuming you have a connection. Alternately, you can send to the same address but @free.kindle.com and Amazon will convert it and return it to you so you can transfer it via the USB cord. NOTE that with the K3's WiFi connection, it will ALSO come free to the Kindle when you activate the wireless.

PDF's are a special case. . . .Kindle can read them natively, but because of the screen size it is often not optimal. If you send them to Amazon for conversion, be sure to put 'convert' in the subject so they'll know you want it converted and not just sent as is.

Hope this helps!


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

You can't just transfer a .doc file to your Kindle, it won't work as you've found out. You should be able to email it to your Kindle address and have amazon send it back to you. If you send it to the @kindle.com address they will deliver it directly back to your Kindle (make sure you have your wireless on). but there is a small charge for this service. If you send it to the @free.kindle.com address they will send it back to you via email for you to transfer to your Kindle. Be sure to put it in the 'documents' folder. If you have a K3 they will also deliver it free of charge to your Kindle via wi-fi.

The emailing to Amazon is probably the best way to go and there's no reason why it shouldn't work. Make sure though that on your 'manage your kindle' page that you have specified the email address you are going to be sending the documents from, as Amazon won't process requests from any other address(es). that may be why it hasn't worked before.

If you want to convert it yourself, I've found the easiest way to do it is to download the free software Mobipocket Reader. You can import Office documents into that and it automatically converts it to a .mobi file and files it on your PC, separately to your original file, usually in your Documents folder under 'my ebooks'. Then you just transfer that to your Kindle's 'documents' folder.

EDIT: Ooops, beaten to the draw by Ann. Still, two heads are (usually) better than one!


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