ASCII Text | PDF | HTML

The Federal Bulletin Board offers a variety of formats for viewing documents. The main format types are ASCII text, Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF), and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). However, since FBB file libraries contain information provided by different agencies and organizations, documents are available in a variety of other formats. These formats include:

• Compressed files (ZIP)
• DBase files (DBF)
• Self-executing/Self-extracting files (EXE)
• System files (such as DLL files)
• Wordprocessing files, such as WordPerfect (WPD) and Word (DOC)
• Graphics files, such as Text Image File Format (TIFF) and Graphic Interchange Format(GIF)

The originating agency determines the formats of the files uploaded to the FBB, and while files are often posted in multiple formats, not all file formats are available in every file library.

ASCII Text

ASCII text documents contain only the raw data and no formatting. As a result, they do not have any special graphics or font formats, such as bold, underline, or italics.

Portable Document Format (PDF)

Documents in the Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) preserve a printed document’s original appearance. Their high aesthetic quality is achieved through the use of text, graphics, photos, and color. It is independent of computer platform or distribution media and is available to all users who have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader Software.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

A Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) file is the document that a Web browser receives from a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server. It is an ASCII text file with tags that signal how the browser should display the contents. HTML documents can be presented with formatting, graphics, and links.

A service of the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office.