How to access PDFs / patterns on your Kindle

After some recent photos and discussions via social media, a number of people have asked how I download PDF patterns to my Kindle. You may have noticed that I use both a Kindle Fire* and a Kindle Voyage  - I find the former (the ad free version of the cheapest tablet) is great for patterns and instructional/technical books, while the latter (the most expensive 'reading only' tablet) is much better for reading novels, especially at night. You can use any Kindle to view your PDFs. This post will show you how I do it.  (Affiliate links are included, read more here. )

Pictured: Kindle Fire 7 in optional case, headphone make-over from this post

Direct Download - Kindle Fire

1. FROM RAVELRY:
If your pattern is purchased via Ravelry, and you have a Kindle Fire tablet, you can download a copy of the PDF to your device any time you are connected to the internet. Simply log into your Ravelry account, search for the pattern you wish to download and either purchase it, or if it's already in your library (as in the example below), click on the "in library" link - that's the one in the boxed area, which is underlined.


Clicking this will open a pop-up box from which you can simply click on the "download" button.
Your device will tell you when it's downloaded and it will be stored in the 'Docs' folder located on the home screen. If you need to zoom into the document, you can double-tap on it, and then use your thumb and forefinger to pinch-zoom in and out. 

2. FROM A 'DOWNLOAD' LINK:
Similarly, if you have a copy of the PDF file by email or via a trusted website (e.g. materials lists and patterns from Craftsy or Creativebug, patterns purchased from Etsy...)  you can download directly from the attachment link and the document will be saved in your 'Docs' folder. 

Using 'Send to Kindle' - any kind of Kindle

If you have a document less than 50MB which is stored on another computer, there's an easy way to send it to your Kindle device! Each kindle has a unique email address - sending a document to that address will automatically make it available on your device (when connected to the internet / synced). To do this you need to:
- Find out your Kindle's email address 
- Add the 'sender' email address to an authorised list. Items from these email addresses will be automatically accessible on your device.
Full instructions on how to do both of these things can be found on the Amazon website. 

To find the documents you've sent this way, go to the 'Docs' folder, and click on 'Send-to-Kindle'. If, like me, you have more than one Kindle device all of your sent documents will be available for download, even if they were sent to another device on your account. 

FINALLY: If you have a wi-fi only Kindle, remember that you'll need to complete the download / sync while you have internet connection! If you don't have a Kindle/eReader, you might like this post: How to read electronic books and PDFs without an eReader.

*Yes, I'm known as an Apple Fangirl, but on Black Friday we picked up a couple of Kindle Fire 7s for the kids as 'extra' gifts.  They were inexpensive (although we upgraded to the ad-free version) but excellent value for money, and coupled with a Kids Unlimited subscription turned out to be their favourite gifts over Christmas (even though they already use more sophisticated iPads), mainly due to access to lots safe inclusive content. A few days later I decided I needed one too - at full price. I love it! It's perfect for accessing my Prime and Kindle Unlimited content and both smaller and more robust than my iPad so I'm happy to toss it into my handbag without a second thought. 

2 comments

  1. Funny . . . have been using my Kindle Fire for a couple of years and didn't know until your post that I could also read PDF files on it! Thank you, thank you, thank you! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Liv, I'm so glad to be of help. Enjoy your pdfs! :D

      Delete

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