Download Help/FAQ

There are photos, posters, documents and other items that are available for download through the Olive-Drab.com website. Most are free. Each one that is available for immediate download after payment of a fee, has an 'Add to Cart' button and ways to see what is in your cart or to update it. Generally the process is quite smooth and automatic. However, if a problem should develop and you cannot resolve it, please contact Olive-Drab.com with details and we will work it out for you.

Today in WW II: 6 Jul 1939 All remaining Jewish enterprises in Germany are closed by the Nazis.  More ↓
6 Jul 1942 Anne Frank's Jewish family goes into hiding in an attic above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
6 Jul 1942 Flying Tigers in Burma and China integrated into the US Army Air Forces as the China Air Task Force with Gen. Claire Chennault commanding the new unit.
6 Jul 1943 US and Japanese naval forces fight the Battle of Kula Gulf off Kolombangara, in the New Georgia Islands group of the Solomon Islands.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

Help and Frequently Asked Questions about Downloads from Olive-Drab.com

Olive-Drab.com has a collection of military photos and documents, some rare, some only available on Olive-Drab.com. While many of these are provided as part of the free Olive-Drab.com web site or the sister site MilitaryMashUp.com, others can be obtained for a small download charge.

What is PayPal?

PayPal is a system for making Internet purchases in complete security with a few easy steps. If you do not already have a free PayPal account, you can join over 100 million other Internet users and get your own PayPal account today. Each PayPal account is based on your email address which becomes your PayPal login name. You can send payment to anyone who has an email address and can also receive payment into your own account.

What if I don't like something I download?

Satisfaction is guaranteed with no questions asked. You can choose another download or, if you prefer, a refund will be issued via PayPal to return your download fee.

How do I get started?

If you have a PayPal account, just click the 'Add to Cart' button for the item you want. Enter your information, and confirm the payment. You will then be sent to a webpage on Olive-Drab.com where you can download your purchase. You will also get an email (at the email address registered with PayPal) with the same information in case it is not convenient to download immediately. Click the link in either place and the download starts automatically. You can save the file like any other download and use it for any private purpose.

What if I don't have or don't want a PayPal account?

If you don't have PayPal, you can still pay with a credit card through PayPal. You will have to provide the usual information about your card, your name and address. Once the payment is approved, the process to get your file is the same. Olive-Drab.com does not have access to any of your credit card or PayPal information.

We recommend a PayPal account because it makes it much easier to purchase anything on the Internet, including Olive-Drab.com and many thousands of other sites. PayPal is owned by eBay and almost all eBay sellers accept PayPal. It's huge.

The PayPal website gives you a complete record of your purchases and receipts in an easy format. It is completely confidential. Olive-Drab.com does not see your credit card or any other information you give to PayPal other than the transaction confirmation.

More helpful PayPal information is on their Help Page.

Is this secure?

Completely. PayPal is one the largest payment processors on the Internet, acquired by eBay in 2002. Olive-Drab.com gets no information about your credit cards or PayPal account, only the fact that you have paid. The digital delivery system is securely integrated with PayPal to ensure that your download is confirmed and delivered once payment has been made.

Why do I have to pay for downloads?

Downloads are completely optional, your choice. The larger size photos are great to print on your own photo paper or take to a shop like FedEx Office to get large posters made, or print on T-shirts or any other use. Print one out and put it in a frame as a great gift for a military-minded person. The photos you download from Olive-Drab.com are compatible with virtually all software so you can crop, adjust and modify all you want.

Downloading is by far the most economical way to obtain historical photos or posters for any purpose. You can control the printing cost and pay nothing for shipping and handling.

When you download you use computer resources that add up to an expense for Olive-Drab.com. The small download fees are a way to help cover those costs. You are not paying for the photo or document. Most are in the public domain since they originated with the U.S. military or other government agency. You are paying for the convenience of having them organized and available in a good format for easy download at a low cost.

What if there is a problem with the download?

When you pay the fee to download something from Olive-Drab.com you can make as many as 4 attempts for the one fee, over a period of up to 3 days. Usually it works fine the first time, and almost certainly will work the second time if you had a computer crash or other problem with the first. Olive-Drab.com keeps track of your download attempts on each purchase and lets you go back and retry up to the max number of times.

If you still have a problem, contact Olive-Drab.com. Please provide the PayPal transaction number for your payment. We will work it out or issue a refund.

What size are these photos?

The physical size is easily adjustable, using your photo manipulation software package (like Photoshop, for example). In the Olive-Drab.com description, the size is given in pixels, the number of dots in the photo. More dots gives a higher quality image when printed or displayed on a screen. On the Olive-Drab.com web site, the photos are reduced in size and shown at a resolution of 72 dpi (see next question). At that resolution, a photo that is 2400 pixels wide would be 33 inches wide (2400 divided by 72), far too big for a computer screen but fine for printing a poster. You can make it anything you want with your own software. Or if you go to a print shop, just bring in the file and they will adjust it to print the size you want.

What does 72 dpi mean?

All digital photo images are made up of dots. When referring to images, 72 dpi stands for 72 dots per inch, a number that is called the 'resolution' of the image. A resolution of 72 dots per inch is common for images shown on a computer monitor, like the photo at the top of this page. For printing, higher resolutions will look better, perhaps 200 to 300 dpi.

Most photo manipulation software packages (like Photoshop, for example) provide the ability to adjust the resolution and size of the image. For example, you can increase the resolution to get a better looking print by making the photo smaller, packing the available dots of the image into fewer inches. High resolution photo files (hi-res) have lots of dots so you can get print-quality resolution even in an 8x10 or larger print.

Why are some photos lighter or darker than what I see on the computer screen?

The image file delivered as the download is the original scan as received by Olive-Drab.com from the archives. You can use your photo manipulation software (e.g. Photoshop) to make the image lighter or darker, to adjust color, or anything you like to get the appearance you find most pleasing. You can also crop the photo to highlight specific details.

What rights do I have to the download?

Items offered for download from Olive-Drab.com are in the public domain and may be freely used for any lawful purpose. The fee you pay is for the convenience of the download, not for the item itself.