Palm Pilot files (.pdb)

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Thomas
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:50 pm

Palm Pilot files (.pdb)

Post by Thomas »

I have ver 1.80.1 and it appears to be installed correctly. jpgs and such work. I can not get the .pdb palm pilot files to work. They do show some text in the 'show hex' mode.

Any suggstions :?:
Thank you,
Thomas
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xnview
Author of XnView
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Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2003 7:31 am
Location: France

Re: .pdb files

Post by xnview »

Thomas wrote:I have ver 1.80.1 and it appears to be installed correctly. jpgs and such work. I can not get the .pdb palm pilot files to work. They do show some text in the 'show hex' mode.

Any suggstions :?:
You can't view .pdb files, right?
Pierre.
Thomas
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:50 pm

Re: .pdb files

Post by Thomas »

xnview wrote: You can't view .pdb files, right?
Right. I click on a jpg and it appears in the viewing pane. I click on a .pdb and it says the file format isn't recognizable.

I took a look at the .pdb file using the hex dump feature and there is some text there. Looks normal but I'm not sure what a .pdb should look like.

Do I need to toggle something 'on' for .pdb files?
Thank you,
Thomas
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Drahken
Posts: 884
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:29 pm

Post by Drahken »

Pdb's are usually text files (and often long ones at that), or files with text and images mixed. They are frequently used for ebooks. As I recall, there's also an issue of whether the pdb file is encrypted or unencrypted. Have you tried viewing the file with a dedicated pdb reader?

ubook (nagware)
http://www.gowerpoint.com/uBook_main.html

mobipocket (scroll down to the emulator)
http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/default.asp

ereader for windows
http://www.ereader.com/product/browse/software
Thomas
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:50 pm

Post by Thomas »

Drahken wrote:
mobipocket (scroll down to the emulator)
http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/default.asp

ereader for windows
http://www.ereader.com/product/browse/software
I tried the ereader and my pdb files work just fine. I am truely pleased and am greatful for your lead. :)

Do you happen to know if the mobipocket will display the book on the desktop pc? The web page tends to indicate a handheld use.

I still hope to get XnView (which is a really great program with a lot of features that I need) to work on this particular format.
Thank you,
Thomas
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Drahken
Posts: 884
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:29 pm

Post by Drahken »

I believe that the emulator on the mobipocket page will work on the PC. I used to use the mobipocket reader on the PC, but they no longer seem to have the version that I used (that version was a reader not an emulator, yet it specifically stated PC use).
EDIT: I found the link for the version that I've used before: http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSo ... rStep1.asp On the right you will see "mobipocket reader for PC", download that.

You should probably send pierre a copy of your pdb file so that he can look at it and figure out why it isn't working in xnview.