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Kindle Tips and Tricks


Brian.

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From time to time questions pop up about the Kindle so I thought it would be good to have a topic where we can collect any tips and tricks together in one place.

 

For those who want to source ebooks from somewhere other than Amazon file format is often a confusing issue. Ebooks purchased from the Kindle store use Amazon's own file format known as AZW. The main reason for using this format seems to be that it is marginally smaller than the .mobi format and that it allows DRM to be used. The other main file format that can be used directly on a Kindle is .mobi and that is widely available across the internet. There are a few other file formats that can be used directly such PDF, RTF, and word files. However, in my experience these can be displayed in an unsatisfactory way on the screen and are best avoided if possible.

 

The other common file format found is EPUB but Kindle devices won't play these All is not lost though and this is my first tip. Use Calibre. Calibre is a free to use program which acts as an ebook manager. It can be used to manage your ebook library on your computer and your chosen device. Instead of using Amazon's janky system for emailing files to myself I use Calibre. It's as simple as plugging in my Kindle and chosing what files I want on it. The best part? Calibre automatically converts any files incompatible with Kindle to .mobi files before sending them to my device.

 

So that's my first tip. Feel free to add your own or ask any questions.

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This thread is a good idea.

 

Amazon are now not allowing us to send .mobi to their devices any more, I have received e-mails to that effect. I found a Send to Kindle software when I bought an e-book from Delphi Classics. It's a link on their page to Amazon.com for your PC but I used it and it works just fine. 

 

As for Calibre, just downloaded it. Thanks for that!

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One of the good things about Calibre is that you can take books off your Kindle that you have purchased from Amazon. This means that if you ever lose your Amazon account (and this has happened to people before) you don’t lose access to all the ebooks you’ve purchased. 

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