iPad FAQs

The standard finger-swipe will move you a page ahead or a page back if you are in portrait mode or landscape mode. If you are in zoom mode, a slow swipe will pan the page, a fast swipe will turn to the next page.

Go to pages

To go to a specific page in the textbook, select the "Goto" field at the top right of the page and use the keyboard to enter the page number. The page number must be entered exactly as displayed in the book (for example, if Appendix pages are shown in the book as "A-1" , do not use "a-1")

Text search

Searching is only supported while online. To search through the text, do the following:

Touch the magnifying-glass icon in the upper right-hand corner. A Search window will open.
Type in the word or term you are interested in.
Touch the Search button.
From the list of Search results, select the page you want to go to.

Touch the bulleted-list icon in the upper left-hand corner to display a dynamic Table of Contents. Touch the chapter or chapter section you want to go to.

Pages Tab

The iPad app displays an array of page thumbnails that you can scroll through. Thumbnails are only loaded while you are online, but any loaded thumbnails are saved for offline use. Do the following:

Touch either side of the page to display a Pages tab at lower left. Touching the screen again hides this tab.
Touch this tab to open a scrollable thumbnail array at the bottom of the page.
Scroll to the page of your choice and touch the page image to go there.
To hide the Pages, tap in the center of the screen. To bring Pages back, tap the screen again.
Use the green scroll indicator at the bottom of the thumbnails to advance quickly in the book

Reading eTextbooks on an iPhone or iPad

You can access both Online and Downloadable eTextbooks using your iPhone or iPad app.

On either device, touch the title you are interested in on your Bookshelf and it will open. You can use the following features as you read your eTextbook.

Ruler

To use the ruler for the reader, tap on the ruler to extend it across the screen, tap a second time to return it to the drawer. Drag the ruler at any point on the ruler to position it up or down the screen.

To hide the Pages and Rulers, tap in the center of the screen. To bring them back, tap again.

Zooming

To Zoom a page you can rotate your iPad into Landscape mode, and scroll the page from top to bottom. You can also use Pinch & Zoom within landscape or portrait mode. When you Zoom the page, you will go into Zoom/Pan mode. Swiping your finger slowly across the page will pan the image, it will not turn the page. To go to the next page, swipe the page quickly. Pinching the image back to regular size will cancel the zoom and pan mode.

Returning to your eTextbook

Once used, your CourseSmart iPad app will always open to the last page you were viewing in the last book you were viewing if you are online. If you start the application offline and your last book has no cached pages, you will return to the bookshelf. If you were using a book with chatted content and you start the application offline, the iPad will go to the first cached page if the last page you used is not in cache.

If you switch books via the My eTextbooks, the next book you open will also open to the last page you were viewing in that book.

Taking And Viewing Notes on an iPhone or iPad

You can use the iPad app to add your own notes to an eTextbook if you are online. The notes you add to your Online CourseSmart subscription will be displayed in the iPad view, and notes you add on the iPad will be available in your online subscription. You can also delete a note on the iPad by selecting the trash can icon on the note. Clicking the √ on the note will save the note, clicking the X on the note will cancel the note entry. Clicking off of the note anywhere else on the page will also save the note.

Downloadable eTextbook users: Notes taken on your computer will not be reflected on the iPad, and notes you take on your iPad will not be reflected on your computer.

You can use the iPhone app to view Notes you have taken using your laptop or desktop machine, and you can add notes using the "+" in the upper right corner of the notes viewing page.

Taking notes is only supported in the portrait view.

To add a Note on the iPad

Do the following:

Touch the plus sign in the upper right-hand corner.
In the Note window that opens, type a title and the text of your Note.
A Note title is required, but note text is not.
Touch the √ in the corner to close the Note and save the note.
Touch the X in the corner to close the Note without saving.
Tapping off the note will also save the note

You will be able to see the pages with notes in the Pages Browser, these pages will show with a small yellow icon. Notes are automatically numbered and dated.

Viewing Your Notes on an iPad

The counter in the upper right-hand corner below the plus sign tells you how many Notes are attached to that page. Touch this counter to see them.

Touch on any one of the Notes to open it and make it editable. If you have Note that can not display in the height of the page, the Note will be scrollable up and down.

To see a list of all Notes in the eTextbook, touch the Notes symbol at the bottom of the Table of Contents pane (accessed by touching the bulleted-list symbol at the upper left of each page). Touching any of them takes you to the page where the Note is attached. From this page you can open, read, edit or delete your Notes as described above.

To hide the Notes, click in the center of the iPad.

Viewing Your Notes on an iPhone

To view notes on an iPhone select the notebook icon at the bottom of any book page, this will display the notes screen. Click on a note to see it in full screen view and to edit the note. To add a note, tap on the "+" in the Notes list page.

Highlighting on an iPhone or iPad

Highlighting and displaying highlights from your Online or Downloadable eTextbook is not currently supported in the iPad or iPhone app.

It is not possible to highlight or annotate highlights on the iPhone. It is possible to highlight and annotate on the iPad, however these highlights are only visible in the iPad version of your eTextbook. To highlight an area of a page, press the pencil icon at the top left of the screen. You will see a small rectangle appear in the middle of the page. Grab a blue dot with your finger to make this box to a larger size/shape. You can drag the rectangle around the screen by placing your finger over the rectangle outline and dragging it around the page. After manipulating the rectangle to a position you like a menu will appear allowing a selection of Highlight | Annotate | Share.

Highlight will make a highlighted box on the page.
Annotate will allow you to show the box with a caption.
Share will allow you to email a graphical image of this section of the page to a friend or classmate.

To manipulate a highlight or annotation, hold your finger momentarily on the rectangle. You will get a menu which will show: Highlight | Annotate | Delete . Using this menu, you can add an annotation to a highlight, or add a highlight to an annotation, you can share the rectangle thru and email, or you can delete the rectangle.

Note: CourseSmart iPad App for Cengage Brain does not support highlights and annotations.

Using eTextbooks without Wifi

Accessing your Online or Downloadable eTextbooks on the iPhone requires an initial internet connection. The iPad now supports caching chapters and limited access to the textbook without an internet connection. If you have cached any chapter, any page you have recently viewed will be available to you offline, as well as any sections you have selected for caching. IN ORDER TO USE THE IPAD WHILE OFFLINE, DO NOT LOG OUT OF THE APPLICATION. YOU CAN QUIT AND RESTART THE APPLICATION AT ANYTIME, BUT YOU CAN ONLY LOG BACK INTO THE APPLICATION WHILE ONLINE. If you attempt to access your cached material and you are not logged into the application, you will not have access to your cached materials.

If you choose to cache materials to your iPad, you can only do so once. You cannot have an extended cache of your materials to more than one iPad. When using cached materials on the iPad, you can only use a single account with your iPad.

Caching your eTextbook sections on the iPad

CourseSmart pages include intensive graphics and require large files. CourseSmart supports caching sections of the book as needed for speed and offline access. Expect caching to take a minute for every 10 pages, e.g., a 100-page section could take 10 minutes to cache.

You must be online to cache a chapter. To cache a chapter, select the green arrow on the book cover within the bookshelf. The application will retrieve the table of contents and present you with the content manager which will list the sections available for caching. Sections with a blue √ have already been cached on your iPad. To select a section, touch the circle next to the section name. The sections to be cached will have green arrows next to them. Then press "Download Selected" to cache the section(s). A progress indicator will appear in the lower right. The spinner indicates that the file is being prepared for caching, the green progress indicator shows completion of caching.

Chapters can be cached only once. If the caching does not complete, you should attempt to cache the chapter again as soon as possible to avoid being locked out of caching your chapter locally on your iPad.

Chapters that have been cached will appear in the content manager with a √. Chapters that are in being cached will show a green arrow.

Reading Cached sections

If the application is started without online access, the bookshelf will be presented without a login. The green arrows will not be present on the books because adding information to cache is not possible while offline. Books that have cached sections will have a blue √ icon on the book cover. Only these books can be opened while offline, and only sections that have been cached or previously viewed can be accessed.

When reading offline, you cannot search text or create new notes.

When you get to a new section cached on the iPad, the application will ask for you to "Please Wait" while it prepares the section for viewing. The length of the wait is proportional to the size of the section being prepared.

When you a reading online, the application will first look to see if the page has already been cached before requesting the page over the internet. Pages that are have previously been cached will have faster access than pages that have not.

Caching Issues

CourseSmart only allows one caching of a section. If caching is interrupted or unsuccessful, attempt to recache your section as soon as possible. If your CourseSmart application gets deleted, or your iPad gets destroyed or replaced, you will need to contact customer support to have your cache access reset. If you attempt to cache a section of the text a second time, you will get an error message: "This book section is currently not available for offline download." You can continue to access the book while connected to the internet until until you contact CourseSmart Support. Contact support going to support.coursesmart.com and selecting the "Contact Us" tab.

Mobile Application Accessibility Statement

CourseSmart's eTextbooks for the iPad/iPhone is generally inaccessible to blind or visually-impaired users. The application is also inaccessible to users who can only use keyboard controls. Current technical limitations prevent accessing the underlying text from being presented to users. A VPATs for the iPad/iPhone applications can be found on our website at http://www.coursesmart.com/go/accesshelp. CourseSmart will work towards an accessible version of the applications as technology progresses. CourseSmart's website is generally accessible to iPad/iPhone users using VoiceOver. Students using screen-reader technology should contact accessibility@coursesmart.com for more information and assistance with accessibility on the iOS.

Feedback for iPhone and iPad apps

CourseSmart is always interested in hearing your feedback on our applications, and we are striving to make our iPhone and iPad experiences one of your favorite applications. We have plans for many new features for the fall semester and we’re anxious to receive student input. To send us your ideas, please email us at support@coursesmart.com.