New Site Wizard

Unzip Instead of Unpack

Bookshare has upgraded its compression/encryption technology to use standard Zip compression. This simplifies the process of downloading books. New users no longer have to download and install the Unpack Tool.

Unzip works much like Unpack. To read Bookshare books, you will first need to “unzip” the files. Windows XP and Vista users can unzip the files directly (for older PCs and Macs, see below):

  1. Select the “.zip” book file.
  2. Choose Extract All from the File menu.
  3. Choose a location for saving the files and enter your password.

The zip compression creates just one file per book, which means Bookshare books are much easier to manage and take up less disk space on your computer. Bookshare will soon be adding images to select books and the zip format will also make it much easier to manage books with lots of images.

You will no longer need the old Unpack Tool, unless you have books you have downloaded but haven’t unpacked. If you do have packed books, you can either unpack them with the Unpack Tool, or download the books again from Bookshare:

  1. Go to My Account
  2. Select the My Books option, which lists all the books you have downloaded.
  3. Select the book you want and select Download.

If you have any concerns, please contact Bookshare Support.

Older PCs and Macs

Windows XP and above has Zip capability built into the operating system. If your PC operating system is older or if you have a Mac, you may need to download a zip program. Bookshare recommends the following:

Mac users can also use Stuffit, which is not free, but works quite well.

If you have any concerns, please contact Bookshare Support.

Upgrading Your Access Technology

Please contact your access technology vendor for an upgrade to your device or software application so that you can unzip books.

Product Vendor Contact
Victor Reader Stream
BrailleNote		 Humanware 1-800-722-3393
Open Book Freedom Scientific 1-727-803-8600
Ikon Levelstar 1-800-315-2305 #1
Dynavox Dynavox 1-866-DYNAVOX
Kurzweil 1000 Kurzweil 1-888-995-9905
Kurzweil 3000 Kurzweil 1-800-894-5374