Review topics on e-reader

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Here is an easy way to review and bookmark various material on the go without booting up your laptop or carry a load of printed notes- use an e-book reader!

There are many to choose from and most support Native PDF (non-altered PDF) files but most do a terrible job of displaying them without formatting the PDF. I use a Sony Reader PRS-500. It’s light and cheap. You can find used PRS-500 readers on sites like AMAZON, BUY.COM, Bestbuy, or directly from SonyStyle (prices starting at $200). For dirt cheap prices, keep a lookout for deals on craigslist- they usually go for $100 there.

Let’s start..

You first need to decide what you are converting to the the Sony LRF format. I usually split this in to three choices.

Powerpoint file to LRF
DOC, EPUB, FB2, HTML, LIT, LRF, MOBI, ODT, PRC, RTF, TXT, PDF composed of text to LRF
PDF composed of images, tables, and/or text to LRF

CONVERTING POWERPOINT FILES TO LRF

The easiest way I found to get a powerpoint presentation to your E-reader for portable view is by converting it to PDF first.

Install a PDF printer on your computer. I recommend DoPDF. Download the file. Install it.
Open your powerpoint document. I am using “A review of Antibiotics” PPT from Loyola University found HERE.
Go to file> print. Choose the DoPDF printer from printers.
Change the “Color/Grayscale” option to “Pure Black and White”.
Preview if you want to see that all the pages show up properly and print. Save the PDF to the desktop so you can find it easier.
Download the tiny program pdflrfwin.exe which converts PDF to LRF format. It can be found here www.mediafire.com/?k3sc9jbcmlj.
Open pdflrfwin.exe. Press the down arrow in the box next to “Input” and choose “browse”. Now locate the PDF on your desktop and choose it. You can edit the “Title” and “Author” of the file so it can be easier to locate once it’s on your E-reader. Uncheck or check the little boxes located at the bottom of the windows till it looks like this.
Press “Convert”. The duration depends on the size of the PDF. After the conversion is complete. Transfer the “____.lrf” file to your memory for your E-reader. Enjoy!

CONVERTING A PDF COMPOSED OF TEXT TO LRF

The fastest way to convert a PDF composed of only text or anything else with text is to convert it online. I use Lib2Go [http://www.lib2go.com/]

Lib2Go supports the following formats: DOC, EPUB, FB2, HTML, LIT, LRF, MOBI, ODT, PDF, PRC, RTF, TXT

Scribd [http://www.scribd.com/] has a lot of useful PDF files. Lib2Go has a file limit of 25mb but if your have a larger file, I suggest you use Calibre [http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/].

CONVERTING A PDF composed of images, tables, and/or text to LRF

For converting PDFs with images, tables etc., we can use pdflrfwin.exe

Load the PDF in pdflrfwin.exe using “browse”. I will be using “USMLE Step 1 – Fungal Charts from medfools.com” PDF found HERE.
Leave all default settings but change the “Overlap” to 0.05 or higher depending on how much of the previous page you want overlapped in the next.
Change the “colors” to “256″ -you may change E-readers in the future. Choosing 256 colors will save you the trouble of reconverting for a higher grayscale resolution in the future. Don’t forget to edit the “Title” and “Author” of the the file.
Press Convert. Transfer the “____.lrf” to your memory stick for your E-reader. Enjoy!