Today Amazon released the third software update for the Kindle Scribe since it was released last November, and it’s a pretty big update for PDF users. The new software version is 5.16.2.
In my PDF review for the Kindle Scribe, I talked about how sideloaded PDFs have different features than PDFs sent using Send to Kindle, but now after this update that is no longer the case.
Now sent PDFs have the same features as sideloaded PDFs, with the benefit of being able to write on them (you still can’t write on sideloaded PDFs).
They also added a handy lasso tool that lets you select any handwritten notes to move, resize, copy and paste, and you can move them to other pages too. The lasso tool is available with PDFs, Notebooks, and even sticky notes.
The last major addition with this update is the ability to convert handwritten notes to typed text. But oddly enough, this feature is only available upon export; you can’t save the converted notes to the Kindle Scribe itself, but you can view and edit them before exporting via email.
The 5.16.2 update can be downloaded from the Kindle Software Updates page at Amazon if you want to install it manually, or you can wait for it to automatically install at some point while syncing.
Lastly, Amazon is now advertising some Write-on Books in the Kindle store that support writing directly on the page. Most are crosswords and sudoku puzzles.
Here’s the full list of changes with this update:
Version 5.16.2 – May 2023
Convert to Text in Export: Easily convert your handwritten notebooks to text when you export, so you can edit and share the notebook with yourself or friends, family, or colleagues over email. In the Share menu, customers will have the option to “Convert to text and quick send” and “Convert to text and email” their standalone notebook as a .txt file. For the latter option, customers will be able to preview, review, and edit their notebook converted to text before sharing over email to up to 5 email addresses.
Lasso Select Tool: The new lasso select tool works anywhere you can write: notebooks, sticky notes, as well as PDFs uploaded to your Kindle library via Send to Kindle. With the new lasso select tool simply circle your handwritten text or pen strokes, then you can resize or move your selection within a notebook, sticky note, or PDF. You can also cut, copy, and paste your selection across your notebooks, sticky notes, and PDFs.
PDF Reading Improvements: For PDFs uploaded to your Kindle library through Send to Kindle, including the new Send to Kindle from Microsoft Word (using the “like a printed document” option), on Kindle Scribe customers can now switch between portrait and landscape view mode, crop margins to increase font size, and select text to make structured highlights with your finger or pen, add text notes, or look up dictionary definitions, translations, and Wikipedia results.
Write-On Content: Exclusive to Kindle Scribe, a new selection of books and titles that support direct on page writing, including guided journals and word games like crosswords and sudokus. These new content options are available for purchase on Amazon, and in the Kindle Store on your Kindle Scribe device – just look for “Write-on Books” in the store or “On-page writing” listed as a supported feature under the Product Details section of the eBook you wish to purchase.
It seems pretty useful. Do you think they’ll block sideloaded books without DRM?
That makes no sense. They’re not going to do that.
It makes sense if they want to ensure all books charged are bought from their store
That’s just silly. They aren’t going to put in all this effort to support EPUBs, PDFs, MS Word files and other formats with Send to Kindle and then suddenly stop allowing people to use it.
I would hope they would expand the text recognition feature so that you can save your converted text on the device and edit it. Maybe in the future.
Yeah this update seems pretty useful and brings the Scribe much close to the Remarkable and other devices in terms of features. I wonder what the highlights will be like on exported PDFs. If they are editable, that would be really sweet.
Now, like you said, converted text were possible on the device and editable, adding Bluetooth keyboard support would just be the final touch to make this a really competent outdoor writing device.
Totally agree. That would cover all my basic needs.
I mean, It already will cover mainly what I want to use it for, But adding the simple text editing and a bluetooth keyboard and maybe even a mouse would make it ideal.
If it exports as a pdf…. You may be able to copy and paste. It is an extra step though.
Seeing your video it seems they also improved the scroll en horizontal mode for pdfs. Before you only had fixed positions for scrolling. For me that is a great improvement
Kindle Scribe is now arguably the best 10″ eink reader, all things considered.
Hoping they will update the PC and Mac software so we can see the notebooks!
In case you didn’t know, you can view Notebooks using web browsers now.