Adobe PDF Help Document
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User Notice: This guide is
provided for reference only. Technical support will not be
available except to the Brookhaven National Laboratory user community.
What to do when PDF files do not open correctly or when
your browser displays a blank white screen after trying to
open the PDF file...
If the Adobe Acrobat viewer doesn't display PDF
files inside your Web browser as expected, try Solution 1 or update to the
latest version of the Acrobat viewer.
Some PDF's use security features that may not run in
older versions.
If Solution 1 does not work, I would try Solution
2 and make sure that the Acrobat viewer can read the PDF file by
downloading it to your hard disk. If these solutions do not fix your
problem, try applying one or more of the other
solutions listed below.
Solution
1 - Disable "view in browser"
feature
Try disabling the "View In Browser"
or "Web Browser Integration" feature in your Adobe
Acrobat viewer (for plug-in and standard version).
Doing this will force your Acrobat viewer to display PDF outside
your browser in a separate window. In most
cases this will fix your problem. Shown below is how to disable "Web Browser Integration".
Tech Note: Windows User -
Deselecting the "Display in Browser" feature will
allow you to open PDF's outside the browser in Netscape,
FireFox, Mozilla, and Opera to name a few, but may not
work for some users using Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE).
Some IE users have tried to deselect the "Display in Browser" feature and
when they tried to open a PDF using MSIE, a second window would
open and only show a blank white screen with a small
image (image has a white background and includes a
little red square, green circle and blue triangle inside
it) in the top left corner and nothing else happens.
This is because MSIE uses the Acrobat Control for
ActiveX to to display PDF documents. Netscape and other
compatible browsers use the nppdf32.dll in the
plug-in folder to display PDF documents. If this happens
when you only deselect the Display in Browser"
feature, try deselecting ALL four web browser options
and close both your IE browser and Acrobat Reader. Now
see if this works...
You can also try upgrading to the latest version of
Acrobat Reader.
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 (plugin)
Go to
<File><Preferences><General>
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/acorbat401_1.gif)
- Remove "Check Mark"
- Press <Ok>
- Close window
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/acorbat401_2.gif)
Go to browser and try again to view the PDF.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/acorbat401_3.gif)
When selecting the PDF file this
time, you should get a window similar to the one
above (may look different depending on the
platform you are running).
Select <Open it> and a "second window" should open
and display the PDF.
![Top of Page](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/common/images/top_w.gif)
Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 (plug-in)
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/acrobat50_5.gif)
Go to <Edit><Preferences>
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/adobe50reader_1.gif)
-
Remove "Check Mark"
-
Press < Ok >
-
Close window
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/adobe50reader_2.gif)
Go to browser
and try again to view the PDF.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/acorbat401_3.gif)
When selecting the
PDF file this time, you should get a window
similar to the one above (may look different
depending on the platform you are running).
Select <Open it> and a " second window" should open and
display the PDF.
![Top of Page](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/common/images/top_w.gif)
Adobe
Acrobat 5.0 (standard)
Go to
<Edit><Preferences><General>
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/acrobat50_1.gif) Go to <Options>
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/acrobat50_2.gif)
-
Remove "Check Mark"
-
Press <Ok>
-
Close window
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/acrobat50_3.gif)
Go to browser
and try again to view the PDF.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/acorbat401_3.gif)
When selecting the
PDF file this time, you should get a window
similar to the one above (may look different
depending on the platform you are running).
Select <Open it> and a " second window" should open and
display the PDF.
![Top of Page](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/common/images/top_w.gif)
Adobe Acrobat 6.0 / 7.0 / 8.0 (standard &
pro)
Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 / 7.0 / 8.0 (plug-in)
Go to
<Edit> <Preferences>
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/adobe60-2sm.gif) Go to
<Internet>
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/adobe60-3sm.gif)
-
Remove "Check Mark"
-
Press <Ok>
-
Close window
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/acrobat50_3.gif)
Go to browser
and try again to view the PDF.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/itd/images/acorbat401_3.gif)
When selecting the
PDF file this time, you should get a window
similar to the one above (may look different
depending on the platform you are running).
Select <Open it> and a " second window" should open and
display the PDF.
![Top of Page](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/common/images/top_w.gif)
Solution
2 - Download PDF to hard drive
Make sure that the Acrobat viewer can read the PDF file
by downloading it to your hard disk and then viewing it
in the browser:
In
Netscape Navigator 3.x or later:
- Right-click (Windows)
or hold down the mouse button (Mac OS) on the link
to the PDF file, then choose Save Link As from the
pop-up menu.
- In the Save As dialog
box, specify a name and location for the PDF file,
and then click Save.
- Choose one of the
following options to open the PDF file:
-
In Navigator 3.x
(Windows/Mac OS) Choose File > Open
File.
- In Navigator 4.x (Windows) Choose File > Open Page > Choose File.
-
In Navigator 4.x
(Mac OS) Choose File > Open > Page in
Navigator.
- If you're using
Navigator for Windows, choose either All Files or
Acrobat files from the Files Of Type pop-up menu.
- Select the PDF file
you saved in step 2 and click Open. The Acrobat
viewer should open the PDF file inside the browser
window.
In
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later:
- Right-click (Windows)
or hold down the mouse button (Mac OS) on the link
to the PDF file, and then choose Save Target As from
the pop-up menu.
- In the Save As dialog
box, specify a name and location for the PDF file,
and then click Save.
- Choose File > Open
and click Browse.
- Choose All Files from
the Files Of Type pop-up menu.
- Select the PDF file
you saved in step 2 and click Open. The Acrobat
viewer should open the PDF file inside the browser
window.
Note: If
the viewer displays only a blank screen or returns an
error after you've downloaded a PDF file to your hard
disk, the viewer or the PDF file may be damaged. Exit
the browser, restart the viewer, and try to open an
Acrobat Online Guide from the viewer's Help menu. If the
viewer can't display an online guide, the viewer itself
may be damaged and you should contact Acrobat Technical
Support. If the viewer correctly displays the online
guide, try opening the PDF file you downloaded. If the
viewer can display the downloaded PDF file, the PDF file
isn't damaged; rather, your browser isn't working with
the Acrobat plug-in. If the viewer still displays only a
blank screen or returns an error, the PDF file is
probably damaged.
![Top of Page](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/common/images/top_w.gif)
Solution
3 - Check Security Options
If you use Internet Explorer 5.x, make sure that its
security options recognize the Acrobat Control:
Note: This
procedure changes Internet Explorer's security options
for all ActiveX Controls. If you prefer to use stricter
security, do not complete these steps.
In
Internet Explorer for Windows:
- Exit from Internet
Explorer 5.x and your Acrobat viewer.
- Start Internet
Explorer 5.x.
- Choose Tools >
Internet Options and click the Security tab.
- Choose the appropriate
Web content zone for the type of PDF file you're
trying to open (e.g. Internet or Local Intranet).
- Click Custom Level to
specify the security setting for this zone.
- Select Enable for the
options labeled "Download unsigned ActiveX
controls" and "Initialize and script
ActiveX Controls not marked as safe."
- Click OK and then
click OK again.
In Internet Explorer for Mac
OS:
- Choose Edit >
Preferences.
- Click Ratings and then
click Options.
- Select the option
labeled "User Can See Sites That Have No
Rating," and click OK. Contact Microsoft for
more information on which security settings affect
Internet Explorer's ability to download files.
![Top of Page](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/common/images/top_w.gif)
Solution
4 - Are you looking at the correct window?
Make sure that you're looking at the browser window and
not the Acrobat viewer window. The viewer runs in the
background when you're viewing a PDF file in a browser
window, and the viewer's window may not display the PDF
file. If the browser window is inactive, activate it to
view the PDF file.
![Top of Page](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/common/images/top_w.gif)
Solution
5 - View another PDF from a different web server
Try viewing a PDF file from a different Web server. To
determine if there's problem with the server to which
you're connecting, try to open a PDF file from Adobe's
Web site at www.adobe.com.
Adobe's Web server is configured to let your browser
connect to PDF files. If the Acrobat viewer can display
PDF files from Adobe's Web site, but not from another
site, the other site's server may not be configured
correctly (e.g., it uses server software that doesn't
support byte serving). Contact that server's Webmaster
for assistance.
![Top of Page](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/common/images/top_w.gif)
Solution
6 - Large PDF's may cause problems
If the PDF file is 4 MB or larger, the Web browser may
time out before it finishes downloading the file; ask
the provider of the file to optimize it in Acrobat
Exchange or Acrobat 4.0x. For more information on file
optimization, refer to the Acrobat Online Guide.
![Top of Page](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20080920134838im_/http://www.bnl.gov/common/images/uparrow_gray.jpg)
Last Modified: June 27, 2008 Please forward all questions about this site to:
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