Ask HN: Reading PDF Documents on Cell Phone?

#1

Post by wslin » Thu, May 06, 2021, 7:30 PM UTC

Has anybody ever wished that they can open a PDF file on the phone and read it like a responsive webpage, with readable text size and reformatted paragraphs? Is there an app for that? Would anyone want to use it if such an app was developed?

I come across this problem from time to time. All I do is rotate the phone and squint at the tiny text…

Re: Ask HN: Reading PDF Documents on Cell Phone?

#2

Post by pseingatl » Thu, May 06, 2021, 7:42 PM UTC

pdf's are size agnostic. Unfortunately, most people think that pdf is a synonym for letter size or A4. It's not. You could easily have a print to pdf setting limited to the size of say, a 6" smartphone.

Re: Ask HN: Reading PDF Documents on Cell Phone?

#3

Post by wslin » Thu, May 06, 2021, 7:57 PM UTC

pseingatl wrote: post #2

pdf's are size agnostic. Unfortunately, most people think that pdf is a synonym for letter size or A4. It's not. You could easily have a print to pdf setting limited to the size of say, a 6" smartphone.

Sorry I wasn't being clear. I meant reading PDFs already created by someone else with a certain paper size in mind, like a scientific paper. Basically, I am looking for something like a "reader view" mode for PDFs on smartphones.

Re: Ask HN: Reading PDF Documents on Cell Phone?

#4

Post by fhoxh » Thu, May 06, 2021, 9:58 PM UTC

Liquid Mode. Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Re: Ask HN: Reading PDF Documents on Cell Phone?

#5

Post by wslin » Fri, May 07, 2021, 5:04 AM UTC

fhoxh wrote: post #4

Liquid Mode. Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Ooh that's what I have been looking for! Thanks for sharing!