EDN.COM FAQ

Why don't you post the contents of EDN magazine online?

We do! Every issue since 1994, in fact. Please see www.edn.com/archive. However, please note that this archive includes only the content that appears in the print magazine. This Web site offers vastly more than that, including tons of Web-exclusive articles, great tools like our Microprocessor and DSP Directories, blogs by our editors and distinguished guests, and much more. Please peruse the home page and explore the pulldown menus above to discover the full range of EDN's content. Also, please note that in many cases, articles appear on this Web site well in advance of when the print edition comes out.

Why don't you offer your articles as PDF files?

We do, whenever possible. Look at the top or bottom of an article page (right above the headline or below the last bit of text). If you see a button that says "PDF," that will take you to a PDF that is an exact replica of the article as it appeared in our print magazine. For articles that never appear in print, we don't have a pretty version to offer, so the button will not be present (we still offer a printer-friendly version, of course).

When I'm reading an article on your site, why do you make me click to see "Figure 1," "Figure 2" and so on? Why not just put the images right on the page?

Many of our schematics illustrate large, complex circuits. On-the-page presentation is hard to pull off because when you make the image large enough for the small details, such as resistor values, to be legible, you end up with an image that is several screens wide and/or tall. We use PDF files in this case because you can zoom in, print, and save them with ease; the files sizes are quite small; and producing them fits right into our Adobe-centric production process. If you really don't like clicking back and forth, in many cases you can view/download a PDF of the full-article (see the previous question).

I can't view/download your PDFs. I get an error message saying they are not a valid file type. What gives?

We serve PDFs inside of a framed page that includes an advertisement. (Sorry but after all, advertising is what allows us to deliver the site to you free of charge.) Because of this, links that seem to point to PDF files actually redirect to a framed HTML page, which displays the ad on one side and the PDF on the other. So if you are trying to save the PDF to your computer either manually (by right-clicking the link) or automatically (your browser may be configured to save PDF files rather than open them using the Acrobat plugin), it will not work. You will end up saving only a small HTML file. And when you try to open that in Acrobat, you will receive an error message.

Here's what you can do: First, if you are right-clicking to save the PDF, try a regular click. The PDF may load in your browser, after which you can use the Acrobat controls to save or print it. If not, you will have to make sure your browser is configured to open PDF files rather than saving them. In both Firefox and Internet Explorer, this setting is found under the "Options" menu. Look for "Manage file types" or "Applications" in Firefox (depending on version) and "Manage add-ons" in Internet Explorer. In both cases, find "PDF" and then change the setting to "open in browser" (or similar wording) rather than "save to computer." Finally, please rest assured that we are working on a technical improvement to the way we serve the PDF files.

Why can't I get the whole issue in a single PDF file?

As mentioned above, you are missing out on a lot of great Web-exclusive content if you limit yourself to the contents of the print edition. But if you want the entire print issue in a PDF file, you can sign up for what's called a digital subscription. Digital subscribers get an email notice when the new issue comes out, and they access the issue in a nifty online viewer application. This viewer offers an option to save the entire issue as a single PDF file. If you're already getting the print edition, you can convert your subscription to the digital format. If you're not, you can subscribe in digital format from the start. Either way, click here to sign up.

I found an interesting article, but it has broken links, or the figures are too blurry to read. What should I do?

Please use the site feedback form to report the problem, including the title, date, and URL of the article in question. We'll do our best to scan it from our hard-copy archive, and get it to you quickly. And please accept our apologies. The site has moved from platform to platform several times over the years and, sadly, some of our predecessors weren't as careful as they should have been. Some old files have been lost and are unrecoverable. Also, when this site debuted in 1996, Adobe's PDF hadn't caught on yet. Our predecessors did their best with GIFs. But especially with intricate schematics, their best was not good enough.

Can I get a copy of an older article-one that's not in your online archives?

EDN.com's archive provides free access to articles from 1994 onward. For articles prior to 1994, we charge $20 to scan the article from our hard-copy archive and send you a PDF and/or hard copy. The charge merely covers our time to retrieve, scan, and send the article. You'll find a sample, details on the procedure, and the payment form here.

I want to comment or ask a question about an article. How can I contact the author?

First of all, we sincerely hope you'll use our "Feedback Loop: Post a comment" feature (look for a red link on the right side of the page) to post your comments right on the same page as the article itself. This often proves more effective than contacting the author because everyone who reads the article will see your comment or question. And authors have been know to monitor their own articles for comments and respond when they see any, as well. We don't share author contact information unless the author specifically chose to do so. If you really want to contact an author, use the site feedback form to send us your message (be sure to specify which article you are talking about) and we will forward it on if we are able to locate the contact information ourselves. The author of course is under no obligation to respond.

What does "EDN" stand for?
When the first issue of what is now EDN was published by Rogers Corp in May 1956, the publication was called Electrical Design News. A few years later, Rogers was acquired by Cahners Publishing (since acquired by Reed Elsevier and renamed Reed Business Information). The publication used the terms EDN and Electrical Design News more or less interchangeably for several years. But as our industry became more "electronic" and less "electrical," the original name also became dated. The obvious answer, to change from Electrical Design News to Electronic Design News was impractical, because other publications on the market had similar-sounding names. So the name Electrical Design News became EDN-no more, no less. In doing so, EDN was ahead of the curve, and would soon be followed by major corporations such as 3M (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing) and IBM (International Business Machines), not to mention KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).