PDF files / Adobe Acrobat Reader

What is "PDF?"

Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free software used to view "PDF" (Portable Document Format) files.  PDF pages will look the same and print the same across all types of computers, exactly the way the author intends them to look. PDF files are popular in many UMD Library indexes & databases such as GPO Access, JSTOR, Science Direct, and Business Source Premier.If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your Mac or PC, please see the next paragraph about downloading this software. If it is already installed, skip to the section on Using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Downloading Adobe Acrobat Reader

You can visit the Adobe Web site to download the free Acrobat Reader software. Scroll down, and follow their steps 1, 2, and 3. In step 1, if you are a PC users and are unsure of your "platform" go to your desktop, right-click "My Computer" and choose "properties."

After you click the download button in step 3, you'll probably be asked to save a program called something similar to "ar505enu.exe" to your computer. Save this to a temporary folder called "download" or "temp", or anything you'd like. (if you don't have a download folder, you should make one). If you are using Internet Explorer, you might see this instead: "Would you like to open the file or save it to your computer?" Either one will work, but if you choose OPEN, you can skip the step of finding the file and manually starting the installation, so choose OPEN. Follow all directions during the installation process. If you chose SAVE, read further.

After the download is complete, go to your file manager or Windows Explorer and find your "temp" folder and the file you just downloaded.

Double click on this .exe file and it will automatically install itself into a new directory on your computer, probably in a folder called "C:\Program Files\Adobe\AcrobatReader" or something similar. When finished downloading and installing the software, open Netscape or Internet Explorer and click this PDF link. If it launches, congratulations!

Using Adobe Acrobat Reader

If the document that you selected seems difficult to read, go to the status bar at the bottom of the screen, click the magnifying glass, and select "FIT VISIBLE."  Click "OK."  (See also Button Bars, below.)

Keeping the Document

If you wish to retain the document to view later,  you may E-mail the document to yourself as an attachment under "Mail Document" or "Send Page" (depending on your version of Netscape) and save it to disk as a .pdf file (but don't try to use the "Quote" feature when mailing, as this results in a lot of unreadable code).  When you access this saved file from the File Manager or Windows Explorer, Acrobat Reader will be launched automatically for you.  Or you can use the option "Select All" under Edit (ctrl-A) to copy one page at a time into the clipboard or use the text selection tool to select portions of the text.  You can then copy the selected text to one of your word processing applications (Notepad, Wordpad, WordPerfect, etc.) and save it there, but it will no longer be in pdf format, and not all of the headings will copy over as they were in the original.

Downloading a PDF File to your Computer

You can download PDF files to your hard disk either from a Web page's link or using an Acrobat viewer's Save As command. After you download a PDF file to your hard disk, you can copy text, distribute the file, or save the file to a disk. To download a PDF file from a link: 1. Right-click the link to a PDF file, then choose Save Link As from the pop-up menu. 2. In the Save As dialog box, select a location on your hard disk, then click Save. To download an open PDF file: 1. Choose File > Save As. 2. In the Save As dialog box, select a location on your computer, then click Save.

Other tips:

If Acrobat opens up within Netscape, you may set a Netscape bookmark to return to the document you are reading.  If Acrobat opens outside of the Netscape browser, you will not have this option.    For example, if you open a pdf document from your file manager or Windows Explorer, it will open up outside of Netscape (see below for explanation of differences in the two views). BOOKMARKS - Acrobat Reader Bookmarks are different from Netscape bookmarks.  Acrobat bookmarks come with a document (not all documents have them) and can be used to navigate within the document.  One button on the Button Bar displays both available bookmarks and the page. PRINTING - You can print one page, a selection of pages, or the entire document, if you wish, by selecting "Print" and telling it which pages you wish to print. Do not use the BROWSER'S print button. Make sure you use Acrobat's print button.THUMBNAILS- allow you to select an area within a page and navigate within it.  One button on the Button Bar displays both thumbnails and the page you're looking at. ZOOM IN / ZOOM OUT - Click the magnifying glass, then the document itself to zoom in. To zoom out, right-click the page and choose a setting.
 

Differences Between Viewing Documents Within or Outside of Netscape

Attached are explanations of  the Tool Bar and status bars you might find  when using Acrobat Reader within Netscape and outside of Netscape.  Icons will vary depending on which version number you have installed.  There are differences in what you will see and in what you will be able to do with the document when in these two modes, and there are advantages to each. When you are viewing a pdf document in Netscape:

• you can mail the document to yourself or others
• you can set a bookmark to return to the document.

When you are viewing the document outside of Netscape (such as when you have activated it from File Manager)

• the viewing screen is a little larger
• you will have access to the Acrobat Reader menu bar, including the Help button, which is very informative

Fig.1 Buttons on the Tool Bar When Opened Inside Netscape
 

 
 

1. Print set up  2. Displays only the page  3. Displays both bookmarks and page  4. Displays both thumbnails and page  5. Selects the handtool to manipulate the page  6. Selects Zoom In (doubles the size with each click)  7. Selects Zoom Out (halves the size with each click)  8. Goes to First page  9. Goes to Previous Page  10. Goes to Next Page  11. Goes to Last Page

12. Previous View  13. Next View  14. Sets Zoom to 100%  15. Fits to Window  16. Fits Visible Width  17. Previous document  18. Next document  19. Page of the document you are presently viewing  20. Present magnification  21. Page view (single page, continuous, continuous facing)

Fig. 2 Buttons on the Button Bar When Opened Outside Netscape