Electronic Workshop Manual on Mac and iPad.

[Cuppa]

One of the good things about this forum is the fact that the factory workshop manuals are available to members once they have clocked up 25 posts.

However being a Mac laptop & an iPad user I experienced some difficulty installing the manuals on my machines so that they were searchable, & so the links in the PDF files worked. Of course it was all possible, I just had to work out how to do it, and today have managed this with help from Toddie (NissanGQ4.2) ....... Thanks mate.

So here for any other Apple tragics are the solutions I found.

Firstly the file I needed was in .rar format, which Toddie sent me a direct link to. (EDIT: See following posts - apparently the 'standaed downloads ARE in .rar format) If you have over the requisite 25 posts a polite word in his shell like will probably get you the link to this file.

On the Mac
You don't actually need the rar file for this, but I downloaded it to the Mac because I had previously only found manuals up to 2004, & the link Toddie gave me was for up to 2007' covering all the supplements for my 2006 model.
The trick on the Mac is simply to use Adobe Reader to open the downloaded file. The download is a folder full of subfolders & a single .pdf file. Highlight the .pdf file & then go to 'File' at the top of the screen & then click 'Get info'. In the box which opens go down to 'Open with' (default is 'Preview'). Click & change to 'Adobe Reader'. (If Adobe Reader is not in the list you will need to download it from the net first - it's free). Now when you open the PDF file you will be able to click on the 'Click' button to take you to the manual or supplement that you want, & then clicking on the table of contents takes you directly to where you want to be.

You need to retain all of the folders. (& keep them all in the same directory). I didn't initially understand this, thinking that I only needed the folder that covered 2006. The ’98 manual is the main GU one, & the subsequent ones are the supplements covering any changes made. Nissan have always gone about their manuals in a messy way. For my Civilian bus I need 3 separate manuals & have to constantly flick between them.


On the iPad
Things on the iPad are a little different. You can get a semi result in iBooks, or by using the Adobe Reader app, but neither of these allow the linking between the different supplements, or linking directly to chapters from the table of contents. This is a real pain as the only way to find stuff is to trawl through page after page until you find what you want, & if you are anything like me, you get distracted, & then have to go through the whole process again to find the info.

However, again thanks to Toddie & following a bit of experimentation I have now found a way to have all the links working as intended, & it is remarkably simple to achieve.



First you need an app called GoodReader for iPad (a free download from the App Store)
Second you need an app capable of unpacking .rar files. I suggest you use the same as me because I know it interacts with GoodReader. Others may, but I haven't tried them.
I used iZip, another free download from the App Store.

So get both those apps first.

Next ask Toddie nicely for the .rar file relevant to your vehicle's model.
He will PM you a link for you to click on (using your ipad of course) to download the .rar file.
Unpack the .rar file with iZip.
Once unpacked it will ask you if want to open the unpacked file with GoodReader, or something else.
Select GoodReader & hey presto it all works.

I had struggled with this on & off for months, so this was a real result. Hope it helps others too.

Others may have found other solutions, just saying this has worked for me.

Just be aware that the link to the .rar file that Toddie provided bypasses the 25 post requirement, so if you haven't made that many posts yet just don't ask, 'cos it'll rub a good bloke up the wrong way, & I'll be less than impressed - the result being that you won't get what what you need, & if I were in Toddie's shoes I might just decide not to bother for others too.

Cuppa