Help - Basics - General

We are pleased to offer the following types of materials for purchase and download from this website:

To download free software for your preferred format, and to review system requirements and instructions for download, click below:

'e-book' is short for 'electronic book', a digital version of a print book that has been optimized for on-screen reading. e-books are available in a variety of different formats:

To review system requirements and instructions for download, choose from the free e-book software below:

A WMA e-audio book title is a digitally-protected audiobook that has been optimized for download. WMA e-audio book titles are built using the Microsoft� Windows Media Audio format, which greatly enhances the sound quality for desktop listening and portable device use.

To read more about free digital WMA e-audiobook software, click on the link below:

To review system requirements and instructions for download, click on the link below:

In order to purchase and use a specific format of digital material, you must download and install the proper software.

For Adobe PDF e-books, Adobe Digital Editions and Adobe Reader 7 are available for desktop and laptop computers.� Adobe Reader 3.0 is available for PDAs with Palm OS and Adobe Reader 2.0 is available for the Pocket PC.� For more information on this software, click here.

Microsoft Reader is available for desktop and laptop computers running a variety Microsoft Windows® operating systems. Microsoft Reader 2.0 is preinstalled on most Pocket PC devices. For more information on this software, click here.

Mobipocket Reader is available for desktop and laptop computers with Microsoft Windows� operating systems, Smartphones, Pocket PCs, and Palm OS PDAs. For more information on this software, click here.

OverDrive Media Console (for WMA e-audiobooks) is available for desktop and laptop computers with Microsoft Windows operating systems. For more information on this software, click here.

After finding a title to purchase, you can add the e-book or e-audio to your shopping cart when you are on HarperCollins e-books search results page or the title product page. Simply click the appropriate icon � Mobipocket, Microsoft, Adobe, or e-Audio � in the 'Buy this title' box to choose which format you would like to purchase. After checkout, you will be directed to a download page where you can click on the 'Download' button to download your purchased item to your computer.

If you would prefer to perform your download at a later time, you can return to the site and click on the 'My library' link to display 'Download' links for your previously purchased materials.

Adobe Digital Editions and Adobe Reader 6 and 7 automatically save a copy of the downloaded e-book to your computer. The method you use to access your e-books depends on which software you have.

Alternatively, open Mobipocket Reader and go to File > Open. Browse to the desired Mobipocket file and double-click it to open it in Mobipocket Reader.

Alternatively, use Windows Explorer to browse to the desired Mobipocket e-book file on your machine (on Windows 98SE, Windows 2000, Windows ME, or Windows XP, your e-books are stored in My Documents > My eBooks by default. On Windows Vista, your e-books are stored in Documents > My eBooks by default), and right-click the file. Choose option 'Open With' and select Mobipocket Reader.

If you've misplaced your copy of a downloaded title, this site maintains a history of purchased digital materials called 'My library'. You can re-download from the 'My library' feature by clicking on the 'My library' link in the 'My Account' section. To reach the 'My Account' section, click the 'My Account' link and enter the required login information.

(Please note that Adobe e-books can be downloaded only one time. If you should need to download an Adobe e-book a second time, please contact support to reactivate your download link. In your email, please provide your Transaction ID and Date of Sale as well as the title of the book you wish to download again.)

A downloaded title remains on your computer unless you manually delete it. 'My library' is a history of purchased titles maintained at this site. Titles can be re-downloaded using the 'My library' feature by clicking on the 'My Account' link.

(Please note that Adobe e-books can be downloaded only one time. If you should need to download an Adobe e-book a second time, please contact support to reactivate your download link. In your email, please provide your Transaction ID and Date of Sale as well as the title of the book you wish to download again.)

Adobe e-books can be used on multiple machines if you are using Adobe Digital Editions or Adobe Reader 6 or 7.

If you have Adobe Digital Editions�

Adobe Digital Editions must be activated using an Adobe ID in order to share purchased e-books among multiple computers. When you first open Adobe Digital Editions 1.5, you are prompted to activate, or authorize, your computer.

If you have Adobe Reader 6 or 7�

To use Adobe e-books on multiple machines, each machine must first be activated to the same account using Adobe's 'Named Activation' option. To activate Adobe Reader 6 or 7 using the Named Activation option, click here.

Adobe Reader 8 does not offer stand-alone support for Adobe e-books and does not support the transfer of Adobe e-books to portable devices or other computers. Note that Adobe Reader 6 or 7 may check for updates and download Adobe Reader 8 automatically depending on your current settings. Click here for information on turning off automatic updates in Adobe Reader 6 and 7.

Please note that Adobe Reader 6 is no longer available for download. If you upgrade to Adobe Digital Editions or Adobe Reader 7 or 8, you will no longer be able to reinstall Adobe Reader 6.

Microsoft Reader e-books may be moved from computer to computer, as long as each computer has a copy of Microsoft Reader that is activated to the same Passport account as the computer used to download the ebook.

You can read Mobipocket e-books on 3 machines. You need to install Mobipocket Reader on any machine on which you intend to read a Mobipocket e-book. You must then register a Mobipocket PID at this site for each machine on which you intend to read a Mobipocket e-book.

e-audiobooks can be downloaded to multiple computers, transferred to supported portable devices, and burned to CD.

Enhanced titles are accompanied by supplemental material provided by the publisher. Once you have purchased an enhanced title, you will be able to download the title as well as the supplemental material.

I'm interested in an enhanced title but I really only want one of the files. Do I have to download both?

How am I to know the format of the supplemental file that comes with my enhanced title? How will I know what software I need to use it?

The file format of the supplemental file is indicated at the title details page (click the link '[ENHANCED]'). Additionally, the file format is recapped on the 'My library' page. At the 'My library' page, you'll also find a link to the download instructions for the software required to use the supplemental file.