
The default document location is at the top level of your user account, so you can see above that I’ve specified a folder within Documents instead. The first time you launch Calibre you’ll be dropped into the Welcome Wizard (are wizards ever not welcome?) which starts with these key questions: Once you’ve downloaded the app, drag it to your Applications folder and double click! Grab a copy at :Ĭhoose “Download” from the top menu – or use the blue “Download Calibre” button – and choose the correct platform. The Calibre program is about more than just converting ebook formats, it actually has quite a few tools that let you manage your entire ebook collection and even edit ebooks. Let’s have a look! DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL CALIBRE open source program called Calibre that can do all the basic conversion and while it’s another program to install on your computer, there’s no license fee, no add-ons, no in-app purchases, etc.

Most of those can also read PDFs, of course, but none of them can magically resize and reflow the text, a feature that we ebook readers have become accustomed.įortunately, there’s a free. There’s another big ebook format called EPUB which is used by basically every ebook reader that isn’t from Amazon, including the Kobo, B&N Nook, and ebook apps for your tablet and computer. Modern Kindles actually use a format called AZW3, but MOBI is definitely more portable, while still being completely Kindle compatible too. The better strategy is what you ask about converting the PDF document into an Amazon-friendly format. You can zoom in, but it zooms in on the entire document, which does not generally make the document easier to read. The biggest thing you’ll notice is that you can’t change the font size.

Before we go any further, it turns out that you can read PDF (portable document format) files on your Amazon Kindle, though they are definitely second-class citizens when compared to a proper ebook.
