Collected Works Ebook FAQs and Troubleshooting

This is a forum to discuss specific questions, thoughts and issues raised in the books (paper and electronic) that are part of The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell.

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David_Kudler
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Collected Works Ebook FAQs and Troubleshooting

Post by David_Kudler »

Have a question concerning the Collected Works of Joseph Campbell Ebooks?

Here's the place to get the help you're looking for!

Ready to get the ebook? Click here to donate and download!

We will post the FAQs and answers here, but feel free to ask more questions below.
  1. How do I read my ebook?
    Collected Works Ebooks can be loaded onto and read on a huge variety of ereader hardware and software configurations--more than we could possibly provide informed advice for.

    Here are some specific instructions that might be of use: If you have specific directions to share for loading files on your ereader, write them up in a response below, and I will link to them here.

    Don't yet have an ereader? Here are some ereader applications for various computers, phones, tablets, etc.
  2. What formats are you releasing the Collected Works ebooks in?
    Currently, we are issuing them as ePub (aka iBooks) and .mobi (aka Kindle) files, which are readable by the vast majority of e-readers and e-reader applications. If you are having problems loading your ebook onto your ereader, or if you would like to request that we issue the books in another format, ask below.
    When you go to donate on our site and want to request an ebook, be sure to click on the format that you want before clicking the "Add to Cart" button.
  3. Where can I buy Collected Works ebooks?
    Initially, all ebooks that we issue will be available exclusively through our onsite contributions download page. Once our associates have had a chance to receive the book as our thank you for a donation, we will allow sales through retail outlets, such as Apple's iBookstore and Amazon's Kindle Store.
  4. Where is the download link, now that I've donated?
    1. Go to http://www.jcf.org/new/contribute
    2. Click on the link at the top of the page that reads Log In
    3. Once you've entered your username and password, click on the link that reads My Account
    4. Once you're there, you'll see your order; click on the view button, and you'll go the the invoice/download screen. There should be a button next to the file that reads (surprisingly) Download. Click it. Your download should start immediately.
  5. I requested the ePub version when I needed the .mobi/Kindle (or vice-versa)! What should I do?
    Email us at downloads@jcf.org. Include the word VERSION in the subject line. We'll get you set up.
  6. Why are there weird squiggles, boxes and/or question marks in the text of my ebook?
    The text of the Collected Works ebook editions was set using Unicode fonts. Any Unicode font should display the proper characters, including characters that include unusual diacritical marks, such as Ś or Ƈ. (If you do not see the two preceding characters, your web browser is using a non-Unicode font)
    See if you can set your e-reader application's default setting to a Unicode-compliant font, such as Times, Palatino or Helvetica. Some e-readers also have a preference setting for whether to display Unicode or non-standard characters; turn this on. Finally, some e-readers (i.e., Adobe Digital Editions) do not support Unicode. While you can read your Collected Works ebook without Unicode support, you might consider using a different application.
  7. I've had problems checking out/adding an ebook to my cart/downloading. Help!
    The software we're using to handle donations and provide premiums has performed brilliantly in the huge majority of cases--but there are times when even the Old Testament deity on our desktops falls short. If you're having trouble ordering, checking out or downloading, try using a different browser. In particular, our users seem to have had the best results with Safari and Firefox.
    If your problem persists, please contact us immediately at downloads@jcf.org. In your email, please put DOWNLOADS in the subject line, and include as much information as you can: the time and date when you tried to order, your account name/email address, the browser software that you're using, the operating system of your device--even your IP address (if you know it). The more information we have, the better we'll be able to assist you--and to make sure that your path through the dark forest isn't followed by others.
Last edited by David_Kudler on Fri Apr 29, 2011 8:29 pm, edited 21 times in total.
David Kudler<br>Publications<br>Joseph Campbell Foundation<br>publications at jcf dot org

Ercan2121
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Location: Istanbul

Post by Ercan2121 »

David, sorry for this awkward question
but now I'm on Android (and have to be)
and this is like learning anew how to
fill forms and so on, on a touchscreen.
I downloded the preview with no problem
and liked Campbell's new biography.
Then I wanted to download the whole
book, filled the payment form and
received a confirmation mail as well.
However, I didn't receive any link and
no download button appeared.
So, I'm waiting :-)

(By the way, I think that Village Market
is a great idea)

David_Kudler
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Posts: 924
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2001 5:03 am
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Post by David_Kudler »

Ercan2121 wrote:David, sorry for this awkward question
but now I'm on Android (and have to be)
and this is like learning anew how to
fill forms and so on, on a touchscreen.
I downloded the preview with no problem
and liked Campbell's new biography.
Then I wanted to download the whole
book, filled the payment form and
received a confirmation mail as well.
However, I didn't receive any link and
no download button appeared.
So, I'm waiting :-)

(By the way, I think that Village Market
is a great idea)
Ercan--

On the invoice summary email that you received, there should be a link to the detailed invoice. Select the link; on this page you should see a button that reads DOWNLOAD. Click, and the file should download directly to your phone.

Let me know if you have any problems!

By the way, as soon as you finalized your donation, you SHOULD have been forwarded directly to a page with a download button. I'm not sure what went wrong!

claireschrader
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Location: London
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Post by claireschrader »

Hello David again
I woudl love to purchase this - but the epub requires the purchase of quite expensive software if you don't have one of the fancy kindles and itabs. I am about to buy a new computer so don't want to purchase something that I can't transfer to another computer or doesn't work on it. Is it possible to release as a pdf version - which would be far less hassle for most people downloading this ebook.

warmest wishes

Claire
Claire Schrader
founder of myth-a-drama, inspired by Joseph Campbell's work www.makingmoves.net
editor Ritual Theatre: Theatre of Healing (to be published Nov 2011)

Christian McLaughlin
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Location: england
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Finding it hard to buy the full Myths to Live By

Post by Christian McLaughlin »

Dear friends at JCF,

I've managed to get the preview into my iTunes and onto my phone, but the site does not respond when I try and add the full book to my cart and pay the donation.

Any help appreciated,

All best,

Christian

RobinVanAuken
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Post by RobinVanAuken »

David_Kudler wrote:
Ercan2121 wrote:David, sorry for this awkward question
but now I'm on Android (and have to be)
and this is like learning anew how to
fill forms and so on, on a touchscreen.
I downloded the preview with no problem
and liked Campbell's new biography.
Then I wanted to download the whole
book, filled the payment form and
received a confirmation mail as well.
However, I didn't receive any link and
no download button appeared.
So, I'm waiting :-)

(By the way, I think that Village Market
is a great idea)
Ercan--

On the invoice summary email that you received, there should be a link to the detailed invoice. Select the link; on this page you should see a button that reads DOWNLOAD. Click, and the file should download directly to your phone.

Let me know if you have any problems!

By the way, as soon as you finalized your donation, you SHOULD have been forwarded directly to a page with a download button. I'm not sure what went wrong!
I also purchased this ebook and cannot download the full ePub version.
There is no download link on the detailed invoice and I was not redirected to a download page.
Can your web techs fix this and meanwhile, can you send an email to customers with the direct link to the full download?
Thank you.
Best wishes,<br>Robin Van Auken<br>www.RobinVanAuken.com<br>RobinVanAuken@gmail.com

anapol
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Location: Redlands, California

Post by anapol »

I would like to download Myths To Live By with my Motorola Zoom. However it will not through the Kindle App. Any suggestions.

Thank You.
Alan Anapolsky
Anapol

gailgreenhhi
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Post by gailgreenhhi »

I have downloaded the preview to iTunes and it will not open. Please give me more instructions. I would really like to download the whole book.

Thank you,
Gail Green

Clemsy
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Post by Clemsy »

Hello everyone and thanks for your questions and concerns. David checks in here regularly and will address these issues as soon as he can, but I emailed him anyway.

Thanks for your patience as we work at getting this new medium running smoothly.

Clemsy
Forum Moderator
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

tdy
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Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 2:44 am

Post by tdy »

hello - I am trying to make a contribution and receive the download of "Myths to live by", but there is a technical problem. When I click on the "Add this to my cart" button, nothing happens.

I have no problem in downloading the preview, or in adding other items to my cart.

there is the page with the problem button:

http://www.jcf.org/new/contribute/index ... cts_id=215

thank you, Thomas

David_Kudler
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Great questions!

Post by David_Kudler »

Dear eBook pioneers,

Thank you so much for helping us make our new digital downloads better! We tested the files and the donation/download system extensively before we opened this program to the public, but obviously it's impossible to simulate all of the real-world possibilities. We appreciate both your interest and your patience.
claireschrader wrote:Hello David again
I woudl love to purchase this - but the epub requires the purchase of quite expensive software if you don't have one of the fancy kindles and itabs. I am about to buy a new computer so don't want to purchase something that I can't transfer to another computer or doesn't work on it. Is it possible to release as a pdf version - which would be far less hassle for most people downloading this ebook.

warmest wishes

Claire
Claire--Both ePub and the MobilePocket (.mobi) file formats are open source; it is our understanding that free software exists to read ePub and .mobi files on all of the major desktop (Windows, Mac OS, Linux) and mobile operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows Mobile). You may need to load the file onto your mobile device using an application that is on your computer.

Look at the articles that I linked to above, or do a search in your device's app store for ebook, epub, mobi or ereader, and you should find some (free) options that will work for you.

Thanks for suggesting the PDF format. We did consider it, but decided against converting the files to PDFs for a number of reasons. First of all, because of the way that PDFs handle images, the file is enormous--over 150MB.

Second of all, in order for the book to be at all attractive in PDF form, it would require an enormous amount of reformatting on our part. PDFs are a great way to share digitally files that were intended to be printed on paper. Ebooks, on the other hand, have a highly dynamic format that is intended to adapt to a variety of display sizes and orientations. When you convert an ePub or Kindle file into PDF format, what you are going to get is essentially the same as if you were to try to print a highly dynamic web page on your printer: hard to read and not a very good representation of the original file. I hope that that makes sense!
Christian McLaughlin wrote:Dear friends at JCF,

I've managed to get the preview into my iTunes and onto my phone, but the site does not respond when I try and add the full book to my cart and pay the donation.

Any help appreciated,

All best,

Christian
Christian, where in the purchase process do you get stuck? Our best suggestion at this point is to try a different browser. What browser software are you using (include the version number if you can)? What operating system?
Robin Van Auken wrote:I also purchased this ebook and cannot download the full ePub version.
There is no download link on the detailed invoice and I was not redirected to a download page.
Can your web techs fix this and meanwhile, can you send an email to customers with the direct link to the full download?
Thank you.

_________________
Best wishes,
Robin Van Auken
Robin, there was a glitch in the purchase setup that allowed you to go all of the way through the donation process without choosing a file type (ePub or .mobi). I've fixed this; it should happen in the future. I've also updated your order so that, if you go to the detailed invoice again, it should give you a download link. Thanks for letting us know that there was a problem!
anapol wrote:I would like to download Myths To Live By with my Motorola Zoom. However it will not through the Kindle App. Any suggestions.

Thank You.
Alan Anapolsky
Alan, you'll have to download the file to a computer, load the file into the desktop Kindle app, and then sync with your Xoom.
gailgreenhhi wrote:I have downloaded the preview to iTunes and it will not open. Please give me more instructions. I would really like to download the whole book.

Thank you,
Gail Green
Gail, have you loaded the file from iTunes into an ereader application (ie, iBooks, Stanza, etc.) on your iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)? The iTunes application doesn't display ebooks directly.

Which version of iTunes are you using? What version of iOS is your mobile device running?

Again, thank you all. This is a very exciting launching point for us--we've been working to make Campbell's work available in digital form for a long, long time. It is also a somewhat humbling time, as systems that we thought we had checked and doublechecked occasionally turn out to need refinement. We appreciate your assistance!
Last edited by David_Kudler on Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

RobinVanAuken
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Post by RobinVanAuken »

Thanks for the prompt attention. The active link on my new invoice has worked. My book has downloaded. I appreciate all the work you've done to make the digital download work smoothly.
Best wishes,<br>Robin Van Auken<br>www.RobinVanAuken.com<br>RobinVanAuken@gmail.com

Ercan2121
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Post by Ercan2121 »

David,

Never have been a problematic customer
in my life but still my detailed invoice
is missing that crucial 'download' button :-)

Ercan

gailgreenhhi
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cannot download

Post by gailgreenhhi »

I have installed epub add on for Firefox and installed mobipocket reader and still cannot open the download. Mobipocket error: no ebook found.

Thank you,
Gail Green

David_Kudler
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Post by David_Kudler »

Ercan2121 wrote:David,

Never have been a problematic customer
in my life but still my detailed invoice
is missing that crucial 'download' button :-)

Ercan
You're not a problematic customer; we didn't think of all of the possibilities.

Try it again; you should be able to download the ePub file now.
gailgreenhhi wrote:I have installed epub add on for Firefox and installed mobipocket reader and still cannot open the download. Mobipocket error: no ebook found.

Thank you,
Gail Green
Gail, when you are sure that the ePubReader extension is running in Firefox, try selecting File > Open File. Navigate to where the ePub file is on your hard drive, and then open it.

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