Assistance with the shopping basket

Notes on ordering publications

You can assemble all the brochures and publications that you would like to order in the shopping basket. The ordering procedure consists of four steps:

1. Assembling your order
   You can order publications where you see the shopping basket symbol .Click the symbol and the publication will be added to your shopping basket. A publication which is already in your shopping basket cannot be added to the basket once again.
   
   Should you wish to alter the number of copies of a publication, enter the figure in the corresponding field and click "store the number ordered".
   You can add further publications whilst you browse the BMBF's website. You will find the publications in the texts or under the Publications menu.
   
   Should you wish to remove a publication be from your shopping basket, click "delete" in the corresponding line of the shopping basket. Alternatively you can reduce the number of copies ordered to 0 and then "store the number ordered" as described above.
   Click the "delete shopping basket" button if the whole shopping basket is to be deleted. 
   
2. Entering an address for delivery
   After you have assembled all the publications you require, click the "address" button. You will now access a page where you must state the address for delivery of the publications. 
   
3. Checking your order
   After entering your address, click the "check order" button and you will be shown your complete order. Check all details. Should there be an error, you can go back to the shopping basket start page by clicking the "shopping basket" button on the service menu at the top of the page.
   Click the "delete shopping basket" button should you wish to cancel the ordering procedure.
   
4. Sending your order
   Once you have finished checking your order, click the "send order" button to send your order to the BMBF. If you have stated your e-mail address you will receive an e-mail confirming your order. Your shopping basket will be automatically deleted after being sent. 

You can cancel the ordering procedure at any time by clicking the "delete shopping basket" button.

Notes on session cookies

What are cookies?

The BMBF uses so-called session cookies so that you can order brochures on every page of its website and your order can be assembled in a shopping basket. Session cookies are small pieces of information which a web server can store with the visitor's web browser. The session cookie contains a randomly generated identification number, a so-called session-ID. Furthermore, it also contains details of its origin and life span. These cookies can also store other data. Your order is assembled in your shopping basket using your session ID.

Other servers use permanent cookies in order to be able to recognize visitors even after a longer period of time. This data is then stored as a text file on the hard drive of the visitor's computer. By contrast, the session cookies used by the BMBF are deleted when you end your session.
Your shopping basket will be emptied if you close the browser window or visit another website. Items which have been placed in the shopping basket will have to be re-entered if you end the session without completing the ordering procedure.

Dealing with cookies

Cookies can be handled by all Internet browsers. Most browsers are programmed to accept all cookies without asking the user. If you wish to use the BMBF's shopping basket function, you should set your browser to accept session cookies.
If you refuse all cookies,

• the shopping basket cannot be used to assemble different publications and
• only one brochure can be ordered at a time. 

Check your data

Every Internet browser can be set to show you when cookies are being used and what they contain. Detailed information is available at the virtuelle Datenschutzbüro (URL: http://www.datenschutzzentrum.de/selbstdatenschutz/internet/datenspuren/cookies.htm) of the Federal and Länder Data Protection Commissioners in Germany.