FA 5x FAQs

Please get one of the following ready before proceeding to download:
1. EShop Sales Order Number and EShop Password
2. Registered E-Mail Address and Product ID

Alternatively, you may re-download your purchased program from http://www.flipalbum.com/fulldl/. This applies to registered box products as well. Please get your registered E-Mail Address and Product ID ready.

If you are unable to complete the download process for your purchased program, you may wish to download one of the download managers called the Download Accelerator Plus 7.4. This program can increase download speeds and resume broken downloads from the server at any time you are disconnected during the downloading process.

To further ensure that you do not have potential issues with the download, please temporarily disable any anti-virus software or firewall before downloading.

Where to obtain/retrieve my Product ID (PID)?

If you had purchased the download product, the Product ID is included in the Order Confirmation e-mail that was sent from support@flipalbum.biz to your registered e-mail address the same day the purchase was made. For FlipAlbum® version 5.5 download product purchases, the Product Activation Key is provided instead. If you no longer have a copy of the Order Confirmation e-mail, you may retrieve your Product ID from http://www.flipalbum.com/lostpid.htm by entering your registered e-mail address.

If you had purchased the box product, the Product ID is located on your CD jewel case. For FlipAlbum® version 5.5 box product purchases, the Product Activation Key is provided instead. The Product ID should look like XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXXXX. Please take note that the "0"s are the number zero and not the letter "o". Each box contains its own proprietary Product ID and we do not keep a record of this number until you register the box product with us. To register your box product, please click here: http://www.flipalbum.com/products/register.php. If you had previously registered your box product with us, you may retrieve it from http://www.flipalbum.com/lostpid.htm.

As a registered user, you will be able to receive technical support, enjoy free minor product updates, special discounts for major product upgrades, as well as retrieve your Product ID and download the product in case of loss.

Note: The Product Activation Key is required the first time you install the software while the Product ID is needed for communication purposes.

Where to obtain my Product Activation Key (PAK) to activate the FlipAlbum® version 5.5 program?

If you had purchased the FlipAlbum® version 5.5 box product, the Product Activation Key is found on the CD jewel case.

If you had purchased the FlipAlbum® version 5.5 download product, the Product Activation Key is found in the Order Confirmation e-mail that was sent from support@flipalbum.biz to your registered e-mail address the same day the purchase was made.

If you had previously purchased a copy of FlipAlbum® version 5.0 and now wish to install the FlipAlbum® version 5.5 program first time on your new machine, you may retrieve your Product Activation Key from http://www.flipalbum.com/support/lostpak/. You will be prompted for your registered e-mail address, and the Product Activation Key will be sent to your registered e-mail address. Please note that this applies to registered products only. To register your FlipAlbum® 5 box product, please click here: http://www.flipalbum.com/product/register.php. Download products are automatically registered.

Note: If you had previously installed the FlipAlbum® version 5.0 program and are now upgrading it to version 5.5, you do not require the Product Activation Key to activate the FlipAlbum® version 5.5 program. During the software upgrade installation process, please click on the 'Remove' button when prompted, to remove your FlipAlbum® version 5.0 installation.

When I try to download my purchased program, I was prompted with a message that says "You have exceeded the maximum number of downloads".

You will get this message only when you have tried downloading the product on more than 5 occasions.

To proceed with the download, please send us an e-mail at support@ebooksys.com with your registered Product ID, E-Mail Address and Sales Order Number for our verification. We will reset your download counter as soon we have received your request.

Am I allowed to install the FlipAlbum® program on other drives on my machine?

To install FlipAlbum® on a hard drive other than the default C: drive,

1.	Run the installation or setup file.
2.	When you reach the 'Choose Setup Type' section, choose 'Custom' option and click on the 'Next' button.
3.	Click on the 'Change' button on the next screen.
4.	On the 'Folder Name:' dialogue box, either use the drop-down arrow or key in the drive/location you wish to install FlipAlbum® to and click 'OK'.
5.	Click on the 'Next' button to proceed with the installation.

The license agreement allows one to install the FlipAlbum® software on one machine only.

Customers of FlipAlbum® 5 Standard, Suite and Pro download products can download the full collection of themes and borders that are available in the box product for free at http://www.flipalbum.com/products/theme/download.php.

Software Updates & Upgrades

To obtain the latest build of your software, you may perform an 'Online Update' by clicking on File -> Online Update menu. When the Online Update window appears, click on the 'Update' button to proceed.

After the download has completed, exit the program and restart your computer. Your program should then be updated.

To verify that your build number has indeed been updated, please click the Help -> About menu within your FlipAlbum® program.

If for any reasons you are not able to perform the online update, please remove the online update folder within your local hard drive. Your online upgrade folder is located in your FlipAlbum® program default directory, e.g. C:\Program Files\E-Book Systems\FlipAlbum 5 Suite\onlineupgrade.

Note: Please note that this option is not available for updates from FlipAlbum® version 5.0 to version 5.5. To update from FlipAlbum® version 5.0 to version 5.5, please click here.

Current users of FlipAlbum® 5 Standard/Suite/Pro/CDSC product can now download the FlipAlbum® 5 Standard/Suite/Pro/CDSC version 5.5 software patch for free.

Users of prior versions of FlipAlbum® products can now get the FlipAlbum® 5 Standard/Suite/Pro/CDSC version 5.5 at special upgrade prices.

I am an existing FlipAlbum® 5 user. Is there any special discount for me to upgrade my software to the latest Vista version?

Users of FlipAlbum® products prior to FlipAlbum® version 6 can now get the FlipAlbum® Vista Suite/Pro at special upgrade prices here.

If you had purchased the box version either online or from the retail stores, you will need to register your Product ID with us in order to be eligible for the upgrade. You may register your purchase at http://support.flipalbum.com/register/.

I was prompted with an 'Invalid Product ID' message when attempting to upgrade to the latest version.

There may be a few reasons for getting the 'Invalid Product ID' error message while attempting the upgrade:

i.	It is possible that the Product ID has not yet been registered. If you had purchased the box version either online or from the retail stores, you will need to register your Product ID with us in order to be eligible for the upgrade. You may register your purchase now at http://support.flipalbum.com/register/.

ii.	It is possible that an invalid Product ID has been entered. Your Product ID can be found on the Help -> About box of the FlipAlbum® program. Please do verify that it is correct.

iii	It is possible that the upgrade path selected is incorrect or that the network was congested at that time. Please click here to try again.

Click here for FlipAlbum® Vista Suite feature list.
Click here for FlipAlbum® Vista Pro feature list.

FlipAlbum® and FlipPublisher® are 2 separate range of products, meant for different usage.

The FlipAlbum® software is meant more for organizing and presenting images, and you could add text to describe the images using the text annotation feature. It does not have the capability to convert text documents to FlipBook format, nor compile html pages into a FlipBook. For more information on FlipAlbum® range products, you may wish to refer to http://www.flipalbum.com. Trial copies are also available for download there.

The FlipPublisher®, on the other hand, allows you to easily import text documents in .rtf, .txt or .doc format and present them in FlipBook format. It also enables you to compile html pages into a FlipBook. At the same time, it supports the same set of image files that are supported by FlipAlbum® range of products, though it does not have an image editing function and the export for TV viewing capability that are available in FlipAlbum®. For more information on FlipPublisher®, you may wish to refer to http://www.flippublisher.com. A 30-day trial copy is also available for download there.

I have had no success in playing AVI type movies in FlipAlbum®. Why is it so?

The FlipAlbum® program plays video files by scanning through your MCI multimedia devices and locating the proper codec to play them. However, if the video file is not using a standard codec such as Indeo or Cinepak, it may not play your video files correctly. If this is the case, you will need to find out which codec your video file is using and install the necessary codec.

If you would like to find out which video codecs you already have installed on your system, please go into the Control Panel -> Sounds & Multimedia Properties -> Hardware Tab -> then double click on 'Video Codecs'.

However, if you plan to share the video files with other people, it is best that you save the video file in a more standard codec such as Indeo. If you have created the video file using a third-party editing program, do check if there is an option to select which type of codec you can use to create your video files.

If you are looking for a MJPEG codec to play your AVI file, you may want to try downloading a copy from mainconcept.com by clicking here. You should be able to playback the AVI file after installing the MJPEG codec on your machine.

You are advised to save the AVI files in a more standard codec such as Indeo or Cinepak in order to share them with others who may not have the non-standard video codec installed on their machines. The FlipAlbum® program will prompt you to convert your non-standard codec (e.g., MJPG codec) into standard AVI format if you have the non-standard video codec installed on your machine. When you export your album using the 'Create Album CD' option, the FlipAlbum® CD Maker program will prompt you with the following message:

"A non-standard video format is detected. Would you like to convert it into standard AVI format?"

Please do select 'Convert' to convert your AVI file from a non-standard to a standard video codec for sharing purposes.

Albums can be exported onto a CD using the FlipAlbum® 5 Suite or Pro. The recipients of the FlipAlbum® CD can simply pop it into the CD-ROM drive and view it instantly without downloading or installing any software.

i.	Before proceeding, please save your album as Book, complete (*.opf file + contents) via File -> Save As... menu.
ii.	Click on CD Maker -> Create Album CD. The CD Maker function in FlipAlbum® creates the following files/folders:
	a.	One folder named FlipAlbumCD
	b.	One file named autorun.inf
	c.	One file named startCD.exe
	d.	One folder named MacCDViewer.app (on FlipAlbum® version 5.5 only)
iii.	Select all the files/folders mentioned above, NOT the folder containing them, and burn them to a CD. Please make sure that you ONLY see the above-mentioned files/folders on the root directory of your CD.

Here are some tips on the use of some of the CD burning software you may want to take note of:
a.	Burn the CD as a DATA CD.
b.	Make sure you have selected ISO 9660 Level 2 (Max of 31 chars), Joliet, and Relax ISO restrictions for pathdepth and characters in path.
c.	Never permit the CD software to rename any files - if it is trying to do so you don't have the CD burning software set correctly (and, if it ever does try to rename files, don't ever turn off the warning in the future or you will not know it is renaming files!).
d.	Select No Multisession, and Finalize the CD.

FlipAlbum® 5 Suite or Pro software enables you to create VCDs, SVCDs and DVDs of your favorite albums for DVD playback. Viewers can let the photo album flip automatically, at pre-programmed intervals, as it plays on a DVD player or control the playback using the DVD player's Pause, Play, Forward and Backward buttons. Please do note that you would require a third-party CD or DVD burning tool in order to complete the process.

If you export your album to MPEG1 format, the quality of the images will not be as good as the album viewed on the PC, as MPEG1 adheres to the basic Video CD resolution of 352x240 which is much lower than the normal resolution of your computer screen. In order to achieve optimum quality for the Video CD albums that you create, you may want to design your albums with the following points in mind:

i.	Do not have too many text annotations. Text does not look good in video format.
ii.	If you do have text annotations, try to avoid fonts with straight edges.
iii.	Large font sizes are encouraged, like point size 28 and above for normal sized fonts.
iv.	Try to choose a darker page and book background. This will minimize the flickering effect that may occur on some TVs.
v.	Size of your pictures DOES matter. Whenever possible, use the centerfold mode for your pictures so that they will occupy as much of the screen as possible.

If you are still not happy with the image quality of your MPEG1 file, you can now export your album to AVI format and use any third-party video encoding tools or DVD burning tools to encode them in MPEG2 format. This feature is only available in our FlipAlbum® build 5.0.1.139 and above. More information on how to update to the latest FlipAlbum® release can be found here. For more information on how to create DVDs of your AVI files, please click here

Note: Unlike exporting to an MPEG1 file, your album background music will not be exported to the AVI file. You may use third-party video encoding tools to incorporate the background music during the encoding to MPEG2 process.

The current version of FlipAlbum® 5 Suite and Pro software will only export the background music on VCDs for DVD playback. The album page audio and the individual supported multimedia audio will only be exported to album CDs for PC playback.

For DVD creation, you may add the background music when converting the exported AVI file to MPEG2 format using third-party video encoding tools.

How do I convert the AVI files that FlipAlbum® 5 Suite or Pro creates to DVD format?

Can I view my uploaded album(s) on Netscape browser?

You may view your uploaded album(s) on Netscape browser (version 4.79, 6.0 or 7.01). However, you will have to manually install the FlipViewer® program, before clicking on the album URL, as the auto-installation feature does not work on Netscape browser.

Can I create my own FlipAlbum® 5 themes?

You may now add your customized themes in FlipAlbum® version 5.5 using the new 'Create Theme' function.

FlipAlbum® Themes contain the following elements and are saved in '.jpg' format:

1 Front Cover (485x618 pixels @ 72 dpi)
1 Back Cover (485x618 pixels @ 72 dpi)
1 Left Page Background (434x552 pixels @ 72 dpi)
1 Right Page Background (434x552 pixels @ 72 dpi)
1 Centerfold Page Background (961x612 pixels @ 72 dpi)
1 Book Background (1024x645 pixels @ 72 dpi)
Separators (434x552 pixels @ 72 dpi)

Once you have created the desired images using an image editing program, you may then proceed to add them to FlipAlbum® theme collection by following the instructions below:

To apply the newly created theme to your FlipBook, click on Options -> Set Theme from the Main Menu. You should find your newly created theme in the list of themes available in the Themes dialog box for selection.

An album is represented by a xx.opf file (red book icon) and a xx_opf_files folder where xx refers to the album name. Hence, to delete an album, you must first locate the opf file and the opf_files folder of the album you wish to delete, then delete them from Windows Explorer. There is no function to delete an album within FlipAlbum® program itself.

You will notice that the album filenames are still present on your previously opened album files listing in FlipAlbum®. To delete these entries, please select the Options -> Delete History menu. This will delete all entries in the listing and from that point the program will create a new listing of previously opened albums.

I have encountered "1335 Data Cab file is corrupt" error message.

The 1335 data cab error is usually due to a corrupt download. Please try to re-download the installation file from our secure download site at: http://www.flipalbum.com/fulldl/.

If you are using Netscape or a download manager, try using Internet Explorer instead. If you happen to have any firewall or anti-virus programs running in the background, please temporarily disable them.

Error 1316: "A network error occurred while attempting to read from the file" encountered when installing FlipAlbum® version 5.5 program.

If you encounter "Error1316. A network error occurred while attempting to read from the file" error message during the installation of FlipAlbum® version5.5 program, please re-run the installation and click on the 'Remove' button when prompted during the installation process.

After you have removed the older FlipAlbum® version 5.0 program, you may then proceed with the installation of FlipAlbum® version 5.5 by running the same installation file.

I have encountered the error 1316 when installing FlipAlbum®.

Occasionally, users may encounter errors during the installation that prevents them from completing the installation process.

This behavior can occur if there is a conflict with the Microsoft Windows Installer utility. Microsoft has created the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility that enables you to safely remove Windows Installer settings from your computer in the event of a problem. You could find out more about this utility at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q242323.

There are two versions of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility available for download from Microsoft Download Center:

Msicu.exe, designed for use in Microsoft Windows 95, 98 and ME, could be downloaded from http://download.microsoft.com/download/office2000pro/util22/1/W9X/EN-US/msicu.exe;

and

Msicuu.exe, designed for use in Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Win 2000, XP Home and Pro, could be downloaded from http://download.microsoft.com/download/office2000pro/util20/1/NT4/EN-US/msicuu.exe.

Please download and run the relevant utility. Launch it by going into the Start -> Programs -> Windows Install Clean Up menu and select to remove any programs that mention FlipAlbum®. Try installing the FlipAlbum® software thereafter.

I have encountered "XML Codes" error when sharing albums on the Internet.

In order to view online albums, one will need to have either FlipAlbum®, FlipPublisher® full-licensed versions, or the free FlipViewer® software, installed on the machine. A copy of the free FlipViewer® software can be downloaded from http://www.flipviewer.com/client/newuser/.

In order to prevent this from recurring, it is recommended that you replace your online album URL with an auto-install URL, e.g., replace

http://www.flipviewer.com/home.opf
with
http://www.flipviewer.com/popup/?opf=http://www.flipviewer.com/home.opf&ver=gen

When the readers click on the auto-install URL, the FlipViewer® program will automatically install on the machines that do not have FlipAlbum®, FlipPublisher® or FlipViewer® previously installed, and that are running Internet Explorer 5.01 or above. Note that the FlipAlbum®, FlipPublisher® and FlipViewer® software require certain components from Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher to function. For users who do not already have Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher installed, they may download the latest version from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/critical/ie6sp1/default.asp.

Software Downloads & Installation

Software Updates & Upgrades