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Bluefire Reader User Guide

Download Bluefire Reader from AppStore.

Welcome to Bluefire Reader

Bluefire Reader is the creation of Bluefire Productions, a small, independent software company in Seattle, WA. We built this app because we wanted to provide book lovers like us with the freedom to choose where we buy books and how we read them.

We value the unique curatorial voice of each bookseller.  You’ll find some great ones in the "Get Books" screen of the app, and we hope to add more soon.

Bluefire Reader supports Adobe eBook DRM because it's become an industry standard across a wide variety of booksellers and public libraries. Adobe DRM allows you to transfer books that you've purchased from many different booksellers between your reading devices and personal computers.

We hope you enjoy Bluefire Reader and many hours of happy reading.

Chapter 1: Authorizing Bluefire Reader

When Bluefire Reader launches for the first time, it asks if you'd like to authorize the application.  Authorization is a simple process where you're asked to enter an Adobe ID and password so that your copy of Bluefire Reader is able to read Adobe eBooks.

What are Adobe eBooks?
Adobe eBooks are PDF and ePUB files that have been copy-protected with Adobe Digital Rights Management (DRM) software. These files are also referred to as Adobe Content Server 4 (ACS4) documents.

If you decide not to authorize your reader, you can always do so at a later date.  See Section 1.1 Enabling or Disabling Adobe eBooks.
The authorization step is optional. You can still enjoy thousands of non-DRM'd books with Bluefire Reader even if you choose not to authorize the application. 

1.1 Enabling or Disabling Adobe eBooks

You can authorize or de-authorize Bluefire Reader at any time from the application's Info Screen. To bring up the Info Screen, select the Info button from the Main Toolbar of the application.

If the application has not yet been authorized, simply tap the Authorize button in the Info screen to start the process.

You'll be prompted for your Adobe ID and password.  If you don't already have an Adobe ID, tap the red button in the upper right-hand corner to get one.  See Section 1.2 Getting and Adobe ID.  Once you have entered your Adobe ID, tap Continue to authorize your reader.

Once your reader is authorized, you may purchase and read Adobe eBooks that have been copy-protected with Adobe DRM.  You can also transfer many eBooks that have been downloaded to other readers that were authorized with the same Adobe ID as your Bluefire Reader.

Note that Adobe limits your total number of authorizations, and each time you authorize Bluefire Reader (even on the same device) it counts against your total number.

To de-authorize your reader, simply tap the Deauthorize button on the application Info screen.

1.2 Getting an Adobe ID

If you do not already have an Adobe ID (sometimes referred to as an Adobe Account), you can get one for free from the Adobe website via a simple registration process.  This process is also accessible from the Authorization Dialog in Bluefire Reader.

1.3 Transferring eBooks from Other Devices

Adobe eBooks that have been downloaded to other computers or devices can often be transferred to Bluefire Reader if the same Adobe ID was used to authorize each device.  Note:an exception to this may occur if the book publisher has elected to limit the reading rights of a book to a single device, making them non-transferrable.

There are several ways to transfer Adobe eBooks into Bluefire Reader. See Chapter 3: Transferring eBooks.

Chapter 2: Getting New eBooks

The Get Books feature of Bluefire Reader provides an easy way to browse and search over a million free and commercial eBook titles from a wide variety of online bookstores and free eBook sites. You can access Get Books from the Main Toolbar of the application.

2.1 Purchasing eBooks

Purchasing eBooks is made easy with the Get Books feature.  You can browse and search our entire eBook catalog at once, or browse individual bookstores.  Once you've found a book you want, simply tap on the Buy button to purchase the book at the bookseller's site.  Once the purchase has been made, you'll be presented with an option to download the book into Bluefire Reader.

Please back up any books that you purchase, download, or transfer to Bluefire Reader. This is a very important step and, if overlooked, can lead to an unfortunate loss of your library items. Also note that most retailers will allow you to re-download items that you have previously purchased. See Chapter 3 Transferring eBooks.

2.2 Free Books

There are thousands of free titles available for instant download through Bluefire Reader. Simply tap the Free button to directly download the book to your Bluefire Reader Library.

2.3 Browsing Across All eBook Stores

You can browse a combined catalog of all eBook stores from the Get Books Home Page. If the same book is available from multiple eBook stores, you'll be presented with a list of stores that carry the book.

Searching Across eBook Catalogs

You can also search the combined catalog by tapping on the magnifying glass in the upper right-hand corner of the Get Books Homepage.

2.4 Shopping Individual eBook Retailers

The Get Books feature allows you to browse and search for books from specific bookstores.  These are listed on the Get Books Homepage.  From this page, you may log into your account at many of the stores.

2.5 My Catalogs

Bluefire Reader allows you to add the URL of known book catalog feeds that are published according to the OPDS v 1.0 standard.  Please note that feeds added to Bluefire Reader with this feature will not be searchable.

Chapter 3: Transferring Books to Bluefire Reader

3.1 Transferring eBooks with iTunes

The Apple iTunes application has a File Sharing feature that can be used to transfer files to and from Bluefire Reader. This can be used as a convenient method to back up your books.

Visit iTunes Help for more information on File Sharing for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. 

3.2 Transferring eBooks from other Apps

Many applications support the "Open In..." feature of iOS.  In these applications (Mail, Dropbox, etc.), tap and hold on an ePUB or PDF file name to access the "Open In..." menu.  Then choose "Bluefire Reader" to launch Bluefire Reader and view the file.  When a file is opened in Bluefire Reader, it will automatically be added to your Library.

Chapter 4: Managing Your eBooks

4.1 Library View

Tap the Library button in the Main Toolbar to view a list of the items that have been added to Bluefire Reader. There are two views within Library: the Covers View and the List View. 

You can sort your Library in order of most-recently read books, by author name, or by item title by tapping on the sort buttons at the top of the screen.

4.2 Opening a Book

Tap on a cover image or book title in your Library to open and read a book.

4.3 Deleting a Book

To delete a book from your Library, first tap the Edit button in the upper right-hand corner. This will take you into Edit Mode.  Select the circular red button with the horizontal line to delete the item from your Library.  Please note that this is not a reversible action - the book will be removed from your Library and deleted from the device.

4.4 Item Info

To view additional information about a book, tap on the blue, circular button to the right of the item in the List View of your Library.

Additional Info may include:

  • Book Title
  • Author
  • Publisher
  • Format (ePUB or PDF)
  • Date Added to the Library
  • Date Item was Last Read
  • Current Page Read in the Book
  • Number of Bookmarks
  • Permissions Set by the Publisher

    Chapter 5: Reading

    5.1 Moving Between Pages

    There are several ways to move from one page to another after you've opened your eBook.

    Tapping on Book Pages

    Tap on the right edge of a page to move to the next page.  Tap on the left edge of a page to move to the previous page.

    Swiping on Pages

    Swipe to the left to view the next page.  Swipe to the right to view the previous page.

    Navigation Buttons

    Tap in the center of the screen to view the Book Navigation Controls and Reading Toolbar. Tap on the right-facing arrow to move to the next page. Tap on the left-facing arrow to move to the previous page.

    Book Location Slider

    Drag the Book Location Slider to the desired page for quick navigation between pages.

    5.2 Table of Contents

    Tap the Contents button from the Reading Toolbar to view the Table of Contents for the current book (if the publisher included one).  Tap an entry in the Table of Contents to jump to that section of the book.

    5.3 Selecting Text

    Press and hold on a word to select it.  A magnifying glass will appear to help you position the start of your text selection more precisely.  Drag the blue selection start and end point markers to edit the range of your text selection.

    Tap Copy to copy the selected text, or tap Add Bookmark to create a Bookmark with the selected text as the excerpt. See Section 5.4 Creating a Bookmark.

    5.4 Creating a Bookmark

    Tap the Add Bookmark button in the upper-right corner of the Reading Title Bar to add a bookmark.  Or first select text to create a bookmark with the selected text as the excerpt. Use the Notes field to add annotations to your bookmark.  If the bookmark contains an excerpt, that text will become highlighted in the content of the book.

    5.5 Viewing, Editing, and Deleting Bookmarks

    Tap the Bookmarks button in the Reading Toolbar to view a list of the bookmarks you've created. You may sort your bookmarks by the date they were created or the order in which they appear in the book.

    To edit a bookmark's note, tap the circular blue button to the right of the bookmark.

    To delete a bookmark, first tap the Edit button above the Bookmarks List, and then tap on the red, circular button to the left of the bookmark.

    5.6 Searching within a Book

    To search for words or phrases within a book, tap the Search button in the Reading Toolbar. This will bring up the Search Toolbar at the top of the book page. Enter a search term within this bar and tap Enter or Search on the keyboard to begin your search.

    Search terms in the book will be highlighted. You can advance through the results by tapping the arrow in the Search Toolbar. To dismiss the Search Toolbar, tap on the Done button. Tap on the page to hide or show the Search Toolbar. Note: you must first dismiss the Search Toolbar to access the Reading Toolbar.

    5.7 Reading Settings

    Tap the Settings button in the Reading Toolbar to access the Reading Settings. There are two tabs in the Settings Panel: General and Formatting.

    General Settings Tab

    The General Settings, from top to bottom are:

  • Select Text Size
  • Select Margin Size
  • Adjust Brightness
  • Select Page Turn Effect
  • Show/Hide Page Numbers in the Margin
  • Enable Night Mode

    Formatting Tab

    You can override the publisher's formatting in the book by sliding the Use Publisher's Formattingswitch to Off.  When you do this, additional formatting options become available.  Warning: this may cause unexpected results depending on the nature of the publisher's formatting.  Additional settings include:

  • Select Font Face
  • Enable Justified Text Alignment
  • Select Text Color
  • Select Background Color
  • Select Color Theme