You can also download the official Adobe DRM FAQ at:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/pdfs/95003923_eBook_FAQ_UE.pdf (link opens in new window).

Click on the question you are interested in to see its answer.

The Basics

• What is DRM and what are the requirements for reading DRM eBooks?

  DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and it refers to some file security measures that are placed on eBooks to protect the copyright holders rights and inhibit illegal piracy. The vast majority of titles on our site uses a watermarking security method instead of DRM, but a small number of titles use Adobe's DRM technology. Each product detail page lists whether the e-Book uses watermarking or DRM protection.

  To read an eBook protected by Adobe's DRM (Digital Rights Management), you must first have activated Adobe Reader as an eBook Reader, and you must also have a license to open and read the eBook (if you have purchased a book from this site, then you have a license to read it). If you are not using the full version of Adobe Reader, you need to install the full version (available here) before you can use DRM-protected eBooks.

  Windows Users:

  Adobe Reader 7.0 requires that you are using one of the following versions of Windows:

  • Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT® 4.0 with Service Pack 6, Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2, Windows XP Professional or Home Edition, or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

  You must also have Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher installed.

  Mac Users:

  The version of Adobe Reader necessary to read digitally secure books requires Mac OS 10.2.4 or higher.

  If you are using an older version of the operating system, you must upgrade to OS 10.2.4 or above. This is not our fault - Adobe has not upgraded Acrobat for lower systems to support this feature.

  Linux Users:

  There are currently no versions of Adobe Reader compatible with Linux which will read secured eBooks. We recommend that you use a utility such as VMWare.

• How do I quickly get started using DRM eBooks?

  Our site sells both watermarked and DRM-protected eBooks which are readable with Adobe Reader. The following is a brief introduction on how to get started reading DRM-protected eBooks.

  1. Uninstall any previous versions of Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat Reader that you might have on your computer.
  2. Get the latest version of Adobe Reader here - it's a free download.
  3. After installing, activate DRM to enable your copy of Reader to read secure eBooks.
  4. After activating your DRM account, you can now purchase and download secure eBooks. Start shopping!
• I bought a DRM eBook which has been changed to a watermarked version, how do I get the new watermarked version?

  If you have previously purchased eBooks which were DRM-protected but have changed to be watermarked, you can get the watermarked version of your eBooks by following these steps:

  1. Log in to your account.
  2. Click on the My Account link near the top of the page.
  3. Click on "View the orders I have made" under the "My Orders" section.
  4. Find the order containing the book you wish to download, and click "View".
  5. Below "Order History", there should be a section with links to download your products.

  Note that you can only download DRM-protected eBooks once. The number of times you can download a watermarked eBook varies from book to book, but our default is to allow you to download the book 5 times within the first 7 days of purchasing it (or 5 times within the first 7 days of downloading it for the first time in watermarked format, in the case of DRM-protected eBooks which have been converted to a watermarked format).

• Can I take my DRM protected eBooks to a print shop and get them printed?

  Yes, though the process for this may vary from one print shop to the next -- in some cases, you may need to activate your DRM account on the computer in question. One popular print store is Kinko's, and the following is a list of instructions for printing your books there if you are using a PC.

  1. Go to http://www.kinkos.com/kfp/kfp_download.php, then download and install the Kinko's file prep tool.
  2. Open Adobe Reader, go to eBooks -> My Bookshelf, and open the book that you wish to print.
  3. Go to File -> Print...
  4. For "Printer Name", select "Kinko's File Prep Tool" from the list.
  5. Make sure "Print to file" is NOT selected.
  6. In the bottom left, click on the Advanced button (it should be next to the Printing Tips button).
  7. Check "Print as image" if it is not selected, and click OK.
  8. Click OK to print. This part will take a while. This might be a good time to check your email, crack open a Mountain Dew, or call your mother. (Our tests averaged about 5 seconds per page.)
  9. Kinko's File Prep Tool should open automatically and display the output. Click on Save, and save the resulting KDF file to a location of your choice. Note that this output file will be considerably larger than the original PDF.

  Take the resulting KDF file to Kinko's to be printed.

• What is the ebx.etd file?

  When you click on the link to download a DRM-protected eBook, it actually downloads a small file named "ebx.etd". Adobe Reader then uses this file to download the given eBook.

• Can I read Digital Editions (formerly eBooks) using Adobe Reader 8?

  No, Adobe Digital Editions, which allows you to read the electronic edition of a favorite book, magazine, journal, newspaper, sheet of music, or newsletter, is now a separate product. Reader 8 features integration with the new Adobe Digital Editions solution. If you select the Digital Editions menu item under the File menu, or attempt to open a PDF digital edition that has been protected with Adobe Content Server, Reader will launch Adobe Digital Editions, if installed; otherwise, Reader opens the installation web page.

• Where can I find more information on DRM eBooks?

  More information can be found on Adobe's eBook FAQ page here