Adobe Acrobat is a system for electronic publishing based on the Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF files are platform-independent -- that is, they can be viewed and printed on Windows, Macintosh, and Unix systems. To do so, users need Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Exchange. Web browsers are easily configured to start up the Acrobat Reader.

Download and Configure Acrobat

Acrobat Reader is free and you may downloaded it from Adobe Systems. If you already have Acrobat Reader or Exchange, you do not need to download a new copy, unless you want a newer version. There are three steps to downloading the Reader:

1. Register with Adobe. This step is optional; you may skip it if you wish.
2. Select and download the appropriate version of the software.
3. Configure your browser to start Reader when it finds a PDF file. If you already have the Reader or Exchange, you can configure your browser "on the fly" the first time you click on a PDF file from the list of choices your browser presents to you. Some browsers are now pre-configured to look for the Reader or Exchange when they find a PDF file, and do not need to be configured.

Download Acrobat from Adobe.

Tips for Using Acrobat

With Acrobat you can easily scroll through documents, zoom in and out on pages, and print one or several pages. The online help built into Acrobat explains these features.

If you will be looking at several publications, don't exit Acrobat when you've finished reading the first one. Instead, use File, Close to close the publication but leave Acrobat itself open. Switch to your browser and select the next publication to view. This saves having to reopen Acrobat for each publication. Windows users can switch back and forth between the browser and Acrobat.

This page updated: January 20, 1998