SFSU DoIT | Help Desk | Adobe Acrobat for Windows

How to view or print Adobe Acrobat .PDF files for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP

Many information providers on the Internet are beginning to present documents, manuals and guides in PDF (Portable Document Format), which allow users to interchange documents across all platforms and still maintain the same fonts, look, color and print of the original.
In order to view or print out PDF documents, your computer is required to have a helper program, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. This FREE program can be downloaded using your favorite browser from Adobe's web site.

How to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader

Open your web browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape).
Type the following address in your web browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
In the language field select 'English.'
In the 'Platform field' select the operating system your computer is using. For example - select Windows 98, Windows 2000, etc.
If you desire searching capabilities we recommend you check the box to include the option to search a pdf document.
Fill out the name, e-mail address and country fields.
Click on the Download button.
Save the file to your hard drive.
Once completely downloaded, you will have a self-extracting file.
It is recommended that you exit all your Windows programs before clicking on the installation file.
Locate the directory where you have downloaded the file and double click on on the file.

If there is a failure at any point during the installation of Acrobat Reader 5.0, the installer performs a complete uninstall. Therefore, after clicking on the "Thank You" dialog box that appears at the end of the installation, it is important NOT to close the installer application by clicking in the upper right corner of the background window. If you wait for a second or two, the installer will automatically close the background window after the installation is complete.

Click the Yes button to continue the installation.
Click Next to continue.
Click Yes to accept the license agreement,
Then click Next to install in the default directory.
Finally click Finish to read the Readme file.
Click on the upper right hand corner of the Notepad Window that contains an X in a box to close the Readme file. The windows setup screen will automatically close.

To Launch Adobe Acrobat Reader

Double click the Adobe Acrobat Reader icon located on your desktop.

System Requirements

Minimum system requirements:

i386(TM), i486(TM), Pentium(R), or Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium IV processor-based personal computer

Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2000/XP

8 MB of RAM (16 MB for Windows NT)

10 MB of available hard-disk space

Recommended system requirements:

Pentium processor-based personal computer or greater

Windows 95 or Windows NT or greater

16 MB of RAM (24 for Windows NT)

10 MB of available hard-disk space

How a web browser will react to a .PDF extension
When a user comes across a file with a .PDF extension and clicks on it, one of three things will happen:

A window will pop up, asking you where you want to save the file. Once the file is saved, you can view or print it out using the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
OR

If a newer version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (3.0 or higher) is installed and you have the plug-in for the .pdf files loaded in your browser, the Reader will open right into the browser for you to view or print.
OR

If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed, when you click on a .pdf file, a bunch of meaningless characters will appear. This is the actual code for the .pdf file. In order to make any sense out of these codes, you must save the file to your computer by choosing File and selecting Save As. Name the document with a .pdf extension. Next, you need to download the Reader from Adobe's web page. Once installed, you will be able to view and print out your file.

Setting Netscape to use Adobe Acrobat Reader 4
Note: Newer versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 and above will typically automatically install and update your web browser configuration to automatically open pdf files; thus, not requiring you to follow the instructions below. If you are on an older computer and can not install the newer 5.x version of Adobe Acrobat Reader you will need to follow the instructions below to configure your web browser to use Acrobat Reader properly.

After you have downloaded and installed the Acrobat Reader, launch Netscape.
From the Netscape menu items, select Options * General Preferences... and the Helpers tab.
Use the scrolling bar with your mouse to move down until you find application/pdf.

If you don't find a Mime type in that name, click on Create New Type...
Type application in the box next to Mime type.
Type pdf in the box next to the Mime subtype.
Then Click OK.

Highlight the application/pdf Mime type.
Click on the Browse button and select the location where you have installed the Acrobat Reader application and click Open. In our example, we would look under
C:\Program Files\Acrobat4\Reader\AcroRd32.exe
In the File Extension box, type in .pdf.
Click Apply and OK to close the Preference box. Now your browser will be capable of opening a .pdf file when it comes across one on the Internet.
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Last Modified: 18 Feb 2004
doit@sfsu.edu