New version of iFlow released with library support

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by jaybee

I have just discovered iFlow, and I love it. I love the auto-flow feature. I want to download library books, but I can't figure how the "open with" feature works. (I am set up to download library books, but I don't know how to get them into iFlow.) Can someone explain this, or point me to an explanation!

Thanks in advance.

iFlow Reader does not yet support 'open with' or side-loading - you can only read stuff that has been uploaded to your iFlowReader bookshelf.

One way to do this is to use Adobe Digital Editions on a computer to download the book, then upload it to your iFlow Reader account bookshelf. Then you can download it to iFlow Reader. Note that iFlow Reader does not have 'return item' feature either, and you can use ADE for that as well (to return a book 'early').

Even if it did support 'Open With' (as, for example, the Bluefire and Overdrive reading apps do), (assuming your library uses Overdrive) you would need to work out how to override your library's Overdrive portal behavior so that you get an Open With option in the first place.

With Mobile Safari, the only way I know of is to install a 'bookmarklet' that inserts some JavaScript to do this (there's an article on pigsgourdsandwikis.com on how to do this). Otherwise, when Overdrive web site sees you are using Mobile Safari, it assumes you will open it with Overdrive's iOS app and you won't be able to choose another app.

Alternatively you can install another iOS browser such as iCab (or maybe Opera). iCab lets you change the browser 'user agent' so that the Overdrive site thinks it is dealing with a computer browser such as Safari 5 or Firefox. Then you'll get an option to download the .acsm file (Adobe Content Server request file), and you can choose the app to open that and 'fulfill' the ebook request.

When iFlow Reader supports Open With, it will be one of the options presented.

And here's hoping iFlow Reader is still available following whatever happens with reading apps on iOS. Some people think that at least some of them will be purged from the App Store at the end of June (following the same guidelines that denied Sony's iOS reading app approval).

[jaybee]

Thanks. I see that I misread the second post in this thread. When it said, "an imminent release of the iFlow Reader will support the Open With functionality," I missed the word "imminent" and thought it had already been released. I guess I'll keep waiting for that.

I do like the scrolling and I like the history function.