Adobe Acrobat is a two-part program. One part -- the one webmasters use -- costs money. Your part -- the Adobe Acrobat Reader -- is free.
Documents created in all sorts of applications, from word processing to spreadsheet, graphics to page layout, can be saved as Acrobat documents. The document names end (or should!) in .pdf.
Adobe Acrobat is NOT a word processing file: you can't open it in your word processor.
Web pages can look slightly different depending on the web browser, the version of the web browser, and the type of computer.
Sometimes documents have to look exactly the same in every instance. IRS tax forms are an excellent example of this. By saving documents in Adobe Acrobat format, the person who creates the file is assured that the file will look exactly the same and print exactly the same, no matter who reads it or what kind of computer she uses.
The Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can open these .pdf files, is available for Macintosh, Windows 95, Windows 3.11, Windows NT, OS/2, UNIX, LINUX, Sun SPARC, Silicon Graphics, even DOS ... pretty much any type of operating system you can shake a stick at.
To read an Acrobat file, you first download the version of Adobe Acrobat that matches your operating system. If you do not have a copy you can download the free Macintosh, Windows 95 or NT and Windows 3.1. If you need other versions, check out the Adobe site to find them.
How do I download the Acrobat Reader and then the file that I want?
Acrobat Reader is also offered at the Adobe site, their site will walk you through the downloading process.
Remember where you save it. Saving it in the "plug-ins" portion for your browser makes sense.
The Adobe Acrobat Reader is software, which means that like any other software, you have to install it.
Using the Navigator Plug-in
When you install Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x on a computer on which Navigator 2.x or 3.x is installed, the Acrobat installer automatically copies the Navigator plug-in file (Nppdf32.dll for Windows 95 and Windows NT, Nppdf16.dll for Windo
ws 3.1x) into the Netscape\Navigator\Programs\Plugins directory. When you're using Navigator 4.x, which is included with Netscape Communicator, you'll need to manually move the Nppdf32.dll file or the Nppdf16.dll file from the Acrobat3\Reader\Browser or A
crobat3\Exchange\Browser directory into the Netscape\Communicator\Program\Plugins directory.
If you select a PDF file while the plug-in is installed, the file will download to Netscape's Temp directory, and then Navigator will open your Acrobat viewer to display the file within the browser window.
If a PDF file you select does not display within the Navigator 3.0 or later browser window, see Related Records.
To prevent Acrobat from displaying PDF files in the Navigator browser window, move the Navigator plug-in file (Nppdf32.dll for Windows 95 and Windows NT, Nppdf16.dll for Windows 3.1x) from the Netscape\Navigator\Programs\Plugins directory or the Netsca
pe\Communicator\Program\Plugins directory to the Acrobat3\Reader\Browser or Acrobat3\Exchange\Browser directory.
Configuring Navigator to Use Acrobat as a Helper Application
When you configure Navigator to use an Acrobat viewer as a helper application, Navigator starts the viewer, then displays PDF files within the separate Acrobat viewer window.
NOTE: Make sure the Nppdf32.dll file or the Nppdf16.dll file is not installed in the Netscape\Navigator\Programs\Plugins directory or the Netscape\Communicator\Program\Plugins directory. If it is, Navigator will open the Acrobat viewer as a plug-in and
cannot use the viewer as a helper application.
To configure Navigator 4.x to use Acrobat as a helper application:
1. Choose Edit > Preferences.
2. In the left pane, select Navigator, then select Applications.
3. Click New Type.
4. Type the following information in the text fields:
- For the Description of Type, use "Portable Document Format."
- For the File Extension, use "pdf."
- For the MIME Type, use "application/pdf."
5. Click Browse, then locate the Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x application file and click Open.
6. Click OK to close the New Type dialog box.
7. Restart Navigator.
To configure Navigator 3.x to use Acrobat as a helper application:
1. Start Navigator.
2. Choose Options > General Preferences, then select Helpers.
3. If "application/pdf" is listed in the File Type scroll box, select it and go to step 7.
4. Click Create New Type.
5. Type "application" in the Mime Type text box.
6. Type "pdf" in the Mime Subtype text box, then click OK.
7. Click Browse.
8. Locate and select the Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x application file, then click Open.
9. Type "pdf" in the Extensions text box.
10. Select Launch Application, then click OK.
11. Restart Navigator.
To configure Navigator 2.x to use Acrobat as a helper application:
1. Start Navigator, then choose Options > General Preferences.
2. In the General Preferences dialog box click the Helpers tab.
3. If Application/pdf is listed in the File Type scroll box, select it and
go to step 6.
4. Click Create New Type.
5. Type "application" in the Mime Type text box, then type "pdf" in the Mime Subtype text box, and then click OK.
6. In the General Preferences dialog box, click Browse.
7. Locate and select the Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x application file, then click Open.
8. Select Application from the list of Actions, then click OK.
9. Restart Navigator.
Configuring Internet Explorer for Windows 95 and NT to Display PDF Files
Adobe Acrobat 3.0x includes ActiveX plug-in files for Windows 95 and Windows NT that enable Internet Explorer to display PDF files in the browser window using an Acrobat viewer (i.e., Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Exchange). The Acrobat installer automaticall
y installs the plug-in files (Pdf.ocx, Pdf41.ocx, or Pdf42.ocx, and Pdf.tlb) in the Reader\ActiveX or Acrobat3\ActiveX directory when you install Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x. If you select a PDF file while the plug-in files are installed,
the file will download to Internet Explorer's Temp directory, and then Internet Explorer uses your Acrobat viewer to display the file within the browser window.
If you select a PDF file and Internet Explorer prompts you to save the file to disk or open it outside of Internet Explorer, or if Internet Explorer does not respond, do one or more of the following:
- Make sure a Pdf*.ocx file and a Pdf.tlb file are located in the Acrobat3\ActiveX or Reader\ActiveX directory.
- Reinstall your Acrobat viewer to make sure the correct plug-in information is added to the Windows registry.
- Restart Windows to make sure Internet Explorer is accessing the most current Windows registry information.
Configuring Internet Explorer to Use Acrobat as a Helper Application
If you'd rather have your PDF files appear in a separate Acrobat viewer window, you can configure Internet Explorer to use the viewer as a helper application. Internet Explorer then starts an Acrobat viewer displays PDF files within the Acrobat viewer win
dow, instead of within the browser window.
To configure Internet Explorer 4.0 or earlier to use Acrobat as a helper application:
1. Exit Internet Explorer.
2. Choose Start > Find > Files or Folders.
3. Type "pdf*.ocx," choose your local hard drive from the Look In pop-up menu, and click Find Now. Make a note of the pathname to each Pdf*.ocx file on your system.
4. Choose Start > Run.
5. Type "regsvr32 -u X:\[path]\pdf*.ocx" in the Open text box, where "X" is the drive and "[path]" is the path to a Pdf*.ocx file. For example:
regsvr32 -u C:\Acrobat3\Exchange\ActiveX\pdf42.ocx
6. Click OK.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 for every Pdf*.ocx file installed on your system.
8. Delete the Pdf*.ocx and Pdf.tlb files from the Acrobat3\Exchange\ActiveX and Acrobat3\Reader\ActiveX directories or from the Reader\ActiveX directory. You must delete all the Pdf*.ocx files; if you rename or move the files, Internet Explorer can
still use them.
9. If Netscape Navigator is installed, locate the Nppdf32.dll file in the Netscape\Navigator\Program\Plugins directory or the Netscape\Communicator\Program\Plugins directory, and move or rename the file. (Internet Explorer can use the Nppdf32.dll f
ile if it cannot locate a Pdf.ocx file.)
10. Restart Windows.
11. Start Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer 4.0 will now start an Acrobat viewer in a separate window to display PDF files. If you're using Internet Explorer 3.0x or earlier, continue with steps 12-20.
12. Choose View > Options, then select Programs.
13. Click File Types.
14. Select Adobe Acrobat Document in the Registered File Types scroll box, then click Edit. If Adobe Acrobat Document is not listed, select New Type.
15. Type "Adobe Acrobat Document" in the Description text box.
16. Type "application/pdf" in the Content Type (MIME) text box.
17. Type "pdf" in the Default Extension for Content text box.
18. Select Open from the list of Actions and then click Edit. If Open is not listed, click New.
19. Click Browse, locate and then select the Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x application file, then click Select.
20. Select Use DDE, then click OK to close each dialog box.
To reestablish the original Internet Explorer settings, reinstall Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x.
How do I open an Acrobat document?
Remember, Adobe Acrobat files are not word processing files. Now that you've downloaded and installed the Acrobat Reader, you'll want to start/open/run/double-click to get the program going. You open documents the same way you do anywhere else: go to the file menu, find the document, and open it, peruse it, and print it at your leisure.
