Question about downloading epub files

Falbe Publishing · 09-01-2010, 09:08 PM

At my websites I offer free epub ebooks for download. I have noticed however that when I test my sites the file wants to download as a .zip file.

This is the scenario:

1. right click on link to epub ebook.
2. choose save target as.
3. dialogue box to save to my computer appears with the file labeled as .zip.

Now, if I manually change the file extension to .epub it saves just fine as an epub file.

See what I mean at this page: http://www.falbepublishing.com/brave...nloadpage.html

However, I am worried that my visitors may not know to do this and they are getting a confusing mess with a .zip folder download.

Should I be worried?
Why does the epub file do this but not other formats?
I have a download service that delivers my paid ebooks to customers and its links to not do this .zip thing.

Any insights people can offer would be appreciated.

charleski · 09-01-2010, 09:17 PM

You need to tell your webserver what an epub is. See this post.

Having said that, I can't see any problem with your site.

JSWolf · 09-01-2010, 09:23 PM

But it does work perfectly well with Firefox. It's that POS MSIE that doesn't work.

wallcraft · 09-01-2010, 09:24 PM

I have heard of this happening on Macs, but it might also be an issue with other browsers. An ePub actually is a zip file, and its mimetype is application/epub+zip. Some browsers seem to associate .epub with ZIP. This isn't a huge issue if the file is just downloaded (as you say, just rename from .zip to .epub), but some browsers try to "help" by invoking an unzip step.

Falbe Publishing · 09-01-2010, 09:35 PM

Thanks for the advice. I suspected it was the web browser. It's nice to know Firefox isn't doing this. I'll try and figure out how to tell my server what an epub is.

Thanks.

09-01-2010, 09:08 PM	#1
Falbe Publishing Gadget Slave Posts: 264 Karma: 600001 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Battle Creek, Michigan Device: Sony PRS505SC	Question about downloading epub files At my websites I offer free epub ebooks for download. I have noticed however that when I test my sites the file wants to download as a .zip file. This is the scenario: 1. right click on link to epub ebook. 2. choose save target as. 3. dialogue box to save to my computer appears with the file labeled as .zip. Now, if I manually change the file extension to .epub it saves just fine as an epub file. See what I mean at this page: http://www.falbepublishing.com/brave...nloadpage.html However, I am worried that my visitors may not know to do this and they are getting a confusing mess with a .zip folder download. Should I be worried? Why does the epub file do this but not other formats? I have a download service that delivers my paid ebooks to customers and its links to not do this .zip thing. Any insights people can offer would be appreciated.

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09-01-2010, 09:17 PM	#2
charleski Wizard Posts: 1,196 Karma: 1281258 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505	You need to tell your webserver what an epub is. See this post. Having said that, I can't see any problem with your site.

09-01-2010, 09:23 PM	#3
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,784 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	But it does work perfectly well with Firefox. It's that POS MSIE that doesn't work.

09-01-2010, 09:24 PM	#4
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,977 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	I have heard of this happening on Macs, but it might also be an issue with other browsers. An ePub actually is a zip file, and its mimetype is application/epub+zip. Some browsers seem to associate .epub with ZIP. This isn't a huge issue if the file is just downloaded (as you say, just rename from .zip to .epub), but some browsers try to "help" by invoking an unzip step.

09-01-2010, 09:35 PM	#5
Falbe Publishing Gadget Slave Posts: 264 Karma: 600001 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Battle Creek, Michigan Device: Sony PRS505SC	Thanks for the advice. I suspected it was the web browser. It's nice to know Firefox isn't doing this. I'll try and figure out how to tell my server what an epub is. Thanks.

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