getting useless URLLINK when I try to download ebooks

[willaful]

I no longer have a kobo device, but I still like to buy books there. But something weird is going on, and they haven't been able to find the problem.

When I try downloading any of my kobo epubs onto my computer, instead of the .acsm link that will open the book in ADE, I get a "urllink" document, that can't be used to open the book. Clicking it brings up a small file of book related data.

It may be something odd about my computer, since I also had this issue with trying to download from Open Library. However, I can still download epubs from Overdrive with no problems.

Familiar to anyone?

[gforgiraffe39935]

The Kobo website was behaving strangely on July 18 and July 19, 2022. Many links were broken and pointing to non-existent URLs, as if it assumed I was accessing their website using the Kobo app.

I suggest clearing the browser cache and logging in again to attempt a download.

I checked the Kobo US website and it is functioning normally again. Purchased EPUBs are available as .acsm files for opening with Adobe Digital Editions.

[willaful]

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately it still doesn't work. Do you think there's any point in clearing anything else?

[geek1011]

Have you tried manually opening the file with the adobe digital editions executable?

[ownedbycats]

Are you sure it's not urllink.acsm?

Originally Posted by willaful

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately it still doesn't work. Do you think there's any point in clearing anything else?

Do you have a second browser on your system? Testing with one is usually my next troubleshooting step after clearing the cache.

[DNSB]

I tend to agree with @ownedbycats. When you download a DRMmed epub, Kobo sends you an urllink.acsm file. If you are using Windows, do you have show extensions for known file types enabled? You can try to open it with Adobe Digital Editions or using the DeACSM plugin for calibre.

When you open the file in a text editor, does it look somewhat like the text in the code box below?

<fulfillmentToken fulfillmentType="buy" auth="user" xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/adept">
  <distributor>urn:uuid:<content deleted></distributor>
  <operatorURL><content deleted></operatorURL>
  <transaction><content deleted></transaction>
  <purchase><content deleted></purchase>
  <expiration><content deleted></expiration>
  <resourceItemInfo>
    <resource>urn:uuid:<content deleted></resource>
    <resourceItem>0</resourceItem>
    <metadata>
      <dc:title xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">The Way of Coyote: Shared Journeys in the Urban Wilds</dc:title>
      <dc:creator xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">Gavin Van Horn</dc:creator>
      <dc:publisher xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">University of Chicago Press</dc:publisher>
      <dc:identifier xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">web:9780226441610</dc:identifier>
      <dc:format xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">application/epub+zip</dc:format>
      <dc:language xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">en-US</dc:language>
      <thumbnailURL>https://www.bibliovault.org/thumbs/978-0-226-44158-0-thumb.jpg</thumbnailURL>
    </metadata>
    <licenseToken>
      <resource>urn:uuid:<content deleted></resource>
      <permissions>
        <display/>
        <excerpt/>
        <print/>
        <play/>
      </permissions>
    </licenseToken>
  </resourceItemInfo>
  <hmac><content deleted></hmac>
</fulfillmentToken>

[willaful]

geek101 -- yes I have. ADE doesn't recognize the files as something it can open.

DNSB -- Yes, that's the kind of file I'm getting. It opens in TextEdit. It's very distinct from an .acsm file. Let me see if I can upload a screenshot. It should show a standard library .acsm file, surrounded by the kobo files.

I have tried in a different browser, which was kobo's only suggestion so far.

I'm using a Mac.

[ps67]

Rename the file from URLLink to URLLink.acsm and it should work. It works for me.

edit: I am on Linux and I use DeACSM plugin, I don't know if it is different but I also receive a URLLink without extension, and giving it its corrected extension makes it work.

[willaful]

Originally Posted by ps67

Rename the file from URLLink to URLLink.acsm and it should work. It works for me.

edit: I am on Linux and I use DeACSM plugin, I don't know if it is different but I also receive a URLLink without extension, and giving it its corrected extension makes it work.

Well fan me with a blowtorch. That worked! Thank you!

[willaful]

Does anyone know what might be the correct file name for a pdf? The Open Library book I couldn't open is a pdf and this method isn't working for it.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by willaful

Does anyone know what might be the correct file name for a pdf? The Open Library book I couldn't open is a pdf and this method isn't working for it.

The .acsm file format is the same for .epub or .pdf files. Note that the expiration line shows the date after which the .acsm file will no longer be valid.

[RobertJSawyer]

I've seen that error from time to time when accessing the Kobo Canada store on Windows under the Google Chrome browser. When it fails there, it's always worked for me under Mozilla Firefox, though.

[willaful]

Originally Posted by DNSB

The .acsm file format is the same for .epub or .pdf files. Note that the expiration line shows the date after which the .acsm file will no longer be valid.

I guess it's a different problem. (I've tried redownloading it and changing the file name.) Will try returning and borrowing it again.

[willaful]

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

I've seen that error from time to time when accessing the Kobo Canada store on Windows under the Google Chrome browser. When it fails there, it's always worked for me under Mozilla Firefox, though.

Firefox is what I normally use for Kobo so...

[willaful]

Returning, reborrowing, and renaming the file worked, huzzah.

I wish I could figure out the problem. At least my Overdrive borrows are still working normally. *knocks wood*