Frequently Asked Questions
On this page you can find answers to common questions about the "subscription" and the free guide book download.
Also, occasionally someone runs into a problem when downloading the free pocket guide or buying one of my Destination series guide books.
All common (and some not so common) problems are also covered here.
And last but not least this page tells you how to contact me if you ran into any problems when purchasing one of my books.
Your Questions:
Questions about the "Subscription" or the free Pocket Guide download.
- Does this subscription cost anything?
- I tried to subscribe but got the message "Confirmation Failed".
- I can't download the free guide!
- I can't open the file!
- I forgot to save the free guide/had a problem with the download and now I can't get to it again.
- I have a Mac. Is this some PC only file?
- I have a totally different question/problem about the free guide.
Questions about my guide book(s) Destination Top End (and Destination Kimberley)
- Do you sell a hard copy version? Can I get your book in a book store near me?
- Do you have a German (French, Italian, Spanish...) version?
- I have a Mac. Is this some PC only file?
- Can I put your ebooks on a Kindle? (iPad, Kobo...)
- Can I pay for your guide offline?
- I am leaving soon. If I buy the guide today, when will it arrive?
- I bought your guide but did not get the download!
- I can't access the download. It says the link expired.
- I can't open the download!
- I bought your guide three weeks ago but it still hasn't arrived!
- I have a totally different question/problem regarding the purchase of a guide book.
Does this subscription cost anything?
No, of course not. I would not call it free if I didn't mean it.
I explained this in detail on the sign up page and also on the subscription-thank-you page. You may not have read it. Here is that section again:
What happens once you click "Subscribe"?
You will be receiving an email that asks you to confirm your "subscription". (It's an automated email. Unfortunately I can't change the wording. The purpose is just to confirm your email address and your request.)
Once you click the confirmation link in that email you will be taken to a "Thank You" page. That page tells you where to download the guide.
Should I make major additions or updates to the free guide or release a new edition, then I'll send you a quick note to let you know where you can download the newest version. I'm NOT going to send you regular emails or special offers or any spam like that. In fact, you may never hear from me at all.
There is no catch, all of this really is free, and I hope you will find it useful.
I tried to subscribe but got the message "Confirmation Failed".
The full message on that page, below the "Confirmation Failed" headline, said:
"You have already clicked on this link. No need to do it again, but we do thank you for your effort."
What I suspect happens here is that people double click on the link in the confirmation email. Many people are used to double clicking on files from using Microsoft software. (Don't double click on internet links. It is not necessary.) But it can also happen accidentally without you noticing.
The first click would have confirmed your subscription. With the second click you got the notice that you are already subscribed. It happens so fast that you can't see the first page.
Since you did not see the first page and did not get a chance to download your free guide, here it is again:
I can't download the free guide!
Make sure the free Acrobat Reader is installed on your computer. (It is very rare these days to find a computer without it, but if your computer does not seem to know which program to use to open the file, then you may be one of those rare cases.)
Theoretically something to do with the free download could break at my end, but to date that has not happened. Chances are that this is a problem with your computer or internet service.
Since there are so many different internet browsers, possible browser settings, operating systems, software programs etc. it is impossible for me to give a general answer here.
And I can't troubleshoot technical problems with your computer.
All I can do for now is to send you to the download page directly and ask you to try again:
If it still does not work and you can't figure out the problem, then get in touch and I will send you the file manually.
I can't open the file!
There are three possible reasons that I am aware of:
- The file was damaged during the download. That occasionally happens, especially if the internet connection is a bit unstable. Delete the file and try again:
- You have a very old version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or your Reader has some bug. Try to uninstall Adobe and then download and install the latest version:
It could be your operating system and browser combination or settings. A couple of my readers reported having problems like this when Windows 7 was new. The problem resolved when they moved the file to another computer.
This is extremely rare and I haven't had any reports of it lately. But if the above two fixes didn't work, try opening it on another computer.
If none of this works, then get in touch with me. I will send you the file manually and we'll see if that makes a difference.
(It shouldn't, but in my experience logic does not necessarily come into it.)
I forgot to save the free guide/had a problem with the download and now I can't get to it again.
No problem. Here it is. Try again :-).
I have a Mac. Is this some PC only file?
The file is in PDF format, the most common format for printable files. PDF was developed specifically to allow sharing of printable documents across all platforms.
No, it is not PC only. Yes, you can open it on your Mac with any software that opens PFD documents.
The most popular free software is Adobe Reader. On the download page linked below, click on "Different language or operating system?" and select your operating system to get the newest Adobe download for it.
Do you sell a hard copy version? Can I get your book in a book store near me?
Sorry, no hard copy.
I'm afraid the choice is to buy the e-book or to go without the information.
Do you have a German (French, Italian, Spanish...) version?
Sorry, my guides are only available in English.
(It's not that I wouldn't love to offer the books in German, but a translation would be a massive project. At this stage I see no way to fit that into my schedule.)
I have a Mac. Is this some PC only file?
The file is in PDF format, the most common format for printable files. PDF was developed specifically to allow sharing of printable documents across all platforms.
No, it is not PC only. Yes, you can open it on your Mac with any software that opens PDF documents.
The most popular free software is Adobe Reader. On the download page linked below, click on "Different language or operating system?" and select your operating system to get the newest Adobe download for it.
Can I put your ebooks on a Kindle? (iPad, Kobo...)
You certainly can!
Like the vast majority of ebooks sold online, my guides are PDF files. PDF files are supported on the following ebook readers: Mobipocket, iRex iLiad, iRex DR1000, Sony Reader, Bookeen Cybook, Foxit eSlick, Amazon Kindle (1, 2, International & DX), Barnes & Noble Nook, the iPad (with the free iBook), PocketBook Reader, Bebook Neo, the Kobo eReader and the iPod Touch (using the free Stanza app).
Also, PDF files are designed to print well. And travel guides for such remote regions must be printable. A paper copy can not die in the heat or from the constant rattling, it does not choke with dust, it can lie in the sun on the dash (you'll want it within reach on the dash!) etc.
Depending on where and how you travel, I strongly recommend you also print out a hard copy!
Can I pay for your guide offline?
Sorry, the only way to purchase my guides is online through my websites.
By the way, credit card payments via PayPal are totally secure. There really is no need to be concerned. The days where every online purchase was fraught with huge risks are long gone.
Just make sure that when you are asked to provide credit card details online you can see a little picture of a lock on the grey bar on the bottom of your screen, and that the web address in the browser bar at the top of your screen starts with https:// (Note the "s" for "secure". Normal web addresses start with http://).
Another safe thing to do is to close the window you are using once you have completed your purchase and downloaded the goods. Do not navigate away to another website, but do close the browser window.
I am leaving soon. If I buy the guide today, when will it arrive?
This is an e-book. You receive it within minutes.
- Below the "Buy Now"/shopping cart buttons I explain what will happen when you buy one of my guides.
- Not far below the top images of the book (where I mention the money-back guarantee) is a link that says, "What's an e-book?".
You find the same link again above the book images near the bottom of the page, where the "Buy Now"/shopping cart buttons are. The link takes you to a page that explains e-books in detail: "What's an e-book?"
Please re-read those sections. That should clarify things.
I bought your guide but did not get the download!
This is rare but it has happened a few times.
One person entered their email address with a typo. If your email address is wrong you will not get the email. Please, don't worry about your money! I can see if you paid and what email address you entered. I can fix it.
(But please do make sure you enter the correct email when you contact me through this priority contact form. Another reader recently entered a wrong email address in Paypal, and then a different misspelling in my contact form... There's not much I can do for you if I don't have a correct email address for you!)
One person entered one of their email addresses when purchasing, but expected to receive the guide at another email address. How they thought that would work I don't know. The download link will be sent to whatever email address you enter when you make your payment. So if you have several addresses and are not sure which one you used, check all of them. If you do have a PayPal account the guide will be sent to the email address associated with your PayPal account.
Emails get filtered or nuked by overzealous spam software. Please check your spam or junk folder first.
Emails are sometimes delayed. Although they should, they do not always arrive instantly. Delays of 10 to 15 minutes are common while they do a few laps in cyberspace, delays of several hours do happen occasionally. Please wait for at least an hour before you conclude that something went wrong. (In one exceptional case the email with the download link arrived nearly 24 hours late!)
A payment can simply fail. I am not sure why. It may be that people abandon the process too early without confirming their payment one last time, it may be the internet connection drops out and resets during the process, I don't know. It's very rare but since it has happened a couple of times I dare say it will happen again at some stage.
How do you know if your payment went through? If it does you will receive a receipt from PayPal (provided you entered the right email, of course) and you will also see the charge in your credit card statement. So please do check your emails, including junk or spam folders, and do check your credit card statement.
If you can't see the charge on your credit card statement, then the payment didn't go through. (Give it a working day or two to make sure.)
Please try again. Enter all your details very carefully, and make sure you confirm and confirm again etc. Every reader who had that problem was successful on the second attempt.
If you have been charged but did not get the download, the problem was likely with the email, either a typo, or your spam filter filtered or nuked it. (Update: After more than 2 years I now had the first isolated case where the communication between Paypal and the e-book delivery service failed and I had to send the file manually.) Please get in touch through this priority contact form and I will fix it.
I can't guarantee that all technical things will always work totally hassle free for everyone. That's just not how technology works. But the one thing I can guarantee is that your money is totally safe with me! Please do not worry about your money. I would never keep a payment that has been made by mistake.
And that's about all I can think of for now! If you have any other problems, use this priority contact form and I will sort it out asap.
I can't access the download. It says the link expired.
This was explained in the email with the download link: the link will be active for 48 hours or 5 downloads, whichever comes first. After that it expires.
Sorry about the inconvenience, but expiring links are necessary to prevent abuse.
If this was your first download attempt and it has been less than 48 hours since your purchase and you get that message, then it is because your download manager opened more than five connections at once. This would cause the link to expire prematurely.
In any case, please get in touch through this priority contact form and I will send you a fresh link or the file itself if needed.
Check your email regularly. When you receive the link, download the guide as soon as possible.
You only need to download it once. You save it to your computer and then you can open, view, read or print it any time and as often as you like.
I can't open the download!
There are three possible reasons that I am aware of:
- The file was damaged during the download. That occasionally happens, especially if the internet connection is a bit unstable. Simply delete the file and try again.
- You have a very old version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or your Reader has some bug. Try to uninstall Adobe and then download and install the latest version:
It could be your operating system and browser combination or settings. A couple of my readers reported having problems like this with Windows 7. The problem resolved when they moved the file to another computer.
This is extremely rare and I haven't had any reports of it lately. But if the above two fixes didn't work, try opening it on another computer.
If none of the above works, or if your link expires before you can resolve the problem, please get in touch through this priority contact form and I will send you a fresh link or the file itself as needed.
So far everybody was able to access the file eventually. But should it really happen that for some reason you can not resolve the computer problems at your end, then you can of course get a refund on your purchase. I would not charge you for something that you are unable to use!
I bought your guide three weeks ago but it still hasn't arrived!
This is an e-book.
- Below the "Buy Now"/shopping cart buttons I explain what will happen when you buy one of my guides.
- Not far below the top images of the book (where I mention the money-back guarantee) is a link that says, "What's an e-book?".
You find the same link again above the book images near the bottom of the page, where the "Buy Now"/shopping cart buttons are. The link takes you to a page that explains e-books in detail: "What's an e-book?"
Please re-read those sections. That should clarify things.
Once you are clear on what you bought, let me know if you would like to keep the e-book. If you didn't download and save the e-book when you first bought it then the download link has expired, but I can re-activate it for you.
If you are absolutely not interested in an e-book, then you can of course get a refund. That's not a problem at all.
Just get in touch through this priority contact form and let me know what you want to do.
I have a totally different question/problem regarding the purchase of a guide book.
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