PDF file viewing while playing? Handhelds?

[Ulric]

I have a great desktop computer and lots of d20/D&D PDF files. I want to start using more of those PDF files while actually gaming. What are my options? Do I need to go buy a laptop? Are there any handheld computers that any of you use to view your PDF files? I guess I could buy a cheap laptop...doesn't take a lot of power just to view PDFs. Just wondering what you guys have been doing. Of course I can just print the files, but that's a lot of paper and ink. Let me know.

P.S. Oh, this is my first post. Hello. Lookin' forward to getting lots of good info here. I'll contribute as I can.

 

[philreed]

I have sometimes loaded PDFs to my Palm. I'm hoping Mac creates a tablet machine -- I'd kill for one on most days of the week.

 

[HellHound]

I use a cheap laptop - however it is running a non-supported OS when it comes to Acrobat, so I can't use DRM-protected PDFs on it.

But a laptop is a great tool for DMing, IMO. I've been using mine for two years now, and rarely run a game without it.

 

[IronWolf]

I use a laptop, but from the looks of it Tablet PC's would work better for actual viewing of a PDF because it can be switched to portrait style allowing easier reading of the file. (Especially if your laptop doesn't support good resolutions to allow easy full screen viewing)

 

[Breakdaddy]

Welcome to the boards, Ulric! I use my 15" Macintosh Powerbook at the gaming table when we play D&D and it has bee a great boon to my game. I DM the game and with access to the SRD (Creative Mountain Games SRD is very easy to navigate, so is my preferred version), several purchased PDFs, and my own scans and OCRs of Unearthed Arcana and a few other of my most used books on my laptop I save lots of time not having to page-flip in game. Any laptop would work, but I have used cheap laptops before and I must say acrobat can be unforgiving (particularly with large graphic-heavy PDFs) and SLOW on such configurations, although Acrobat version 7 has come a long way towards fixing these issues.

 

[Breakdaddy]

I use a cheap laptop - however it is running a non-supported OS when it comes to Acrobat, so I can't use DRM-protected PDFs on it.

But a laptop is a great tool for DMing, IMO. I've been using mine for two years now, and rarely run a game without it.

I have a Debian box that I use from time to time and definitely feel your pain on this one!

 

[Psion]

I use my laptop to view PDFs while gaming. If you have a slick gaming setup with a desktop PC, I suppose you could get it to work (and one of my friends has a setup like this... but he has a desktop in every room), but generally, it's easier to situate a laptop.

Hound... most of the worthwhile publishers are going to WatermarkPDFs...

 

[Willowhaunt]

I'm in agreement about the notebook computers- if you get one with a decent battery, you'll never have to deal with paper again (which has been a boon for a disorganized DM such as I who will lose half of his campaign materials between games). If you're a fast typist, you can keep a detailed campaign log of each game as it happens, which can be nice when you want to recall detials but you lost the piece of scrap paper on which you wrote the fake names the PCs gave at the gate. Handhelds are certainly better for portability and battery life, but most don't have keyboards that are easy to use and most that I know of don't have enough storage space to keep more than the smallest PDF files. Laptops usually can't last more than a few hours at a time, but if that's not an issue (I imagine you'll be able to situate youself near a power outlet during the game) you might want to invest in one of the inexpensive ones, though the cutting edge stuff might have an advantage in battery life...

 

[nopantsyet]

Pretty much pointless to try to do anything useful with a handheld. I've tried importing various docs but the screen is just too small to be much use.

I've recently started using a laptop at the table and it has really made a positive difference. I rarely have to scramble to find something, and when I do, desktop search speeds things along. I have the Hypertext d20 SRD downloaded to my hard drive, as well as all my PDFs. Rule questions are resolved very quickly--no more flipping through books. My last tool is DM Genie which keeps track of all my PC, NPC, monster and campaign info. I'm only using about 1/10 of what it offers, but it's really made a big difference. Net result is I can focus better on the creative aspects of running because all the information I need is at my fingertips.

Still use real dice, though. Doesn't seem right to use a pseudo-random number generator when PCs' lives are on the line.

 

[IronWolf]

I've recently started using a laptop at the table and it has really made a positive difference. I rarely have to scramble to find something, and when I do, desktop search speeds things along. I have the Hypertext d20 SRD downloaded to my hard drive, as well as all my PDFs. Rule questions are resolved very quickly--no more flipping through books. My last tool is DM Genie which keeps track of all my PC, NPC, monster and campaign info. I'm only using about 1/10 of what it offers, but it's really made a big difference. Net result is I can focus better on the creative aspects of running because all the information I need is at my fingertips.

Still use real dice, though. Doesn't seem right to use a pseudo-random number generator when PCs' lives are on the line.

Sounds just like the setup I have gravitated towards. I use WikidPad though which minimizes the amount of time I have to search for anything campaign related.

I also use real dice for everything but initiative. DM Genie must makes that way too easy to warrant me using the dice (though I let the players still roll the real dice for it).