Portable Document Format (pdf) files can be seen on the screen (and printed) in the exact format created by the document developer. Adobe Acrobat Reader, free software available for Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX systems, is required to read pdf files. If you have not already installed the Adobe Acrobat Reader software, you will need to download the most current version appropriate for your computer system from the Adobe website. The Adobe Acrobat Reader is freely available to the public and may be redistributed.

On most browsers, the Acrobat Reader can be configured as a Plug-in or Helper Application that will directly open pdf files for viewing and/or printing. However, often the most convenient way to use large pdf files is to download them to your hard disk and open them separately with the Acrobat Reader. To download PDF files:

 

For additional information on downloading, installing, and configuring Adobe Acrobat Reader, see

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 or 5 with the Adobe Acrobat Reader 4 plug-in, you may not be able to open some pdf files. You will get an empty browser screen, and the message "An error has occurred while trying to use this document" in the message area at the bottom of the browser. This incompatibility should be eliminated in the future; in the meantime, Microsoft suggests that the pdf file be downloaded and opened separately in the browser (see above).

The pdf files also may not load properly if a partial download or corrupted copy of the pdf file has been left in cache area of your hard drive from a prior failed access. If you have interrupted a page while loading it into your web browser one time, you may have trouble retrieving the full page on future tries to load it. In this case, you should clear your browser cache.
For example:
 

For the Windows operating system, files that are compressed (.zip) or Self-extracting compressed (.exe) files will need to be downloaded and expanded before use.

NOTE:
Browsers may be configured so that clicking on .zip or .exe files will automatically expand the files by opening an existing utility (.zip) or using a utility included with the file (.exe); however it is generally safer to download the file and expand it outside of the browser as described below.

T. Once downloaded, the self-extracting .exe files do not require a separate utility program and may be extracted by double-clicking on the file name in Windows Explorer, or entering the file name in the Windows Run application (on the Windows Start Menu) and clicking OK. The self-extracting files created with utilities such as the DOS version of PKZip (see below) run in a separate DOS window (which may be closed when the process is complete). The expanded file will be in the same folder as the .exe file. The .exe files from other applications such as WinZip (see below) open a self-extractor window that prompts the user to select a download location for the expanded file. The .zip files require a utility program (see below) to extract the files. Consult the instructions for the utility you use.

For the Macintosh operating system, utilities such as Stuff-it Expander (see below) will open both the .zip and .exe files. To use the resulting files, they must be compatible with Macintosh software applications.