Adobe PDF document guide for the web
Contents
General tips
Problems viewing or opening PDF files from your browser
Problems printing PDF files from your browser
Problems saving PDF files from your browser
Where to get a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to open PDF documents
General tips
Because a PDF document can be displayed within the existing layout of the web site you are browsing,
it might sometimes appear that the document is part of the web page on your screen. In fact it is a
different file in a different format. You will run into problems if you try, for example, to print or save
the PDF document using the browser toolbar, because the browser will apply the print or save
commands to the web pages that frame the PDF document rather than to the document itself.
When you open up a PDF file from your web browser you should notice that the document opens with
its own Acrobat Reader toolbar, including, for example, print, save and zoom icons.
Always use the
Acrobat Reader toolbar for tasks specific to PDF documents
.
Problems viewing or opening PDF files from your browser
When I try to look at a PDF from my browser, I see a blank frame or window. What can I do to fix this?
There are a number of possible causes for this occurring, which may depend on the browser version you
are using, the version of Acrobat Reader installed, or configuration settings in your browser, including
Security settings. Upgrading your browser or the Reader software may resolve the problem, or you may
find you need to change your security settings. In IE 4.0, 4.01 or 5, the security must be set to medium
or lower. (In IE 4.x choose Internet Options on the View Menu, click the Security tab, click Internet
Zone in the zone box, click Medium or Low, click OK. In IE 5 or later Internet Options is found under
the Tools menu.) If you are worried about changing your security settings you may wish to download
the file and view it offline using the Acrobat Reader program which will run as a separate application
outside your browser.
Problems opeing PDF files may also be due to a slow connection to the internet or because you are
trying to view a very large PDF file. If this is the case you will have to wait for the file to download
before you can view it.
Further Info:
If you are using Internet Explorer, Microsoft provide help guidelines specific to this problem in their
Knowled
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You may also want to look at Adobe's guide to configuring your browser for use with Acrobat reader:
Adobe help on configuring Netscape for use with the Acrobat Reader
Adobe help on configuring Internet Explorer and AOL for use with the Acrobat Reader
Problems printing PDF files from your browser
When printing a PDF file from a website I get pages of obscure processing instructions instead of the
contents of the file. Why is this happening?
The PDF file format is made up of postscript instructions to the printer, which your browser may
interpret as plain text. This results in the processing instructions being printed instead of just the
document, and may take up screeds of paper (which is obviously very wasteful if you don't cancel the
p
rint job in time!) When printing a PDF file from a website, you should
always use the print icon on
the Acrobat reader toolbar
, rather than using the File -> Print option from your browser menu. You
should also note that right-clicking on a link to a PDF file and choosing the "Print Target" option may
also result in incorrect printing of the document.
Problems saving PDF files from your browser
How do I save a copy of a PDF file from the website to my local disk?
Remember to
use the Acrobat Reader toolbar, rather than the toolbar on your browser
when you
want to save or print a copy of a PDF you have opened in a browser. You may also download and save a
PDF file without opening it by right-clicking on a link to the file and choosing "Save Target As".
When I fill out a PDF form in the browser, then save it to my local disk, the form is saved but all the
data I entered has disappeared. How do I save the form so that it includes my data input?
Unfortunately you can't save any changes to a PDF document unless you have the full version of the
Acrobat software installed. The free Acrobat Reader will allow you to save a local copy of the file but
you won't be able to save any changes you make such as filling out form fields.
Please note:
If you don't have the full product, don't worry, it
is
possible to use Acrobat Reader to print
filled-out forms from the web site.
Where to get a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to open PDF
documents
Adobe Acrobat Reader is the software used to open, print and save PDF documents. It is available free
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