Ask MagCloud: Digital Distribution

After uploading your PDF and selecting your binding, you will have the option to Sell Online. This is where you will add any markup to your print version, and will have the option to opt-in to digital distribution. You can also opt-in previously published publications at any time by selecting "Edit Publication" from the Publication Tools dropdown menu on your Publish page or the toolbar on the publication page of any publication you own.

The MagCloud iPad application runs on Apple's iPad. With the MagCloud iPad app you can download and view MagCloud publications in a gorgeous full-color digital format that looks great and is easy to use. Public, free digital versions can be downloaded from within the app itself through the Browse window. Previously purchased digital versions, including those listed on the MagCloud site privately or for a price, can be accessed in the app by logging in with the MagCloud username and password used to purchase the publications. Once you have logged in to the application, previously purchased publications will appear in the My Publications window and canbe downloaded to the app for reading online or offline.

Yes, the MagCloud iPad application as well as any PDF reader that supports hyperlinking will be able to read hyperlinks in MagCloud digital versions. With hyperlinks, you can offer synergy between your MagCloud publication and your website or blog, and also offer your advertisers the ability to link directly to their website to help measure the effectiveness of their ads.

For information about adding hyperlinks to your publication, please see below. We recommend using the Invisible Rectangle appearance, so that the links won’t be visible in your printed version, but the MagCloud iPad Application will still be able to add a blue rectangle to highlight wherever a link is present in a document.

How to Add Hyperlinks in Adobe InDesign:

1. While you are creating your MagCloud publication in InDesign, highlight the text or select the object that you want to add a link to.
2. Go to Type > Hyperlinks & Cross-references > New Hyperlink, or right-click (Windows)/control-click (Mac) on the text or object you’ve selected and go to Interactive > New Hyperlink in the menu that appears.
3. Follow the prompts in the New Hyperlink window that pops up to choose the appearance of the link and what URL or email address it will point to.
4. Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 for every link you want to add. Once all your links are added, export your PDF as usual following the instructions in the MagCloud PDF Guide for InDesign.  Make sure that the box for Hyperlinks is checked in the Include section at the bottom of the General tab in the PDF Export window.
5. Upload your PDF to MagCloud and the digital versions of your publication should include the links you added.

How to Add Hyperlinks in QuarkXPress:

1. While you are creating your MagCloud publication in QuarkXpress, highlight the text or select the object that you want to add a link to.
2. Go to Style > Hyperlink > New or right-click (Windows)/control-click (Mac) on the text or object and go to Hyperlink > New in the menu that appears.
3. Follow the prompts in the New Hyperlink window that pops up to choose the appearance for the link and what URL or email address it will point to.
4. Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 for every link you want to add. Once all your links are added, export your PDF as usual following the instructions in the MagCloud PDF Guide for QuarkXPress.  Make sure that the box for Include Hyperlinks is checked in the Hyperlinks tab in the PDF Export window.
5. Upload your PDF to MagCloud and the digital versions of your publication should include the links you added.

How to Add Hyperlinks to Text* in Apple Pages:

1. While you are creating you MagCloud publication in Apple Pages, highlight the text you want to add a link to.
2. Go to Insert > Hyperlink, or select the Link Inspector from the Inspector window.
3. Select what kind of link you want to add, and enter the URL or email address it will point to.
4. Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 for every link you want to add. Once all your links are added, export your PDF as usual following the instructions in the MagCloud PDF Guide for Apple Pages.
5. Upload your PDF to MagCloud and the digital versions of your publication should include the links you added.

* Pages will not allow you to add links to images. If you want to add a link to an image, create your PDF as usual, then open it in Adobe Acrobat or Apple Preview and follow the instructions below to add links to your images.

How to Add Hyperlinks to a PDF in Adobe Acrobat:

1. Create your PDF following the steps in the MagCloud PDF Guides, then open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat.
2. Go to Tools > Advanced Editing > Link Tool to select the Link Tool, or just highlight the text you want to add a link to.
3. With the Link Tool, click and drag to create a rectangle around the text or image content that you want to add a link to. If you highlighted your text, right-click (Windows) or control-click (Mac) and select “Create Link” from the menu that appears.
4. Follow the prompts in the Add Link menu that pops up to choose the appearance of the link and what URL or email address it will point to.
5. Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 for every link you want to add. Once all your links are added, go to File > Save As to save your document as a new PDF.
6. Upload the new PDF to MagCloud and the digital versions of your publication should include the links you added.

How to Add Hyperlinks to a PDF in Apple Preview:

1. Create your PDF following the steps in the MagCloud PDF Guides, then open the PDF file in Apple Preview.
2. To add a link to text, use the Text tool to highlight the text you want to add a link to, then go to Insert > Annotate > Add Link or click the Link icon in the Annotate menu. To add a link to an object, choose the Select tool, then go to Insert > Annotate > Add Link or click the link icon in the Annotate menu, and click and drag to draw a rectangle where you want the link to be.
3. For both text and objects, after they have been selected, add the URL for the link to the Annotations Inspector window.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for every link you want to add. Once all your links are added, go to File > Save As to save your document as a new PDF.
5. Upload the new PDF to MagCloud and the digital versions of your publication should include the links you added.

All you need is a standard PDF reader to view the PDF you download, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

On an iPad, you can view previously purchased digital versions in the MagCloud iPad application. Simply download the app from Apple's App Store, then log in with your MagCloud username and password. Digital versions that have been previously purchased with that username will appear in the My Publications window. Clicking the Download button for any of those publications will download it to the app for reading both online and offline. You can also browse and download free, public digital versions within the app itself in the Browse window. After you download a free digital version from within the app, it will appear in the My Publications window for reading.

You can also view MagCloud digital versions in PDF format on iOS devices in a variety of ways. The first can be done directly from your iOS device:

1. Sign in to www.magcloud.com via Safari on your iOS device.
2. Browse and purchase, or select existing publications for download (via Account -> Downloads)
3. Tap Download PDF for the digital version you want. This will start the download process. When complete the digital version will appear in Safari.
4. Tap anywhere on the screen to bring up additional Open In options at the top of the page.
5. Tap Open In... for all iOS applications available to read/store the PDF. Select your favorite (e.g. iBooks, Bookman, Goodreader, etc.)
6. Your MagCloud digital version should then open in the program you selected.
7. Read and enjoy!

You can also move PDFs from your computer desktop directly to your iOS device via iTunes and a USB cable.

Via iTunes iBooks Sync

1. Download a digital version from the MagCloud website to your computer desktop.
2. Connect your iOS device to your computer and make sure iTunes launches.
3. Drag and drop the PDF from your desktop into your iTunes Book library (the book icon in the upper left navigation bar in iTunes).
4. Select your iOS device on the left (iTunes 10.1 or later).
5. Click the Books tab in the resulting window.
6. Ensure that the Sync Books checkbox is enabled.
7. If iTunes is set to only sync selected books, be sure to enable the checkbox next to the PDF you want to sync.
8. Click sync.
9. Read and enjoy.

Via iTunes File Sharing

1. Connect your iOS device to your computer and make sure iTunes launches.
2. Select your iOS device on the left (iTunes 10.1 or later).
3. Click on the Apps tab to the right.
4. Scroll down until you reach the File Sharing section and click on any app that reads PDF documents that are listed under Apps (i.e. Bookman, Goodreader or Office Plus).
5. Click Add or drag and drop the PDF to the File Sharing window.
6. Click Sync.
7. Read and enjoy in the PDF reader app you selected.

1. Sign in to www.magcloud.com via the browser on your Android device.
2. Browse and purchase, or select existing publications for download (via Account -> Downloads).
3. Tap Download PDF for the digital version you want. A download icon appears in the status bar. The download arrow is animated until the download is finished.
4. Open the status bar and tap the downloaded file item.
5. Select which application you would like to open the file in.
6. Read and enjoy in your PDF reader app of choice.

1. Sign in to www.magcloud.com via the browser on your WebOS device.
2. Browse and purchase, or select existing publications for download (via Account -> Downloads).
3. Tap Download PDF for the digital version you want. A download status bar will appear. The download status bar is animated until the download is finished.
4. Tap the download status bar and the file will open.
5. Read and enjoy.

The MagCloud iPad application is optimized for viewing MagCloud digital versions on iPad devices, with an easy-to-use reader interface in portrait or landscape mode, as well as support for iOS specific actions like swiping, pinching, and zooming. It also has a unique "All Pages" view that shows all the publication's pages at a glance, and many other cool features.

There are no upfront costs to digitally distribute your publications through MagCloud. Digital versions can be offered on the site for free, free with print purchase, or paid. As a publisher you get to set the selling price, and the proceeds are split: 70% Publisher, 30% MagCloud. Prices must be at least $1.00. A digital version will be made available to buyers as a PDF download, which they can then use across all their personal devices (maximum of 5 downloads).

No, you can opt-out of digital distribution and only distribute in print.