# Convert from PDF



## KBD (Aug 22, 2013)

I have some software manuals in PDF format that I am trying to convert to a suitable format for a Kindle reader. I have tried 2 online converters so far (pdf2kindle and online-convert) and they both give similar results. The text in the PDF is on 2 columns on each page, but the converter has ignored the column structure and has alternately read a line from each column. How crazy is that! Is there a better converter somewhere?

By the way, I wouldn't care too much if the converter ignores images and just ends up with the text in the resulting document. But the text needs to be decently formatted and legible.


----------



## Paperbackstash (Dec 15, 2017)

Calibre is a pretty good converter that you may want to try. It's free and popular. It's not an online based product though - it's a downloadable program. They can convert the formats to .mobi and send to Kindle. I can't promise you won't have formatting issues with it still, though, but it's worth a try.


----------



## KBD (Aug 22, 2013)

Thanks, I'll check it out.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

FWIW, I've found conversion from PDF uniformly problematic. But Calibre is probably the best option available.


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

PDFs are a pain in the neck if you're trying to get them into a different format. It's because of the way PDFs store information - a Word document stores a block of text with all the formatting and placement a secondary consideration, but a PDF focuses first on placement and second on the actual text itself.

If Calibre doesn't help, you might find that opening the PDF in Word, then saving as a .doc and THEN converting to Kindle format, offers the best reading experience. I sympathise, though - trying to get text out of a PDF can be a huge exercise in frustration.


----------



## KBD (Aug 22, 2013)

Unfortunately I didn't have time to try any more conversion experiments before going away on holiday. I ended up switching to landscape view, which made the pdf text a bit easier to read.

Thanks for all the suggestions.


----------

