Just the worst

There are two reasons why you would have a desktop client for ebooks and audiobooks: to read the ebook on your mac, or transfer the title to an iPod. I don’t do the former, because reading on a small screen is easier for me, and OneClick makes the latter impossible.

Seriously, don’t download this to transfer to an iPod. It doesn’t work. If you’re using an iPod Touch or iPhone, download the mobile app. If you’re using a different iPod, try:

-Via your browser (Safari, etc), log into your OneClick account.
-Click on your name, click on “My Account”
-On the left side of the screen is a menu. Click on “My Preferences”
-Scroll down. In "eAudio Preferences,” select “downlaod zip file”
-Scroll down. Choose “Update preferences.”

You’ll only be able to download titles without DRM protection, but at least you can import them to iTunes. Forever.

-Click on “OneClickdigital” in the upper left-hand corner.
-Click on the little magnifying glass next to the seach bar (no keyword entry is necessary).
-On the right hand side, above the buttons that look like squares and rectangles (options on how to display search results), you’ll see “Advanced Search.” Click on it.
-A window will appear. The bottom-right option says “All Digital Rights.” Click on it; in the drop-down menu that appears, click on “Non-Protected.”
-You can enter other criteria in the other fields, otherwise you’ll retrieve all your available titles to download.
-Pick one. Check it out. It should automatically download. You can find it in Finder (the smiley face), in the downloads folder.
-Go to iTunes. Choose “File” from the top menu bar, and then “Add to Library.”
-Choose the folder in your “Downloads” folder. It is probably titled with poorly. Click on the folder so the title is highlighted, and click on “Open,” located in the bottom right-hand side of this window.
-iTunes will import this as a music album. Go to your Music (the little music eighth notes), and find an Unknown Album (probably in your recently added list). Click on it.
-Click on “File,” up top, then “Get Info.”
-A new window will pop up with “Details,” “Artwork,” “Options,” and “Sorting.” Click on "Options.”
-Click on the “media kind: Music” and choose “Audiobook.” I recommend also checking the box for “Remember playback position.”
-Click on "Artwork.” You can go back to the browser at this point, find the main page for your title, and click and drag the cover art picture onto your computer’s desktop. In iTunes, click on “Add Artwork,” find the image your dragged onto your desktop, click on it, and click on “Open.” You should see it in iTunes now.
-Almost done. Go to “Details.” Manually enter the title and author of your work. There are other options you can fill in, but I don’t care about them for sorting.
-Click “OK.”
-In iTunes, click on the “…” along the top of the window and choose “Audiobooks.” Double-check everything looks correct.
-Plug in your iPod and make sure you’re syncing Audiobooks. Sync your new title over. Because you’ve downloaded a Digital Rights Management-free title, it will be there forever. So at least all this work is worth something.
-Contact your library and let them know that they are paying for something their users can’t use. Recommend they not renew contracts with them.

This is a really long list of steps. That’s because OneClick doesn’t care about you or about their reputation. They have a bad product and they will not support it. If your library uses OverDrive, rejoice. Their software actually tends to work. I emailed my library system after fruitless interactions with OneClick, and my library is harrassing them about their shoddy product. Maybe they’ll fix it. Probably they won’t.

Dismayed13 about RBdigital Media Manager