Monday, June 20, 2011

Kindle Skills - From the Book

Here is another sample from my (very timely) book for your Kindle...

Mobipocket Reader

It isn't nearly as robust as Calibre, and it is only available for PCs (sorry Mac users), but the Mobipocket Reader is still a great tool to have handy if you like to download books from other sources and find yourself with a book in a common format for other ereaders, but won't work on your Kindle.

The Mobipocket Reader is a FREE tool that can be a great way to read your favorite ebooks on your computer screen, but it also doubles as a quick and easy way to convert many files to a format you can use on your Kindle.

Drag your epub, html, doc (including the newer .docx files), .rtf, .txt, .pdf, excel or powerpoint files right into the right window pane of the main Mobipocket Reader window. You will see the conversion indicator, and when it is finished, you will see your book opened in the reader. Click the word eBooks in the left pane to close the reading view and return to your list of books pane where you originally dragged the book that has just been converted.

What has happened is Mobipocket Reader just converted your original file, and placed the final (converted) copy as a .prc file in a special folder just for theseMobipocket Reader files. It makes a pretty nice organizer for your Kindle ready ebooks over the long run. Once the file is converted and appears on the mainMobipocket Reader screen as a thumbnail image, you can delete the original file or store it elsewhere. You won't need it any more as far as your Kindle is concerned. If you update the original file and want to update the converted file too, be sure to drag it over to the Mobipocket Reader screen again. If the file name is the same, the converted file will be replaced with the newer one.

Your book will now appear in the list with any others you have opened previously with your Mobipocket Reader. Right click any book and choose Open containing folder to open the folder where all these converted books are stored. Drag that .prc file right to the Documents folder on your Kindle. When you disconnect (safely) your Kindle from your USB connection and your computer,and turn it on, your newly converted book will appear on the main home screen to treat just like any other Kindle book.

Oh... a .prc file is one of the file types your Kindle can read with no trouble a'tall. Isn't that convenient?

Kindle Skills - From the Desk of Mrs. Wizard - If you have a Kindle you will love this book! Keep Mrs. Wizard in the palm of your hand. Get a sample and see. And if you like it... help me spread the word!

Ask Mrs. Wizard: Please send me a personal email (mrswizard@mrswizard.com) if you have any questions. I answer all my emails and am more than happy to help any time I can. Your questions mean a lot to me, and may even inspire an article that will help others and make this a more valuable resource to anyone who reads it. 

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