Back to DCCC's Tutorials Page

Using the Adobe Acrobat Reader
     
Click here for the Full Acrobat Reader/Writer tutorial.
     
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) is the open de facto standard for electronic document distribution worldwide. Adobe PDF is a universal file format that preserves all the fonts, formatting, graphics, and color of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. Adobe PDF files are compact and can be shared, viewed, navigated, and printed exactly as intended by anyone with free Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You can convert any document to Adobe PDF using Adobe Acrobat software.
(from Adobe's Website, http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/adobepdf.html)
     
Installing the Acrobat Reader

The Acrobat Reader can be downloaded for free from Adobe's Website:

  • Travel to http://www.adobe.com
  • Click the button Get Acrobat Reader button (you may have to scroll down the page to see it).
  • Click the Get Acrobat Reader Free link at the bottom of the page (you may have to scroll down the page to see it).
  • Complete steps 1-3 by filling in the requested information (see below):
    image of downloading instructions
  • The Save As... dialog box will appear. Using the Save in: drop-down list, navigate to where you want to save the install program (I suggest the desktop so it is easily found when the download has completed).
    Save As dialog box
  • Navigate to the file you just downloaded. Double-click Acrobat Reader installation icon to install the reader. Follow the install program's directions (make sure all other applications are closed)
  • When the installation has finished, the Acrobat Reader desktop shortcut icon will appear on the desktop.
     
To open a PDF document saved on your computer:

Do one of the following:

  • Click the Open button open file toolbar button.
  • Double-click the file icon in your file system PDF file icon.
     
Viewing PDF documents on the Web
You can view PDF documents that are on the Web using a Web browser. When a PDF document is stored on the Web, you can click a URL link to it to open the document in your Web browser.
     
Reading PDF documents in a Web browser
PDF documents can display in Web browsers compatible with Netscape 4.0 (or later) or IE 4.0 (or later). The necessary plug-ins are automatically installed when you install Acrobat Reader. (If pages of your PDF document appear blank when viewed in a Web browser, you may be using an early version of a Web server. Try saving the PDF file locally, and viewing it using Acrobat Reader.)