HelpTo save time when seeking help, view these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If you still need help, click on the Contact Us link in the footer section of this page. General Information Subscriptions
Account Management and Information Logging In My Bookshelf Conducting Searches Safari Labs
Using Safari Books Online Features Problems, Errors and Alerts
Contacting Safari for Help
General Information What is Safari Books Online?
Which publishers/imprints are available in Safari Books Online?
How many books are in Safari Books Online?
Where can I find complete information about a particular book?
How does Safari determine which books to add to the service?
Why aren't all books from a particular publisher available in Safari Books
Online?
Can I request a specific title?
Does a book on Safari Books Online contain the full content of the printed
book?
Where can I find examples and CD content?
Where can I ask technical questions related to the content of a book?
Which browsers are compatible with Safari?
Is Safari Books Online available in languages other than English? Is there an RSS feed to Safari content?
May I purchase print versions of Safari books?
Does Safari have an alternate accessible 508 compliant interface? Subscriptions
How do Safari Books Online subscriptions work in corporate and/or academic environments?
Does Safari offer individual accounts?
How many books can I have on My Bookshelf?
What are 'slots' on My Bookshelf?
Can I share my Safari subscription with somebody else? Account Management and Information
How do I make changes to my account information?
How do I use the My Safari page? Logging In
I forgot my user name and/or password. What do I do?
I'm getting the message "Safari cannot authenticate your user
name and/or password." What should I do?
May I sign on at more than one workstation at a time?
I cannot stay logged in using Apple's Safari Web Browser.
What should I do? My Bookshelf
What is the purpose of My Bookshelf?
How long must a book remain on My Bookshelf?
How do I add books to My Bookshelf?
I don't see the Add button to add books to My Bookshelf
My Bookshelf shows fewer books than total slots but I cannot add books. What's wrong?
If I own a print version of a book, can I add it to My Bookshelf without using any slots?
How do I remove books from My Bookshelf? Conducting Searches
How do I find information in Safari Books Online?
How do I begin a search?
How do I navigate the Search Results page?
How do I conduct an advanced search? What else should I know about Safari search results?
How do I use Browse by Category?
How do I use the Table of Contents sidebar?
How do I use Nested Search? Safari Labs What is Safari Labs?
Using Safari Books Online Features
How do I view books offline?
My company allows chapter downloads.
How do I download PDF versions of Safari chapters?
Is there a way to print pages in Safari Books Online?
How do I add and remove bookmarks?
How do I add and remove notes?
How do I link or refer to a Safari content or book catalog page?
Does Safari have access keys or quick keys for navigation?
Can I make the sidebar disappear?
How do I turn off email notifications?
What is Safari Labs? Problems, Errors and Alerts I found a bug. What do I do?
Why did I receive a spidering alert?
I can log in, but Safari seems to lose my session, forgetting who I am. I log in to Safari, but all my books are in preview mode
I found a content error or formatting problem. What do I do?
General InformationWhat is Safari Books Online?
Safari Books Online offers electronic reference libraries for programming, IT, and business professionals. Unlike an online bookstore, with
Safari Books Online you can search the electronic versions of books
from leading publishers simultaneously.
You can search the entire library in a
matter of seconds to pinpoint precisely the piece of
information you need.. Safari's Additional Reading section on the book catalog and
content pages will let you know of related material elsewhere
in the repository. Safari Books Online is available via a Web browser from any computer
anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
No add-on software is required to run Safari, though your browser must be
configured to allow for JavaScript to be run and grant us the right to store
a session cookie on your workstation.
Which publishers/imprints are available in Safari Books Online? Safari delivers an exclusive collection of complete and fully searchable books,
articles, and videos from the premier industry publishers. Our publishers include
O'Reilly Media, Addison-Wesley, Adobe Press, Macromedia Press, lynda.com, Cisco
Press, Wharton School Publishing, Financial Times, No Starch, Muska & Lipman, New
Riders, Que, Sams, Prima, Premier, SitePoint, Alpha, Syngress, Sun Microsystems Press,
Microsoft Press, IBM Press, IBM Redbooks, IBM Developer Works, MySQL Press, Thomson
Course Technology, Thomson Crisp Learning, Peachpit Press, SAS Publishing, Prentice Hall, and more. See the Contact Us page for details on how to
contact Safari's publishers.
How many books are in Safari Books Online? Safari contains thousands of technical and business books.
To find the number of books included in your Safari subscription,
select View All Titles under Browse by Category on the home page. Where can I find complete information about a particular book? Each book in the service has a "catalog" page, which can be
accessed at any time by clicking on the book's title or cover.
The catalog page provides bibliographic information about the book,
an abstract, Amazon user reviews about the title, and material on
Safari related to the book.
How does Safari determine which books to add to the service?
Why aren't all books from a particular publisher available in
Safari Books Online? There are a number of ways a book can appear in Safari. Generally,
a Safari publisher makes an editorial decision to place a book on the service.
Also: - Safari may make arrangements with a publisher to add a specific set of
books to the service. This is often done to "fill out" subject
areas that deal with emerging technology
- Users often request we add books on a particular subject.
Safari then indicates to its publishers that its users have an interest
in a particular topic. We encourage you to let us know if there are
subjects you'd like to see us cover more thoroughly
- Safari tracks Amazon best sellers and Nielsen Bookscan.
If a bestseller is published by one of Safari's publishers but not
yet in the service, we request that it be added
Please note that given the constantly changing technology and publication
schedules faced by our publishers, we are unable to provide listings of
books planned to be included in the service. Can I request a specific title? If there are specific titles you are interested in from our participating publishers, contact us and we'll pass your request along to them. You may also want to contact the publisher directly. See the Contact Us page for details on communicating with our publishers. Note that given the vagaries of the book publishing business, we cannot guarantee a specific date when a book will be added to the service.
Does a book in Safari Books Online contain the full content of the
printed book? Yes. Safari contains the full cover-to-cover text -- just like a
printed book. Tables, graphics and diagrams are presented in line with text,
just as they appear in the printed books. In order to view the full content
of any book, you must first place it on My Bookshelf. Most Safari titles
are formatted to optimize presentation in a Web browser. However, there
are a number of books where it would not be possible for us to maintain
all the content were we to do so. For these "print fidelity"
books, we display a representation of the printed page in Safari.
All search capabilities are available for these types of books.
Where can I find examples and CD content? Code samples and CD content are supplied by the publisher.
When a publisher chooses to make this information available, you will
find links to examples on the book's Safari catalog page (the page
displayed when you click on a book's cover or title).
The means by which you download supplemental material varies
depending on the amount of information available. In some cases, CD content has not been made available by publishers.
Where can I ask technical questions related to the content of a book? Safari does not provide support regarding questions related to the
actual content of a specific book. This type of support is done by the
book publisher. Safari will be happy to assist you if you find an error
in the formatting or presentation of book content, but you'll need to contact
the publisher if you have a question about the text itself. See the
Contact Us page for details on how to
contact the publishers. Which browsers are compatible with Safari? Safari Books Online makes use of AJAX technology to ensure the security
of its content. In order to access the service, you must be using one of
the following browsers: - Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0 and above and browsers based on it (Mac OS versions are not supported)
- Gecko-based browsers such as Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox, SeaMonkey, Epiphany, Galeon and Netscape version 7.1 and above
- Browsers implementing the KHTML API version 3.2 and above, including Konqueror version 3.2 and above and Apple Safari version 1.2 and above
- Opera browsers version 8.0 and above
- iCab version 3.0b352 and above
Is Safari Books Online available in languages other than English? At this time, Safari is available only in English.
Is there an RSS feed to Safari content? Yes. There are actually several ways to use RSS to stay on top of the
latest Safari additions: - To find out when a new title is added to the Safari library, click on the RSS icon displayed on the home page
- To generate an RSS feed when titles are added in a specific category, click on the category name from any Safari page. From the resulting category listing, you can click on the RSS feed icon.
- You can create your own customized RSS feed to let you know when specific books are added to the service. Click on the Tools menu located at the top of the screen, then enter the information you'd like to have in your feed in the RSS Generator section of the Tools page.
May I purchase print versions of Safari books?
In most corporate and academic implementations, yes.
Go to the catalog page of the book you would like to purchase by
clicking on its cover or title. You'll see a button you can press to
begin the process of purchasing the book directly from the publisher.
Questions regarding the purchase of print versions of
Safari books should be directed to the publisher using the instructions
displayed on the print book purchase page. There are cases where certain corporate customers have prefer that we not
allow individual users to purchase print versions of books through the
Safari interface. If you do not see the Buy Print button in the user
interface, Safari has been requested to not make this feature available.
For additional information, contact your Safari administrator.
Does Safari have an alternate accessible 508 compliant interface?
Safari Books Online conducted a review of its web-based product to
determine compatibility with ADA Section 508 guidelines. Safari Books
Online offers a specific portal whereby users can access the same
library of content with our 508-compliant features. For access to this
portal, users are asked to email
customer-service@safaribooksonline.com
or call 800-775-7330.
SubscriptionsHow do Safari Books Online subscriptions work in corporate and/or academic environments? Safari subscriptions used in corporate or academic environments function in the following ways: - Named Accounts. In this type of implementation, you sign on to the
service with a user ID and password. In most cases, your user ID will
be your business email address. Passwords will either be selected by
you or provided by your on-site Safari administrator.
- IP-Based Accounts. Here, a user name and password is not required to
gain access to Safari. You will be automatically signed on to the service
if you access Safari from within a particular range of IP addresses.
In order to access the full content of a Safari book, you must be
signed on to the service. If you work "anonymously," in
a non-logged in state, you will see only a preview of each section
of book text. Safari is installed in corporate environments in one of three
configurations: - Library-Based Accounts. When Safari is configured this way, you always have full access to book text. You're free to place and remove books to and from your electronic bookshelf as often as you like - think of it as a "my favorites" holding area.
- Bookshelf-Based Accounts. In this configuration, you must place a book on your electronic bookshelf in order to access complete book text. If a book is not on your bookshelf, you're free to search the database for information you need but content will be displayed in "preview mode": only the first few paragraphs of a section of text will be displayed to you. The number of books you may place on your electronic bookshelf will be limited by the number of "slots" your company has purchased for you. When you place a book on your bookshelf, it must reside there for 30 days before it can be removed..
- Fixed Book List. In this configuration, the books available to you are pre-loaded onto your electronic bookshelf. You will not be allowed to replace books with other titles.
A feature allowing you to download Adobe Acrobat versions of chapters
of Safari books is also available to corporate customers. If you have any questions regarding the type of installation you have
or whether you are allowed to download Acrobat versions of Safari chapters,
consult your on-site Safari administrator. How many books can I have on My Bookshelf? It depends on the type of Safari installation your organization
has purchased: - Library-Based Accounts. If your organization has purchased a
library-based Safari account, there is no limited imposed on the size
of your bookshelf. You are free to add and remove titles any time you like.
- Bookshelf-Based Accounts. If your organization has purchased a
bookshelf-based Safari account, you'll be granted a 10-, 20-, or 30-slot
bookshelf. You can add books to My Bookshelf until all slots have been
filled. Then you can modify your subscription through swapping:
A book must reside on your bookshelf for 30 days. You can then either
leave it on your bookshelf or replace it with another title of interest
to you. Most Safari books will take one slot on your electronic bookshelf.
Titles range in slot values from 1/2 to three slots.
- Fixed Book List. In this case, the content of your bookshelf is
fixed; users are not allowed to modify the items on the bookshelf.
For additional information, see the section titled Adding Books
to My Bookshelf. If you have any questions regarding the type of
bookshelf your organization uses, contact your on-site Safari
administrator. What are "slots" on My Bookshelf? Safari bookshelf-based subscriptions are configured to allow users
a particular amount of room on their electronic bookshelves. Depending
on the bookshelf configuration your organization has purchased, you'll
be granted either 10, 20, or 30 slots on your bookshelf.
The number of books you may place on your bookshelf is dependent on
the slot values of the books, not necessarily the number of slots
on your bookshelf. Most Safari books take one slot on your bookshelf,
though slot values can range from one-half to three slots. Slot values
are based on the retail price of the print version of a book.
To determine the number of slots a book will take on your bookshelf,
click on its catalog page. You will always be asked to confirm the
addition or removal of a book from your bookshelf. Book slot values are not relevant to fixed list bookshelves or
library-based accounts. The books on a fixed list bookshelf cannot be
added or removed. With library-based accounts, there are no limitations
on the number of books that may reside on a bookshelf. For additional information, see the section titled Adding Books to
My Bookshelf. If you have any questions regarding the type of bookshelf
your organization uses, contact your on-site Safari administrator. Does Safari Offer individual accounts? Yes. Individual subscribers may start a personal Safari subscription
in addition to your corporate account, so long as your ID/email address
is not the same. Safari subscriptions are available in a variety of forms: - You may open a subscription that will allow you to access the service but not have the ability to download PDFs of book
content - Safari Basic. Subscriptions are sold on either a monthly or annual basis with bookshelf sizes ranging from five to
30 slots. With bookshelf subscriptions, books must be placed on your bookshelf in order to read them. Once placed on the
bookshelf, a book must remain there for 30 days. Most Safari titles take one slot on your bookshelf, but they may range from
zero to 3 slots.
- We offer Safari Max subscriptions, similar to Safari Basic but offering you the ability to download chapters of our books
in PDF format. Each month, you'll receive an allocation of five download tokens; additional download tokens may be purchased as
well. Safari Max subscriptions also give you discounts on print book purchases made through Safari. Safari Max subscriptions are
available with 10, 20, or 30 bookshelf slots. Tokens remain available to you for 90 days from the date they are granted to you or their purchase date.
- Safari Library subscriptions are our premium offering. With Safari Library, you can access all our books whenever you
want with no limitations. As with Safari Max, you have the ability to download chapters of our books in PDF format, and you
receive an allocation of five download tokens per month; additional download tokens may be purchased. You can also view Rough
Cuts titles
online at no extra cost. (Downloading Rough Cuts books or purchasing the print version requires an additional transaction.) The How To database (Beta) and Video content are also part of the Safari Library subscription.
- You are welcome to open a Safari promotional account, which will give you access to our books for a limited period of time. At the conclusion of the promotional period, your account will automatically be converted to the type of subscription that you chose to try (though you're free to cancel at any time during the promotional period with no obligation).
- You may also open a Safari subscription to individual titles by entering a coupon number. Some of our publishers will grant you
access for a period of time to the electronic version of a book
when you purchase the print edition. At the conclusion of your complimentary book access period, you may convert
your account to a
Safari Bookshelf or Safari Library subscription.
- Access to books not yet available in bookstores is available via our Rough Cuts program.
You're given the opportunity to subscribe to a Rough Cuts book in conjunction with a Safari subscription, subscribe to
only the Rough Cuts title, or purchase print versions of Rough Cuts books that will soon be available at bookstores.
You may start a Safari subscription directly through us at
http://my.safaribooksonline.com
or one of our partners: Safari's Pearson imprint partners (Que, Sams, Addison-Wesley, for example)
also have links on their sites where you can start a Safari subscription. Can I share my Safari corporate subscription with somebody else? Safari subscriptions are for individual use only.
Account Management and Information
How do I make changes to My Account information? Users who access Safari via IP-based accounts or through third-party
learning management systems are not allowed to modify their account information.
If you have any questions regarding the configuration of your account, consult
with your on-site Safari administrator. If you do have a My Account link, you can make account changes. To change your name: - Go to My Account
- Enter your current password at the bottom of the page (for confirmation of the change)
- Enter your new information
- Select the Update My Account button
Note that your email address is your Safari login ID.
If you change your email address and update it via My Account, you'll need to subsequently sign
on to Safari using the new ID. To change your password: - Go to My Account
- Click the Change Password link
- Fill in the Enter New Password field and Re-Enter it for confirmation
- Select the Update My Account button.
How do I use the My Safari page? You can access the following personalized functions from the
My Safari page: - My Bookshelf/My Favorites: A list of the titles you have added to My Bookshelf (or, with Safari Library, My Favorites.)
- My Recent Pages: A list of sections that you have accessed and read most recently, with the option to return to those sections.
- My Recent Searches: A list of your most recent searches.
- My
Bookmarks: A list of bookmarks made using the Add Bookmark link on
Safari pages. Unlike browser bookmarks, these are sever-based and
available from any browser. To remove bookmarks, select the Remove icon.
- My Notes: A list of private notes added using the Add Notes link on Safari pages. These notes are accessible only by you.
If your organization has provided you with the capability of downloading
chapters in PDF form, an additional pane titled My Downloads will also
be displayed.
Logging InI forgot my user name
and/or password. What do I do? Your user name/login is your email address.
If you forgot your password, use the Forgot Password? link in the
login box on the home page of Safari. We'll send you a new password
to the email address you use as your Safari ID.
I'm getting the message "Safari cannot authenticate your user name
and/or password." What should I do? If you normally sign on to Safari by entering your user name and
password, your user ID is typically your email address.
If you forgot your password, use the Forgot Password? link in the login box
on the Safari home page. Users who access the service via an IP-range based account or through a
third-party learning management system do not have user IDs and passwords.
In the event you're having problems accessing the service in this case,
please consult your on-site Safari administrator.
Be sure to sign on to Safari from the URL you were provided by your
on-site Safari administrator.
May I sign on at more than one workstation at a time? No. If you attempt to sign on to Safari at more than one workstation,
your session will be closed on the original computer where you signed on
to the service.
I cannot stay logged in using Apple's Safari Web browser.
What should I do? Try logging out of Safari Books Online in the Safari Web browser. Close all browser windows, then delete
all Safari Books Online related cookies. Open a new browser window and log in
to Safari Books Online again. This problem seems to be related to release differences in
how the Apple Safari browser treats cookies, in essence making the old cookie
unreadable.
My BookshelfWhat is the purpose of My Bookshelf? The functionality of the bookshelf varies depending on the type
of subscription your organization has to Safari: - Library-Based Accounts. When Safari is configured this way, you always
have full access to book text. You're free to place and remove books to
and from your electronic bookshelf as often as you like - think of it
as a "my favorites" holding area.
- Bookshelf-Based Accounts. This is the storage area for books you would
like to be able to read. Unless a book is placed on your electronic bookshelf,
you will be allowed to see only a preview of its content; only the first
few paragraphs of a section of text will be displayed to you.
The number of books you may place on your electronic bookshelf will
be limited by the number of "slots" your company has purchased
for you. A book must reside on your bookshelf for 30 days before it can
be removed.
- Fixed Book List. In this configuration, the books available to
you are pre-loaded onto your electronic bookshelf. You will not be
allowed to replace books with other titles.
How long must a book remain on My Bookshelf? The amount of time a book must stay on your bookshelf depends on the subscription your organization has to Safari: - Library-Based Accounts. With these kinds of accounts, there are no
restrictions on your ability to add and remove titles from your bookshelf.
- Bookshelf-Based Accounts. A book must reside on your bookshelf for 30 days.
After that time, you're free to remove it from your bookshelf and replace
it with another title.
- Fixed Book List. Books cannot be removed from your bookshelf.
If you have any questions about the kind of account you have, please
contact your on-site How do I add books to My Bookshelf? If your company has purchased a fixed book list, you are not allowed
to add other titles to your bookshelf. If your organization has a
bookshelf- or library-based account, however, follow these steps to
add a book to your bookshelf (keep in mind that you must be signed
on to Safari to add titles to your bookshelf): - When viewing search results in View by Book mode. If a book is
not already on My Bookshelf, you will see an Add button in the Bookshelf
column. Click on this button to add the title to My Bookshelf.
- When reading a book's catalog page. Click on a book's cover or title
and you will be taken to its catalog page, a brief description of the
book, and other information you may find of use. If the book is not already
on My Bookshelf, you will see a button titled Add to My Bookshelf.
- Add a book in Browse by Category mode. All Safari Books Online titles
are placed into at least one category (though some books may appear in up
to four categories). You can view the books in a category by going to the
left sidebar and selecting a category under the Browse by Category tab.
The main categories, such as Certification or Programming, have
subcategories you can click on to find books of specific interest.
If a book in one of these listings is not on My Bookshelf, the column
named Bookshelf will have a button labeled Add. If a book is already
on My Bookshelf, the entry will read On Bookshelf. To add a book,
click on the Add button.
- From within the text of a book. If you're reading a book that is
not on your bookshelf, it will appear in preview mode. You'll see the
first few paragraphs of text in a section. In order to view the entire
content, you'll need to add it to to My Bookshelf. Click on the Add to
My Bookshelf button to do so.
Regardless of the method you use to add a title to your bookshelf,
you will always see a series of screens asking you to confirm the addition.
After you add the title to your bookshelf, you'll be returned to the page
where you started the operation. I don't see an Add button to add books to My Bookshelf If you do not see the Add button or Add to My Bookshelf button,
ensure you are logged in to Safari. Confirm this by going to My Safari.
If you find you are not logged in, select Logout and login using your
account's credentials. Users who have fixed book list accounts will not see the
Add button, even after signing on to the service. My Bookshelf shows fewer books than total slots but I cannot add books.
What's wrong? This question applies only to customers with bookshelf-based accounts.
This type of Safari subscription is based on a total number of slots used,
not the total number of books on My Bookshelf. The majority of books in
Safari take one slot. However, some take 1/2 slot, two slots or three
slots. Slot values are a factor of the retail price of the print book.
Click on My Bookshelf to view the slot values of the books on My Bookshelf.
Or, to determine the slot value of a book not on My Bookshelf, click on
the book cover. You will always be told the slot value of a book before
you confirm the addition of a book to My Bookshelf. If I own a print version of a book, can I add it to My Bookshelf without
using any slots? If your organization uses a fixed book list, you will not be able to
alter the titles on your bookshelf. If you have a library account,
there is no limit to the number of books you can have on your bookshelf.
Unfortunately, Safari is unable to provide complimentary access to the
electronic versions of books you may own for its corporate/academic
customers. How do I remove books from My Bookshelf? If your organization has a fixed book list, you will not be allowed
to remove books from your bookshelf. For bookshelf-based accounts, each book must stay on My Bookshelf
for 30 days. On or after the 30-day mark, a book can be removed from
My Bookshelf. Once a book has been removed from My Bookshelf, the
slots are free for you to add new books.
Click on the My Bookshelf tab to see when books are eligible for swapping.
To remove a book, click on the Remove button. There are no restrictions placed on a user in a library-based
account regarding removing a book from the bookshelf;
you may do so at any time.
Conducting Searches
How do I find information in Safari Books Online? There are two ways to find information in Safari: Search: Type in a search term in the search box in the upper left navigation bar. You can pinpoint your search by using Advanced Search or by selecting one of these other options in the pull-down menu that appears: - Entire Site. This is the default entry and will cause Safari to look through the complete text of all content in the service to find you the term you enter. In addition, the service will also display content with the search term in the book (or video) title, section title, code fragments and the ISBN number.
- Book/Video Titles Only. When this option is selected, Safari will look only in book titles and video titles (if your subscription includes video) for the search term.
- Section Titles. With this option, Safari will look only in the titles of book or video parts, chapters or sections for the search term.
- Code Fragments Only. Many Safari books include code fragments. When this option is selected, Safari will ignore the rest of the text of a book when it looks for information; only the code fragments will be searched.
- Author. When this option is selected, only author information will be searched. You may enter either a full or partial author name.
- ISBN. When this option is selected, only ISBNs for specific books (or videos), will be searched. You can enter an ISBN number. Hyphens are ignored in ISBN searches.
Browse by Category: Click on any category or sub-category in the left navigation bar to view a listing of all content in that category. Click on the plus sign to the left of any category to expand that category into sub-categories. To see a list of all titles, select the View All Titles link in the Browse by Category box. The Quick Links dropdown menu offers two more ways of narrowing your search: - You can restrict your search to a specific content type, such as Short Cuts, Rough Cuts, or Video. Depending on the terms of your subscription, you may have access to only some of these content types.
- You can limit your search to one of Safari's most popular categories, such as Java or Unix.
How do I begin a search? When you need to pinpoint information quickly on a particular subject, search by typing keywords using the Search function. You may search on multiple words, such as "IP chains." In an instant, you'll see every relevant section of every book (and video) in the service. If you place quotation marks around the text you want to find, Safari will show you search results only when the search terms are adjacent to each other. If you omit quotation marks, Safari will show you results where the words appear within 50 words of each other in the same section.
How do I navigate the Search Results page?
View by Section: The default view for all search results is View by Section. This view lists all sections in all content that match your search string. In View by Section, you will see a snippet of the text in the section that includes your search term. If you click the Read More> link at the end of the snippet, the portion of the book's section will display, with the snippet in context. If more than one section of a book contains your search term(s), you will see more than one search result for the same book.
View by Book: If you select the View by Book tab, your search results list will show only one entry for each book that contains your search term(s). The third column (Chapter/Section title) of this results list will display links to the first three occurrences of the search term. Selecting any of those links will display the search term in context. Selecting the More
link will display a list of every section in the book that contains your search term and will also display a snippet of the text.
From the Search Results page, you can:
- Open the catalog page of the book (or video, if your subscription includes video) by clicking on its title or cover
- Open the chapter and/or section where the information you're looking for is displayed
- Modify the sort order of the listed results by clicking on any column headers that are underlined
- Add a book (or video) from the list to your bookshelf or favorites
Related Articles and Safari Guides: In addition to book and video content, Safari has a variety of journal articles. Any relevant Safari Guides are also displayed. Safari Guides give you information on solving specific problems related to your search request. The top right corner of the Search Results page lists the numbers of articles and/or Guides available. Scroll to the bottom of the Search Results page to find links to the related articles and Safari Guides.
You can navigate to additional pages of search results by clicking on the More Results link at the top and bottom of the listing. You can customize the number of items listed on each Search Results page by selecting My Preferences on the My Safari page.
How do I conduct an advanced search?
Safari has the ability to filter searches to find exactly the piece of information you need. Using advanced search, you can conduct complex searches such as finding books with the word CCNA in the title published by Cisco Press between 2003 and 2006.
The advanced search form, available by clicking the link below the search pane on the upper left-hand corner of the screen, has the following capabilities:
- Search: All Content/My Content: Select this option to have the service look through the entire database or only the titles you've already placed on your bookshelf or favorites. If video is part of your subscription, you have an option here to exclude video from your search results.
- Search For: This search box is a more sophisticated version of the search
field displayed in the Search pane. By default, entering words in this field
will search the content database for sections where all three words appear
within 50 words of each other - this is the same as basic searches. If you
indicated that the search should contain exactly the phrase you enter, however,
Safari will show results of those words only if they appear in the order you type.
Finally, if you select the option that indicates that at least one of the words should
appear, the service will list sections where any one of the words appears - they may not be in the same section.
- In: By selecting one of these options, you can indicate the extent to which information in the Safari database should be searched.
- If you select the full text option, Safari will look through the complete text of every book (and video, if your subscription includes video) in the database for sections that pertain to your search.
- If you select code fragments only, Safari will search only in portions of text that have been designed to be code fragments; the bulk of a book's text will be ignored.
- If you select the option indicating that only section titles should be searched, the service will ignore book (and video) text, displaying information it finds only in book (and video) part, chapter or section titles.
- Selecting the option for only tips and how-tos works similarly to code fragment searches: The bulk of a book's text is ignored and only content designated as being a tip or how-to (this text is often formatted in a sidebar or margin of a book) is included in search results.
- Words in Titles: This field is used to enter one or more words that appear only in a book
(or video)'s title. Its content, including part, chapter, and section titles, will be ignored.
- Categories: Use this dropdown menu to specify a particular main category that should be searched. If you don't enter any other information on this page, the functionality is the same as if you clicked on a main category listing on the left side of the screen.
- Author: This field is used to enter one or more author names. You can enter either the first
or last name of the author, and multiple author names can be specified. Book (or video) content
will be ignored in searches where only author names are specified.
- ISBN: Use this field to enter all or part of a book (or video)'s ISBN number. It's a good way to find a specific book you may be looking for.
- Year Published: In these fields, you can enter a beginning and ending year for a search. If you want to search for content published during a single year, enter the same value in both the "from" and "to" years. Keep in mind that there is no relation between the year a book (or video) is published and the year when it is added to Safari.
- Publisher: Use this list box to select one or more Safari publishers to include in your search.
Most importantly, remember that information can be entered into any combination of advanced search fields. Entering information in multiple fields is an implied "AND" operator. That means that in order for books to be returned, they must meet the search criteria you've specified in any field in the advanced search form.
What else should I know about Safari search results?
Unless you've indicated to Safari that you want to search for a specific string of words, the service will automatically modify
your search to help give you the best results. We employ a technique called stemming, whereby we automatically expand your query.
For example, let's say you've entered a query for the word "search." Safari will automatically look for "searches," "searching,"
and "searched." We also exclude words which, from a search perspective, occur so frequently that they are considered to be "noise."
These words include "a," "the," "an," and the like.
Here are some specific examples of how searching would work:
- mod_perl: In this example, a reader has entered a single search term. Safari will first attempt to "stem" the search
(that's not possible with this example). It will then search for all sections of all books where mod_perl is mentioned.
The greater the number of references to this term in the book's text, the higher the relevance. Keep in mind that it's possible for you to
adjust the search to bias it in favor of most popular books with this term versus most relevant.
- mod_perl apache configuration: In this example, three search terms have been entered in a single query.
Safari will attempt to stem all the words and will then search for book sections that contain all the words. Next, it will then look
for combinations of the words in book text. Depending on whether you have requested that searches be biased
toward the popularity of the book or the relevance of the search terms, results will then be sorted by popularity or by relevance and displayed.
- "apache configuration": In this example, the words "apache configuration" are specified to appear in
that particular order. So instead of looking simply for the appearance of these words, Safari will consider
these words as being a single item. Results will be displayed only where these words appear adjacent to each other.
- mod_perl "apache configuration": Here, a combination of exact phrase search (apache configuration) and a single
search term are requested. The service will return sections where the words mod_perl and "apache configuration" appear
in the same section. As with other queries, you may adjust the display of the search result, biasing the results toward
either most popular books or most relevant to the search request.
Also keep in mind that Safari employs typical Boolean operators in its searches. To indicate that an operator is to be used, be sure to capitalize it in a search request:
- AND: This operator indicates that two or more search terms must appear within 50 words of each other in the same section of text in order to be considered for display in a search listing, as in Unix AND Linux.
- OR: This operator indicates that you are searching for two or more search terms but that they need not appear in the same section of a book, as in Unix OR Linux. As you can see, OR searches are the reverse of an AND query -- you'll likely get more search results with an OR query.
- NEAR: This operator indicates that two or more search terms should be sought and that they must appear within the same sentence, as in Unix NEAR Linux.
- ANDNOT: This operator indicates that search results will display a listing of sections where the words to
the left of ANDNOT appear, excluding those sections that also include the words to the right of the ANDNOT. So, for
example, java ANDNOT xml will show only those sections where the word "java" appears but "xml" does not. Placing a minus sign immediately before a search term functions in the same way as using ANDNOT.
How do I use Browse by Category?
Use the Browse by Category sidebar to look for books (and videos, if your subscription includes video) by category and sub-category. Clicking on the arrow pointing to the right will expand a category and show its sub-categories. Clicking on the arrow again will contract the category so you don't see the sub-categories. By selecting a category, Safari will show you a listing of all content within that category.
Some of the main categories have sub-categories that let you quickly drill down to the specific topic you are seeking. Once you have found the category or sub-category you want, click on it and you will see a listing of all content in that category in a table format. Selecting Table of Contents from a particular entry will show the book's (or video's) complete table of contents and its sidebar Table of Contents box.
Selecting the title of a book (or video) will show the catalog page and its sidebar Table of Contents. From any catalog page, you can:
- View the complete table of contents to navigate to a specific section
- View the index and navigate into the book (or video)
- Select Add to My Bookshelf (or Add to My Favorites) to add the book (or video) to your bookshelf or favorites (you must be logged on to the service in order to do this)
- Click the Buy Print Version link in order to purchase a print copy from the publisher
- Find examples (when applicable)
- Read a summary about the book
- Read about the author
- See a listing of additional reading on Safari that may be of interest to you.
How do I use the Table of Contents sidebar?
Starting with a specific section from a search or from a book's catalog page, the Table of Contents box will appear in the sidebar. By selecting the right pointing arrow, Safari will jump to the first page within that book's section or sub-section. Then, selecting a sub-section will focus on that specific page within the document pane. Clicking on the arrow again will collapse a section, returning to the first page of that section. Use the table of contents in this way to skip directly to other sections in the current chapter or to explore other chapters.
As you navigate through a book, Safari expands and collapses the book's sections and sub-sections, displaying the current location within the book.
To navigate to other books, return to My Safari by clicking on the link in the banner or search for more books by using the Search or Browse by Category features.
Keep in mind that the smallest unit of content in Safari is a section, a defined portion of a
book chapter (or video). Some sections are quite short -- less than a screen page. Others are
quite lengthy. With one exception, all are always presented on a single Safari Web page. The
exception is books with a design that does not lend itself to representation on a Web page.
For these titles, called Print Fidelity books, Safari reproduces the actual print presentation of a page.
Some books are available in both HTML and Print Fidelity views.
How do I use Nested Search?
Nested Search (also known as iterative search or digging) allows you to type in additional search terms, in order to progressively narrow the list of search results. This technique allows you to focus your search and/or combine topics. Each of the new terms is added with the Boolean operator AND. The search terms are displayed progressively above the search entry pane.
This display of the search path has two functions. First, it allows you to view your complete search path. Second, clicking on any of the previous terms in the search path enables you to return to that set of search results. You can then redirect your search by starting with the results associated with that search term (or combination of search terms) and adding a new search term, rather than starting the search all over again. There is no limit to the number of terms that can be added.
Safari LabsWhat is Safari Labs?
Safari Labs is a place where you can explore prototypes or betas of new features. These previews offer you an early look at
developments we are working on to enhance the content, search, and product offerings of Safari Books Online. The specific
features available on Safari Labs will change periodically. We invite and encourage your collaboration and engagement.
When we hear from users like you early in the development process, we can deliver the features that have the most value to you.
Using Safari Books Online Features
How do I view books offline? Safari Books Online is designed to be an electronic reference library,
not necessarily an offline viewer. To that end, Safari lets you
"rent" or "check out" books instead of "buying"
the books. That said, however, there are several mechanisms that will
allow you to use our content offline: -
Chapter Downloads. If your organization has opted to allow its users to
download chapters in PDF form, you'll be granted five download "tokens"
per month. These tokens allow you to download PDF representations of
chapters from Safari books. Most book chapters are available for one
download token, though some chapters may require more.
- Local Storage of Safari Pages. Safari's terms of service allow you to
store local versions of book sections on your workstation so long as the
books remain in your subscription. You are not allowed to share these
pages with other users and you are required to delete this content
from your workstation in the event you cancel your subscription.
My company allows chapter downloads.
How do I download PDF versions of Safari chapters? The answer to this question only applies to
corporate customers who have opted to allow users to download PDF
versions of Safari chapters. When you're working in Safari, you'll see small PDF icons next to the
chapters for which PDF downloads are available.
You can also see the icon at the top and bottom of book text as you
read content.
If you would like to download a chapter, click on the PDF icon next to
the chapter you would like to have available to you locally.
A confirmation screen will appear indicating the number of tokens your
account will be charged for the download.
Most chapters cost one token, but some chapters may cost more.
Safari will first debit the tokens that are set to expire soonest. After you have indicated that you would like a PDF version of a
particular chapter, Safari will begin the process of generating the
custom PDF for you of the chapter. It can take several minutes for the
PDF creation to complete. Until the PDF is ready for you to download, the
PDF icon in the My Downloads section of My Safari will be greyed.
When the status of the download changes to Ready, your chapter is
ready for download. Click on the PDF icon and the download will begin. Is there a way to print
pages in Safari Books Online? Yes. Near the top of the book pages within Safari, there is a
Print link. Selecting this link will open a new browser window with a
printer friendly Safari page.
Please note that while the Safari terms of service allows portions
of books to be manually printed, there is no function within Safari
to print all content from a book. Also, per the Safari terms of service,
any content printed from Safari must be deleted or destroyed once the
title is no longer in your subscription or you no longer have a Safari
account.
Corporate users who have been given the ability to create PDF versions
of chapters from Safari books are free to print the PDF downloads they make
of Safari content but are not allowed to share these pages with others.
Note that it is not possible to print pages from Print Fidelity books,
titles where Safari has reproduced the actual print pages of books. How do I add and remove bookmarks? Whenever you are reading the full content of a section of a book, you can
bookmark that section. Simply select the Add Bookmark link found at the
top or bottom of the page.
You can view and delete your bookmarks via the My Bookmarks pane on the
My Safari page. To remove a bookmark, click on the trash can icon on
the My Bookmarks page. How do I add and remove notes? Whenever you are reading the full content of a section of a book,
you can add a note. Simply select the Add Notes link found at the top
or bottom of the page. Public notes can be seen by all users.
Private notes can only be seen by you. You can tell whether a
section has notes by looking for the View Notes link that appears
at the top and bottom of each section that has been annotated. To view a comprehensive listing of all your public or private notes,
go to your My Safari Page and scroll down to the My Notes pane.
To remove a note, select the trash can icon. How do I link or refer to a Safari content or book catalog page? Near the bottom of each page of Safari content and book catalog page,
you'll see a link that you can always use to refer back to the section.
These links will never change; you may use them in external references to
the service or in citations you make to Safari content. Keep in mind that in
order to view the full text of a section you reach via a link, you'll need to
sign on to Safari. Safari does not recommend you use the link that appears in the address
bar as it contains a variety of parameters that are unnecessary for you to
return to the section or catalog page. Does Safari have access keys or quick keys for navigating? The Next/Previous keys for Safari are: - Alt-1 for Previous
- Alt-2 for Next
Note that this operation works only with browsers that support the
<accesskey> HTML tag. Can I make the sidebar disappear? Yes. Click on the Hide tab next to the sidebar.
To unhide the sidebar, select the Show tab. How do I turn off email notifications? You can adjust your email settings from your My Account page.
Note that even if you choose to not receive messages from us, there are
times when we will still attempt to contact you via email.
If, for example, we suspect a security problem with your account,
we'll always notify you at the email address you use as your account ID. What is Safari Labs? We're constantly striving to enhance our service.
We add new features, try new things.
You can see a listing of features recently added to the service by
clicking on the Safari Labs link displayed on the home page and banner.
We encourage you to let us know what you think of these new functions.
Please feel free to let us know of additional enhancements you'd like
us to include.
Problems, Errors and AlertsI found a bug. What do I do? Please report the bug using the Contact Us page. Why did I receive a spidering alert? Safari uses spidering detection software to prevent use of automated
content retrieval mechanisms. Use of these programs violates the Safari
terms of service. Spidering alerts can be triggered by: - Use of caching software or Web accelerators, programs that "speed up" your Web browsing
- Automated content retrieval mechanisms and programs such as WebZip
- Very quickly paging through Safari content
- Printing pages using browser functions such as Print Linked Documents or Follow Links.
- IE 5's View Offline Feature
- Use of Adobe Acrobat to browse Safari
- Some proxy servers that attempt to download complete Web sites
- Occasionally, cutting and pasting into Microsoft Word.
If you receive an alert, close your browser, open a new one and log in
to Safari again. If your account is locked, please contact Safari
Customer Service for assistance. As noted in the Safari terms of service, use of automated retrieval
software is expressly prohibited. Also, as per the terms of service,
any content copied from Safari must be deleted or destroyed once the
title is no longer in your subscription or you no longer have a
subscription.
I can log in, but Safari seems to lose my session, forgetting who I am.
I log in to Safari but all my books are in preview mode To keep track of your login, Safari uses session cookies.
Session information loss generally occurs when you set your browser
to not allow cookies to be stored on your workstation. In order to
run Safari, JavaScript must also be enabled on your computer.
To enable cookies and JavaScript, consult your browser's help
file. In some cases, proxy servers, firewall software, and corporate
firewalls can block Safari cookies. Please disable this software or
contact your network administrator. I found a content error or formatting problem. What do I do? For formatting problems within Safari, use the
Contact Us page.
For technical questions or corrections concerning print and online
book content, please contact the publisher's technical support
departments.
Contacting Safari for HelpIf you are unable to locate an answer to your issue from this Help section, please contact us for assistance. | 
