At a glance

iBooks is a great way to read and buy books. Download the free iBooks app from the App Store, and then enjoy everything from classics to bestsellers.

iBooks is a great way to enjoy books and PDFs. Download the free iBooks app from the App Store, and then get everything from classics to bestsellers from the built-in iBookstore. To download the iBooks app and use the iBookstore, you need an Internet connection and an Apple ID.

• Find books by browsing or searching

• Get a sample of a book to see if you like it

• Read and write reviews, and see current bestsellers

• Tell a friend about a book via email

Reading books

Reading a book is easy. Go to the bookshelf and tap the book you want to read. Each book has a particular set of features, based on its contents and format. Some of the features described below might not be available in the book you’re reading.

• Show the controls: Tap near the center of the page.

• Enlarge an image: Double-tap the image. In some books, touch and hold to display a magnifying glass you can use to view an image.

• Go to a specific page: Use the page navigation controls at the bottom of the screen. Or, tap and enter a page number, then tap the page number in the search results.

• Look up a word: Double-tap a word, use the grab points to adjust the selection, then tap Define in the menu that appears. Definitions are not available for all languages.

• View the table of contents: Tap . With some books, you can also pinch to see the the table of contents.

• Add or remove a bookmark: Tap . Tap again to remove the bookmark. You don’t need to add a bookmark when you close the book, because iBooks remembers where you left off. You can have multiple bookmarks—to see them all, tap , then tap Bookmarks.

• Add a highlight: Double-tap a word, use the grab points to adjust the selection, then tap Highlight and choose a color or underline.

• Remove a highlight: Tap the highlighted text, then tap .

• Add a note: Double-tap a word, tap Highlight, then choose from the menu that appears.

• Remove a note:  Delete its text. To remove the note and its highlight, tap the highlighted text, then tap .

• See all your notes: Tap , then tap Notes. Tap to print or email your notes.

• Change the font or type size: Tap near the center of a page to display the controls, then tap . Tap Fonts to select a typeface. Some books allow you to change the type size only when iPad is in portrait orientation.

• Change the color of the page and text: Tap near the center of the page to display the controls, tap , then tap Theme. This setting applies to all books that support it.

• Change the brightness: Tap near the center of a page to display the controls, then tap . If you don’t see , tap first.

• Turn justification and hyphenation on or off: Go to Settings > iBooks. PDFs and some books can’t be justified or hyphenated.

Interacting with multimedia

Some books have interactive elements, such as movies, diagrams, presentations, galleries, 3D objects, and chapter reviews. To interact with a multimedia object, tap, swipe, or pinch it. For example, with a presentation, you can tap to start it, then tap to see each screen. To view an element full-screen, pinch two fingers apart. When you finish, pinch to close it.

Studying notes and vocabulary lists

In books that support it, you can use notes view to review all of your highlights and notes as cards.

View your notes: Tap . You can also:

• View notes by chapter: Tap a chapter to see its notes. Badges in the chapter list indicate the number of notes and highlights you’ve added to each chapter. If you don’t see the chapter list, tap the Chapter button.

• Search all notes: Enter a word or phrase in the search field. If you don’t see the search field, tap the Chapters button. Tap a chapter to see its notes.

• Review notes and vocabulary as study cards: Tap Study Cards. Swipe to move between cards. If a card has notes, indicated by , tap the card to turn it over. Tap to select which highlights are displayed, or to shuffle the cards. If the chapter includes a vocabulary list, you can also include it in your cards.

• Email your notes: Tap . Select the notes that you want to share, then tap Email.

• Delete notes: Tap . Select the notes that you want to delete, then tap Delete.

Organizing the bookshelf

Use the bookshelf to browse your books and PDFs. You can also organize items in collections.

View and manage collections: Tap Collections. To edit the name of a collection, tap Edit. You can’t edit or remove the built-in Books and PDF collections.

Sort the bookshelf: Tap , then select a sort method at the bottom of the screen.

Delete an item from the bookshelf: Tap Edit, then tap each book or PDF that you want to delete, so that a checkmark appears. Tap Delete. When you finish, tap Done. If you delete a book you purchased, you can download it again from Purchases in the iBookstore.

Search for a book: Go to the bookshelf. Tap the status bar to scroll to the top of the screen, then tap . Searching looks for the title and the author’s name.

Syncing books and PDFs

Use iTunes to sync your books and PDFs between iPad and your computer, and to buy books from the iTunes Store. When iPad is connected to your computer, the Books pane lets you select which items to sync. You can also find DRM-free ePub books and PDFs on the web and add them to your iTunes library.

Printing or emailing a PDF

You can use iBooks to email a copy of a PDF, or to print all or part of the PDF to an AirPrint printer.

Email a PDF:  Open the PDF, tap , then choose Email Document.

Print a PDF: Open the PDF, tap , then choose Print. For more information, see Printing with AirPrint.

iBooks settings

iBooks stores your collections, bookmarks, notes, and current page information using your Apple ID, so you can read books seamlessly across all your iOS devices. iBooks saves information for all of your books when you open or quit the app. Information for individual books is also saved when you open or close the book.

Some books might access video or audio that’s stored on the web. If iPad has a cellular data connection, playing these files may incur carrier charges.