Accessing Information Using Acrobat Reader

Some materials on our web site are in Portable Document Format (.pdf) format. which is a special format designed by Adobe Systems, Inc for ease of use. Once a pdf file is downloaded you can either view it on screen or print it out. To be able to make use of files in this format, you will need to download Acrobat Reader which is free software from Adobe.

If you are uncertain about downloading software, have a look at the instructions provided by Adobe. Procrastinate no further. PDF files are found all over the Internet so you might as well invest your time in setting up Acrobat Reader right now. It is easier than you think and opens a whole new world of Internet accessibility.

For access from the United States for Windows, Macintosh, Sun SPARC and HP platforms, and Silicon Graphics, click on Adobe's site in the United States.

Instructions for Downloading Acrobat Reader 3.0 (versions for IBM-Compatible PCs are available from our site)

Assuming that you are using Netscape and you want a copy of Acrobat Reader 3.0 for Windows95 or Windows 3.1 locally here in Singapore:

• Make sure you have around 10 megabytes of spare space on your hard drive.
• Hold down the shift key (or click the right mouse button) and then click on
• Acrobat Reader for Windows 95 with Search (5096kb)
  or
• Acrobat Reader for Windows 3.1 (3731kb)

• In Explorer or File Manager, double click on the file (either rs32r301.exe or ar16e30.exe; follow instructions.
• Delete the file above after installation as you no longer need it.
• Follow the instructions listed below.

Instructions for Using a Portable Document Format (.pdf) file

In most instances, after you have installed Acrobat Reader 3.0 above, you need only click on a pdf link in order to view the file. However, if you are using an older Netscape version, you can configure Netscape so that it automatically launches the Acrobat Reader. You just:

• Doubleclick on the link (do not hold the shift key)
• Netscape will display a dialogue box asking if you want to save the file or launch a helper application; choose to launch a helper application (if this is the first time you have clicked on a .pdf file).
• Click on the Browse... option you see in the dialogue box. Look for c:\Program Files\Acroread\rs32e301.exe located on your hard drive if you are using Windows 95; look for c:\acroread\ar16e30.exe if you are using Windows 3.1.
• The Acrobat Reader will be launched. From this point onwards, you need only doubleclick on a link to a pdf file and the Acrobat Reader will start up automatically.
• You can prove this by doubleclicking on any pdf link; Acrobat Reader will launch automatically. In fact, if you happen to be downloading a pdf file saved using Acrobat Exchange 3.0, you will even be able to view the file before it is completely downloaded.

Instructions for Saving a Portable Document Format (.pdf) file for Later Use

There may be times when you would like to save a pdf file for later viewing. Follow instructions below.

• Download the .pdf file (e.g. working paper) to the hard drive (to the c:\temp subdirectory) by holding down the shift key whilst simultaneously clicking on the link (assuming you are using Netscape).
• Run Explorer (called File Manager under Windows 3.1)
• Double click on the file you just downloaded (e.g. filename.pdf)
• Type in the password (only if necessary) when prompted.
• In Acrobat Reader just scroll through the document as usual.

Instructions for Downloading Acrobat Reader 2.1
(available from our site)

If you are using older PC equipment, you may wish to use an older (and smaller--1493kb) version of Acrobat Reader. It will not give you the great functionality of Acrobat Reader 3.0, but at least you will be able to read most pdf files. Assuming that you are using Netscape and you want a copy of Acrobat Reader 2.1 for Windows 3.1 or Windows95 locally here in Singapore:

• Make sure you have around 6 megabytes of spare space on your hard drive.
• Hold down the shift key (or click the right mouse button) and then click on our site. A dialog box will appear asking you where the file acroread.exe should be saved. Save to an appropriate location (e.g. c:\temp). If you are using Mosiac or some other web browser, you will need to find out how to save a link to a file.
• In Explorer or File Manager, double click on the file (acroread.exe). follow instructions.
• Delete the file c:\temp\acroread.exe as you no longer need it.

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Last Update on 11 Mar 1998
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