Submit Hint Search The Forums LinksStatsPollsHeadlinesRSS
14,000 hints and counting!

Create a vertical 'digital book' for laptops System
This may seem obvious but I've just realised how to do this today:
  • Download a text file of a novel from the Gutenberg Project or somewhere else slightly more up to date and open it in TextEdit.
  • Save the file as a PDF through the Print dialog and load it in Preview.
  • Rotate right (this will affect all pages) and select full screen from the View menu. Now rotate your PowerBook, and hold it with your right hand, with your thumb over the trackpad button.
You now have a "digital book," where the pages turn by just pressing the trackpad button with your thumb.

[robg adds: I don't mind scrolling to read, but if you do, here's one creative way to make longer pages ... just don't mind the stares as you hold your PowerBook sideways! :) ]
    •    
  • Currently 1.00 / 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  (1 vote cast)
 
[5,502 views]  

Create a vertical 'digital book' for laptops | 6 comments | Create New Account
Click here to return to the 'Create a vertical 'digital book' for laptops' hint
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Create a vertical 'digital book' for laptops
Authored by: windrag on Jun 24, '04 12:01:24PM

Great hint! Also, try the great (free) Tofu.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20596

When I get e-books from PG, I automatically GetInfo them to always open in Tofu.

Thanks again,

rag

---
Ryk A. Groetchen
700MHz iBook 16 VRAM G3
640MB RAM
OS X 10.3.2



[ Reply to This | # ]
Create a vertical 'digital book' for laptops
Authored by: osxpounder on Jun 24, '04 05:59:40PM

More and more often, I'm putting web pages into Tofu to read them. It turns out that reading horizontally-arranged text, in proper columns, IS more comfortable and efficient for me.

---
--
osxpounder



[ Reply to This | # ]
Create a vertical 'digital book' for laptops
Authored by: illovich on Jun 24, '04 06:32:51PM

I'm not sure what the copyright concern would be. Assuming you "own" the right to have the document, you are legally allowed to retype exceprts etc. (and thus copy sections).

Just because Adobe put restrictions in the software doesn't mean that you've lost your rights, and given that you are simply using a feature of the operating system to copy the selection, I'm not clear how this would violate the DMCA.

Stop letting technology tell you what you're allowed to do!

---
illovich
http://illovich.com



[ Reply to This | # ]
Create a vertical 'digital book' for laptops
Authored by: zane on Jun 24, '04 08:51:58PM

Cool hint, I like it :)

Might look a bit goofy with my 17", I'll have to try it out with the girlfriend's 12".

This is a very good example of "Thinking Different". ;)



[ Reply to This | # ]
Create a vertical 'digital book' for laptops
Authored by: csandreas on Jun 24, '04 09:22:04PM

I'm not quite sure that I like the idea of having to hold my Powerbook sideways to read, so I did a little thinking and came up with this:

  1. Copy the book to your clipboard or otherwise open it in MS Word.
  2. Click File--Page Setup and choose Custom Paper Size under Settings.
  3. Set the size of the page to the approximate dimensions of your screen (e.g., 12.5" x 8.5" for a 15" PB) and choose OK
  4. Click Format--Columns and choose two, then adjust your margins to suit your preferences.
  5. Finally, save the file as a PDF and open it Full Screen in Preview.

This works wonderfully for me--I hope it does for you as well. If you'd like to try it out, I created an eBook of John Milton's Areopagitica here. Great reading :-)

-Scott



[ Reply to This | # ]
Create a vertical 'digital book' for laptops
Authored by: coop on Jun 29, '04 07:53:03AM

Cute trick, but it can make the text worse to read. The reason? The sub-pixel text rendering that Mac OS X uses. It was designed for screens where the RGB elements are tall and thin, so it increases perceived DPI across the screen.. which is what makes X's text so nice to read. When you turn the screen around, you lose all that and the horizontal resolution of your text drops two thirds. This made the text harder to read for me, unfortunately. If you can get along with the drop in resolution and clarity, however, go for it, it definitely turns it into a nice book-like form factor! :)



[ Reply to This | # ]