FAQs - Online Resources

In this section you will find answers to frequently asked questions about our online resources and email services. 

Email Services 

What is the Macmillan English Update?
The Macmillan English Update is our e-mail newletter which we send out to registered users, containing the latest e-lessons plus the latest course news and events.  Find out more about our resource sites or alternatively sign up for the free resources by filling out the simple  registration form . 

What e-lesson services do you provide?
For a full list of e-lesson services that we provide take a look at the resource sites page , which gives information about the free resources that are available.  You can then complete the  registration form   to be notified of when the latest e-lessons are available on the site.


Are these services and resources free?
All of the Macmillan English e-lesson services are free to subscribe to by completing the online registration form.  For the full list of terms and conditions of using the e-lessons.

How can I register for the email service?
You can register for all our free email services using one form.  Please go to the registration page and complete the registration form.  Once you have completed the first part of the form, you will then be presented with a list of tick boxes and a brief description of the service.  Select the ones you wish to recieve and click submit for your registration to be completed.

If you are being told that your email address or password is incorrect, you may be typing it in incorrectly.  Check that you are entering your email address and password in correctly, with no spaces between letters, and you are using the right case.

I am already subscribed to some of the Macmillan resource sites, but how do I update my profile and get access to further  resource sites?
You can update your profile and your subscription by going to any of the login pages on any of the resource sites listed above.  Simply enter your login details and click on the 'update my details' button.  You can then select the resource sites that you wish to add by clicking the boxes next to the relevant resource site.  Once you have made your changes, click save.

E-lessons

I'm trying to access the latest e-lessons/new materials on the website but I can only see really old material.  How can I access the up to date materials advertised?
Click on the Refresh (or Reload) button on your Internet browser. If this doesn't work then it sounds like you need to clear the cache on your Internet browser so that the pages update automatically.

To clear the cache in Internet Explorer, please follow these instructions:

Go to Tools > Internet Options > Temporary Internet Files > Delete Files.

You should now be able to access the most recent materials.

Where have the old e-lessons gone?
E-lessons are stored on the relevant resource website for approximately one month in an archive area.  Access to the archive is available on the E-lesson page.

Where are the old Inside Out resource packs? 
There is no archive for the old Inside Out resource pack activities. The resource packs are regularly updated to offer a sample of what is available to buy. The resource pack activities are only available for one week.  The Inside Out resource packs are available to buy online through the macmillanenglish bookshop.

I used to receive the weekly Macmillan English update email.  However lately I have not been receiving them, what is the problem? The simple answer could be that the emails have been caught up in the spam filter on your email account, if your email account does not recognise the address.  Check your spam filter and if this is the case, then try saving our email address to your email address book, to ensure that you receive future updates or 'safe list'. Another reason for this may be that your email inbox is too full and cannot accept any new messages. Try clearing out your inbox to see if this makes any difference. If this is not the case, please fill out the Contact Us form.

I am having difficulty accessing the e-lessons from the website.  How do I gain access to the weekly e-lessons?
To access the e-lessons you simply need to click on the link to the e-lesson page in the Macmillan English update mailing that is sent out to subscribers.

Changing Details

I have changed my email address, please can you amend your system so that I still recieve the Update?
You can update your own profile online, by going to the login page.  Simply enter your login details and click on the 'update my details' button.  You can then make your amendments and these will then be saved once you click save.

I would like to change my password to something more memorable, how can I do this?
You can change your password easily online.  If you are having trouble doing this then please fill out a contact us form stating the password that you would like us to change to.

Unsubscribing

I would like to stop receiving the weekly Macmillan English Update and e-lesson services, how can I do this?
You can do this online by loging into the login page and if you follow the form through to the e-lesson page, simply untick all the services that you are subscribed to.  If you have any difficulties at all in unsubscribing please reply to the Macmillan English Update with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

Website - Technical

I'm having difficulty opening the PDF worksheets and teacher's notes, what is the problem?
To open the PDF files on all Macmillan Resource Sites, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. This is free and easy to download from the Adobe website. Once you have this installed on your computer, you simply click on the file you wish to open and Acrobat Reader will open automatically. You can save and print the documents from there.

If you already have the latest version of Acrobat Reader on your computer, right-click the mouse over the link to the file, save to disk and then open from disk. If you have a Mac, save the file to your desktop, and open it from there.

Why can't I open the games?
To open and play the games on the Macmillan Resource Sites, you will need the Macromedia Flash Player installed on your computer.  This is free and easy to download from the Macromedia website .

Why can't I listen to the songs?
All recordings, such as interviews and songs, on the  Macmillan Resource Sites are in MP3 files.  If an MP3 player is not installed on your computer, you can download one free of charge from the Winamp website.

I can't seem to access a particular link that I am trying. 
Broken links occur for a number of reasons.  It may be that the page has moved or is no longer available.  Take a look at our site map to help you find what you are looking for.  If you can't find what you are looking for, complete a Contact Us form and include the link that you are trying to access into the form we will be happy to take a look!

I am interested in exchanging web links.
If you are intested in trading links and your company relates to our business we will be happy to consider link exchanges.  If you could complete a contact us form including the full url that you want us to link to we will be happy to consider it.

If you can't find an aswer to your question here, then please fill out a Contact Us form and we will answer your query as soon as possible.

I've checked my email address and password but I still can't login to the Free Resources area. What's the problem?
Check your security settings on your Internet browser. You need to have the temporary Cookies function enabled so that the system can recognise who you are and allow you access to the area. Once you have entered the Free Resources area, the Cookie is removed (but will be enabled automatically, next time you login). If you do not know how to enable Cookies, please use the instructions below:

Internet Explorer 5.50
- On the toolbar, click on Tools (on earlier versions try View)
- Select Internet Options
- On the top tabs, select Security
- Select Custom Level
- Scroll down to Cookies
- Make sure that the Enable box is selected on the 'Allow per-session cookies (not stored)' option.

Netscape 6.2 and above
- On the toolbar, click on Edit
- Select Preferences
- In the left-hand Category box, select Privacy and Security
- Select Cookies
- Make sure that 'Enable cookies for the originating web site only' is selected.

Internet Explorer 6.0
- On the toolbar, click on Tools
- Select Internet Options
- On the top tabs, select Privacy
- On the left-hand slider, make sure that the pointer is set to lower or medium.

When I try to download the PDF worksheet's and teacher's notes, the error message "A font contains a bad CMAp/Encoding" appears.  What does this mean?
This error message appears sometimes if you have an older version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.  It means that we are using a newer version to create the PDFs but the older versions cannot understand some of the coding.  You can download the newest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader for free, from their website.