Question for PDF users

[caudor]

OK, looks like I'm the oddball.

C, but mostly A. This is because it is more comfortable to curl up on the couch with a printout than to scroll around my computer screen.

Plus, a don't have a laptop, so this is the only way for me to make it mobile.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

(B): I primarily use them to prep for sessions, and I refer to them onscreen. I also use my laptop to run the game, so I have all my PDF's for reference without having to print them out.

I do copy-n-paste when possible, especially for things like spells, feats or magic item descriptions that I'm putting in my PC or NPC character sheets. I'll print out the occasional page with a monster on it, but I'm more likely to input the monster into E-Tools so I can make stat blocks, or copy the picture into a seperate file so I can show the players a picture of what they're facing without having to cover up the monster name or stats (the WoTC art galleries are ideal for this, too).

 

[Valmiras]

C

C, definitely.

For smaller books, under 100 pages or so, I often get the pdf and print it out and put it in a binder. I still reference it in softcopy as well.

For the larger books, I often get the pdf for electronic use and go ahead and buy the print version as well.

 

[Psion]

It really depends on the size, format, content, and intended usage of the item in question, but "C" probably comes closest to reality for me.

Books are usually more comfortable and convenient for casual reading, usually meaning that things I don't use to make game notes or handouts, hardcopy is the way to go. Thre are exceptions though. The T20 Gateway to Destiny book, though a setting book, has some really intricate references, and a search feature would have been a great boon. Alas, I missed out on the electronic version of it.

If it's a book I just want a few things from or am more curious about, I'll get the pdf for before deciding whether or not I think a hardcopy is warranted. Some large catalog style books I'll also browse though for items and then refer to the ones I find onscreen or print out the one or two items I use. I almost never print out the entirety of anything over 64 pages. (Though I will pursue the hardbound version of such large books if I like them, as with Beyond Countless Doorways and Legends of the Samurai.)

 

[Frozen DM]

I use a variation on C

I will usually read them on the screen, and then copy out the sections I need for a given game, reformat the text if necessary and then print out what I need. So I may pull a feat here, a spell there, a npc if necessary, stuff like that.

 

[IronWolf]

C. But I use them much more frequently onscreen. If I need a particular section I will print them out for use in a game. I rarely print the whole PDF, though it has been known to happen.

 

[Henry]

C for me. I will often print out a new PDF (when time affords), and give it a good read at home. However, at both home and work (shame on me ) if a question comes up online, or for a game, it's nice to have the PDF to just zip to the reference and copy and paste it as needed.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

C.

I've printed out a few pdfs, and I like the idea of having a pdf of an actual book so i can print out only what I need to refer to, but the truth is, I really need to sit down and actually read most of the pdfs I've bought. I find I don't read them as thoroughly as I do a print book - and there are plenty of print books I own that I have not given even a good, thorough browse.

 

[Eridanis]

Another C here. I print out pdfs that I think I'll look at more than once, but copy-and-paste spells and the like into Word docs for use at the gaming table.

 

[jcfiala]

C. I'll generally read a work on the computer screen, and then print out relevant parts for use in the game.