pdf files

What are they?

PDF is an abbreviation of Portable Document Format, developed by Adobe. Its primary purpose is to enable documents such as forms and brochures to be displayed and printed from any computer - Windows®, Macintosh®, DOS, or UNIX® - regardless of the fonts or software programs used to create the original. PDF files are identified by the extension ".pdf" in the filename.

Adobe Reader

You need to have the current version of Adobe Reader installed on your computer to enable you to view the PDF files in this site. Earlier versions of Reader are not supported. Adobe Reader is free software and you can download it free of charge from the Adobe site - click here to take you direct to the site. A link to the site is also displayed on pages in our site which contain PDF files. For help on downloading the correct version for your system, please follow the directions on the Adobe site.

Configuring your web browser to view PDF files

To take full advantage of the ability to view, print and save PDF files, you need to make sure that the PDF Viewer plug-in supplied with Adobe Reader is installed in the plug-ins folder associated with your web browser. This may have already been included when your Web browser was installed. If not, simply exit your Internet browser and copy the PDF Viewer plug-in into the plug-ins folder. Your browser should be configured (using the Preferences or Options menu) to view the PDF file with the PDF Viewer. More detailed instructions for installation are located in the download page of Adobe's Web site.

Viewing PDF files

Once your browser has been correctly configured, clicking on a link to a PDF file inside this site - usually identified by the PDF symbol beside the link - should automatically open the file in the browser window. You then have two options:
· You can print the PDF file from the browser menu bar, or
· You can save the PDF file onto your hard drive for future reference. How you do this depends entirely on which operating system and web browser you are using. For example, if you are using a PC and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, simply right-click on the download link and choose save target as - this will allow you to choose where on your system you save the PDF file. This command may be slightly different when using different browsers or versions of browser.

After you have viewed the file

If the PDF file has opened in your browser window, the 'back' button in your browser menu bar will return you to our site.

Still having problems?

If you experience problems, or you are not sure how to configure your browser to view the file using the PDF Viewer plug-in, consult the help files installed with your browser and Adobe Reader, and the download page of the Adobe Web site. If all else fails, email us and we may be able to help.