Technical Tips

PDF Files and Adobe Reader

PDF means Portable Document File (.pdf). It is the format used by Adobe® Acrobat®.
Do you have the Adobe Reader yet? You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view or print PDF files. If you do not have this program you can download it free from Adobe®. Just click the logo.

The download can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes depending on your connection speed.
PDF files throughout this site will be faster to view if saved to your hard disk first. Right mouse click over the document link and select "Save Target As".
When viewing a PDF file, the size on screen can be modified to suit your needs. If too large initially, you can choose "Fit in Window" from the Adobe Reader toolbar to view the whole page in one screen. Alternatively, you can choose the Zoom In tool (magnifying glass) on the toolbar and click on a section of the PDF page to view that section in a larger size.
Using the video buttons on the Adobe Reader toolbar will take you to the next or previous PDF pages, while selecting the Back button in the browser toolbar will take you back to the last visited HTML page.
When printing a PDF file, you can print the entire document or select multiple pages by clicking on the Print (printer) button on the Adobe Reader toolbar and then selecting the option.

DOC means Word Document file (.doc).
It is the format used by Microsoft Word. To view / print a DOC file you will need to already have Microsoft Word installed on your computer.
This program is available from Microsoft as a stand alone program or as part of Microsoft Office.