Unabridged Getting Started Guide
Most recent revision: March 2009
The purpose of this
guide is to help patrons get started using Unabridged (www.unabridged.info), a downloadable
digital audio book service for persons who are blind, experience low vision, or
have some other print impairment.
The seven sections of
this guide explain:
1.
System
requirements
2.
How
to download the required software
3.
How
to find, check-out, and download an Unabridged digital audio book
4.
How
to use the OverDrive Media Console software to play
back and interact with Unabridged digital audio books,
5.
How
to transfer the content to a WMA-enabled portable playback device
6.
How
to burn the content onto a set of CDs
7.
Troubleshooting
and Feedback
Please send your
comments, questions, and suggestions about this guide to Tom Peters (tpeters@tapinformation.com).
1.
System Requirements
For a Computer Running
the Microsoft Operation System:
Operating system: Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), Windows 2000 (Professional or
Server), Windows Millennium Edition (ME), Windows XP (Home, Professional,
Tablet PC, or Media Center Edition), Windows Vista (Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, or
Ultimate Edition)
Processor: A 233 megahertz (MHz) processor, such
as an Intel Pentium II or Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processor
RAM: 64 megabytes (MB) Note:
If you are using screen reader software at the same time, you will need
more RAM.
Free hard disk space: 100 MB
Sound card: 16-bit sound card
Video adapter and
monitor: Super VGA (800
x 600) or higher resolution
Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 (or
newer)
Playback Software: OverDrive Media Console, version 1.0 or higher, and Windows
Media Player, version 9 or higher
Note:
MP3 audiobooks became available in December 2008. If you plan to transfer an Unabridged
audio book to an Apple playback device, such as an iPod
or an iPhone, you will need:
Software: iTunes version
7.6.2.9 or higher and Quicktime version 7.4.5 or
higher.
Operating
System: Microsoft Vista or XP.
Processor: 500 megahertz (MHz)
RAM: 246 MB
For a Mac
Intel or PowerPC
processor
Mac OS 10.4.9 or
higher
iTunes 7.6.2.9 or higher
QuickTime 7.4.5 or
higher
2.
Download the Required Software
Please note: The OverDrive Media
Console software, the Windows Media Player software, iTunes,
and QuickTime may be legitimately downloaded from the Internet without
charge.
Download OverDrive
Media Console for the MS Operating System
All users (patrons and staff) of Unabridged
need to have the OverDrive Media Console on their
computers.
Version 3 is the current version, released in
May 2008.
The download file is 3.83 megabytes
large.
Instructions for Downloading and Installing
the OverDrive Media Console for the MS OS (from the OverDrive website) (9 steps):
1.
Click the 'Click
to download OverDrive Media Console Version 3.0'
link to start the download process.
A 'File Download' box is displayed.
2.
Select option 'Save' or 'Save
this program to disk'. Browse to (and make note of) a location to save the
file, and click the 'OK' button to download the OverDrive
Media Console install file (ODMediaConsoleSetup.exe) to your machine. The file is saved to the location you noted.
3.
If you are using Internet
Explorer 5.0 or higher, a dialog box may be displayed when the download is
complete. Click the 'Open' button to begin the installation. Otherwise, locate
the '.exe' file (ODMediaConsoleSetup.exe), and double-click it to begin
installation. The 'OverDrive
Media Console Setup Wizard' is displayed.
4.
Click the 'Next >' button to
begin the installation process. The
'Software License Agreement' screen is displayed.
5.
Review the 'Software License
Agreement', and select the 'I Agree' option (if you
agree). Then, click the 'Next >' button.
The 'Select Installation Folder' screen is displayed.
6.
At the 'Select Installation
Folder' screen, either browse to the location to which you would like to save
the program, or leave the default location. Also, indicate whether you want the
program to be accessible to 'Everyone' or 'Just me', then click the 'Next >'
button.
The 'Confirm Installation' screen is displayed.
7.
Click the 'Next >' button to
start installation.
When the installation is complete, the 'Installation Complete' window will be
displayed.
8.
Click the 'Close' button to exit
the wizard.
9.
Once the installation is
complete, you may delete the install file (ODMediaConsoleSetup.exe).
Download the Windows Media Player software
(if necessary)
You need to have version 9 or higher of
Windows Media Player (WMP) loaded on your computer in order to perform some
functions with Unabridged digital audio books.
Please Note: Version 11 is the most
recent version of WMP.
To learn what version of WMP you currently
have, launch WMP, then access the Help dropdown menu, then select About Windows
Media Player.
Follow the instructions in the download
dialogue box.
Instructions
for performing the Windows Media Player Security Upgrade
The Windows Media Security Upgrade is a
one-time process that must be performed before Microsoft Windows Media Player
will allow any copyright-protected files to be played. A security measure, the
security update identifies the copy of Windows Media Player with the computer
on which the Player is being used.
The first time
that you open OverDrive Media Console after
installation, OverDrive Media Console checks to see
if you need to complete the security upgrade. If a security upgrade is needed,
a message is displayed notifying you that in order to play protected content,
you must first upgrade the security of your Windows Media Player. Follow the
instructions provided in the message to complete the security update.
Download the OverDrive Media Console for the Mac
(8 steps)
1. Download the DMG file for the OverDrive Media Console from the OverDrive
website (http://www.overdrive.com/software/omc/). Be sure to click on the radio button for the
Mac version of the software.
2. If
the DMG file is not automatically mounted, open Finder and navigate to your
browser's default download location. Double-click the DMG file to mount it.
Double-click 'ODMediaConsole.pkg' to begin
installation.
The 'Install OverDrive Media Console' window is
displayed.
3. Click
the 'Continue' button. The 'Software
License Agreement' screen is displayed.
4. Review
the 'Software License Agreement' and click 'Continue'. To continue installing
the software you must agree to the terms of the software license agreement.
Select the 'Agree' option (if you agree).
The 'Select a Destination' screen is displayed.
5. At the 'Select a Destination' screen,
select the volume where you want to install the software and click 'Continue'.
The 'Installation Type' screen is displayed.
6. At the 'Installation Type' screen, either click 'Change Install Location...' and browse to the
location to which you would like to install the program, or leave the default
location. Click the 'Install' button.
When the installation is complete, the 'Summary' screen indicates
'Install Succeeded'.
7. Click
the 'Close' button to exit the installer.
8. Once
the installation is complete, you can delete the install file.
4. Find, Check Out, and Download an
Unabridged Book
To be able to check out and download digital
audio books from Unabridged, all users need to have an Unabridged library card
number and PIN.
If you have not yet been assigned a card
number and PIN, please contact the following
person in your state:
New
Hampshire: John Barrett
(1 800 491 4200 in-state toll free)
The circulation period is two weeks. One exception is for old-time radio programs,
which circulate for one week. When the
circulation period has expired, the digital audio book will not play on your
computer using OverDrive Media Console. However, if you have transferred the audio
book to a portable playback device or burned it to a set of CDs, you can
continue to listen to it. If no one else
has placed a hold on that book, you may check it out again.
Up to five books may be checked out by any
patron at any given time from the main Unabridged collection.
Students may check out up to ten books at a
time from the Unabridged School
Download Library.
Currently there is no way to check a digital
audio book back in early. If you finish
listening to your book early, simply wait for the two week circulation period
to expire. The book will automatically
check itself back in.
The website containing the main Unabridged
collection is located at the following URL:
http://unabridged.lib.overdrive.com
The website containing the Unabridged
School Download Library collection
for kindergarten through twelfth-grade students is available at the following
URL:
http://unabridgedsdl.lib.overdrive.com
Please Note:
The project website for Unabridged is at the following URL: http://www.unabridged.info/. There are
links both from the project website to both collection websites and from both
collection websites to the project website.
Steps to find a book and check it out
The Quick Search option is located in the
left hand navigation bar area.
Hint:
If you know either the title or the author of the book you are looking
for, you may enter some keywords from the title and/or the author’s last name
in the quick search.
Below the Quick Search option is a link to
the advanced search interface, which enables you to search by title, author,
keyword, and ISBN (International Standard Book Number). You can limit your advanced search to a
particular publisher, a subject area, or only to titles with copies available
for checkout. You can choose to have 5,
10, or 25 brief results displayed per page.
You can have the results sorted by author, title, or most popular. You also may check a box that will limit your
results only to titles for which a copy is available for checkout.
Hint:
If you want to browse through the titles in a particular genre or
subject area (e.g., mysteries, history), click on the button in the left hand
navigation area to browse by subject, then click on any of the subjects and
genres listed in the alphabetized list.
Please note: Static HTML lists of the titles in the
collection, sorted by title, author’s first name, and genre are available at the
following URL:
http://www.unabridged.info/documents.htm
Audio Books in Spanish: The quickest way to find these titles is to
click on the “Espanol Audiobooks”
link in the “Browse Collections” area in the left hand navigation bar.
After you conduct a search or browse into an
area of the collection, brief information about each book will be
displayed. The cover art and title of
each book are hotlinks that will take you to more in-depth information about
the book. The author of the book is
included in the brief description, as well as a few sentences describing the
book. Below the description is an
indication that this is an OverDrive Audio Book, the
supplier of content and circulation management services to the Unabridged
digital audio book service.
If a book is available for checkout, you are
presented with a hotlink to “add to bookbag” the book
of interest to you.
You may have up to seven books in your bookbag at any given time.
Any title you place in your bookbag will
remain there for 120 minutes.
If a book already is checked out (or in
someone else’s bookbag awaiting checkout), you are
presented with a hotlink to “place a hold” on that book. More information about placing a hold on a
book will follow after these checkout procedures.
If you add a book to your bookbag,
you automatically are taken to your bookbag page,
where you have three options:
1. remove
the item from your bookbag,
2. continue
browsing (or searching) the collection,
3. proceed
to checkout.
If you elect to proceed to checkout, you will
be prompted to log in by inputting your fifteen digit Unabridged library card
number and your four digit PIN.
You then will be asked to click on a link to
“confirm check out”. The operating
system on your computer may present a security alert window informing you that
you are about to be redirected to a connection that is not secure. Select “yes” to continue.
You then receive a screen that summarizes the
circulation transaction you just completed.
This page tells you the title and author of the book you checked out,
the size of the complete book (in kilobytes), the date the book was checked
out, and the date it expires.
You are now ready to download your Unabridged digital audio book.
Steps for Downloading an Unabridged Digital
Audio Book
After checking out a digital audio book,
select the 'Download' link for your audio book.
The OverDrive Media
Console software will open on your computer and prompt you for a download
location for your audio files.
Select 'OK'.
By default your audio book will be stored in a folder with the same
title as the book, in My Documents\My Media\.
A “Download” dialogue box will display on
your screen, allowing you to select the parts of the audio book you wish to
download. Unabridged digital audio books
are divided into parts, each lasting approximately one hour when played at
normal speed. Select the parts you want
to download.
Please Note: By default, all parts that have not been
previously downloaded are selected.
Hint: You may want to download just the first part
of the book, then begin listening to it
immediately. The remaining parts may be
downloaded at your leisure.
Click 'OK'.
Depending on the file size, the number of parts to be downloaded, and
your Internet connection speed, you may have to wait several minutes for the
download activity to complete.
When a digital audio book is being
downloaded, at the bottom of the OverDrive Media
Console window there will be a message about the part being downloaded and the
progress of the download.
Steps for Placing a Hold on a Book
Click on the “Place a Hold” button below the
book title, cover image, and brief description.
On the next screen, input your fifteen digit
Unabridged library card number and your four digit PIN.
On the next screen will be listed the title,
author, and format of the book you are placing on hold. In the input box provided, type your email
address. An email notification will be
sent to you when the book is available.
Then click on the button to “place a hold”. Please note: depending on the computer operating system
you are using, and your settings within that operating system, a “security
alert” popup window may appear. If one
does, select “yes” to proceed.
Please note: If you open the OverDrive
Media Console and a book you previously had checked out and downloaded has
expired, you may receive a message asking if you want to delete that book from
your computer, because the circulation period has expired.
5. Using the OverDrive
Media Console
Now that you have
checked out and downloaded an Unabridged digital audio book, you may listen to
it on your personal computer using the OverDrive Media
Console software, or you may transfer the content to a portable playback
device, or you may burn the content to a set of CDs. The next three sections of this guide explain
these three playback options.
The OverDrive Media Console contains two components. The Console is used to manage your library of
currently checked out Unabridged digital audio books. The Explorer is used to navigate through and
play back a digital audio book.
KeyStroke
Alternatives in the OverDrive Media Console on a
PC: After you have selected an audiobook title you have downloaded.
Download Parts: Ctrl+D
Play/pause: Ctrl+P
Transfer to a Portable Playback Device: Ctrl+T
Burn to a set of
CDs: Ctrl+B
Delete the audio book from your hard drive: Del
Properties: Alt+Enter (includes the file format,
expiration date, duration of playback at normal speed, the license, and other
information)
Help: F1
Exit: Alt+F4
KeyStroke
Alternatives in the OverDrive Media Explorer on a PC
Play/pause: Ctrl+P
Stop: Ctrl+S
Previous Part: Ctrl+Shift+Left
Next Part: Ctrl+Shift+Right
Previous MediaMarker™: Ctrl+Left
Next MediaMarker: Ctrl+Right
Mute/sound: F8
Volume Down: F9
Volume Up: F10
Play Speed Slow, 0.6 times normal: Ctrl+1
Play Speed Normal: Ctrl+2
Play Speed Fast, 1.4 times normal: Ctrl+3
Play Speed Faster, 2 times normal: Ctrl+4
Play Speed Fast Forward, 5 times normal: Ctrl+5
Skip Back 15 Seconds: Ctrl+Shift+B
Resume from Furthest Played Point: Ctrl+Shift+F
Add Bookmark: Ctrl+B
Launch Windows Media Player: Ctrl+W
Help: F1
Close the OMC Explorer Window: Esc
Please Note: If you transfer the content to a WMA-enabled
portable playback device or burns the content onto CDs, most of the
functionality associated with the OverDrive Media
Explorer will be unavailable.
The following 13 shortcut keys can be used to operate OverDrive
Media Console for Mac:
Open: Command-O.
Download Parts: Command-D.
Play: Command-P.
Transfer: Command-T.
Burn: Command-B.
Delete: Del.
Info: Command-I.
Close OverDrive Media Console Window: Command-W.
New Collection: Command-N.
Preferences: Command-Comma (,).
Hide OverDrive Media Console: Command-H.
Quit OverDrive Media Console: Command-Q.
Minimize Window: Command-M.
The following 14 shortcut keys can be used to operate OverDrive
Media Explorer on a Mac:
Stop: Enter.
Previous Part: Command-Shift-Up
Arrow.
Next Part: Command-Shift-Down
Arrow.
Previous MediaMarker™: Command-Left
Arrow.
Next MediaMarker: Command-Right
Arrow.
Play Speed Slow, 0.6 times normal: Command-1.
Play Speed Normal: Command-2.
Play Speed Fast, 1.4 times normal: Command-3.
Play Speed Faster, 2 times normal: Command-4.
Play Speed Fast Forward, 5 times normal: Command-5.
Skip Back 15 Seconds: Command-Shift-B.
Resume from Furthest Played Point: Command-Shift-F.
Add Bookmark: Command-Equal Sign (=).
Close OverDrive Media Explorer Window: Command-W.
6. Transfer Content to a Portable
Device
It is possible to transfer Unabridged digital
audiobooks to a wide variety of portable playback
devices, including MP3 players and cell phones.
Any device capable of playing protected Windows Media Player (WMP) files
should be able to play these books.
Please Note:
Some devices, such a the Apple iPod, the Book Port,
and the Book Courier, currently cannot play protected WMP files.
To transfer OverDrive
digital audio books to portable playback devices, begin by connecting your
portable playback device to your computer.
The method for doing that varies from device to device. Please consult the user’s manual for the
device you are using.
Highlight in OverDrive
Media Console the title of the audiobook you wish to
transfer.
Click on the Transfer button (keystroke
alternative: Control T)
A new “OverDrive
Media Console Transfer Wizard” window will appear on the screen. To proceed, click on the “Next” button.
The Transfer Wizard window will now display
the title to be transferred, the playback device that is currently connected to
your computer, and the parts of the selected title to be transferred. By default, all parts of the book are
selected. To proceed, click on the
“Next” button.
The Transfer Wizard will then begin
transferring the parts of the audiobook to your
portable playback device. This process
may take several minutes.
When the process is complete, your computer
may make a sound. Disconnect your
portable playback device from your computer.
Then, in the Transfer Wizard window, click on the “Finish” button.
7. Burn an Audiobook
Onto a Set of CDs
Please note: Most but not all Unabridged downloadable digital audio books may be burned to
CD. Occasionally the author, publisher,
or other rights holder prohibits the burning of the audio book to CD.
To burn the content of an Unabridged digital audio
book onto a set of CDs, you use the OverDrive Media
Console. If you are using version 3 of
the OverDrive Media Console, you no longer need to
use Microsoft Windows Media Player.
Each part of an Unabridged digital audiobook is
designed to fit on a standard CD, so make sure you have handy at least as many
blank CDs as the number of parts you wish to burn.
Insert a blank, writable CD into the
CD drive in your computer.
Highlight in OverDrive
Media Console the title of the audiobook you wish to
burn to a set of CDs.
Click on the “Burn” button (keystroke
alternative: Control B). The OverDrive Media
Console Burn Wizard will be displayed.
Select the parts of the audio book you want
to burn to CD, then click on the Next button.
The Progress screen will be displayed.
When the burning process is complete, the
Success screen is displayed.
Eject the CD from the drive.
8. Troubleshooting and Feedback
Links to several useful documents supporting
users of Unabridged downloadable audio books are
available at the following URL:
http://www.unabridged.info/documents.htm
There are at least three ways to report
problems, provide feedback, and make suggestions concerning Unabridged systems,
software, content, or service:
Contact Tom Peters, the day-to-day coordinator,
at tpeters@tapinformation.com
or phone 816.616.6746. He is located in
the Central Time Zone.