# Need help downloading from Smashwords



## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I am very new to Kindle Land. I have no trouble getting books to my Kindle from Amazon. I have purchased one book from Smashwords. I am not sure how to download it, though I am assuming I have to DL to my PC first. Do I need to get some software prior to downloading? What is .mobi and how do I get it? I assume (lots of assumptions here...not good) that it is the format I need to DL books. I appreciate any help. Thanks!


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

You will not need any additional software to do this and you are correct, .mobi is the format you want - and that's basically an ebook format that the kindle can read.  

So you click on the download link for kindle on the book you just bought and it will save to your hard drive - make sure it goes someplace you can find it.

Once it's downloaded, connect your kindle to your computer using the USB cable.  Open the location you saved the ebook to and copy it.  If you're in Windows explorer, you will be able to see your kindle.  Open it and then open the documents folder.  Save your book there.

Close WE, safely remove your kindle and your book will be available as soon as you open your Home on the kindle.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks for the help!  I usually use FireFox. Will it be easier to use WE for the DL? When I clicked on the DL link for Kindle at Smashwords for the book I wanted to DL, I had to search the web for a type of file, but it apparently did not find the right type of file, so it did not ask me to save to a file on my PC.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

WE -- Windows Explorer is NOT Internet Explorer.  It's just the windows file searching system.  You can use Firefox to download just fine.  I made a folder to download smashwords books into.  

You won't be able to OPEN the file on your computer unless you have MobiPocket Reader or the Kindle for PC (there might be other programs as well).

When you copy it -- drag and drop works great; be sure it goes into the 'documents' folder on the Kindle -- it'll be available on your Kindle under "Personal Documents".  You may need to click all the way to the top and then to the left to change the grouping shown, which might be "books".


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I have gotten as far as downloading the book to my PC. It suddenly dawned on me a while ago that I did not have to open it on my PC. I have not connected with my Kindle yet.....I have only had it a few hours and it just finished charging. When I connect the PC to my Kindle, will "Personal Documents" show up on my PC screen, or will it show up on the Kindle screen? I guess I just have to try it and find out!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

When you connect your Kindle to your PC, you'll see 3 folders, one of which is "documents".  That's where you want to copy the smashwords book.

Then properly disconnect the Kindle. . . .use the 'safely remove hardware process'. . . . and unplug it.

On the Kindle home page you'll see your list of  books.  Just under your kindle's name you'll see something that says "showing xx books" or "showing all xxx items".  Click the joystick up until that line is underlined and then click to the left.  You can now change what's showing.  The books you get from Amazon go into "books" but documents you load yourself from your PC will go into "personal documents".


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

huh.  all my amazon and non-amazon books show up in 'books' ....


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

huh. anything I loaded on my DX from my computer show up in "personal documents". . . . .wait. . . .maybe they're all PDF's. . . . .

[emily litella]

never mind

[/emily litella]


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

So, did you get your book sorted out, Jane?


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> So, did you get your book sorted out, Jane?


I got the book downloaded to the computer, but have not yet hooked up the Kindle to the PC. That will be a project for tonight. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks to all for the help!


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## MarkCoker (Feb 15, 2009)

Hi there, welcome to Smashwords! From our Support Page at http://www.smashwords.com/about/supportfaq, you might find this FAQ useful:

*How do I download books to my Kindle?*
Plug your Kindle into the USB slot (small rectangular slot) of your computer using the cable that came with your Kindle. This makes your Kindle appear as a hard drive on your computer. After you purchase the book, from the book's book page click to download the "Kindle" format. Next, navigate to where you see the Kindle show up as a hard drive on your computer. Next, just drop the book's file (it should end in file name of .mobi) to the Kindle's "documents" folder. Then disconnect the Kindle from your computer and the book will be ready to read. If you already downloaded the .MOBI file to your computer, here's a helpful YouTube video that shows how to drag the file from your desktop to the Kindle's documents folder: 



 (video not produced by Smashwords)


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I just got the job done! It must have taken 30 seconds, no more! I dragged it from my PC to my Kindle document file, and it showed up on the home page of my Kindle, just like it was supposed to do. I did all this before Mark's post, but thanks, Mark. Everyone gave very clear instructions.


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## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

Thank you for the clear and easy to follow instructions.  Up until today I had purchased books for my Kindle solely from Amazon.  I had some extra time this morning, so in honor of Read an E-Book Week, I decided to see if I could take advantage of some of the free books that are being offered.  I found a title that sounded interesting, created an account on Smashwords, put the book into my cart, clicked the Kindle mobi download, and had no idea what to do next.  I guess I half expected the book to magically appear somehow on my Kindle, but of course this was not the case.  I searched "Smashwords downloads" on the Kindle Boards and in no time I was able to transfer the downloaded book from the computer to my Kindle.  I also have learned that I can download right to the Kindle from now on and cut out the saving to the computer step.  Thanks again for the help.  It was as if I had a friend who took me step by step through the downloading process and gave me access to another way of expanding my Kindle library.


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