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Convert PDFs, other files for your Kindle
Kindle users know they can e-mail documents as attachments to their Kindle account and Amazon will convert and upload them to the e-book reader for a 10-cent fee. Windows users aren't tied to the e-mail option, though, thanks to the Auto Kindle eBook Converter.
This PDF-to-Kindle converter doesn't have much of a GUI, but works fine.
(Credit: Art by Alex Samlihan/CNET)Compatible with PDF, HTML, LIT, PDB, and CHM files, the program opens to a Windows file browser. Choose the file you want to convert, hit Open, and then choose your destination folder. The converter goes to work, generally converting files quickly--although this depends on the length of your document.
When it's done, connect your Kindle to your computer and move the MOBI file into the Documents folder. Safely disconnect the Kindle, and the converted file will appear in your main list of documents, automatically converted on the Kindle to its default MPB format.
However, it lacks a decent interface. The file-browsing option that you get doesn't slow down the conversion process--it's just jarring. There are other areas where the program will hopefully be improved, too. A setting for a default directory isn't dependent on getting that GUI and would cut out the unnecessary step of navigating to your preferred output folder.
Ideally, the program will eventually auto-detect your Kindle and save the converted document directly to the proper folder on the e-book reader.
Auto Kindle eBook Converter bridges the gap between DOC and TXT files and the Kindle. Using a print-to-PDF program like doPDF or PrimoPDF, you can convert a DOC or TXT to PDF, and then use the Auto Kindle eBook Converter to make your document Kindle-friendly. While not the slickest of methods, it should work for most users. Even saddled with a list of improvements, the Auto Kindle eBook Converter holds a lot of promise.
Seth peers into the deep, dark corners of software so that you don't have to. He has yet to suffer a single nightmare about OS/2. You can follow him on Twitter. 
Also, the Mobipocket MobiCreator app (free from mobipocket.com) can convert PDFs to mobi files quite well. What it doesn't do is Lit-to-mobi conversion.
There are plenty of good solutions out there for document conversion. My goal was to simply make on that didn't make you do the work-flow yourself.
In response to the authors example of converting a txt document to pdf to convert to mobi. The kindle natively processes txt files so that leaves DOC files as on of the only holes but since for most people who have a doc file also have word they can simply re-save that document as opposed to working through pdf.
Someone has submitted the request for setting a default output folder to the project tracker and improvements in the regard are on the way.
Again thanks for the accolades and advice.
- by vinnybill August 10, 2009 11:01 PM PDT
- When I try to install this program (3x), my McAfee Security Suite stops me. It says that it has detected a Trojan file. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?
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- by ninjapanzer August 23, 2009 7:10 AM PDT
- The issue is with code packaging. See McAfee is very good at dealing out these false positives. The error is usually newmalware.bx which stands for I don't know what it is but the behavior(bx) I have just seen looks like something malware would do. The action is self code manipulation. The code in the file changes to something else before it is placed in active memory and run. Think of it like doing up a zip file. The zip and the zip's contents are different in their respective states. In this app it is commonly UPX packaging. Its not a virus or a trojan just something that I hear about quite often. Not only are methods like this used to compress code to make it smaller but it is used to make reverse engineering more difficult. Malware uses this technique to trick file scanners who do not see the malicious code until it is executed so if you scanner does not scan active memory this malware just broke through your security. Windows itself has an active memory scanner that stops malicious code "morphing" in active memory and UPX is not generally blocked by Windows even just McAfee seems to have issue with it.
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