What is a PDF file

The portable document format (pdf) was developed by Adobe as a means of distributing digital documents for reading and printing without loss of formatting. This site uses the pdf format for some documents. All pdf documents within this site are indicated by this symbol. To view these documents you need the Acrobat Reader software from Adobe.

Get the software
The Acrobat reader software is free and is included in many other software packages. You may find that the reader is already installed on your system. If not, you can download the software by following the link below.

Viewing pdf files
Having installed the Acrobat Reader software, there are two ways to view the files. You can download the files and view them from your local disk, or you can view the pages on-line within your browser.

To download the files
Windows/UNIX - right click on the link to the file and select 'save this link', 'download link' or 'save target' from the pop-up menu. If offered the choice, save the file as 'binary' or 'source', and not as 'text'.

MacOS - click and hold on the link to the file and select 'save this link', 'download link' or 'save target' from the pop-up menu. If offered the choice, save the file as 'binary' or 'source', and not as 'text'.

To view the files online you must install the pdf plug-in for your browser, which is usually installed at the same time as the acrobat reader software is installed. If this is installed, simply clicking on the link to the file will load the file in a new window in your browser.

Printing pdf files
Once the pdf file is open, select the print option from the menus and print the file in the usual manner.

If the icon link fails then use this address.

http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/acrobat/readstep.html