Welcome to Audible s Getting Started Guide!

Transcription

1 Welcome to Audible s Getting Started Guide! Audible offers more than 34,000 hours of spoken word content (books, periodicals, and radio shows) that you can download and enjoy immediately. This guide explains how to: 1. Browse, Find, & Buy Items from Audible.com. 2. Manage & Organize Your Online Audible Library. 3. Download & Listen to Purchased Items. Happy Listening! We welcome your comments and suggestions about this guide. Please them to gettingstartedguide@ 1

2 Step One Browse Selections and Shop at Audible Browse and Shop This section describes the many ways to browse, shop, and buy Audible programs. You can: Browse highlighted selections. (We regularly update our website and feature new audiobooks and programs.) Listen to a sample of any program before you buy. Place items in your shopping cart, then purchase them. Use our basic and advanced search features to find programs by author, title, or category. Sample Homepage 2

3 Browse Audible Your Shopping Cart & Wish List Audible.com features new releases, best sellers, and other audio programs updated weekly. Use these handy home page tools to find what you re looking for: 1) Shop : You ll find 26 comprehensive categories on our Shop by Category page. Click any category to view a list of related titles, or click Category Index to view all categories (and their subcategories) as text links. 2) Basic & Advanced Search: You ll find our basic search box on the left side of our home page. Enter title, author, or keywords into the box and click Go. Our advanced search narrows the scope of results received when searching the thousands of titles in our store. You can search by keywords, narrator, subject, running time, format, subscription edition titles, publication date, media type, and abridged/unabridged items. 3) Browse by Category : Use this drop-down box (as an alternative to clicking Shop ) to view a category s main page. The box is located on the left navigation bar just below our basic search box and Advanced Search link. Click the box to view a list of categories. 4) Good Listening : Click the links under Good Listening on the left hand navigation bar for award-winning books, best-seller lists, audiobooks recommended by Audible staff, and more. Select an item to purchase by clicking on Add to Basket icon. Your audio selections will be added to your Shopping Cart and held there until you are ready to complete your purchase. To view your Shopping cart, select the icon at the top of the page. The shopping cart contains all items that you have added to your basket during your visit(s) to. You come here when you are ready to check-out (buy) these items. Items in your cart may also be removed from your cart, or moved to your wish list, at any time. You can also create and view your Wish List of titles you d like to consider for future purchases by clicking this icon. During any of your visits to Audible you can place audio selections on a wish list to be easily accessed for a future purchase. 3

4 Menu Bar Items Look for these links across the top of our home page and refer to them as necessary: Main Navigational Menu Shop Displays a list of 26 comprehensive audio content categories. Click any category to see a list of bestsellers and other popular titles. My Account Access personal account information, including payments, , streaming preferences, and more. Note: You will need your Audible password to access portions of this area. My Library Stores all your purchases for future downloading and listening. Using Audible Provides brief information about how our service works. Read it, and you ll know the basics in less than a minute. Refer Your Friends Earn points towards a great gift, raise money for a local school or nonprofit group, or enroll in a corporate program. About Audible Learn about our website and our company. Upper Navigational Menu AudibleListener member information My Wish List Place items you re eager to purchase here. You can add to this list (and view it) as often as you like. Claim/Buy Gift Select the perfect Audible gift for friends and family. Shopping Cart Lists items you ve selected for purchase. Help Center Find FAQ s, instructions, and instructional documents. AudibleListeners can find book balance, subscription balance, and renewal date in the left-hand navigation bar. This will tell you how many books or subscriptions you are entitled to at the time you log into Audible. What is AudibleListener? AudibleListener TM plans save you a bundle every month on your favorite audio programs. Listen to our vast selection of audiobooks and subscriptions anytime, anywhere and save an average of more than 50% off our already low digital audio prices. Each AudibleListener monthly membership plan provides credits to purchase a specific number of programs each month for one low monthly fee. Go to for a list of the current plans being offered. 4

5 Sample Web Page For an AudibleListener What programs may I purchase using AudibleListener? Navigating through our website, you will find AudibleListener icons next to programs that are available to you: Blue AudibleListener icons identify audiobook programs available to Basic and PremiumListeners. Red AudibleListener icons identify 1-month subscriptions available to BasicListeners. Step Two Manage My Library What is My Library? My Library is your personal online bookshelf at Audible.com. One bookshelf holds Audiobooks (i.e., Individual Programs), while the other holds periodicals and radio shows (i.e., Subscriptions). In My Library you can: Find Individual Program or Subscription purchases. Download or stream any title. 5

6 Sample My Library Web Page at 6

7 Purchasing Individual Programs My Library contains all Individual Programs you have purchased from. Every time you complete your purchase of any title other than a periodical or radio-show subscription, the title(s) you have chosen are instantly placed in My Library under the New - Individual Programs tab. Once a title appears in your library, you can download and listen to it anytime; it is YOUR library and your selections will always be there. Use your library to stream, or download and listen to, your audio programs. Individual Programs are organized into three folders: New Displays any purchases you have not yet downloaded. Heard Lists audio programs you have already downloaded. Archive Allows you to organize your library. If you ve downloaded dozens of books, Archive provides an excellent place to store them, thus keeping items under New and Heard uncluttered. Sample My Library Web Page for New Subscriptions 7

8 Purchasing Subscriptions My Library contains all purchased subscription content, such as The New York Times, Scientific American, or All Things Considered. There are two tabs: New We immediately deliver the latest copy of your subscription and display the selection under the New tab. Based on the timing of the subscription (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly) the next issue will be placed under this tab on the date it is issued. Archive Provides access to older issues of your subscriptions. Note: You can request to be notified by when a new edition is delivered to My Library by going to the preference in My Account. Step Three Listening to Your Audible Audio Sample My Library Get it now Web Page 8

9 What will you do on the Get it now Page? Choosing a Format 1. Select the item you want to listen to and click the Get It Now button. 2. Choose an audio format. 3. Decide whether you d like to listen while connected to the Internet or offline. You ll click either Stream or Download based on which you choose. Audible programs are available in a variety of formats. Most mobile players are designed by their manufacturers to play one or two Audible formats. If your player supports more than one format, this choice allows you to control the download and playback experience. Smaller audiocontent files are represented by lower format numbers (e.g. formats 1 and 2). They download faster, and allow you to fit more audio on your mobile player. Larger audio-content files are represented by higher format numbers (e.g. formats 3 and 4). These offer high fidelity sound. The right format for you may vary depending on your own audio quality requirements, amount of space on your computer, Internet connection speed, and which formats your listening device supports. Choosing a File Delivery Method What is Downloading? Once you set up your mobile player(s) with your Audible account, the website will display which formats your player supports. There are two choices when it comes to file delivery, you can: Download The audio file will be downloaded from to your PC or Mac. You only need to be connected to the Internet while downloading. Stream The audio will be played for you only while you are connected to the Internet, and you must remain connected for as long as you continue listening. Note: Mac customers may only download Audible content, as streaming is not currently supported. Downloading Audible content means moving it from our servers to your computer via the Internet. Once Audible content has been fully downloaded, you may listen to it immediately or transfer the audio from your computer to an AudibleReady device. Please note that you need enough disk space on your computer to hold the audio files. If space is an issue, delete each audio file from your computer after listening. The file will remain in your online Audible library forever, so you can download it again anytime. You can determine the audio file s size by noting the number listed below each audio format option. 9

10 HOW TO DOWNLOAD USING A PC Go to your Audible library, select any item, click Get It Now and follow these easy instructions: 1. Select an audio format. 2. Click Download. 3. If AudibleManager software is not open and running on your PC, our website will request that your PC begin running the program. (If AudibleManager is not installed on your computer, please download it at 4. At the end of the download, the audio program will appear in the Inbox window of AudibleManager. Most Audible customers download their audio because it is much more convenient to start listening and then be able to stop and place a bookmark or transfer to a mobile player. HOW TO DOWNLOAD USING A MAC Apple s itunes 3 or greater software needs to be installed on your Mac. You can access this software at Note: itunes 3 is only available for the Mac OS X operating system. To download your audio program: Select an audio format on your online Audible library page and click Download. When download concludes, find the Audible audio file within itunes and double-click on it to listen. If this is your first time using itunes to play an Audible program, you will be asked to activate your Mac. Enter your Audible username and password to complete the activation process. Note: If nothing happens when downloading a file, please follow these steps: 1. Quit your Internet browser software and any applications that may be open 2. Within the itunes 3 application, select the Preferences menu 3. Click on the General 4. Click on the Set button next to the label "USE itunes for Internet Music Playback" 5. Click OK button twice 10

11 How do I use my Mac to Burn to CDs and Transfer to my ipod? itunes software may be used to burn most Audible content onto audio CDs for playback in any CD player, such as a car stereo, home stereo, or portable. To burn a CD: Create a playlist within itunes containing the desired Audible program. Click Burn CD or choose menu option File -> Burn Playlist to CD. For audio programs that are longer than minutes, you MUST choose a portion of your audio program to burn to CD by entering the Start Time and Stop Time, because each individual CD can only store minutes of info. A 6 hour audiobook will take up to 6 CDs to burn the entire program the first CD holding minutes 0 to 60, the second CD starting at 60 and stopping at 120 minutes, and so on. The typical CD-R disk has the capacity to hold between 60 and 80 minutes of audio; however, please check the packaging of your CD-R for capacity information provided by the manufacturer: Choose menu option File Get Info, then select the Options tab to enter Start Time and Stop Time. You will need to set the Start Time and Stop Time for each CD you burn to create a complete set of CDs spanning the entire program. itunes may also be used to transfer Audible content to your ipod MP3 player. Audible formats 2, 3, and 4 may all be played on your ipod. Please refer to the Help function within itunes or go online to for more detailed information about using itunes with Audible audio programs. What is Streaming? Note: This section does not apply to Mac Users Streaming means playing sound in real time as it is downloaded over the Internet as opposed to storing it in a local computer file first. The perfect use for streaming is when you are online at a computer and you would like to listen to your audio program immediately. Streaming employs Windows Media Player that typically comes preinstalled on your computer. Note: You must remain connected to the Internet you cannot stream audio with a mobile player. The file is not retained on your computer for future listening. You cannot bookmark starting and stopping points for future listening. 11

12 How do I use AudibleManager? Note: This section does not apply to Mac Users AudibleManager helps you manage your audio programs locally on your PC. While working within AudibleManager, you do not need to be connected to the Internet. You can: Review the list of Audible titles stored on your computer. Transfer programs to your AudibleReady mobile device. The downloaded programs will be listed on the top half of your page. Highlight your choices and click Add to Device. Burn your audio to a CD for playback on an audio CD player. Listen at your computer. Show details about the title or subscription. Display information about your selection by highlighting your choice and clicking Show Details. Delete files from your computer. Note: Titles you delete from your computer will be retained in the My Library section of for future download. Sample AudibleManager Window 12

13 Activating your computer or AudibleReady mobile device Transferring Programs to a Portable Device Activation prepares your computer or mobile device to play Audible programs that you ve purchased. When you install AudibleManager you will be asked to activate your desktop player (Windows Media Player or RealPlayer) and your AudibleReady mobile device. During the process you will be asked to check items you want to activate. Certain items may be checked by default. The next step will ask you for your username and password. In the final step, AudibleManager will attempt to connect to Audible.com to activate your desktop player and/or AudibleReady mobile device. If you need further help or encounter problems during this process, you can find help in AudibleManager or at our website. Simply click the More Help button, or go to Help in the Windows toolbar. Transferring Audible programs to an AudibleReady portable device is quick and easy. Follow these easy steps: 1. Ensure your portable device is activated. (Activation registers the device with and authorizes it to play the Audible programs you have purchased.) If you have not already done so, you may activate your device by choosing Devices -> Activate/Deactivate from the menu bar. (You only need to perform this one time for each device you own.) 2. Ensure your mobile device is turned on and connected to your computer via USB cable or other cable appropriate for your device. When connected, the lower window of the AudibleManager program will display the current audio contents of your device. If you do not see a picture of your device or your device s contents in the lower window, choose Devices -> Choose Mobile Device from the menu bar. Then select your mobile device from the list of devices displayed. 3. Transfer your audio program to the mobile device by dragging the program from the upper (Inbox) window and dropping it in the lower (Device) window. 4. The Transfer Dialog will ask if you want to fill all available memory on the mobile device or select a segment length to transfer. If you transfer only a segment and not the entire program, you can enter the length of time you want to transfer. 5. Click OK to continue. 6. After the transfer is complete, disconnect the mobile device and start listening. 13

14 TRANSFERRING ADDITIONAL PORTIONS OF A PROGRAM TO PORTABLE DEVICE Each AudibleReady device provides a set amount of storage for audio programs. If your selection exceeds available storage space, you can listen to the audio title in parts. Many programs will exceed the amount of memory storage available on your AudibleReady device. So AudibleManager will transfer the maximum amount of audio it can. When you are finished listening to some or all of the audio you transferred, simply re-connect the device to your computer Find the name of the audio program that you transferred on the upper pane of AudibleManager, and drag it again to the lower pane (where that same program should already be listed in your device). AudibleManager will recognize how much of the audio program you have already listened to, and transfer the next appropriate section of the audio to your device. You can use this method repeatedly until you have listened to the entire audio program. Getting Help in AudibleManager You can learn more about the functionality of AudibleManager by accessing the Help menu at the top of the AudibleManager screen. Be sure to check out Advanced mode for AudibleManager where you can: Schedule the automatic download of your subscription programs, Sync your portable device. Set up transfer lists for your mobile device. Listen at your Computer If you would like to listen to Audible content at your computer, select a title in AudibleManager s upper window then click Play. Listening at your computer requires using Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, or the Audible Desktop Player. You may select which audio player you prefer within AudibleManager by choosing Options>Select Desktop Player. If you do not already have one of these audio players installed on your PC, you ll be prompted to download and install this software at no additional charge. Once installed, you can start, pause, stop, rewind and fast forward using the buttons on the player. 14

15 Burning to CD for PC Users Most Audible programs may be burned to CD(s) so that they may be played in any audio CD player. To do this, your PC must be equipped with a CD-R/W drive (commonly called a CD Burner ). Follow these simple instructions: 1. Open Audible Manager. 2. Click the button labeled CD Burn Mode. If AudibleManager detects that additional software is needed for CD burning, the software will prompt you to connect to the Internet to access the appropriate software. (This will only happen the first time you request to burn a CD.) Go to and click the Getting Started Guides link to retrieve our Guide to CD Burning. The Guide provides complete instructions for burning Audible audio CDs using your PC. 15