Tips for Using PDF Files from the NTSB Document Library
Please note: Our online library consists of electronic
and paper documents that have been converted to Acrobat
Portable Document Format (PDF) files in order
to ensure uniform presentation. Material
may originate from different sources and vary in nature. In
general, most items from 1996 and later are published in electronic
format. Whenever possible, scanned items
have been
made searchable using an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system,
that also maintains the appearance of the original paper
document. However, some scanned items may contain no searchable
text, or may contain text that was electronically converted in order to
provide searchability and keep file sizes small. Electronically
converted text may contain some differences
from the original paper copy; in most cases, copies of original documents may be purchased
for a fee (see Information
Sources).
1) How can I read the document?
You must have the Acrobat
Reader from Adobe installed on your machine to view PDF documents.
Optionally, you can use some of the accessibility options that they
provide to view the document in text format - see #7 for more information.
2) How can I save a copy of the document?
Once the document has been opened, you may click on the diskette icon
on the
inner menu bar and save the file from Acrobat. Alternatively,
before opening the document, right-click on the link and enter a file
name in order to save the
file to a local disk.
3) Why doesn't the document download or display?
Under certain conditions, large publications may not completely
download
or may initially display as a blank screen; if that happens, click
"Reload"/"Refresh"
and see if it will immediately display. If it is still blank, go back
and right-click
on the link to save the file to your local disk, then open it directly
in the Acrobat Reader application. Also, try installing Acrobat Reader
5.0 or later - later versions improve downloading PDF file segments
from
web servers. If you are still having trouble, you may order a
CD-ROM
from the Records Management Division; compilation CD's of recent
publications
are issued in the calendar year following publication.
4) Document doesn't print:
Print the document using the printer icon on the inner menu bar
(these are PDF-specific commands). If that doesn't work,
see #5 below.
5) Print operation freezes computer:
Try printing subsections of the document by specifying the page numbers
in the print dialog box. If necessary, save the file to your local
drive and open it locally, as described in #2.
6) Why are some pages blank?
Documents are designed for duplex printing. In order to maintain proper
pagination, some blank pages have been inserted. If you are using the
latest
version of the Acrobat Reader, you will see the text "this page
intentionally
left blank"; earlier versions may not display this message.
7) How can PDF documents be converted to text?
Sections of text can be copied from PDF documents and pasted directly
into other applications using the Text Select tool on the Acrobat
Reader menu bar. In addition, Adobe offers several alternate
ways to work with PDF documents - see http://access.adobe.com for details. Converting PDF to HTML or ASCII text as described will
also allow screen readers to translate text to audio.
8) Can I get a copy of a photo or image from a report?
See the NTSB's policy on reproduction of material at http://www.ntsb.gov/info/materials_reproduction.htm. In general, PDF files may be copied, in whole or in part, but may not be altered.
To copy images directly from a PDF file, use the Graphics Select tool in Adobe Acrobat Reader. (Tip! To get a high-resolution image copy, select the image and zoom in before the copy and paste steps.) Other software tools may offer additional capabilities for extracting images from the PDF files.
If you would like a high-quality copy of any image, please submit a request for docket materials to our Records Management Division, as described on our website at http://www.ntsb.gov/info/sources.htm#pib.
9) I don't have a printer - how can I get a hardcopy of the
publication?
Printed copies of publications may be obtained from the Records Management Division free of charge while supplies last, or may be purchased from the
National Technical Information Service - please see Sources
of Information for details.
For questions about publications, please use our on-line correspondence form.
For additional information about Acrobat, please refer to Adobe
customer
support at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat