Buying book after sampling keeps sample but not last read page

amoroso · 05-11-2011, 08:12 AM

I recently downloaded an ebook sample on my Kindle 3 and started reading it. I decided to buy the book before reaching the sample's end. When the full book was downloaded, I realized that the sample was still on the device, and the last read page had not been preserved in the full book. Is this the way samples are supposed to work?

bugjd · 05-11-2011, 08:19 AM

i don't know if that's how it's supposed to work, but i did the same thing last night, only reaching the very end of the sample and using the 'buy now' link from there. and the full book was downloaded, but the sample remained and i had to manually move through pages to get to where the sample had left off.

and interesting note, the sample just ended mid-chapter. so even if there had been a table of contents, which this particular book didn't have, i still could not have quickly navigated to where i'd left off.

seems like there must be a better way to do this?

orjanb · 05-11-2011, 08:59 AM

There's pro's and con's to resetting the last read page or not. I regularly find myself reading samples, but not necessarily jumping straight into the full book. In that case, I really do want to re-read the sample part as well.
But the best solution would be to ask a question, e.g. "Do you want to keep reading this book from the end of the sample or do you want to start from the beginning?"

odiakkoh · 05-11-2011, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orjanb

But the best solution would be to ask a question, e.g. "Do you want to keep reading this book from the end of the sample or do you want to start from the beginning?"

That would be nice.

Yeah the samples and the actual books are considered 2 independent books so what happens to one wont happen to the other.

alansplace · 05-11-2011, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bugjd

i don't know if that's how it's supposed to work, but i did the same thing last night, only reaching the very end of the sample and using the 'buy now' link from there. and the full book was downloaded, but the sample remained and i had to manually move through pages to get to where the sample had left off.

and interesting note, the sample just ended mid-chapter. so even if there had been a table of contents, which this particular book didn't have, i still could not have quickly navigated to where i'd left off.

seems like there must be a better way to do this?

you'd most likely be able to quickly navigate to where you quit reading by remembering and using the page number or the location where you stopped reading.
--
Alan

jbcohen · 05-11-2011, 02:17 PM

yes this is exactly the way Amazon does things. My berry's kindle reader does the same thing, the way I cope with this is when reading a sample I always take note of where I am in the book, such as four pages into chapter one. If I chose to purchase the book I then go to the fourth page in chapter one and I am typically where I left off.

Ea · 05-11-2011, 02:36 PM

Amazon treats samples as separate books. A feature to take you to where you left off would be really nice though.

jdgoff · 05-11-2011, 05:35 PM

The last read page is denoted by an html tag in the file of the book. When you download the full book you're getting a new file which doesn't have that tag in it. If you go back to the sample you'll most likely find that the last read page for the sample is still there, but since you're reading a different file with the full version, there's nothing marking where you left off. There are some logistical problems with transferring the tag because it marks a specific location in the file to mark your place, and depending on formatting, the bookmark may not match up with the full copy.

If you find the last page in the sample and note the words in a paragraph, you can search for those same words in the full copy and catch up to where you were.

Hope this helps.

JDG
www.sommerstone.com

05-11-2011, 08:12 AM	#1
amoroso Groupie Posts: 185 Karma: 1004070 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Italy Device: Kindle for Android, Google Play Books	Buying book after sampling keeps sample but not last read page I recently downloaded an ebook sample on my Kindle 3 and started reading it. I decided to buy the book before reaching the sample's end. When the full book was downloaded, I realized that the sample was still on the device, and the last read page had not been preserved in the full book. Is this the way samples are supposed to work?

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05-11-2011, 08:19 AM	#2
bugjd Member Posts: 23 Karma: 572176 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kindle 3, Kindle Fire, paperwhite, iPhone 4s, iPad	i don't know if that's how it's supposed to work, but i did the same thing last night, only reaching the very end of the sample and using the 'buy now' link from there. and the full book was downloaded, but the sample remained and i had to manually move through pages to get to where the sample had left off. and interesting note, the sample just ended mid-chapter. so even if there had been a table of contents, which this particular book didn't have, i still could not have quickly navigated to where i'd left off. seems like there must be a better way to do this?

05-11-2011, 08:59 AM	#3
orjanb Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Sweden Device: Kindle WiFi, Sony Ericsson X10i	There's pro's and con's to resetting the last read page or not. I regularly find myself reading samples, but not necessarily jumping straight into the full book. In that case, I really do want to re-read the sample part as well. But the best solution would be to ask a question, e.g. "Do you want to keep reading this book from the end of the sample or do you want to start from the beginning?"

05-11-2011, 02:17 PM	#6
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,025 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Piper College Device: Samsung A21	yes this is exactly the way Amazon does things. My berry's kindle reader does the same thing, the way I cope with this is when reading a sample I always take note of where I am in the book, such as four pages into chapter one. If I chose to purchase the book I then go to the fourth page in chapter one and I am typically where I left off.

05-11-2011, 02:36 PM	#7
Ea Wizard Posts: 3,490 Karma: 5239563 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kindle 3\|iPad air\|iPhone 4S	Amazon treats samples as separate books. A feature to take you to where you left off would be really nice though.

05-11-2011, 05:35 PM	#8
jdgoff Author Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: kindle	The last read page is denoted by an html tag in the file of the book. When you download the full book you're getting a new file which doesn't have that tag in it. If you go back to the sample you'll most likely find that the last read page for the sample is still there, but since you're reading a different file with the full version, there's nothing marking where you left off. There are some logistical problems with transferring the tag because it marks a specific location in the file to mark your place, and depending on formatting, the bookmark may not match up with the full copy. If you find the last page in the sample and note the words in a paragraph, you can search for those same words in the full copy and catch up to where you were. Hope this helps. JDG www.sommerstone.com

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