- What is Adobe® Digital Editions?
- Adobe Digital Editions is a rich Internet application (RIA) built from the ground up for digital publishing. It offers a simplified, engaging way to acquire, manage, and read eBooks and other kinds of digital publications.
- Do I have to be online to use Digital Editions?
- No. You need to be online to install Digital Editions and purchase eBooks. After you install and receive your eBooks, you can use Digital Editions offline. However, if you have Adobe Reader® 8 or Acrobat® 8 software installed and double-click on your PDF eBooks, you will be directed to the Digital Editions website. To avoid this, you should launch Digital Editions and open your eBooks from the library pane.
- How does Adobe Digital Editions differ from Adobe Reader and Acrobat?
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Adobe Reader is the widely proliferated industry standard application for viewing and printing Adobe PDF documents. However, Reader supports a variety of workflows beyond consuming eBooks and other commercially published content, including interactive forms, digital signatures, and other knowledge worker workflows that involve integration with other office applications including Acrobat and server solutions such as Adobe LiveCycle® software. As a result, the power, complexity, and size of Reader are not optimized for consumer-level eBook reading.
Acrobat is the broadly adopted solution for creating and manipulating Adobe PDF documents. Sharing a common software architecture with Reader, Acrobat adds powerful capabilities for document generation and collaboration.
Adobe Digital Editions is a focused, lightweight solution (4MB download on Windows®). It extends the eBook capabilities integrated with previous versions of Reader and Acrobat and delivers a simplified, content-centric, consumer-friendly user interface. It is distributed as a web-based RIA, helping to ensure that users always have the current version of the software.
- Is Digital Editions an Adobe AIR™ application?
- Not yet. Digital Editions is an RIA built on the current version of the Adobe Technology Platform, including Adobe Flash® Player 9 and Flex™ 2 software. AIR, formerly code named Apollo, is a cross-operating system runtime that allows you to install desktop applications that are built using web technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, and Flash. As an RIA that can operate offline and outside the browser, Digital Editions exemplifies the kind of next-generation application that AIR enables third-party developers to create. Adobe expects that Digital Editions will ultimately utilize AIR.
- Does Digital Editions replace Adobe FlashPaper®?
- For some, it might. Digital Editions delivers a lightweight Flash based user experience for document viewing and adds native PDF and EPUB document-viewing capabilities. It does not require the translation of content to SWF format. Digital Editions also adds offline support with content protection technology (DRM). However, it does not operate inside a browser and requires a Flash Player add-on installation. Customers that require in-browser operation with the standard Flash Player may wish to continue to utilize FlashPaper, which remains a component of Adobe Contribute® software.
- Which devices are compatible with Digital Editions?
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Digital Editions supports the Sony® Reader. Visit the "Transferring items to a Sony® Reader" area of Adobe Digital Editions Help for more information on using the Sony® Reader with Digital Editions.
Adobe is actively working to support other platforms and devices. Further developments will be announced when available.
- Is Digital Editions available in languages other than English?
- Digital Editions is also available in French, German,Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese Simplified and Chinese Traditional. Other languages will be released over time.
- The Digital Editions application asked me to update to the latest version of the software. What does that mean?
- Periodically, Adobe updates Digital Editions with new features or fixes to minor problems. These updates help ensure that Digital Editions works properly, and they may contain important changes to security. The distributed RIA architecture of Digital Editions and its associated content protection services requires that Internet-connected users always use the latest version, similar to a browser-based web application. This RIA model also allows Adobe to deliver a higher level of security and functionality.
- Are Digital Editions capabilities available within the web browser, such as Reader and Flash Player?
- Not at the present time. The focus is to support an immersive, content-centric experience with eBooks and other digital publications. The lack of distracting web browser "chrome" offers a simpler, more engaging user experience. However, we recognize that certain workflows will benefit from native file document-viewing capabilities embedded within a larger browser-based web application, and we are evaluating options and timing for delivering this capability to content publishers.
- What file formats does Digital Editions support?
- PDF/A and EPUB are the two publication-level content types. EPUB is a file format standard created by the International Digital Publishing Forum based on a profile of XHTML 1.1 and Zip-based packaging. SWF content and common image file types can be referenced within PDF- and EPUB-based publications.
- Why do I need to authorize my computer with my Adobe ID?
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Some digital publications that you purchase online or check out from a library may contain digital rights management (DRM) protection that restricts the items from being shared with others. In the past, this could limit the ability to read your items on additional computers owned by you. It could even prevent you from moving your items when you bought a new computer.
Digital Editions helps ensure that your eBooks and other digital publications are not "locked" on one computer — they are assigned to you through your Adobe ID. Digital Editions also adds support for the next generation of mobile devices.
Adobe membership is free and registration only takes a minute. As a member, you have access to trial downloads, hundreds of free product extensions, and special community areas. Your membership also allows you to view and manage your activity in the Adobe Worldwide Store.
Your privacy is important to us. Please read our Privacy Policy.
- What is content portability?
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Some users have eBooks and other digital publications on their computers that have been licensed with Acrobat, Reader, or earlier versions of Digital Editions using Easy Activation. These items cannot be moved to a new computer and are, for all intents and purposes, locked inside a particular computer. To solve this problem, Digital Editions allows you to convert items to a license associated with a named account. This allows digital content to be backed up, copied, and read on other computers. All items subsequently downloaded to an authorized computer with Digital Editions are licensed to the named account.
Adobe wants your eBook experience to be as easy and seamless as possible. Naturally, this includes protecting your eBooks from being lost or damaged. This is one of the key reasons that Digital Editions features content portability.
This feature also enables a new breed of mobile devices designed to be used with Digital Editions. Furthermore, Digital Editions will be introducing new social features in the future that will enhance the use and enjoyment of the user's eBooks, such as sharing annotations and reading lists. Use of these social features will require that you have a personal identifier, even if you only use one computer.
- How do I enable content portability?
- The first time you run Digital Editions, you are prompted to authorize the application by entering an Adobe ID. If you don't have an Adobe ID, you are provided with a link to get one. Then, when you purchase an item online or borrow one from a library with Digital Editions, the item is automatically "tied" to your Adobe ID, rather than your computer.
This way, you are free to move your items to up to six computers and six devices that have been authorized with Digital Editions.
- What are the requirements to get an Adobe ID?
- An Adobe ID is a free and a nonintrusive way of identifying users — you need only provide a name, country, and e-mail address. You can create your Adobe ID when prompted within Digital Editions as you authorize your computer, or go directly to the Adobe.com membership site.
- Can I transfer eBooks that I have already purchased or downloaded to another computer?
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Once you authorize your computer with Digital Editions, the application looks for eBooks already on the computer and converts copies of the items to a new named account license. You can then transfer those eBooks to other computers. If you have eBooks on multiple computers, you need to authorize each one with Digital Editions prior to transferring eBooks between them.
Important: Digital Editions converts eBooks that have been purchased with Acrobat, Reader, or earlier versions of Digital Editions. However, items licensed using Easy Activation can only be converted on the same computer with which they were originally purchased. If you are contemplating buying a new computer, changing the hard drive, or upgrading the operating system, consider keeping your old computer intact unless you bought all of your books with Acrobat or Reader using Named Activation.
- Can eBooks that I have already borrowed from a library be transferred to another computer?
- Digital Editions detects borrowed eBooks and displays them in the Borrowed bookshelf. However, if you borrowed an eBook with Acrobat or Reader, you cannot transfer that book to another computer. You must return the library item and then borrow the item again using the current version of Digital Editions.
- Is Easy Activation still an option?
- Digital Editions does not require you to authorize your computer with an Adobe ID. This option is necessary to address concerns about some users' needs for privacy (for example, library patrons and minors). However with this option, protected items that you have already downloaded or will download later are tied to that particular computer and are not readable on other computers or devices. They also can't be restored from backup if the operating system is reinstalled.
- How do I select the option to not authorize my computer?
- When you first launch Digital Editions, you are prompted to authorize your computer. You can decline, in which case your digital content will belong to the computer, not a named user account. Subsequently, you will be prompted to authorize your computer whenever you purchase an eBook, although the prompt dialog box provides a"“Don’t ask me again" checkbox.
- Can I authorize my computer at a later time?
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Digital Editions has an “Authorize this computer” menu item that you can use after initial installation.
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.
- What is the maximum number of computers and devices that I can authorize?
- You can activate up to six computers or devices
. If you reach the limit, contact Customer Service to reset your activations.
