Adobe Digital Editions FAQ

• I keep getting a pop-up window that says I have to install Digital Editions, but I've already installed it!
• The download begins, but all I get is a .acsm file.
• I'm getting an error message when I try to download the .acsm file!
• Every time I try to download my eBook, I get an error message and it doesn't download!
• My eBook starts to download, but then the window disappears and my book doesn't show up in the reader!
• When I try to use my eBooks, I get this message: "Your Adobe software could not be activated. The Adobe DRM Activator is not responding."
• I've downloaded Adobe Digital Editions and all I get is a black screen!
• I'm trying to authorize my copy of Digital Editions, but the activation will not complete!
• I have Adobe Reader and my eBook will not download!
• How do I save a copy of my new eBook?
• How do I print my eBook?
• How many downloads do I get?
• Is my handheld device compatible with my Adobe eBook purchase?
• How do I find my eBook again?
• Why do I have to register my copy of Digital Editions?
• Do I have to activate the software now? Or can I wait until later?
• How many computers can I have registered copies of Adobe Digital Editions on?
• Is my ebook Text-to-Speech compatible?

This pop-up window can be the result of a couple of issues.

• The installation of Adobe Digital Editions did not complete. Your first order of business will be to uninstall and reinstall this program. Then open the program from your desktop and ensure that it opens properly. You should see a black screen with "Adobe Digital Editions" written in the top left-hand corner.
• If you are using Internet Explorer, this error will be your main problem. We have found that IE does not communicate very well with the site that provides the credentials necessary to open DRM-protected books. Install Mozilla Firefox (the link for this browser is available within the pop-up window that you keep getting) and, using Firefox as your browser, go back to your eBook library and click on the link for your book. It should download with no problem.

Every Adobe Digital Edition is specially encrypted to prohibit unauthorized viewing and distribution. The .acsm file is a small transfer file that contains the encryption codes necessary for opening your eBook. Once you open it, it will communicate with a host site in order to authorize your computer to acquire the appropriate permissions to open the eBook in your reader. You may see the download manager come up with the .acsm file as a download. Just click "Open," and it will begin the downloading process. Make sure that you have the appropriate software installed in order for the download to complete properly. You will need to be using the latest version of Adobe Digital Editions.

http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/

If your ebook is opening from an .acsm file and you do not have the latest version of Adobe Digital Editions, you may receive an error message indicating that the software you have installed does not recognize the file. All you need to do is upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Digital Editions. Then return to your ebook library on Powells.com and click on the ebook title to retry the download.

There are a variety of different error messages that can occur with DRM technologies. Many of them will have to do with trying to download from behind a firewall or proxy server. The best place to start is by Googling the exact text of the error message. The most important word in the sentence that you just read is "exact.' This will generally bring you to a specific Adobe Forum having to do with that error message. It's always fun to learn from other people's mistakes!

An ebook downloads by first directing itself to your temporary data files. On Internet Explorer this folder is called "Temporary Internet Files." In Mozilla Firefox, it is called "private data." These file folders can fill up and basically cause the download to have nowhere to go. If you clear these files and try the download again, it should go through just fine. However, this is rarely an issue, as most people direct their settings to clear these files either upon shutting down or starting up their computer.

• It may be that the Adobe Activator site is busy and you should try later, or that your network will not support downloads from Adobe. In this case, please contact your network administrator.
• Another reason this happens is that your copy of Adobe Digital Editions is not registered to your computer. Often registration will happen automatically when you open the ebx.etd file, but occasionally it requires a manual activation. Just visit this site: https://aractivate.adobe.com/eden/edenui.asp and register as directed. Then close out Digital Editions, reopen, and visit your Powells.com eBook library to hit your link again.

Don't fret! This is normal. Initially DE shows up as an empty black box; then, as you download books into the program, their cover art will appear in the library. The black background provides excellent contrast when reading your books.

It may be that the Adobe Activator site is busy and you should try later, or that your network will not support downloads from Adobe. In this case, please contact your network administrator. This type of problem is most common for those in a workplace environment.

Adobe Reader is not designed to read eBooks. You need Adobe Digital Editions, which is a different animal entirely.

We strongly recommend backing up your ebooks, and Adobe Digital Editions software makes it very easy. First, you'll need to 'activate' your Adobe Digital Editions software. When you first install the software, the set up wizards prompts you to activate (which involves signing up for an Adobe ID, which is free and quick. You then use your Adobe ID to sign in to your Adobe Digital Editions software — which is what 'activation' means. If you decided to skip activation when you first installed, no problem — open your Adobe Digital Editions software, click on the Library icon (the 'three books' icon in the top left hand corner of Adobe Digital Editions), and open the pull down menu next to the word LIBRARY. Select Authorize Computer from the menu and it will take you through the process.

Once activated, books you download (or have already downloaded) can be saved and transferred to other machines, and opened by up to 6 other installations of Adobe Digital Editions software. So, to make your back ups, first locate and open the My Digital Editions folder, located inside the My Documents folder on your computer. Once you find them, you can copy them and move them like you would any other file. Burn them to a disc and put them on your shelf, and you'll always have them on hand.

Some eBooks offered on Powells.com are printable, and some are not. You'll want to double-check what you are ordering if printing is something that is important to you. You can find this information beneath the listing on each eBook's product page, along with system requirements and compatibility. This ability is encrypted into the file that you purchase and we cannot add in the option to print.

Adobe eBooks allows four downloads.

For assitance getting your Adobe Digital Editions title from your desktop to your handheld device, please consult the documentation or website of the manufactuer of your specifc device.

The link that is issued for your eBook purchase will be hosted within your account on Powells.com. Just log in to your account with your user name and password, click on "View Order Status and History," then visit your eBook library. There's your link!

Authorizing your software prior to downloading your book will ensure that you retain accessibility to that book when using any copy of Adobe Digital Editions that has been activated with the same Online ID. This is a very important step if you don't want to run into a situation where you can't access the book that you paid for.

Active your account, back up the file, and you will be good to go.

You are certainly able to simply download books to the program as an anonymous user. Then, once you decide to activate the software, the books will activate to that login at that time. However, this is not 100% fool-proof, and there is a chance that your book will not be able to re-authorize itself properly once you come back to authorize. We highly recommend just going ahead and authorizing at the time that you download the software.

Under the 'Library' menu for Digital Editions you will find an "Authorize this computer" menu item that you can use later if you prefer not to register at this time.

Important: If you authorize your computer with an Adobe ID, then it will always be associated with that Adobe ID. If you do not, the account is "anonymous". If you "anonymously" activate two computers, then there are two separate anonymous accounts, which cannot be merged. Thus, the eBooks on one computer can be upgraded to "belong" to a specific Adobe ID, but the eBooks on the other cannot. If you authorize the second computer with your Adobe ID, any subsequent purchases on it are associated with that ID and transferable to any computer authorized with that ID. However, the books that were purchased on the second computer prior to being activated are forever locked to that computer.

You may activate Digital Editions to up to six computers initially. Adobe Customer Service may be able to assist you in acquiring further registration permissions if necessary.

Currently, Adobe Digital Editions is not supporting Text-to-Speech content. We apologize for the loss of this feature, however, we do know that Adobe is working on this and hopes to be able offer this feature again in the future.

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