Let's practice a download.... it's easy!

I'm going to walk you through step-by-step instructions for downloading a small test file – a short funny story about a parrot.

If you can download and save this story to your computer or mobile device, and if you're able to read it, then you can order your dog ebooks with confidence.

You may want to print these instructions so you'll have them in front of you to refer to.


SCROLL DOWN AND FIND THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR KIND OF COMPUTER OR MOBILE DEVICE


If you have an iPad or iPhone

  1. On your iPad or iPhone, you need to have the iBooks app, or the Adobe Acrobat Reader app, or the Kindle app. You can download those apps free from the App Store.
  2. I recommend using the regular Safari browser that comes pre-installed with your iPad or iPhone. If you use a different browser, the instructions may still work fine, but if they don't.... try the Safari browser.
  3. Tap this link: TEST FILE
  4. The little story should open on your screen so you can read it. That's good.... but you're not done yet. You still need to SAVE it to your device. Tap the Share icon of your browser (it's a squarish icon with an arrow pointing upward). A white box will pop up with two rows of various options, for example, you'll see the blue Mail icon on the top row. Swipe sideways (left) on that row to make the icons scroll so you can see more options appearing on the right. The option you're looking for says "Copy to iBooks" (an orange icon) or copy to Adobe (a red icon) or copy to Kindle. Tap one of those icons and the book will be saved in your iBooks, Adobe, or Kindle app.

    If you don't see any of those options even after swiping the row all the way to the left, choose the "Mail" option, which will email the book to yourself. Now go to your email program and open the email you just sent to yourself. You should see a squarish icon that says pdf. PRESS AND HOLD on it. A big white box will pop up and you should see the option to "Open in iBooks" (or "Open in Adobe"). Tapping one of those icons will save the story file!

How to download your files to an Android tablet or smartphone (like a Samsung)

  1. Make sure you have the Adobe Reader app. If not, download it for free from the Google Play Store.
  2. Tap this link: TEST FILE
  3. A box should pop up that gives you the option to "Open in Adobe Reader". Tap that option and the little story should open in Adobe Reader. It's also saved in your Adobe Reader library.
  4. If you receive an error message that says "Invalid PDF" or "File type not recognized or supported", that usually means you're using the default browser that came with your android operating system. Unfortunately some of those browsers have a bug that doesn't recognize valid pdf files. Rest assured, my pdf files have been downloaded thousands and thousands of times and are valid. One solution is to open your Chrome browser and try that. Or you can download the file onto a regular computer, then email it to your android tablet or phone.

How to download your files to a Kindle Fire

  1. Tap on this link: TEST FILE
  2. A box should pop up that tells you the book will be downloaded to your Downloads Folder. Click on Confirm.
  3. When the download is complete, another box will pop up asking you if you want to open the file. Tap that box to open the file.
  4. The little story will open in your Kindle's web browser (which is called "Silk"). You can read the story right away...... BUT if you close your Kindle and come back later, wanting to read it again, where can you find the story? Open your Silk browser. Look for the small MENU icon in the upper corner of the screen (three small horizonal lines stacked on top of each other). Click on that and you'll see the option for DOWNLOADS. Click on that, and you'll see the story.

If you have a PC running Windows

  1. Click your RIGHT mouse button on the blue link below....

    TEST FILE

    Your RIGHT button.....not the left button you usually click.

  2. A gray box will appear. Click on Save Link As or Save File As or Save Target As
  3. Another gray box will appear. At the top of the box, make sure the  SaveIn slot specifies Desktop for where to save the file. If it doesn't say Desktop, click on the V-shaped "down arrow" and choose Desktop.
  4. Click the Save button to do the download. It only takes a few seconds.
  5. Now go to your Desktop and look for an icon that says testfile.pdf
  6. Double-click on the icon. Most computers will respond by opening the file with Adobe Reader, which is a free ebook reader found on most computers. Congratulations! Now you can read the funny story – and then you can go ahead and order your ebooks with confidence!
  7. Potential problem.... if you click on the testfile.pdf icon on your Desktop and your computer didn't open Adobe Reader, well, darn. You will need to open Adobe Reader yourself.

    Often you will find Adobe Reader as an icon on your Desktop that you can double-click. If it's not on your Desktop, look on the bottom of your screen for a search box that says "Search the web and Windows." Type Adobe Reader. If your computer doesn't offer this Search feature, you will need to click the Windows Start button, open File Manager, open the Windows folder, open Programs, and see if Adobe Reader is listed.

    One way or another, once Adobe Reader is open, in the top menu click on "File", then "Open". In the gray box that appears, make sure the   Look In   slot specifies Desktop. If it doesn't say Desktop, click on the V-shaped "down arrow" and choose Desktop. You'll see a list of files on your Desktop. Click on testfile.pdf, click the Open button, and voila! There's your funny story and now you can go ahead and order your dog ebooks!

  8. If you can't find Adobe Reader on your computer, don't worry. You can download Adobe Reader FREE.

If you have a Mac

  1. If your mouse has a LEFT and a RIGHT button, click your RIGHT mouse button on this TEST FILE

    If your mouse has only one button, or only a trackpad, do CONTROL-CLICK (hold down the control key while clicking on the link).
  2. A gray box will appear. Click on Save File As or Save Link As or Download Linked File As
  3. Another gray box will appear. It will say testfile.pdf. Good! Make sure the   Where   slot specifies Desktop for where to save the file. If it doesn't say Desktop, click on the tiny V-shaped "down arrow" and choose Desktop.
  4. Click the Save button to start the download/save process. It only takes a few seconds.

    You may wonder why you shouldn't click on the blue link with your left (or single) button. You can. HOWEVER.... this only displays the story on your screen. It is not yet saved on your computer. So if you do simply click on the link and display the file, you should immediately click on "File" then "Save" and save the file to your Desktop. Many people forget to do this, which is why I recommend the method described above, so you can't forget.

  5. Now that your story is saved, go to your Desktop and look for testfile.pdf
  6. To read the story, double-click on it. The best pdf reader is a free program called Adobe Reader. If you have set your Mac to open pdf files with Adobe Reader, that program will open your test file. Congratulations! Now you can read the story – and then you can go ahead and order your ebooks with confidence!

    Potential problem.... Instead of opening Adobe Reader, your Mac may open a pdf reader called "Preview". You don't want this, because "Preview" will not display a Table of Contents, and your dog ebooks will have a very handy Table of Contents. In addition, some versions of Preview have a bug where it asks you for a password – even though no password is required.

    So you should tell your Mac to open pdf files with Adobe Reader instead of with Preview. First, you need to know if you have Adobe Reader. If you're not sure, click on the Finder icon in your Dock at the bottom of your screen. Then click Applications, and see if Adobe Reader is listed. If it is listed, follow the directions on this page to tell your Mac to use Adobe Reader to open all of your pdf files.

    If you can't find Adobe Reader on your Mac, don't worry. You can download it for free.. Once you have downloaded it, it will ask you if you want it to be your "default" pdf reader. Say yes. Now all your pdf ebooks will open in Adobe Reader.