Support guides

We maintain several guide resources designed to help you use Pressbooks more effectively.

User guide

Learn how to use Pressbooks to create, adapt, and share content.

Network manager guide

Learn how to use the features that are specific to network managers.

Help desk

Get short answers to general Pressbooks questions.

Pressbooks forum

The Pressbooks Community of Practice is a space of conversation and mutual aid. All our users are encouraged to participate in the public forum. Network managers of our enterprise-level networks are invited to become a member of our private EDU Clients community forum to take part in the public Pressbooks Community of Practice.

Frequently asked questions

How can I get started with Pressbooks for a personal publishing project I have in mind?

Pressbooks is an authoring and formatting platform for books of all types: textbooks, monographs, novels, manuals, and beyond! It covers all aspects from start to finish of creating a book. Your book creation process will look something like this:

  1. Sign-up for Pressbooks. You will have the option to create a book right away. If you are affiliated with an institution that has access to Pressbooks, speak with your network manager. If you do not know whether or not your institution has Pressbooks fill out this form and we’ll check for you.
  2. Add book information. You can include a title, author, language, book description, and more!
  3. Start building your book by writing, formatting, and adding media. Use the Authoring Dashboard to start writing.
  4. Choose a theme for your book. There are 21 different themes with different typefaces, colors, and styles to explore.
  5. Export your book in one of the many formats we support! With PDF, ePUB, and a web version of your book, your book can be shared and sold online, or sent to a printer.

Keep in mind that nothing on Pressbooks is irreversible. Everything, from the book information to the theme can always be modified! Feel free to explore all of the options you have for your book. You can read more in depth about kicking off your Pressbooks project.

You can also start with our quick “Introduction to Pressbooks” video or attend one of our free training webinars to learn more about using Pressbooks to publish your next book project.

How can I get help using Pressbooks with my publishing project?

Start by searching our user guide or YouTube channel to try to find an answer to your question in our existing documentation.

If you don’t find what you’re looking for there, you can post your question on our community forum in the hopes that there are other users who know the answer.

If you’re using an enterprise hosted Pressbooks instance, you can always contact the network managers who administer for your Pressbooks installation. If you’re an individual using the self-publishing platform we host at pressbooks.pub, you can purchase a premium support subscription to get personalized support from our team via email.

Learn more about our specific support policies to find out what’s available to you depending on the type of network your account is set up on.

How can I report a bug with the software?

Pressbooks is free and openly licensed software, which means anyone can inspect and improve the code. If you’ve experienced what you think is a bug in our software or have an idea to help us make Pressbooks better, please file a ticket in our main GitHub repository.

How can I get a physical copy of a book I’ve published with Pressbooks?

To get a physical copy of a book you’ve published with Pressbooks, you’ll need to select a print-on-demand service and share the print PDF export files you’ve created using Pressbooks. See our guide chapters on producing PDF exports and distributing your book.

Where can I find Open Educational Resources (OER) and other openly licensed content?

Have a look at Pressbooks Directory! The Directory is an online repository for all publicly available Pressbooks books. Everyone has access to these materials, regardless of whether your institution has a Pressbooks network.

If I use Pressbooks, who owns my book?

You do! You own and are responsible for your content. Pressbooks takes no rights or royalties for the content created with our software. It’s up to you to decide what you’d like to do with your book.

Don’t see your questions listed here?

Contact your network manager or visit our community forum.