Pocket PC Questions
Read this page to find answers to frequently asked questions about Microsoft
Reader for Windows Mobile.
General Questions
Troubleshooting
What's new in Microsoft Reader for Windows Mobile ?
Microsoft Reader for Windows Mobile is setting a new standard for electronic
reading by giving you the freedom to read premium eBooks on up to four of
your
favorite devices. The new and improved features in Microsoft Reader for
Windows Mobile let you enjoy:
-
Innovative content support - enjoy Owner Exclusive eBooks on Windows Mobile
and other Microsoft Reader-enabled devices.
-
Greater portability: Activate Microsoft Reader on up to four devices and
take your eReading library wherever you go.
-
Enhanced design, including better image scaling and compression, flexible
tables, and consistent font treatment.
-
External HTML linking, custom dictionary support, improved audio support,
and completely re-designed Help with Quick Search.
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Which Windows Mobile devices include Microsoft Reader?
Microsoft Reader comes preinstalled on Windows Mobile 2002 and Windows Mobile 2003 devices
from a variety of manufacturers, and you can activate and read copy-protected
(Owner
Exclusive)
eBooks on these devices. Earlier versions of the Windows Mobile feature Microsoft
Reader 1.0 for the Pocket PC, which cannot accommodate activation or read
Owner
Exclusive eBooks. Most of these devices cannot be upgraded to Microsoft Reader
2.x, which requires Windows Mobile 2002 or Windows Mobile 2003.
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Is Microsoft Reader available for other Windows CE-powered
devices already on the market?
Microsoft Reader is not available for earlier versions of Windows CE-powered
devices. We are working with various manufacturers to make Microsoft Reader
available on consumer mobile devices in the near future.
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What version of Microsoft Reader will be available with
Windows Mobile 2002 and Windows Mobile 2003?
Microsoft Reader 2.2.2 for Windows Mobile 2002 and Windows Mobile 2003 helps provide
fully enabled security for seamless access to all Microsoft Reader eBook titles.
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Is Microsoft Reader for Windows Mobile a separate download?
Microsoft Reader is not a separate download in most cases. Most manufacturers
of new Windows Mobile devices include all the features of Windows Mobile 2002 and Pocket
PC 2003—including
Microsoft Reader —preinstalled. For cases where devices with limited
memory can be upgraded, Microsoft Reader and other applications will be available
as
separate downloads.
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Why don't old Windows Mobiles support Owner Exclusive eBook
content?
Ultimately, it's a question of customer experience. To support the security
architecture that enables you to read an Owner Exclusive eBook, your device
must have a unique hardware identifier. This identifier was simply not available
on the first version of the Windows Mobile. Microsoft dedicated an enormous amount
of resources toward developing a software fix to overcome this inherent hardware
shortcoming, but ultimately we found the technical hurdles made it impossible
to develop a solution that provided an acceptable customer experience.
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I
see an error "Microsoft Reader is no longer able to access this eBook" on
my Windows Mobile. What can I do to troubleshoot?
When you first read a book using Microsoft Reader, the software paginates
the eBook for you: as you read your eBook, Microsoft Reader software determines
the length of the eBook according to the current font size setting and updates
the .EBO file for the opened book with that information. If you hard-reset your
Windows Mobile, Microsoft Reader assumes you're opening an eBook for the first time,
and the software paginates the eBook for you.
If you open an eBook for the first time, and turn off the device while Reader
is performing background pagination, you'll receive an error, "Microsoft
Reader is no longer able to access this book."
Here's how to fix the problem:
-
Shut down Microsoft Reader:
a. From the Start Menu, tap "Settings"
b. Select the System tab.
c. Select the Memory icon.
d. Tap the Running Program tab.
e. Highlight Microsoft Reader on the Running Program list.
f. Tap the Stop button.
- Tap OK.
- Start File Explorer
- Navigate to My Documents/Annotations
-
Select and delete the .EBO file for the problem title. The correct .EBO
file is the file that begins with the eBook title. If more than one .EBO
file exists for the problem title, select and delete each one.
- Start Microsoft Reader again.
-
Open the eBook. Let the device remain turned on, allowing Microsoft Reader
to repaginate until it completes. This process should not take more than
a few minutes. Microsoft Reader needs to perform this operation just once
for each eBook.
How do I know if Reader is still handling background pagination on
the title?
- Open the eBook in question.
- Begin reading the content.
-
On the bottom of the Reader page, tap and hold the page number for a couple
of seconds — then release it. The Riffle Control should be displayed:
its appearance may take a second or two.
-
The Riffle Control shows you where you are in the eBook. The leftmost number
is the first page of the eBook; the rightmost number is the last page of
the eBook.
If the right-most number is displayed in red, then the Reader is not done
with background pagination. If the right-most number is displayed in black,
then the Reader has completed pagination.
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I've tried repagination, but I still see an error, "Microsoft
Reader is no longer able to access this eBook" on my Windows Mobile. What
else can I do to troubleshoot?
Microsoft Reader keeps a catalog of all the eBooks on your device. This catalog
is called litpath.LPT. The catalog contains a list of the books and their locations.
Sometimes the litpath.LPT file can become corrupted, especially if you move
your eBooks to a different location on your device. If the file does become
corrupted, you may see an error message, "Microsoft Reader is no longer
able to access this book," when you open your eBook from the Library.
Here's how to fix the problem:
-
Shut down Microsoft Reader:
a. From the Start Menu, tap "Settings"
b. Select the System tab.
c. Select the Memory icon.
d. Tap the Running Program tab.
e. Highlight Microsoft Reader on the Running Program list.
f. Tap the Stop button.
- Cradle your Windows Mobile
- Establish a connection to your Windows Mobile device using ActiveSync
- From the ActiveSync file menu, select Explore.
- In the Explorer window that appears, double-click the My Windows Mobile icon.
- Find litpath.LPT in the file list
- Delete litpath.LPT
When you run Microsoft Reader again, give it a little time to rebuild its
eBook catalog. If you have a lot of eBooks, it can take some time. If you would
like to read an eBook while the catalog is rebuilt, use your File Explorer
to open an eBook on your Windows Mobile; while you're enjoying your eBook, Reader
will continue to rebuild its catalog of your titles.
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I
have a Windows Mobile with a VGA display: Microsoft Reader occasionally
freezes.
Try downloading the latest version of
Microsoft
Reader for Windows Mobile
(version 2.4, released in March, 2005).
This version specifically addresses display and performance errors
that occurred when the prior release was run on Windows Mobile devices
with VGA displays.
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