How to download
Continue reading to find out more about...
1. Android
2. iPad/iPhone
3. PC/Mac
4. Nook & other eReaders
5. Kindle
Below you can find instructions to download and read Rough Guides ebooks. Select your device from the list below to find the instructions relevant to you.
Please note:
The ebooks available to purchase from Rough Guides
online bookshop
are typically anywhere between 30MB and 120MB. We recommend that you download your ebook over WiFi or check your data allowance with your mobile network provider to ensure it is sufficient.
Android
iPad/iPhone
PC & Mac
Nook & other readers
Kindle
1. Android
Most of our ebooks can be read on tablets and smartphones running Google’s Android operating system. To do so, you need to purchase the ePub version of a title and install an ePub-based reader, such as the Aldiko eReader detailed here.
Installing Aldiko on Your Android Device
There are several eReader programs available for Android devices and one of the most popular is Aldiko. This is a free application that can read ebooks in the ePub format.
Aldiko is available in a free ad-supported version or a £2.49 ad-free version. To download Aldiko to your device, go to the Android Market and search for “aldiko”. Follow the onscreen instructions to install the application.
Downloading an ebook
Once you have completed a purchase, we will email you the download link for it. Simply select the link to download the ebook file to your device.
Once you have downloaded the ebook onto your phone, you will need to add it to your Aldiko library on your Android phone. In some instances the ebook will be recognised by the app and automatically added to your bookshelf, if not please follow the steps below.
Open the app and select the menu. Scroll down to the GET BOOKS heading and select Files. Find the ebook file you would like to import, select that file and then select Import.
Reading an ebook with Aldiko
When you launch Aldiko on your Android phone, you see the Library, a virtual bookshelf that holds all your ebook titles. You can scroll through multiple bookshelves to view all the books you’ve downloaded. Tap a book cover to begin reading.
To turn to the next page in a book, swipe your finger across the current page to the left or just tap the right side of the screen. To return to the previous page, swipe the page to the right or tap the left side of the screen.
To jump to a specific section in the book, press the Menu button on your phone and select Contents. This displays the Table of Contents page; tap a chapter or section title to jump to that section of the book.
To search for a specific word or phrase, click the Menu button, click the More button, and select Search. When the Search screen appears, enter the term you’re looking for. All instances of the word or phrase are now listed; tap an instance to jump to that point in the book.
To change the size of the onscreen text, click the Menu button and select Settings. From the Settings screen, tap Font Settings. You can then alter the point size and weight of the text, as well as the font family used to display the text.
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2. iPad/iPhone
Rough Guides
ebook guides can be read on Apple’s iPad and iPhone portable devices. To do so, you need to download the ePub version of a title and install iBooks or another eReader application on your device.
Other eReader Applications
While we focus on it in this section, iBooks isn’t the only eReader application for the iPad and iPhone. Other popular eReader applications include the following:
Stanza
Barnes & Noble NOOK
Amazon Kindle
Search the Apple App Store to download any of these applications.
Note:
We recommend iBooks for the best experience when viewing ePubs on an iPad.
Installing iBooks on Your iPad or iPhone
It is best suited for reading ePub-format books, which flow automatically from page to page on your device’s screen. You can easily increase or decrease the size of the book’s text, and iBooks instantly reformats the pages accordingly.
To download iBooks to your device, go to the Apple App Store and search for “iBooks.” Follow the onscreen instructions to install the free application
Downloading an ebook
Once you have completed a purchase, we will email you the download link for it. Simply select the link to download the ebook file to your device. Once the file has been downloaded, click on 'open with iBooks'. In case 'iBooks' does not show as an option, please click on the 'more..' button to find the slider to activate 'share to iBooks'.
If you can't find the link in your email just log in to your
roughguides.com
My Ebooks account on your device. Select 'My Ebooks' from the navigation, enter your username and password. Once logged in select 'My Ebooks' from the navigation and click on the ePub link. It will offer you the option to open in iBooks.
Reading an ebook with iBooks
When you launch iBooks on your iPad or iPhone, you see the Library, a virtual bookshelf that holds all your purchased titles. You can scroll through multiple bookshelves to view all the books you’ve downloaded. Tap a book cover to begin reading.
To turn to the next page, swipe your finger across the current page to the left. To return to the previous page, swipe the page to the right.
To jump to a specific section in the book, tap the Contents button. This displays the Table of Contents page; tap a chapter or section title to jump to that section of the book.
To search for a specific word or phrase, tap the Search (magnifying glass) button. When the Search screen appears, enter the term you’re looking for into the Search Book box, then tap the Search button. All instances of the word or phrase are now listed; tap an instance to jump to that point in the book.
To change the size of the onscreen text, tap the Fonts button to display the Fonts panel. Tap the small A to decrease the size of the text; tap the large A to increase the text size.
You can also change the font displayed onscreen. Tap the Fonts button to display the Fonts panel, then tap Fonts. This displays a list of available fonts; tap the one you would prefer to use.
By default, iBooks displays all text against a bright white background. If you’d prefer a more muted sepia background, tap the Fonts button to display the Fonts panel, then tap the On/Off button in the Sepia section.
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3. PC/Mac
All of our ebooks can be read on any Windows, Linux or Macintosh computer. Several ebook file formats are available, each offering their own unique features.
Available File Formats
The nice thing about reading an ebook on your computer is that eReader software is available to let you read virtually any file format. You probably have some of these programs already installed on your computer; most other eReader programs are available to download for free.
What ebook file formats can you read on your computer? The following table details the formats available in our store, the unique features of each file format and which eReader applications are necessary to view each type of file.
ebook Format
Can Be Viewed with These eReader Applications
Unique Features
EPUB
Adobe Digital Editions
Text automatically flows from page to page
Easy to change font size and add bookmarks
Compatible with most mobile devices
Mobi (Kindle)
Kindle for PC
Kindle for Mac
Text automatically flows from page to page
Easy to change font size and add bookmarks
Available only from Amazon.com.
The ePub format is also compatible with most portable eReaders and other mobile devices. This means that you can download a single file and view that ebook on your computer, your Nook or iPad, and your iPhone or other smartphone.
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4. Nook & other eReaders
The Amazon Kindle isn’t the only eReader device on the market today. When you want to read an ebook on the go, you have the choice of the Barnes & Noble NOOK, Sony Reader, and other similar devices — many of which support the popular ePub format.
If you want to read ebooks downloaded from RoughGuides.com, you have several options:
The ePub format guides can be transferred to your eReader by plugging it in directly to your computer.
The ePub formats can be transferred to your eReader using ebook management and conversion programs such as Calibre.
Downloading ebooks from our Shop
Once you have purchased your Rough Guides ebook, we will email you the download link for it. Select the link to download the ePub format of your guide. Be sure to remember where you save the file – you’ll need it when transferring the ebook to your device.
Transferring and reading ebooks on your NOOK
There are two ways to load ebooks onto your NOOK (called sideloading): by connecting your NOOK to your PC or Mac and copying the files over, or by copying the files to a MicroSD card and inserting that card into your NOOK. We will explain how to sideload ebooks with your NOOK connected directly to your computer.
Connect your NOOK to your computer using a USB cable. Microsoft Windows users will see the NOOK appear as a new drive in My Computer (you’ll see an additional drive if you have a MicroSD card inserted in your NOOK). Mac users will see a NOOK drive on their desktop.
Copy the ePub file from its location on your computer to the My Files Books folder in the NOOK window.
On your NOOK, tap from the Quick Nav bar, tap Library and tap the sync button to refresh your NOOK’s My Documents folder.
Note that the covers of sideloaded books will not be displayed in the Library.
To read an ebook on the NOOK:
From the Quick Nav bar, tap Library
Browse to your book and then tap the cover
To turn to the next page in the book, swipe from right to left on the touchscreen. To return to the previous page, swipe from left to right on the touchscreen.
To change the size of the onscreen text, tap the touchscreen and then tap Text. Tap the letter A in the menu that appears to adjust the text size. Tap the x button or the page of the ebook where text appears to return to reading.
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5. Kindle
Our ebooks can be read on Amazon’s line of Kindle readers, including both the Kindle Fire and the eInk versions (Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Keyboard and Kindle DX). To view ebooks on your Kindle we recommend downloading the MOBI file format, a native Kindle format.
There are two ways to get an ebook downloaded from our website onto your Kindle:
You can easily transfer a MOBI to your Kindle via USB. You’ll learn how to do this in the “Transferring the ebook to your Kindle via USB” section below.
Using Amazon’s Kindle Personal Documents Service, you can email a MOBI file to your Kindle (some fees may apply). You’ll learn how to do this in the “Using the Kindle Personal Documents Service” section below.
This guide will assist you in loading your ebooks to your Kindle using both of the above methods.
Downloading an ebook
Once you have purchased your Rough Guides ebook, we will email you the download link for it. Select the link to download the MOBI format of your chosen guide. Be sure to remember where you save the file – you’ll need it when transferring the ebook to your Kindle.
Transferring the ebook to your Kindle via USB
Once you've downloaded the MOBI file to your computer, it is easy to transfer it onto either your eInk Kindle or Kindle Fire using the following steps:
Locate the USB cable that came with your Kindle. Plug one end into your Kindle and the other into a USB port on your computer.
Your Kindle enters into USB Drive mode. A drive labelled "KINDLE" will appear on your computer (On Windows it'll be in "My Computer," and on OS X it appears on the Desktop).
Double-click the KINDLE drive
Copy the MOBI files (that you downloaded in the "Purchasing and downloading an ebook" section above) into the "Documents" folder on the new KINDLE drive on your computer.
Follow your operating system's proper procedure for safely removing hardware/ejecting the KINDLE drive, and unplug your Kindle from your computer.
Your books are now in your Books library on your Kindle Fire or the home screen on your eInk Kindle. Enjoy!
Using the Kindle Personal Documents Service
Transferring an ebook to your Kindle via USB saves the file directly to that particular device. If you have multiple Kindles, or use the Kindle app on your smartphone or tablet computer in addition to a physical Kindle, ebooks transferred via USB will not be available across all of your Kindles without repeating the transfer process for each device. Amazon's Kindle Personal Documents Service allows you to email an ebook to your Kindle, making it available to all of your Kindles. Any file sent to your Kindle using this service will also sync your current location, notes and highlights across Kindles.
Note: Amazon offers this service for free only when the personal documents are delivered to your device via wifi. If you have an eInk Kindle that uses Amazon's Whispernet 3G service and is not connected to a wifi network, you might be charged for the document delivery. See
this page
on Amazon's website for the list of fees.
To transfer ebooks to your Kindle(s) using the Kindle Personal Documents Service, follow these steps:
First you have to authorize an email address from which your Kindle can receive documents. Go to the Personal Document Settings section of the
Manage Your Kindle
page on Amazon's website to set an Approved Personal Document e-mail address (consult Amazon's
documentation
for the exact directions).
Create an email message from your authorized email address and attach the MOBI files that you downloaded in the "Purchasing and Downloading an ebook" section above.
Send the email to your Kindle's email address. (You'll find this email address on the
Manage Your Kindle
page by clicking on "Manage your Devices" in the "Your Kindle Account" section. Each of your Kindles will be listed along with their associated email address.
When you next connect your Kindle to a wifi network, your ebook will appear either on the home screen (eInk Kindles) or your Docs library (Kindle Fire).
The emailed ebook is also stored in Amazon's cloud, which makes it available in the Archive folder on an eInk Kindle and the Cloud section of the Docs library on a Kindle Fire (and the various Kindle apps for smartphones, tablets and computers).
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Looking for more travel inspiration and advice? Check out our
online travel guides
.
written by
Rough Guides Editors
created 1/8/2014
updated 5/6/2020
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