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General eBook Information
Click on the question you are interested in to see its answer.
The Basics
- What are eBooks?
An eBook is a book in electronic format (usually PDF files) that can be read on your computer or portable reader. EBooks can be read directly from your computer screen and most can be printed if you prefer paper. The ability to print individual pages or to print multiple copies makes eBooks very cost efficient compared to using printed version of the same book. Our eBooks have all the content of their printed counterparts, including graphics and cover images and are reproduced in full color. The text size on eBooks can be adjusted to suit most any need through the Adobe Reader settings.
Our eBooks are generally text searchable also, which can drastically reduce research time. You can move your files from one computer to another as well as being able to save them on a CD or DVD for backup purposes. The files are typically small files so they don't take up much room on your computer's hard drive. The eBooks on this site are mainly original electronic copies, but some are simply the actual books that we have scanned and put together into PDF format.
While most of our files are PDF files (usable by any computer with an upgraded Adobe Reader which is a free program available here), we also have some products which are available in Microsoft Reader LIT format, and Palm's PDB formats.
- Why should I buy eBooks?
There are many great reasons to buy eBooks. One very attractive feature is that in most cases they're cheaper than their printed counterparts, and in some cases they're much cheaper. When you buy an eBook, you download it immediately from the comfort of your home - you don't have to pay shipping and handling costs, and you get it immediately.
With most eBooks, you also have the ability to copy and paste text, and you can instantly search the text to track information that you can't remember. eBooks are easier to carry around than printed books - if you have a laptop, you could have hundreds of products at your fingertips wherever you go. Since eBooks aren't printed on paper, you're also saving trees by using them. If you need a certain section of a product printed out for quick reference, you can just print out that specific section. And because eBooks aren't printed, out of print titles can be offered indefinitely in this format, so you don't have to spend $80 on an online auction site to get that out of print book that you want.
- Do I need to be online to read eBooks?
No, you do not need to be online to read eBooks. After the eBook is downloaded you can disconnect from the network and read it off-line.
- Can I put my eBooks on more than one computer/device?
Yes, most of our products are either unencrypted or watermarked and can be used on any computer that has an updated Adobe Reader program installed - available at no charge here
For our DRM products , you would simply need to activate the DRM on the other computer as well using the same DRM account and password. Note that you can only have 6 computers activated at any one time; however, the following is from Adobe Support: "If you have reformatted your hard drive or you have a new computer, you can call Customer Service at 800-272-3623 to get your activation reset. Press 1 for sales." We have used this number to reset activations with no difficulty.
- Do I have to know a lot about computers?
Not at all. Our system is quite straight forward, and we are willing to lend assistance to any of our customers who have problems with our site or our products. You can send an email to us by clicking on the "Contact Us" button located on the lower left side of the home page. This will take you to a screen that will allow you to put in your name and email address as well as your problem. Once we receive your email we will respond promptly and will try to help you with whatever issue you are experiencing.
- What programs do I need to use the electronic titles from your site?
The system requirements vary based upon the type of eBook that you are purchasing. The basic requirements for the various types of eBooks are listed below. We also offer some audio files which are all in MP3 format and can be opened using most any media player. Please see the section on DRM products if you have a DRM related question.
- Watermarked PDFs require Adobe Reader 6.0 or greater (system requirements for the latest version here)
- Palm Reader eBooks require a device with Palm OS 3.0 or greater, or Windows CE 2.0 or greater
- Microsoft Reader (click here)
- Desktop PC Requirements: Windows® 98, Windows NT4 SP6, Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, or Microsoft Windows Me with MS Internet Explorer 4.0 Servce Pack 1 or higher.
- Pocket PC Requirements: Windows Mobile 2003 or better, 2.22 MB free RAM
How To
- How do I begin?
To begin, go to the home page and click on the "Login" tab. You will see a space on the login page to "create an account." Click on "create an account" which will take you to a new page where you will type in your account information (remember your password for later!). Once done, click "continue" and the system will tell you if you have missed any of the required information fields. If everything is filled out correctly, you will be directed to another page that starts with "Your Account Has Been Created" which will give you some basic information about our site. From there, click "continue" again which will return you to the homepage. You will now be logged in under your new account, and you can begin browsing the site, adding titles to your shopping cart and checkout using a variety of payment options.
- How do I download a free product?
Just navigate to the product detail page for the product that you would like to download. The page should have an image of the book cover as well as a complete description of the book. At the top of this page you will see the price set at $0.00 and a "Free Download" button directly below the price. Click on the "Free Download" button and the product will automatically begin downloading. A window will pop up to ask if you want to save the file or open it. Choose to save the file to your desktop and you can move it from there later if you like.
Note that some web browser will be set to block pop-up windows or any downloads and you will have to manually override that setting to complete the download. For example, in Internet Explorer you may see a warning bar display as in this image below:
Just click on the warning bar and choose the option to allow the download of the file, then choose to save the file to disc. Once saved to your computer's desktop, you can then open the document by simply double clicking on the icon on your desktop and it will open in Adobe reader.
- How do I put items into my shopping cart?
If you know what product you want, just click on that product to go to its product detail page. You should see a page with a larger image of the book cover as well as a description of the book. At the top of that page you will see your actual price in red with an "add to cart" button directly below it. If you want to put this product into your virtual shopping cart, just click on the "Add to Cart" button. Once you have pressed this button, you will see on the top right side of the page a box that has "Your Order" with the name of the book you just chose beneath it. That book is now in your virtual shopping cart and you are ready to check out unless you wish to browse more products. If you want to add more products to your shopping cart, then just repeat the above process until everything you want shows up in the "Your Order" box. If you're not sure what products you want, you can browse our site by going to the left side of the page and click on either "By Age", By Subject" or "By Publisher" or by using the search function.
- How do I make a purchase?
Make sure you already have an account, are logged in to your account, and have at least one product in your shopping cart. Once you are ready to check out (actually buying the products in your virtual shopping cart), just click the "Check Out" button on the top right side of the page - directly above the "Your Order" box. This will take you to the payment page which should already have your mailing information that you gave us earlier. If the address shown is not correct then click the "Change Address" button to make any needed corrections.
You will then need to check which payment type you would like to use. If using a credit or debit card then check the box (by left clicking on it) next to "credit card" which is located directly under the "please select" arrow. If you would rather use PayPal or use a store credit, then you would check the appropriate box for those. Assuming you are using a credit card, you would then fill in the spaces provided with your credit card information and click "continue" at the bottom of the page. This will take you to the "Order Confirmation" page which will give you the details of your purchase.
If everything on the Order Confirmation page looks correct, just click the "Confirm Order" button at the bottom of the page, and you will be taken to a page that says "Your Order Has Been Processed" at the top. This page will have a listing of the products you have just purchased. You actually download your products from this page.
To begin downloading your purchases, just click on the title you want to download and the process of downloading the book will begin. You will be asked if you want to open the file or save the file, please choose to save to your desktop.
Note that some web browser will be set to block pop-up windows or any downloads and you will have to manually override that setting to complete the download. For example, in Internet Explorer you may see a warning bar display as in this image below:
Just click on the warning bar and choose the option to allow the download of the file, then choose to save the file to disc.
Once saved to your computer's desktop, you can then open the document by simply double clicking on the icon on your desktop and it will open in Adobe reader.
- How do I redeem a coupon?
In order to use your coupon, just decide what products you want and proceed to the checkout page. Close to the bottom of the checkout page will be a section for "Credits Available" Where it says "Enter Redeem Code" you should put in the coupon code that you were given in that box and then hit "Redeem" - this will give you the discount amount off of your purchase. If your purchase was less than the coupon amount then you will be directed straight to the download page. If your purchase exceeds the amount of available credit then you will be asked to enter your credit card or PayPal information to account for the balance.
- I am using Internet Explorer and cannot download - what can I do?
If you are using internet explorer, the browser itself may be stopping you from downloading. Please try downloading again, and when the window comes up that says "Preparing your download", watch to see if it stops and asks if you want to continue with the download. If so there should be a yellow box like this
... at the top of the "preparing your download" box. Clicking on that yellow box will allow you to continue to download the file to your desktop. This is generally caused when security setting won't allow a download without your permission.
If you continue to have download problems when using Internet Explorer, you may want to try a different internet browser. We suggest you try the Firefox browser available here. Firefox is free software that does not have any spyware or malicious programming and almost always works with our site.
- What happens if my download is interrupted?
If your download is interrupted in the middle (for example, if your Internet connection is interrupted), you may restart the download. Just click on the download link again (from your order confirmation email, from your account history in the My Account part of the website, or from the "Checkout Complete" page if you are still on that page). If you have trouble restarting the download, please contact our customer support by clicking on the "Contact Us" link from the home page so we can help.
A small portion of the titles on our site are DRM-protected instead of watermarked. If your download of a DRM protected title is interrupted, you may resume your download simply by going to My Bookshelf in Acrobat Reader (see below) and double-clicking on the eBook for which the download was interrupted. The download should pick up where it left off. Note: Don't try to click on the link from the purchase confirmation page or in your email again, because it will give the error that the order has already been fulfilled.
- What do I do if I accidentally delete or lose my PDF?
We allow up to 5 replacement downloads of our products for each purchase. If you need to re-download a product you have purchased for any reason, simply log onto your account, go to "My Account", and click on the order you need to download. This will take you to a page that will have the links at the bottom to re-download your products. If for some reason you need more than 5 downloads, please let us know using the "Contact Us" link from the home page and we can make necessary adjustments.
- What do I do if I have gone through the FAQ and still can't download?
Just send us an email. You can send an email to us by clicking on the "Contact Us" button located on the lower left side of the home page. This will take you to a screen that will allow you to put in your name and email address as well as your problem. Once we receive your email we will respond promptly and will try to help you with whatever issue you are experiencing. Please be sure to include what internet browser you are using as well as version of Adobe Reader you are using when sending in a request - this will help us in resolving your issue quickly.
- How do I back up my eBooks?
You can back up watermarked eBooks simply by copying them to a secure location.
Back up your DRM-protected eBooks using the Backup button in "My Bookshelf" in Acrobat Reader. This will copy your eBooks to another location such as a hard drive, file server or CD. You will not be able to view these eBooks from another PC or Macintosh unless it has also been activated under your account in the Adobe DRM Activator.
If you lose your eBooks, we generally attempt to replace them based on circumstances. We reserve the right not to replace lost books. So please back up your books!
- How do I read an eBook on a mobile device?
If it is a watermarked eBook, it is no different than any other PDF. If it is a DRM-protected eBook, you must activate all devices, including PDAs, on which you plan to use your eBooks. To read Adobe eBooks on a Palm OS handheld device, download and install Adobe Reader for handheld devices which is available on the Adobe Web site.
Note that you cannot simply add a DRM protected PDF to your Palm; you must open My Bookshelf, right-click on the book you wish to send, and click on "Send to Mobile Device" (if you have your Palm software installed correctly on your computer, this option should be available).
General site and eBook Information
- What can I do with my eBooks?
First, the one thing you should not do is make a copy of the eBook for another person. Contrary to what many file-sharing sites would have us believe, doing that is a copyright violation and more importantly, it seriously erodes the ability of publishers to continue to offer the best products possible. Your support against copyright piracy is always appreciated.
Watermarked eBooks
You may print your eBooks, and copy as many selections to the clipboard as you wish.
DRM Protected eBooks
By default, we package our books with rights that allow you to print unlimited copies, copy 10 selections of text (or 10 pages if a selection spans multiple pages) to the clipboard every 10 days. You can have your eBooks on up to 6 computers at once, so long as each of those computers is activated with your DRM account.
Note that you can only have 6 computers activated at any one time; however, the following is from Adobe Support: "If you have reformatted your hard drive or you have a new computer, you can call Customer Service at 800-272-3623 to get your activation reset. Press 1 for sales." We have used this number to reset activations with no difficulty.
- What do I do if a title I want isn't here?
We are working hard on getting complete libraries for each of our affiliated publishers, and we're constantly adding more titles and working on partnering with more publishers to bring you more content. If you have a product that you'd really like to see on here, contact the publisher. Don't be shy, there might be hundreds of other people wanting to see the same product!
- I am a publisher, how do I get my products on your site?
Please use the "Contact Us" form located on the home page and be sure to give us any relevant information - especially a contact email - and we will get back with you promptly.
- Who sets the prices on your eBooks?
Our publishers choose their own pricing structure. We recommend 30% off normal cover price for new books and 50% off cover price on anything over 6 months old. As you can see most of our books fall into the 50% off category. Different publishers have different reasons for listing their titles and therefore different reasons for setting their prices to different levels.
Individual Format FAQs
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