Anyone knows how to convert CFAI ebook to PDF?

  • Thread starter Thread starter p5
  • Start date Start date
P

p5

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
if you choose the new ebook option, you’ll see the ebook format is .vbk (never heared of it..)
and you have to install ‘vitalsource bookshelf’…such a waste of disk space&resources
is there a way to convert the .vbk file to .pdf? so that I can carry the books everywhere I go?
Thanks!
 
no. you can’t because you can only print 2 pages at a time plus the quality isn’t all that. you’d be better off slicing up the real books and sending them through a xerox workstation to convert to pdf.
 
thank you for your reply, DoubleDip.
it may sound weird, but i really wanna try my very best to save some paper/trees, so ordering the real books not an option for me. ^^
 
p5 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> thank you for your reply, DoubleDip.
> it may sound weird, but i really wanna try my very
> best to save some paper/trees, so ordering the
> real books not an option for me. ^^
This statement is funny to me. I’m not making fun of P5 at all - you convictions are totally valid, but remember when we were supposed to use plastic bags because we weren’t supposed to kill trees, now we’re not supposed to use plastic because it chokes baby seals or makes owls cry or something. I giggle at the eco fads…its interesting to watch the waxing and waning of sociopolitical trends.
 
well…
I have 36 pounds of brand new+ nicely designed/printed+ never used CFAI curriculum (how about wings? haha you wish) sitting in the corner…I just dont wanna be wasteful again this year. eco fad? NO.
lets just focus on converting vbk to pdf.
 
Cannot find the vbk files but the program does allow you to print (as pdf) a max of 170 pages a time which you will end up with approx 20 pdfs. However, the ebook is in image format so file size is huge and looks blurry on ebook devices.
ps It looks clearer on web than on the program
 
how about printing on a virtual printer, like deskPDF (makes pdf files rather than actually printing)? I wonder if the image still blurry
 
Not that great for less than 20/20 vision. I guess is not working on an enTourage eDGe either (on the LCD).
 
I was able to print to PDF on my mac. I was limited to like 170 pages at once though.
 
nringo Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I was able to print to PDF on my mac. I was
> limited to like 170 pages at once though.
How did u convert to PDF with mac? How’s the quality compared to the link below?
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/5880/23676719.jpg
Is it possible to upload sample to check the quality?
 
Just go to print (it will let you print 170 pages at a time, just checked) then, instead of printing to your printer just use the drop down PDF menu to save as a PDF. I’m on Mac OS 10.6.3 if that matters.
The quality seemed ok, similar to the prior image.
 
Ordering an eBook instead of hard copies…and then printing the eBook? Am I missing something here?
 
People are on the lookout for a way to use the CFA materials on e-readers, which is not possible right now. That’s what you’re missing.
PensFan Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Ordering an eBook instead of hard copies…and
> then printing the eBook? Am I missing something
> here?
 
I’m waiting for the Vitalsource reader app to come out for the iPad. If the reviews are good, it’ll give me an excuse to buy one. Surprisingly, my wife was the one who brought up the idea that it would be a worthwhile study tool =)
 
map1 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> People are on the lookout for a way to use the CFA
> materials on e-readers, which is not possible
> right now. That’s what you’re missing.
Wrong. It’s just takes some work.
1) Take your printed CFA books to a FedEx / Kinkos or other printhaus and tell them to cut the binding off as thinly as possible. They have machines that will do this. It’s cheap. Don’t mix up the pages.
2) Learn how to use your office photocopier and load up the pages in the sheet feeder. Tell it to scan the now-slightly-smaller-than-8.5”x11” pages double-sided to PDF, using the max resolution that the scanner has available (within reason - I did mine at 600ppi, most good office photocopiers / scanners go higher than this. 600 or 1200 should be sufficient)
3) Once you have your PDF Files, use Adobe Acrobat (not the free Acrobat Reader) to organize the pages (using the “Pages” sidebar), making sure everything is divided up the way you want it (dividing up into the 18 study sessions works nicely), the pages are rotated in the correct orientation (if you scanned them right the first time, you shouldn’t need to rotate). Note that you’re going to want a fast computer (ideally quadcore running Acrobat 9) with a ton of RAM to do this, since you are organizing a lot of hi-resolution scans.
4) Use OCR Text Recognition built into Adobe Acrobat. In Acrobat 8, this is under “Document” -> “OCR Text Recognition” -> “Recognize Text Using OCR”. This is why you scanned at the highest resolution possible, because it ensures the most accurate OCR.
5) Once all the processing is done (even on a fast computer, OCR takes a while), repeat the process for your other PDF files and save. You may also want to use the “Document” -> “Reduce File Size” command once OCR is done to make the files smaller and easier to handle with your E-Reader.
And yes, I have done this before. It’s worth it for one main reason - you can create a separate file with the pages from all six books in it, and then use the “search” tool in Acrobat to search the entire curriculum at once. This is indispensable for reviewing and taking practice tests.
Edit: Note that I am not advocating plagiarism or anything that goes against the CFA Code of Ethics. You bought the books, you are allowed to convert their format for your use as long as they are for your use only. It would be similar to a blind guy having the books converted to braille so that he could actually read them.
 
I know how it is done robertonderdonk, that’s how I got to keep my former “library” on an eNTourage eDGe. We were talking about the ebooks of CFAI, not the actual books of CFAI.
 
On a mac:
Apple P (for Print)
When you’re printer options come up you have an option to Print (save) as a PDF
It let me do 170 pages maximum at a time.
Use Preview or Acrobat to splice PDF documents.
Voila!
There should be a similar workaround on a PC. If they give you the final output there is always a way around it.
 
map1 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> People are on the lookout for a way to use the CFA
> materials on e-readers, which is not possible
> right now. That’s what you’re missing.
Nothing in there about using the e-books only, but I guess I misunderstood. :shrug:
Regardless, if you want the CFA books in a high-quality, readable, printable, searchable, industry-standard PDF format that you can optimize for either your home computer or put on an e-reader, using the VitalSource formatted ebooks is not the answer.
Pretty much as expected though. You certainly can’t count on the CFA society to keep with the times. That’s why the 2010 level 3 material was chock-full of examples from the tech bubble (now well over 10 years ago), and had almost nothing in it about the last three years of unprecedented market movements/changes/collapses/bubbles etc. Really, it’s amazing that the main CFAI site isn’t hosted on GeoCities or AOL haha. Next up, downloadable ebooks of the CBOK - for your Apple Newton and Palm Pilot!
 
ChickenTikka Wrote:
——————————————————-
> On a mac:
>
> Apple P (for Print)
>
> When you’re printer options come up you have an
> option to Print (save) as a PDF
>
> It let me do 170 pages maximum at a time.
>
> Use Preview or Acrobat to splice PDF documents.
>
> Voila!
>
> There should be a similar workaround on a PC. If
> they give you the final output there is always a
> way around it.
I just tried this on my work PC and it let me print 170 pages to my installed PDF creator. I’m not sure what that one person’s problem w/ only being able to print 2 pages was.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top