Q. What is Kindle for PC?
A. It’s software that you download to your computer that enables you to read and buy Kindle store books
Q. What does it cost?
A. Nothing, it’s free.
Q. Do I have to have a Kindle to use Kindle for PC?
A. No. You can get it and use it whether or not you have a Kindle.
Q. Are there any other requirements?
A. You do need to have an account with Amazon, but that’s easy to set up. These are the current system requirements:
Kindle for PC can be used on any PC running Windows XP with Service Pack 2+, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.
That means that is does not currently work with Windows 2000 or earleir, Macs or Linux computers. Amazon has said that a Mac version is coming soon.
Q. Is there a negative to using Kindle for PC?
A. If you do move a book to your Kindle for PC’s homescreen, that will count as a “device license” used. Device licenses are set by publishers, and are most commonly six. See this earlier post.
Q. If I already own a Kindle, will I be able to read the books I bought from the Kindle store for that using Kindle for PC?
A. Yes. It’s just another device on the account. All books in your Amazon Archives are available to all of your devices.
Q. How about books I got for an iPhone or iPod touch.
A. Yes.
Q. Will they look different?
A. Yes. They may be bigger and clearer. Color pictures will show in color.
Q. Are the text size options the same?
A. No. You have more options in Kindle for PC. On the Kindle, you have six text sizes, with the largest being about font size 20. On the Kindle for PC, you have ten font sizes, with the largest being roughly equivalent to size 72. You can also adjust the number of words per line. These functions are in the Aa button on the toolbar. Just like with the Kindle, you’ll see a preview before you make your choice. The reset to default only affects the Words per Line.
Q. Words per Line?
A. You can adjust the number of words per line, down to a minimum of one. This is also affected by text size. On a large text size, you may not see a word on the minimum setting. What you will be doing is adjusting the text area (making the margins larger or smaller), and the text will “word wrap” accordingly.
Q. Does the text-to-speech work?
A. No. Windows Narrator, an included text-to-speech in Windows program, also does not work on books in Kindle for PC.
Q. Can I annotate like I do on my Kindle?
A. No. Currently, the only option is to bookmark and go to notes and marks. You can not add new notes or highlighting. There is a bookmark button on the toolbar which will add or remove a bookmark. Alt+B, which works on the Kindle, does not work in Kindle for PC.
Q. If I made notes on my Kindle, do they show in Kindle for PC?
A. Yes. You can select to see all notes and marks, or any one of these three: Notes, Highlights, Bookmarks.
Q. Can I navigate to my bookmarks, notes, and highlights?
A. Yes, by clicking on them in the Notes & Marks pane. To activate that pane, click the button in your top right corner of the screen.
Q. How do I change pages?
A. If you move your mouse to the margins, you’ll see an arrow pointing ahead or back you can click.. You can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard: up or left to go up a page, down or right to go forward a page. If you have a scroll wheel on your mouse, you can also use that to scroll smoothly through the pages.
Q. Are there other ways to navigate?
A. There is a Go To button on the toolbar. Click on it, and you’ll get options like Cover, Table of Contents, Beginning, and Location…depending on how the book is formatted. You can click Go To Location and select a specific location. Hitting the Home key on your keyboard will take you to the top (probably the cover): the End key will not affect anything. The Back button on the toolbar will take you back to where you were last in the book.
Q. Can I navigate within a line?
A. No.
Q. Does the dictionary work?
A. No. None of the lookup functions, including search, are available at this time. You can not select individual words.
Q. Do hyperlinks work?
A. Yes! They will open in another window. That means you can go to video and audio from a Kindle link and view them on your computer.
Q. Can I copy and paste?
A. No.
Q. Can I use the Print Screen button on my computer to get a “screen grab”?
A. Yes, like you can do Alt+G on the Kindle. You could then paste it into an e-mail or a Word document. The text would not be text, but an image. Copyright restrictions may apply.
Q. Will I see page numbers?
A. No, it will be the same as it is on a K2. In the bottom left of the screen, you’ll see the percentage you are through the book. In the bottom middle, you’ll see the range of locations currently shown on the screen. In the bottom right, you’ll see the total number of locations for this book.
Q. Will it sync with my Kindle? Will it know what page I was reading last?
A. Yes, it should. In the Go To menu, you’ll see a choice to Sync to Furthest Page Read. This is probably subject to the same vagaries as it is going between two Kindles.
Q. Is there anything else I can do while reading the book?
A. That seems to be about it for now. If you find something else, let me know.
Q. What can I do on the Home screen?
A. You’ll see “thumbnails” (small pictures) of the covers of the books you moved to the Home for this Kindle for PC. Those are the ones that are using a device license. For each title, you’ll see a cover picture (if available…if not, you’ll see an Amazon placeholder), the title, the author as entered by the publisher, and the progress bar of dots showing how far you are into the book.
Q. What can I do with those pictures of the books?
A. If you double-click a book, it should open to where you last were in the book. If you right-click it, you’ll get a number of Go To options, as well as the option to Remove from Device. If you do that, it will go back to the archives.
Q. What if the title is too long to read?
A. Just “hover” you mouse over it (don’t click on it). You’ll see what is called a “screen tip” with the full title.
Q. Can I change the display to just a list of titles?
A. No.
Q. Are there folders?
A. No. You will have three buttons at the top so you can sort by Most Recent, Title, or Author. The latter two are according to the metadata in the book.
Q. What does the button that says Archived Items do?
A. Click on that, and you’ll be taken to the archives. Those archives are available to any device on your account (until you hit your device limit for that title). It will only show you books (“titles”) you got from the Kindle store. If you right-click a title, you’ll be given a choice to Go to Last Page Read, Go to Beginning, or Add to Home. Any of these will add it to your Home, using a device license.
Q. I have a lot of titles: can I search for one in the archives?
A. No. You can use the scroll wheel, the scroll bar, the arrow keys on your keyboard, and the page up and page down keys.
Q. Why does the number next to Archived Items change?
A. That’s the number of books you have in your archives that are not on this device. As you move a book to the Home screen, you’ll see that number decrement (get smaller). That doesn’t mean the title isn’t available to other devices. The number of titles show in the archives will differ on the different devices if you have a different number of titles locally on the device. The number of Kindle store books on the device plus the Archived Items should be the same.
Q. Can I get to my Personal Documents that I’ve put on the Kindle on Kindle on PC?
A. Not through the archives. That only backs up books you buy from the Kindle store.
Q. Can I get to my subscriptions items, like magazines, newspapers, and blogs?
A. No. Subscriptions items are keyed for only one device.
Q. Can I subscribe to them to go directly to my Kindle for PC?
A. Not currently.
Q. Can I read items from other sources than Amazon in Kindle for PC?
A. Yes! If you go to FeedBooks.com, for example, and choose to download a free book in Kindle format, choose Open, it will open it using Kindle for PC. It will appear in your Home screen, and you can go to the Last Page Read. It will not be in your Archives for other Kindles, and your annotations and such will not be backed up for you at Amazon.
Q. Can I shop in the Kindle store from Kindle for PC?
A. Yes. You’ll see the same thing you would if you went to Amazon on your computer and got to the store that way. You won’t see it like you would see it on your Kindle.
Q. Can I change the name of my Kinde for PC?
A. Yes. Go to the Manage Your Kindle page. Locate the PC you want to change, and click Edit Info.
Q. What future improvements are expected?
A. In an unusual move, Amazon does list expected future improvements. You can see those in the Menu. Currently, they list:
- Annotations
- Searching
- Zooming and rotating the images
Q. If I want to make other suggestions for changes, can I do that?
A. Yes. The e-mail address is kindleforpc-feedback@amazon.com
Q. What files formats are sent?
A. They appear to be .prc files. The “attendant information” files are .mbp. Your computer will tell you they are “Kindle Content”, most likely.
Q. Does that mean I can read other prc files with Kindle for PC?
A. If they are not protected, probably. Put them in the Kindle Content folder in your documents. This has not been tested.
Q. So why would I spend a couple of hundred dollars on a Kindle if I can get this for free?
A. The Kindle’s e-ink screen, small size, and long battery life make it better suited for long-term reading.
Q. I’m ready to get it. Where do I go?
A. Here.
Q. What if I have more questions?
A. Amazon’s help pages for the Kindle for PC are here. You can also leave me comments.
This is based on my first examination, and questions I’ve seen being asked. If you have any other tips or questions, please let me know. I may add to this over time.
Thanks to reader Mark Nedanov for pointing out that things have changed since this was first published (see the comments). The key thing is that there is now an accessibility plug-in for Kindle for PC, which will enable it to work with an external screen reader. For more information, see this later post:
This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.
I Love My Kindle 
December 30, 2009 at 2:56 pm |
Help! I bought a kindle version of a book for work, it’s one of the therapy homework planners that allow you to photocopy assignments to give to clients for homework. I thought it would be wonderful to buy the kindle version and then be able to copy, cut, paste the assignments on my pc and then print to give to clients. I see that you answered yes to the question of doing a “screen grab” with alt g but I can’t seem to figure it out. If I can’t reproduce these assignments from my kindle version (which is allowed with the paper book) what’s the point of having them in a kindle version at all? I’d really like to find a way to make this work and would appreciate your help (love the blog btw):)
December 30, 2009 at 3:39 pm |
Thanks for writing…glad you like the blog!
The screengrab is Alt+Shift+G. Shift is the Up arrow.
Alt+G just refreshes the screen.
More details in this earlier post: https://ilmk.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/g-whiz/
If you have anything but a Kindle 1, you should find it in your Kindle’s documents folder. Let me know if you are still having trouble.
Note that it is a screengrab: it will include the progress information at the bottom of the screen.
Does the publisher let you download the material from a website? That’s another possibility.
November 17, 2010 at 1:21 pm |
Also, the Kindle e-ink screen can be photocopied! 🙂
September 18, 2011 at 4:44 am |
how bout this, before i registered my kindle with my account i put in a 50 dollar gift card, but when i try to buy stuff on my kindle (i registered it) it won’t let me.. why
September 18, 2011 at 1:57 pm |
Thanks for writing, ryan!
When you apply a gift card/certificate to your account, 1-click (which is how you pay for all Kindle store books) will draw from that balance until it runso out, when it will go to the credit/debit card specified for 1-click (if any). If you’ve used 1-click for other things, that has also drawn down that balance. You don’t need to do anything to use the gift card balance…it happens automatically when you use 1-click.
June 1, 2012 at 8:19 am |
[…] Frequently Asked Kindle Questions: Special Kindle for PC edition … […]
July 7, 2012 at 9:46 pm |
I am having trouble getting my loaned book back on to my kindle it says that it is still on loan but on my kindle cloud the book is there?
July 7, 2012 at 10:10 pm |
Thanks for writing, Catherine!
Tell me a bit more…this is a book that you bought from the Kindle store that you then loaned to someone else not on your account?
Has it been 14 days since the loan was accepted?
What type of Kindle do you have?
http://www.amazon.com/help/kindle/which
Try removing the notice from your Kindle (either click/flick right, or long press it ((hold your finger or stylus on it for about a second))…depending on the model).
Then, see if you can send it to the Kindle from
http://www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle
July 7, 2012 at 11:09 pm
I have tried what you talked about and it didn’t work. I Also went in and tried to download it again to my cloud file and thought that it would send it to my kindle then, but it didn’t. I have a 3g kindle and it is not a touch one. I have had id about 1 and a half years.
July 7, 2012 at 11:12 pm
I forgot to say that I loaned it awhile back and it came back but I can’t get it. I also tried to use the kindle manage but it didn’t work
July 7, 2012 at 11:15 pm
Thanks for writing, Catherine!
You had removed the notice from your Kindle first, right?
You may want to contact Kindle Support on this one…they can check on what is happening with the book:
http://www.amazon.com/kindlesupport
You’ll see a
Contact Us
button. I’d call them or have them call you.
July 8, 2012 at 1:21 am
I can also read it on my kindle cloud also and I don’t have any problem doing that?
July 8, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Thanks for writing, Catherine!
If you can read it in the Cloud Reader, it’s been returned.
Are you able to download anything else to that Kindle?
Are you able to send it from the Manage Your Kindle page I mentioned above?
If not, what does Kindle Support say?
My intuition at this point is that maybe it is on the Kindle and you just aren’t seeing it. Have you tried changing the sort on your homepage on your Kindle to title, and seeing if you can find it that way?
December 4, 2012 at 6:13 am |
This is a great website, it has a nice selection of books and it is easy to navigate.
I have had a Kindle for the last two years and I must say they are the best thing since books where invented!
If you haven’t got a kindle yet or if you need an upgrade or wish to review the new Kindle fire, check out (The Kindle) Review site here: [advertising link removed]
January 2, 2013 at 4:25 pm |
“No. Windows Narrator, an included text-to-speech in Windows program, also does not work on books in Kindle for PC.”
This is not entirely true. If you download “Kindle for PC With Accessibility Plugin” from Amazon, you can use it. You press CTRL-R to have narrator read the text.
January 2, 2013 at 5:11 pm |
Thanks for writing, Mark!
You’ve forgotten the fourth dimension…time. 🙂 It was true when I published it back in 2009. Here’s my article from 2011 on the accessibility plug-in, which I think is great!
That’s one of the hard parts about a blog like this…the posts lasts forever, and if someone doesn’t notice they are older, they may not search the blog for more recent information. It would also be quite difficult to go back and update everything as thing changes.
I really appreciate you taking the time to let people know! Now, they may see your comment if they also find that post in a deep search through the dusty internet as you did. 😉
August 29, 2013 at 2:48 pm |
Help! I have changed my settings somehow, there is a lock on the right top corner of my Kindle Fire HD, and now it won’t respond to my touch. I’ve turned it off and on, and it won’t respond to unlokc the screen either! I think I locked the touch, but I don’t know how to undo it!” Is there anyway? Bare in mind I can’t get onto my home screen to chnage anything. Please help, I really don’t care if I have to delete everything, I just want to access my kindle again!
August 29, 2013 at 7:02 pm |
Thanks for writing, Abbie!
Unfortunately, I’m away from my normal resources for a few days.
The small lock sounds like you set parental controls, but that shouldn’t stop the lock screen from opening.
Try this first:
Unplug the Fire, then hold in the power button for thirty seconds. It should shut down. Leave it off for a minute, then power it up again.
If that doesn’t enable you to unlock the screen, contact Kindle Support…they can help you troubleshoot and suggest next steps:
http://www.amazon.com/kindlesupport
November 16, 2017 at 4:51 pm |
How do I find a bookmark? There is no button in the top right corner except the killer X.
November 19, 2017 at 11:13 pm |
Thanks for writing, oneota!
What type of device are you using?