The Scribd Platform is a broad set of tools and services designed to help you customize, integrate, deploy, and monetize fully-formatted documents on your website without extra software. The platform's components - the Scribd API, the iPaper JavaScript API, and QuickSwitch - vary greatly in their complexity and specific features, so be sure to review the online documentation so that you can determine which one is best for you. Our platform's most visible element is iPaper - a fast, light, embeddable document viewer.
We built the Scribd Platform because so many of you asked for it! Scribd's document conversion, display, and embedding features are incredibly popular, and people from all over the world have asked for a way to provide the same services on their own websites. The Scribd Platform is consistent with Scribd's mission of making it easier to share documents online. We hope that the Scribd Platform will help bring the rich, formatted documents to every website on the Internet.
Not at this time. iPaper runs on a professionally managed, highly secure server cluster, guaranteeing that your documents will be accessible and safe at all times. Our server cluster allows us to offer high performance for processing and searching, no matter how many documents you have, for free.
iPaper's processing back-end runs on a highly scalable grid of several hundred servers. Our infrastructure has been battle-tested by scaling Scribd.com to support tens of millions of users and one of the largest collections of textual information ever assembled.
iPaper documents are stored using the Simple Storage Service (S3) from Amazon.com, a secure and reliable system that's backed up and protected at multiple data centers around the world. S3's relatively low cost helps us to keep Scribd free.
Absolutely. The Scribd Platform is built to support Enterprise-class secure document viewing and storage. If you make your documents "private" using the API, they will not be shown on Scribd.com and will not be accessible except through your application. Many large enterprises are using iPaper to display highly confidential material.
No problem. Our server grid processes millions of documents per day. The new Scribd Platform with iPaper is designed for web scale.
Not at this time. For an eloquent explanation of the reasons behind this, see this post. We take the reliability of our service extremely seriously. We have redundancy at every level of our infrastructure and a detailed disaster recovery plan.
If you're not yet a Scribd member, you'll need to register for a free user account on Scribd.com. Then use your Scribd username to sign up for a developer account from the Scribd Platform home page.
Of all the methods for upgrading your website to iPaper, QwickSwitch is, by far, the easiest. QuickSwitch works in the background to convert your documents iPaper with no user interaction or site downtime. You simply copy-and-paste a small block of code into your webpage, and QuickSwitch does the rest. QuickSwitch can even embed your new iPaper content in your website.
QuickSwitch can display your documents in one of four ways:
You must have the following:
Yes. A publisher key is required to use QuickSwitch.
It's up to you. You can decide whether or not a document is displayed on Scribd with the privacy setting.
No, but you will need to be familiar with how to copy and paste snippets of code into your HTML files.
When using QuickSwitch in Global Link Mode, our script automatically crawls the entire webpage and processes every document link for conversion to iPaper. Single Link Mode gives you more control by allowing you to specify individual document links. Single Link Mode is recommended for advanced users.
No, JavaScript is required in order to convert documents to iPaper with QuickSwitch.
Yes! QuickSwitch can scan document links, and then embed those documents into different pages on your website. To do this, configure QuickSwitch with the "Custom page with embedded iPaper hosted on your site" option.
Yes, but only on websites for which you have permission to modify the content. QuickSwitch can scan document links, and then embed those documents into a page on another website. To do this, configure QuickSwitch with the "Custom page with embedded iPaper hosted on your site" option.
Depending on the number of documents, it may take some time to convert your documents into iPapers, and until the conversion is complete, we'll continue to show the original document instead. To help speed things up, click around on the pages with QuickSwitch installed. We'll only convert documents linked on pages users have actually clicked on.
No. QuickSwitch only converts your document once. After that, it is stored on Scribd's servers and displayed instantly from there.
If you're using a service such as Blogger or WordPress, the service may be corrupting the JavaScript code. Check the embed code in the source of your page, and make sure that the code matches the code block shown in the QuickSwitch page, once you've replicated your configuration. If it doesn't match, try again. If problems still occur, contact your blog or website's support contact and let them know that you are having problems copying and pasting JavaScript widgets into your page.
If you have your own website, you can make money by integrating Google AdSense into your documents via the Scribd Platform API. You cannot run ads on documents hosted on Scribd.com. If you choose to enable ads on the documents that you host, you'll start earning money based on the ad impressions they receive.
Not at all. You can easily disable ads for all your documents at the API account panel.
Possibly. If you are a Qualified Publisher, like a book or magazine publisher, and you own the rights to your content, you may submit an application for our Qualified Publisher's Program, which will allow you advertise in documents on Scribd.
At this time, we pay exclusively via PayPal. All you need to receive payments from us is a basic, personal PayPal account. Sign-up is free at www.paypal.com.
Payments are issued at the beginning of each month.
No.
You'll need to earn a total of $20.00 before we send out a payment. If you don't earn $20.00 in a month, we'll continue to hold your balance until it reaches the minimum.
Unfortunately, no. PayPal's policies prohibit us from resending payments.
Yes. However, you will need to pay any taxes required by your country. We cannot help you determine what these taxes are.
We do not disclose the revenue share percentage on our ads. However, we do give a very generous percentage to encourage users to adopt iPaper.
Advertising in documents is a new field, and we are constantly experimenting with new layouts and ad networks to maximize the earnings which publishers can achieve while not interfering with the user experience of iPaper. Over time, you will likely see ads in many configurations delivered by several ad networks and other sources.
It is your responsibility to understand and adhere to the appropriate tax rules. We cannot give advice on your individual tax situation.
Scribd will issue you a 1099 earnings reporting form if you earn over $600 in a tax year. You must then complete and return an IRS W-9 and mail it to our office. We will suspend your payments until we receive your W-9 once you reach a pay-out amount of $500. To prevent any payment suspension, file your W-9 now! Download the form from the IRS and mail it to:
Scribd, Inc.
Attn: Payment Information
211 Sutter St.
Floor 2
San Francisco, CA, 94108
Log in to your to your API account page and click View your advertiser earnings
Ads are not available in documents hosted on Scribd.com. You can only run Google AdSense on documents that are hosted on your website via the Scribd Platform API.
iPaper is a document format built for the Web. Virtually any document format is convertable to iPaper, which is embeddable into any website or blog.
We've discovered that WordPress aggressively strips JavaScript embed codes, rendering iPaper unusable in WordPress blogs. We are working overtime to quickly find a solution to this problem.
Unlike traditional document formats, iPaper is viewed inside a Web browser and doesn't require additional software to view it. At 100 KB the iPaper application is about 1/1000th the size of Adobe’s Acrobat Reader software, making it an incredibly fast way to view documents. Despite the tiny size, iPaper integrates Scribd’s social features, like emailing and embedding. iPaper's security system protects content without clumsy DRM solutions. iPaper also builds on the rich features of PDF, including full text search, copy/paste functionality, view modes, and zoom.
FlashPaper was originally developed by Macromedia as a web-enabled competitor to Adobe's PDF format. Adobe discontinued development of FlashPaper upon it's acquisition of Macromedia in 2006. As useful as it is, FlashPaper is an orphaned technology. Adobe no longer provides support or upgrades to the technology. Services dependent on FlashPaper can't evolve or respond to the needs of its customers. Our experience with FlashPaper made clear that there was still a lot of cooking to do. So, armed with months of feedback from our community, we took the things we loved about FlashPaper, ditched what didn't work, and developed iPaper from the ground up - with better document fidelity, better features, a better interface, and a better all-around experience. iPaper's potential is unlimited.
No. FlashPaper has been discontinued.
iPaper is built with Adobe Flash, so if you can watch videos on YouTube, you won't have any problems with iPaper. You must also have JavaScript enabled on your browser.
iPaper currently supports the following formats:
There are several different methods. Your documents and your individual requirements will determine which choice is best for you. If you're simply trying to share one or more documents, your best bet is to upload your document to Scribd. If you have your own website, you may find that QuickSwitch or the Scribd API offer options that are more suitable for you. If you have previously uploaded your document to Scribd, your document has already been converted to iPaper.
The Scribd bulk uploader, the Scribd API and QuickSwitch are purpose-built to handle large quantities of documents from one or more sources. Our very large server cluster allows us to offer high performance for processing and searching, no matter how many documents you have.
Not directly. Images convert to iPaper only when they're part of a document format, such as a PDF or a Word document.
Not at this time. iPaper runs on a professionally managed, highly secure server cluster, guaranteeing that your documents will be accessible and safe at all times. Our server cluster allows us to offer high performance for processing and searching, no matter how many documents you have - at an unbelievably low cost.
We went to great length to make sure that documents already embedded with FlashPaper would seamlessly convert to iPaper. There is, however, a small set of documents that, for various reasons, can't connect with the iPaper servers. To fix this, you need to refresh the embed code. Visit the document's page on Scribd, copy the embed code, and use it to replace the code currently in your webpage. Once you publish the changes, the document will display in iPaper.
We've done our best to convert Scribd documents from FlashPaper to iPaper with as few problems as possible. If you are unable to see your Scribd document in iPaper, email us at contact [at] scribd.com. Be sure to include a link to the document in question, along with your username.
There are many reasons a document conversion can fail. The primary cause is when you inadvertantly upload an encrypted or password protected PDF file. Try saving the PDF again without any security protections. Word docs and PowerPoint presentations occasionally fail when there are a large number of images or corrections. Try saving the Word doc again as a .rtf file or .pdf file.
Not at this time. You can, of course, upload your document if you save it as an Office 2003 (or earlier) .doc file, as a .pdf, or an .rtf. We are working hard to integrate Office 2007 support into iPaper very soon.
Absolutely. You can embed iPaper in any website or blog that permits embeddable Flash.
Look for the height and width values in the embed code. Set those values accordingly, in pixels.
The size of the iPaper window is determined by the webmaster. The window may increase in size if you resize the browser's window. You cannot dynamically resize an iPaper window, except to view in fullscreen.
There are three View Modes that are accessible through the iPaper menu on the left side of the toolbar. First is "List Mode," the default mode for most documents. List mode displays pages in a continuous scroll. You can move through the pages with the left-right arrows, by moving along the scrollbar, or by click-dragging the pages themselves. Next is "Book Mode," a 2-page display ideal for book-style layouts or documents with images that span multiple pages.The last mode is "Slide Mode," which is ideal for presentations and any document in a "landscape" orientation. The scroll bar is disabled in both Book Mode and Slide Mode.
Yes. Click the fullscreen button at top right of the iPaper window.
By default, iPaper fits the full width of the document to the iPaper window, in List Mode. You can change the document's view mode through the iPaper menu on the left side of the toolbar. You can adjust your view of the page with iPaper's zoom control, represented by the "plus" and "minus" buttons on the toolbar, and the zoom slider bar that appears when you mouse over the zoom area. Use either the buttons or the slider to adjust your document's magnification. The two notches on the slider bar represent iPaper's ideal magnification settings for displaying the document's full width and height. They're slightly sticky, so it's always easy to jog back to a full-page view if you do a lot of zooming.
Yes. iPaper's search bar lets you search through any document comprised of text characters. This applies to most documents on Scribd. However, some "text" documents, particularly those made from scanned images, may not be searchable. iPaper highlights any results that it finds.
Yes. Click the Select Text button and highlight the text you want. Use Control-C or Command-C to copy the text. Note this may not work in some documents converted from scanned images.
Just to the right of the zoom control are iPaper's document navigation buttons. Click the right arrow to advance to the next page and click the left to return to the previous one. A page number indicator also appears alongside iPaper's scrollbar when scrolling a standard document, and on the lower left corner when viewing a presentation in Slide Mode. You can also click the Tile Mode button to display the pages as a contact sheet. Click any one of the pages, and iPaper takes you there instantly!
Yes! Click the iPaper menu on the left side the toolbar, then click Print.
You can email your friends directly from iPaper! Click the iPaper menu on the left side of the toolbar, and select Email to Friend.
No. iPaper is a publishing format, not an editor. You may, however, edit a document locally and upload the changes as a new revision.
No. iPaper is a format designed for the Web. The iPaper viewer streams document content dynamically from our server 'cloud.' Many publishers, however, choose to make the original format available for download at the document's page at scribd.com.
Not at this time.
iPaper's scrollbar doubles as a document loading indicator. As the content streams into the viewer, the progress is shown as the scrollbar filling with color.
The scrollbar is disabled in Book Mode and Slide Mode.
Yes. iPaper displays documents in the same font as the original document. Your readers will not have to install any files to view special or unusual fonts. iPaper automatically detects files that use fixed-width (monospace) fonts.
Click the iPaper menu on the left of the toolbar and click Document Info.
Not yet. We'll constantly improve iPaper with new features, but we wanted to make sure the first version of iPaper was compatible with as many formats as possible.
Click the iPaper menu on the left of the toolbar and click Document Info. Click the author link to visit the author's profile on Scribd.
Most users experiencing this problem find that it's fixed once they upgrade to the latest version of Flash. You can download it for free from http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/
See more details about this problem in this blog entry.
Yes. You can use the iPaper JavaScript API to set default parameters, including opening page number, height, width, and document privacy. The exact syntax is described in the iPaper JavaScript API documentation.
"Slurping" is one of the ways QuickSwitch pulls a document from a web link and converts it to iPaper.
Slurp is a part of QuickSwitch. You can use QuickSwitch to easily configure your slurp URL's without needing to read through documentation. Alternatively, you can read the explanation page and configure it yourself.
Yes.
For a full explanation of Slurp, see the documentation page
