United States National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

FAQ
DOCLINE -- Viewing Documents sent Electronically

Question: How do I view documents delivered electronically?
Answer:

The lending library will send articles via the Network delivery method or one of the Network Alternative(s) delivery methods that you selected for each request. For requests delivered electronically, DOCLINE specifies two file formats, PDF and TIFF. Some libraries use delivery systems that also send supplemental information in additional formats. These formats are described below, including how to view documents.

- PDF (Portable Document Format) Image Files
Adobe Acrobat Reader software is required for reading PDF documents. The software is available free of charge at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.

Once Acrobat Reader is installed on your computer, most Windows-based email software will automatically open Acrobat Reader and display the .pdf file when you click on the attached file's icon. If it does not, you should try dragging the attachment's icon to the Windows desktop or saving the file in a directory, then opening it.

- TIFF Image Documents
Windows NT 4.0, later releases of Windows 95, and Windows 98 use Wang Imaging or Eastman Software's Imaging for Windows by default to open .tif files. With most Windows-based email software, you can click on an attached file's icon to open it.

If you have an early release of Windows 95, you may find that TIFF files do not open automatically. You may have to download Imaging for Windows which is available free from Microsoft.

For TIFF documents delivered via Web (TIFF), an email message containing a hyperlink to the requests document is generated. Documents can be viewed or printed from the referenced hyperlink. A TIFF viewer is required, however the viewer may be configured so you can view the document from your browser. See instructions below to configure the TIFF viewer for your browser.

For Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox:
  1. Click on the My Computer icon.
  2. From the toolbar menu select Tools then Folder Options.
  3. Click on the File Types and scoll down to the TIFF file type.
  4. Click Advanced.
  5. Under Actions click on Open then click on the Edit button.
  6. Browse the directory until you find the excutable to use to view the TIFF file.

Select the hyperlink contained in the email message. A File Download dialog box will appear with the following options:

  • Open this file from its current location.
  • Save this file to disk.
  • Always ask before opening this type of file

Clear the Always ask before opening this type of file check box and the file should always open with the associated program and download to the Temporary Internet File folder.

Text Files
Microsoft Windows uses the Notepad accessory by default to open .txt files. With most Windows-based email software, you can click on an attached file's icon to open it.

BMP (Bitmap) Image Files
Microsoft Windows uses the Microsoft Paint accessory by default to open .bmp files. With most Windows-based email software, you can click on an attached file's icon to open it.

DocView and DocMorph
The Communications Engineering Branch of the National Library of Medicine has developed DocView, free software for viewing documents sent over the Internet and DocMorph a prototype server for converting TIFF files to PDF. For more information on this application see the DocView Factsheet.
Related Questions:
How are documents delivered via the Web?
What are the advantages of document delivery via the Web?
What are the different methods of document delivery in DOCLINE?
What is NLM's preferred method of delivering articles?

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http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/doc_email_deliv.html

Last reviewed: 17 September 2008
Last updated: 17 September 2008
First published: 13 November 2001
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