Support
REALbasic Developer Frequently Asked Questions
Created: Saturday, March 23, 2002
Modified: Friday, September 11, 2020
Table of Contents
Help! I've written you several emails and never received a response. How else can I contact you?
When can I expect my first [PRINT] issue to arrive?
When can I expect my first [PDF] issue to arrive?
When will subsequent issues arrive?
Hey! I didn't my print issue! Did it get lost in the mail?
Hey! I didn't my PDF issue! Did it get lost in the ether?
My email or mailing address has changed. What do I do?
What if I subscribe late? I don't want to miss a single issue!
Darn it, I missed the cut-off date. Will I be able to order back issues?
If I subscribe to the print version, will I also receive the PDF version?
Is the PDF edition copy protected?
I hate PDF! Will you be offering the digital version in other formats?
I haven't received an issue in a while. Did my subscription expire? How do I renew?
Introduction
This is a collection of Frequently Asked Questions about REALbasic Developer. If you don't find the answer you're looking for here, please contact our department.Help! I've written you several emails and never received a response. How else can I contact you?
Unless there's unforeseen circumstances, we usually respond to emails promptly (within a day or two at most). Keep in mind we're a small company and Marc wears a lot of hats, so if it's near publication deadlines, responses may take longer than normal.However, if you haven't heard back after several days, please check your spam filters. We've been seeing this more and more lately, where we respond but people don't get our response because it's blocked by a junk mail filter. If you can, set your filter white list to accept messages from the rbdeveloper.com domain. We don't send out spam (only subscription renewals once a year) and we don't share your email address with others. If you ever don't want to receive emails from us, just let us know and we'll remove your email from our database.
I just received my credit card statement and I noticed a charge from DesignWrite, not REALbasic Developer. Is that a mistake?
No, that's correct: DesignWrite is the company that publishes REALbasic Developer. Any credit card purchases made through us will reflect "DesignWrite" as the vendor.When can I expect my first [PRINT] issue to arrive?
Print issues are mailed the first of the publishing month (i.e. January, March, May, July, September, November). PDF and print customers should receive their magazines at approximately the same time (around the 15th of the month).Depending on how close we are to the next mailing when you subscribe, we may send you the current issue immediately or wait and start your subscription with the new issue. In either case you should receive your first issue within a couple weeks at most.
When can I expect my first [PDF] issue to arrive?
Regular PDF issues are emailed on approximately the 15th of the publishing month (i.e. January, March, May, July, September, November). PDF and print customers should receive their magazines at approximately the same time.We process new PDF subscriptions a few times per week. If you haven't received your first PDF after a few days, please contact us to make sure we received your order. If you're especially eager for your first issue, please let us know it is urgent and we'll try to accomodate you.
PDF subscriptions can begin with any issue: just let us know the issue you'd like your subscription to start with and we'll adjust the number of issues remaining in your subscription accordingly.
When will subsequent issues arrive?
REALbasic Developer is a bimonthly (every other month) publication. We publish in January, March, May, July, September, and November. Print and PDF issues should arrive around the 15th of the publishing month for most subscribers. International subscribers and people living in rural areas may take a little longer.Hey! I didn't my print issue! Did it get lost in the mail?
It's possible it was lost or misdirected. If you're having your magazine delivered to your work, check around: at large organizations sometimes magazines don't get transfered properly. If it happens regularly, you might consider having the magazine delivered to your home instead.Magazines are sent via Periodical Mail, which is treated as First Class by most postal systems. However, some postal centers don't, and the issue can take longer to be delivered. If you haven't received the current issue by the end of the publishing month (January, March, May, July, September, November), please and we'll send you a replacement. (If our printed issue supply runs out we won't be able to send you a replacement, but we'll adjust your subscription to compensate for the missing issue.)
Hey! I didn't my PDF issue! Did it get lost in the ether?
It's possible. Occasionally a person's email box is full or temporarily unavailable. Some servers block our emails as SPAM, making us unable to even let you know about the problem! With every mailing we get dozens email bounces, but it's difficult to track them all down and most of the time we can't do anything about it on our end anyway. Make sure your system is set up to receive emails from the rbdeveloper.com domain.We mail PDFs around the 15th of the publishing month (January, March, May, July, September, November). If you haven't received yours by the 20th, please and we'll resend you the issue.
My email or mailing address has changed. What do I do?
Use our address change form to send us your new contact info.What if I subscribe late? I don't want to miss a single issue!
Subscription orders arriving less than a week before the next issue will usually start with the new issue. Orders arriving more than 30 days before the next issue will start with the current issue. For example, people who subscribe in July will be sent the July issue. Subscriptions in late August, however, will start with the September issue.Darn it, I missed the cut-off date. Will I be able to order back issues?
Yes. You can order individual copies of any issue via our Back Issue order form. There are even special multi-packs of several issues bundled together to save you money. Printed copies of back issues are of a limited supply and we cannot guarantee we'll have the issue you want.PDF subscriptions can begin with any issue: just let us know the issue you'd like your subscription to start with and we'll adjust the number of issues remaining in your subscription accordingly.
If I subscribe to the print version, will I also receive the PDF version?
Yes. All print subscribers receive the PDF edition as well. If you aren't receiving yours, make sure we've got your correct email on file. We cannot send you the PDF edition without a valid email address.I already subscribed as a ______ (PDF/print) customer, but I changed my mind and I'd like a _____ (print/PDF) subscription. Can I switch?
Sure! Just send an email to and let us know what you'd like.If there's a price difference between the subscriptions, we will prorate the remaining value of your subscription to the new subscription, so the number of issues left in your subscription may be adjusted accordingly.
How are PDF issues delivered?
You'll be emailed a unique URL where you can download the PDF issue set aside for yourself. To prevent unauthorized downloading, the URLs expire after a period of time (30 days).Is the PDF edition copy protected?
Absolutely not. We feel strongly that intrusive copy protection hurts the legitimate consumer more than the content thief, so we've chosen to keep the digital version of our magazine open. This will allow you the ability to copy source code from the PDF and paste it into REALbasic. Please do not make us regret this decision: if you've paid for a subscription, do not share it with others who have not paid.I hate PDF! Will you be offering the digital version in other formats?
No. PDF is the only format that supports our high design standards.I'd like to subscribe to the print edition, but I don't want to have to type in pages of tutorial code. Do I have to subscribe to the PDF to get the code in digital format?
No. The complete files for all REALbasic projects in the magazine are available online.I haven't received an issue in a while. Did my subscription expire? How do I renew?
Your subscription could have expired. We send out expiration notices via email, but if we don't have your current email address or your SPAM filters block our emails, you may not have received our notices.Take a look at your RBD Account number: it's printed on your mailing label (for print subscribers) and included in your issue email (for PDF subscribers) and looks something like this: RGE2002-010947-4. (If you can't find your account number, contact us and we'll get it to you.) The final digit represents how many issues remain in your subscription, so if it's a one or zero, it's time to renew.
You can renew by following this link and selecting the appropriate renewal option. These discounted prices are only available to existing subscribers renewing their subscriptions. You'll need your RBD Account number when you place the order for us to properly process your renewal.