The Standard edition does not have the rich media (such as video clips) embedded in the downloadable PDF file. This makes the standard edition file size much smaller than the embedded edition. For the standard edition, we keep the rich media on the internet. When you want to view any rich media, the browser (such as Microsoft Edge or Chrome) will appear and display the media.

Prior to January 2013, the standard edition had lower resolution images to keep the file size down. From January 2013 and beyond, the image resolutions are identical between the two editions.

The Embedded edition has a greatly compressed version of the rich media (such as animations and video clips) included inside the PDF file, so once it's downloaded you don't need the internet to view the material. Because the embedded media is downsized to make the embedded edition as small as possible, the rich media quality is lower than what you will get with the standard edition. Also, the embedded edition only is intended for Windows PCs.

Which edition should you download?

These days, we recommend the standard edition. If you have a Mac or are running Linux, DO NOT download the embedded edition. The embedded media will not work (it only works on a PC) and you're simply wasting disk space.

If you require the ability to watch the media offline AND YOU HAVE A WINDOWS PC, you can try the embedded edition, but as of January 2013, there's little reason to read the embedded edition. The media embedded inside the PDF has a lower resolution than the media on YouTube that you link to from the standard edition.