Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I sign up for a new account?

Sorry but new blog registrations are not currently available.

We are not allowing any new blog signups for the foreseeable future. However you can still log in and edit your exsiting blog, and continue to post new photos & blog entries.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Why can't I buy a printed book?

Sorry, printed books are not currently available.

We are not offering new printed book sales at this time.

If you've already paid for your book you can still log in and print it (click 'View your profile' then scroll down and click 'Print your book').

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Can I make my blog private?

You can change the privacy options of your blog to hide it from public view.

Firstly sign in, then go to "Your Account" -> "Settings".

Change the "Privacy" drop-down to your preferred option. You can hide it from search (so it will not appear in search results and can only by accessed by people who know your web address)

Or you can choose "Password protected", and enter a password in the "Privacy password" box. Visitors will be asked to enter this password before they can view your content (you'll need to contact them to let them know your privacy password). Note that to keep your account secure the privacy password should be different from the password you use to log in to your account.

How do I delete my account?

To delete your account please visit www.offexploring.com and log in with your username and password (if you have forgotten your password you can click on the "I've forgotten my password" link next to the Log In button and you will be emailed a link to reset it).

When you've logged in, click on Your Account -> Settings. In the bottom right corner is a link to "Delete account". Please note you will need to be using the Full Site. If you are currently using the Mobile version, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Full Site" link first.

Alternatively you can password-protect your blog and hide it from the search engines so that nobody else can view your content.

I'm going on a new trip. How do I start a new blog?

At the moment we don't support multiple blogs per account, so all trips are combined together into one. We hope to enable separate trips in the future.

In the meantime if you want to keep a trip separate the easiest thing is to create a new account. To do this log out and register as a new user. You can use the same email address but you'll need to choose a different username.

Can I change the format of the book, e.g. make the photos bigger?

Unfortunately it's not possible to change the format of the book. It is a pre-set format and there's no way to change the layout or design of the pages.

It's intentionally a simple one-click process, designed to be a quick and easy way to get a printed book of your full trip without needing to spend lots of time creating the book. Pages are US Letter size and photos are printed 12 to a page, as shown in the example at offexploring.com/books.

At the point of purchasing your book you will receive a preview PDF to check and approve, this will show exactly how the book will look before you send it for printing. You will have the opportunity to make changes to blog titles, text, photo captions etc, but it's not possible to alter the layout.

What content is included in the book, and can I choose which content I want included?

Your book will be a complete reflection of the all the blog entries and photos in your blog. The blog entries section comes first, printed chronologically, oldest first, and the photo albums section follows, also printed chronologically, oldest first.

The third section in the book is the 'Messages' section of your blog. All messages and comments are included here - those written on your message board plus comments on blog entries, photos and videos.

All the blog entries, photos, and messages in your account will be printed in the book. There is no facility to choose which content to include, however you can use our tool to copy partial content to a temporary account. This lets you choose a date range, and copies blogs & photos posted between those dates to a new account, to print a book of that content only.

What is the size of the printed journal book that you offer?

Pages are US Letter size and photos are printed 12 to a page, as shown in the example at www.offexploring.com/books.

I've paid for my printed book and there are missing photos or other issues with my preview PDF. How can I fix this?

If there are problems like missing images or faulty text in your book preview PDF, it's important that you contact us on [email protected] before you approve the book for printing. We should be able to fix any faults for you.

If you just want to change the text (e.g. to fix spelling mistakes or add photo captions), you can just edit your blog entries in the normal way by going to the blog entry and clicking or add extra blog entries by clicking or edit photo captions by going to the album and clicking .

When you've finished, click the 'Re-generate PDF' button to re-create your book preview.

I'm having a problem with the mobile app on iPhone/iPad

If you are using the iPhone/iPad app and you experience any problems, please try using the website instead, which is accessible at www.offexploring.com via the web browser on your device.

Please note that some features may not be available on the mobile version of the website, but you can swap to the full site via the link at the bottom of each page.

I've forgotten my login details

If you have forgotten your password you can click on the "I've forgotten my password" link next to the Log In button and you will be emailed a link to reset it.

If you no longer have access to the registered email account, we can help you to change it, but for security reasons we need to verify your identity. If you need us to change the email address please email [email protected] confirming the date of birth and mobile number registered on your account. We will then be able to update the email address to your new one for you.

What is the process for sending notification emails?

The system sends email updates automatically. When you post a new blog entry, a notification email will be sent to everyone in your contacts (Your Account -> Contacts) who has "email" selected (unless they have unsubscribed). Please note that emails are not instant, they are sent in batches once per hour, so may take up to 60 minutes to be sent.

Editing an existing blog entry won't generate an email. Notifications are only sent when you create a new blog entry.

How do I rotate photos?

If photos are appearing on their side or upside-down, you can rotate them. First sign in to Off Exploring and find the photo that you want to rotate.

Click on the photo and you'll see options to "Rotate photo clockwise" and "Rotate photo anti-clockwise".

Please note you will need to be using the Full Site. If you are currently using the Mobile version, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Full Site" link first.

Why do some photos appear rotated?

When this happens it's due to photos being taken sideways on an smartphone. Windows and Macs auto-rotate them so they'll look correct when viewed on your phone or computer, but the website isn't able to do that so they'll display in their original orientation. Please see above for instructions on how to fix this.

The albums in my PDF are in the wrong order

Photos on the website are normally in reverse chronological order, as visitors viewing your blog would usually be interested in seeing your latest news and photos first. The book is the reverse of this, as books tend to start 'at the beginning'. But albums can be moved around. If you have intentionally reversed the order of your albums, then similarly the book will also be reversed. You need to put the order of your photos back into newest-oldest order on the website. The book will then be the reverse, i.e. chronological order.

To change the order of albums, go to your list of albums, click the 'Reorder Albums' button

and use the mouse to click and drag them around. To change the order of photos within an album, click the 'Edit Photos' button

and use the mouse to click and drag each photo up and down to change its position. You need to be using the full site on a computer, not the mobile site.

I've ordered a book but can't upload a cover photo. There's no button?

Book cover photos are uploaded once the book has been paid for.

The uploader for book cover photos requires Adobe Flash to work. If you aren't seeing the button then please enable Adobe Flash. Otherwise click the link for the 'Alternative Uploader' and you should be able to upload a photo OK.

If you still have difficulty, email us at [email protected] attaching the photo you want on the cover, and we will add it for you.

Please make sure the photo is landscape format and high resolution - at least 1600 pixels wide - to make sure it is crisp and clear on the front cover.

I've received my printed book and there are problems with it. What can I do?

As long as the problem in the book you've received is not present in the preview PDF that you checked and approved before the book was printed, we will be able to raise this with the printers and get you a new book printed free of charge.

Unfortunately if the problem existed in the preview we won't be able to do anything, as it's important that previews are checked carefully before being sent for printing since we can't make any changes afterwards, as stated on the book order page.

If the problem doesn't exist in the PDF please contact us at [email protected] including a photo of the problem and we'll arrange to get you a re-print as soon a possible.




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