Frequently Asked Questions

Managing Your Browser, PDF Reader Plug-in, and PDF Files

1.	What is a PDF file?
2.	How do I view a PDF file?
3.	How do I magnify the page view when looking at a PDF document?
4.	How do I navigate through a PDF file?
5.	How do I print a PDF file?
6.	How do I save and download a PDF file?
7.	How can I find specific words in a PDF document?
8.	Why do I get a blank screen or a message to load Acrobat Reader again after downloading the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader?
9.	How do I install a Web browser plug-in?
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1. What is a PDF file?  

A PDF (Portable Document Format) file can be identified by the suffix ".pdf".  This type of file enables you to view and print material that may have been created in any number of formats that are not necessarily compatible with your browser.  Many of the forms and other pages on this Web site are stored as PDF files.  To open them, you need to use the program Adobe Acrobat Reader.  If this program is not already installed on your computer, you can download it free of charge from the Internet.  The answers to many of the questions below explain how to use the features of Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to download, view, and print out PDF files.  Detailed information on all the Acrobat Reader options is available on the Adobe Web site www.adobe.com/support/main.html.

2. How do I view a PDF file?  

You must have a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or higher loaded on your PC in order to view PDF files on this web site.  Detailed information on all the Acrobat Reader options is available on the Adobe Web site www.adobe.com/support/main.html.

• To view with a browser:  Click on the link to the PDF file, the PDF file automatically appears through the Acrobat Reader within the browser window.

• To view on its own:  Save the file to the hard drive, then double click on the file to open it within the reader.

3. How do I magnify the page view when looking at a PDF document?  

You can use the Zoom tool, the magnification box in the status bar, or the Actual Size, Fit in Window, and Fit Width toolbar buttons to change the screen magnification.  The maximum magnification level is 800%.  The minimum magnification level is 12%.  Adobe Acrobat Reader also offers the following magnification options that are related not to a specific percentage, but to the look of the page on-screen:

• Fit Page scales the page to fit within the main window.

• Fit Width scales the page to fit the width of the main window.

• Fit Visible fills the window with the page’s imaged area only (text and graphics).

When you select any of the above options, the magnification level resulting from the selection is displayed in the status bar.  These options do not change as you page through a document unless you change the zoom level.

To change the magnification of a page, choose one of the following:

• To change the magnification of an entire page, select the Zoom tool and click on the document page.

• To change the magnification of a specific area, select the Zoom tool and drag to draw a rectangle, called a "marquee," around the area you want to magnify.

• To change the magnification to a specific percentage, click the magnification box in the status bar, and choose a magnification level.

Note:  If viewing a PDF document in a Web browser window, use the Zoom Out tool to decrease magnification.  If you need to magnify a page to a size larger than the Reader window, you can use the hand tool (an icon on the tool bar) to move the page around so that you can view various areas on it.

4. How do I navigate through a PDF file?  

Acrobat Reader provides a number of ways to page through a document.

To go to the next page: Choose one of the following:

• Click the Next Page button > in the toolbar.
• Press the Right Arrow or Down Arrow.
• Choose View > Go To > Next Page.

To return to the previous page: Choose one of the following:

• Click the Previous Page button < in the toolbar.
• Press the Left Arrow or Up Arrow.
• Choose View > Go To > Previous Page.

To go to the first page: Choose one of the following:

• Click the First Page button I< in the toolbar.
• Press the Home key.
• Choose View > Go To > First Page.

To go to the last page:  Choose one of the following:

• Click the Last Page button >I in the toolbar.
• Press the End key.
• Choose View > Go To > Last Page.

5. How do I print a PDF file?  

To print out a PDF document from the TSP Web site, just click on Print as you would for any other document.  If you run into problems, try the following:

• First, select the print options you want by opening File, then Print Setup (in Windows and UNIX) or Page Setup (in Macintosh).

• When you are ready to print, choose File, then Print.  Acrobat Reader offers a Shrink to Fit print option that shrinks (and, if necessary, rotates) oversized pages to fit on the paper size currently loaded in your printer.

If a PDF file was produced by Acrobat Distiller 3.0, it may contain custom halftone screens intended for high-resolution imagesetters.  When sent to standard desktop PostScript printers, the custom halftone screens in the PDF file can produce "muddy" images.  To avoid this problem, choose the Use Printer's Halftone Screen option in the Print dialog box.

If you experience any problems printing a PDF file, the Adobe Web site suggests procedures for troubleshooting printing problems.  For information explaining how to implement the procedures, go to the Adobe Support Database at www.adobe.com/support/main.html.

6. How do I save and download a PDF file?  

There are three ways to save the PDF file to the location you choose on the hard drive.

1. Open the PDF file in your browser window; save it with the browser's File > Save or Save as > command.
   
2. Open the PDF file in the Acrobat Reader; save it using the Save icon on the Reader's menu bar.
   
3. Or without first looking at it in the browser, click on the link; click "Save this Link as." or "Save Target as." on the pop-up menu. 

For more information, refer to the Adobe Support Database at www.adobe.com/support/main.html.

7. How can I find specific words in a PDF document?  

You can find specific words in a PDF document two ways:

• You can click on Edit, then Find in Page.  A dialog box will appear.  Type the word, words, or partial word you are looking for in the space marked Find what.  If you want to find the word(s) you entered with precisely the same case (i.e., uppercase, lowercase, or initial cap), check the box marked Match case.  If you want to search from the current page to the end of the document, check Down in the area labeled Direction.  If you want to search from the current page to the beginning of the document, check Up in the area labeled Direction.  Then click on File Next. The next appearance of the word(s) you are looking for will be highlighted on your screen.  But the dialog box will remain on the screen so that you can continue to click on File Next as many times as you need to find each appearance of the word(s) you are looking for.

• You can also click on the Find icon on the toolbar.  A dialog box will appear.  Type in the word(s) you want to locate.  Check Match Whole Word Only if you want the search tool to ignore words that are not a perfect match to the word(s) you entered. (For example, the search tool would ignore the word "stick" if you were to type in the word "sticky").  Check Match Case if you want to find only words with the same case (i.e., uppercase, lowercase, or initial cap), as the word or words you entered. If you want the search tool to begin on the current page and continue through previous pages, check Find Backwards.  Otherwise, your search will proceed from the current page toward the end of the document.  Finally, click on Find in the dialog box.  The next appearance of the word or words you are looking for will be highlighted in the document on the screen, and the dialog box will close.

If the Acrobat Search plug-in is installed, you can also search across documents that have been indexed with the Acrobat Catalog program.  To do this, use the Search command instead of the Find command, and refer to the Acrobat Search Online Guide for more information.

8. Why do I get a blank screen or a message to load Acrobat Reader again after downloading the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader? 

Although you downloaded the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader software, you may not have installed it; or you may be using an obsolete version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.  Procedures for installing the program will vary depending on the setup of your individual browser and computer system.

If you are having problems loading or using Adobe Acrobat Reader, you may want to contact the technical support staff at AdobeSystems Inc., the company that produces Adobe Acrobat Reader.  The homepage for Adobe indicates that technical information and answers to commonly asked questions are also available by e-mail from techdocs@adobe.com.  If you type the word "instructions" in the subject line, you should get back an e-mail with detailed information on the program.  There is also a search function you can use on Adobe's web site where you can type in questions and link to related information.

9. How do I install a Web browser plug-in?  

A "plug-in" is a hardware or software module that adds a specific feature or service to a larger system.  For example, there are a number of plug-ins for the Netscape Navigator browser that enable it to display different types of audio or video messages.  We suggest that you configure your Adobe Acrobat Reader as a plug-in application for your World Wide Web browser.   

If you have an Internet browser installed on your system at the time that you install Adobe Acrobat, it should automatically install itself as a helper application in the browser.  You will know that it is properly installed as a helper application if you can view the PDF file in the browser window, with a single row of special Acrobat buttons along the top of the viewing screen. 

If Acrobat does not install itself automatically as a helper application for your web browser, you can also do this manually by copying the appropriate file to your browser's Plug-in folder. 

To manually install the Web browser plug-in (Windows):

1. Open File Manager or Windows Explorer.
2. Locate the Acrobat\Reader\Browser folder.
3. Copy the NPPDF32.dll or NPPDF16.dll file to your Web browser’s Plug-in folder

To install the Web browser plug-in (Macintosh):

1. Open the Web Browser Plug-in folder within the Adobe Acrobat folder.
2. Copy the PDFViewer plug-in to your Web browser’s Plug-in folder.

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