Google Play - Know format before buying?

garbanzo · 07-30-2017, 02:06 PM

I've never bought an ebook from Google Play before. There's a book there that I'm interested in, but I really only want it if it's PDF. Is there a way for me to know what format the book is before purchasing it?

GlenBarrington · 07-30-2017, 03:03 PM

I couldn't believe they wouldn't tell you what formats it was available in, but I looked at Google's comic books thinking the format would be important to tell the customer about. By golly, it DOESN'T tell you!

My hunch is they are not in PDF format, but in some sort of proprietary format. My reasons are, they offer 'Bubble text' and tell the consumer to download the Google Play book app for their particular device. You might want to contact their helpline and get a firm answer from them.

AnemicOak · 07-30-2017, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garbanzo

I've never bought an ebook from Google Play before. There's a book there that I'm interested in, but I really only want it if it's PDF. Is there a way for me to know what format the book is before purchasing it?

Look at the section of the book's description that says Features. You'll generally see Flowing text, Original pages or both. Flowing Text means ePub and Original Pages means PDF. As I understand it sometimes the PDF is one provided by the publisher, other times it's generated from the ePub.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

I couldn't believe they wouldn't tell you what formats it was available in, but I looked at Google's comic books thinking the format would be important to tell the customer about. By golly, it DOESN'T tell you!

My hunch is they are not in PDF format, but in some sort of proprietary format. My reasons are, they offer 'Bubble text' and tell the consumer to download the Google Play book app for their particular device. You might want to contact their helpline and get a firm answer from them.

The one comic I have from them has "original pages" and downloads as a PDF.

cromag · 07-30-2017, 06:05 PM

Books I've downloaded from Google Play have been Epub. But, I suppose that doesn't mean they all will.

I've also bought two magazines from Google Play: Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock mystery magazines. They were PDF, but did not have PDF file extensions. I suppose this is fine if you are only ever going to use the Google app to read them. Tracking them down and correcting the file extensions was a real pain -- and I decided it was just too much work.

garbanzo · 07-30-2017, 06:07 PM

It says both - does that mean it is available as both epub and PDF, but it's possible that the PDF is from the epub?

The preview looks like a poorly formatted epub. Everything is left-justified, and there are no spaces between paragraphs.

RZetlin · 07-30-2017, 07:15 PM

Not all books on the Google Play Store allow you to download.

If it doesn't say it works with eReader, you may not be able to download it.

garbanzo · 07-30-2017, 07:38 PM

Wow, really?

If they can't be upfront about what they're selling me, then I'll skip it. The hardcover is 4x the price, but at least I know what I'm getting...

Thanks everyone.

Difflugia · 07-31-2017, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garbanzo

It says both - does that mean it is available as both epub and PDF, but it's possible that the PDF is from the epub?

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by garbanzo

Wow, really?

If they can't be upfront about what they're selling me, then I'll skip it. The hardcover is 4x the price, but at least I know what I'm getting...

Thanks everyone.

If you prefer PDF, another source is eBooks.com. Some publishers still have PDFs available there and the PDFs are created by the publishers themselves. The caveat there is that eBooks.com allows downloads of whatever formats the publisher currently allows, even if the formats were different when you bought the book. I have several books that allowed PDFs when I bought them, but no longer do.

Cinisajoy · 07-31-2017, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Difflugia

Yes.

If you prefer PDF, another source is eBooks.com. Some publishers still have PDFs available there and the PDFs are created by the publishers themselves. The caveat there is that eBooks.com allows downloads of whatever formats the publisher currently allows, even if the formats were different when you bought the book. I have several books that allowed PDFs when I bought them, but no longer do.

I know of one author that uploaded only a pdf to Google Play. When you clicked on the buy button, a warning box came up that this book may not be readable on phones.
This was before July 2015.

07-30-2017, 02:06 PM	#1
garbanzo bean Posts: 82 Karma: 338 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Boox Nova 2	Google Play - Know format before buying? I've never bought an ebook from Google Play before. There's a book there that I'm interested in, but I really only want it if it's PDF. Is there a way for me to know what format the book is before purchasing it?

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07-30-2017, 03:03 PM	#2
GlenBarrington Cheese Whiz Posts: 1,986 Karma: 11677147 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Springfield, Illinois Device: Kindle PW, Samsung Tab A 10.1(2019), Pixel 6a.	I couldn't believe they wouldn't tell you what formats it was available in, but I looked at Google's comic books thinking the format would be important to tell the customer about. By golly, it DOESN'T tell you! My hunch is they are not in PDF format, but in some sort of proprietary format. My reasons are, they offer 'Bubble text' and tell the consumer to download the Google Play book app for their particular device. You might want to contact their helpline and get a firm answer from them.

07-30-2017, 06:05 PM	#4
cromag Surfin the alpha waves ~~ Posts: 24,293 Karma: 459220161 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: New Jersey Device: Jetbook Lite & Mini, Nook STR, Kobo, Hanvon N516, Kindle 2, Androids	Books I've downloaded from Google Play have been Epub. But, I suppose that doesn't mean they all will. I've also bought two magazines from Google Play: Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock mystery magazines. They were PDF, but did not have PDF file extensions. I suppose this is fine if you are only ever going to use the Google app to read them. Tracking them down and correcting the file extensions was a real pain -- and I decided it was just too much work.

07-30-2017, 06:07 PM	#5
garbanzo bean Posts: 82 Karma: 338 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Boox Nova 2	It says both - does that mean it is available as both epub and PDF, but it's possible that the PDF is from the epub? The preview looks like a poorly formatted epub. Everything is left-justified, and there are no spaces between paragraphs.

07-30-2017, 07:15 PM	#6
RZetlin Addict Posts: 383 Karma: 3461302 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Aura One, Kobo Glo, Kobo Aura HD (RIP)	Not all books on the Google Play Store allow you to download. If it doesn't say it works with eReader, you may not be able to download it.

07-30-2017, 07:38 PM	#7
garbanzo bean Posts: 82 Karma: 338 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Boox Nova 2	Wow, really? If they can't be upfront about what they're selling me, then I'll skip it. The hardcover is 4x the price, but at least I know what I'm getting... Thanks everyone.