How to get free Adobe Acrobat software for PDF Files

In order to be able to read Adobe Acrobat PDF files you have to install Adobe Acrobat (TM) Reader. Acrobat Readers are freely available and enable the following computer platforms:

• MS-DOS
• Windows
• Macintosh
• SunOS
• Solaris
• HP-UX
• Silicon Graphics(TM) IRIX(TM)

If you require a reader for your platform, you can download it from Adobe WWW server. Or you may wish to visit Adobe Systems Incoporated to download a reader and learn more about this product.

Microsoft Windows

1. Download the software. Download the installer program. (Choose "Options", "Load to Disk" when using Mosaic.)
   Save it in a temporary directory such as ACROREAD.EXE
2. Install the program. From the Program or File Manager pull-down the "File," "Run" menu, enter the following: C:\your-temp-dir\ACROREAD.EXE (or double-click the file icon in Windows95). This should automatically start the setup program. The instructions below assume that you choose setup's default values for working directories etc.
3. Configure your browser:

Netscape Navigator

1. Start Netscape. Choose "Options", "Preferences" and go to the "Helper Applications" dialog box.
2. Push the "New" button to define a new mime type. Enter Application in the "Mime Type" field and pdf in the "Sub Type" field, then push "OK"
3. Now make sure that your new Mime type is selected in the large list box of known types. Once selected, this activates the remaining fields in this dialog box.
4. Enter pdf in the "Extensions" field
5. Select the "Launch Application" radio button and finally
6. Enter C:\ACROREAD\ACROREAD.EXE (or the path to ACROREAD.EXE you entered when running the setup utility) in the "Launch Application" field and push "OK". Note: This is where most people make a big mistake. When entering the path to ACROREAD.EXE, make sure you entered the path to the executable version, installed during setup. Many people accidentally enter the path to the temporary downloaded version!

NCSA Mosaic
Locate the MOSAIC.INI file in the \WINDOWS subdirectory. Edit the file using your favorite editor (such as the Windows Notepad). Add lines similar to the following to the viewers and suffixes sections:

[Viewers]
TYPE##="application/pdf"
application/pdf="C:\ACROREAD\ACROREAD.EXE %ls"
.
.
[Suffixes]
application/pdf=.pdf

## should be a unique number (not used in other TYPE statements).

Macintosh

1. Download the software. Choose "Options," "Load to Disk" from the Mosaic menu and download the software.
2. Unpack the software if necessary. Change to the directory where you stored the software and run the program AcroRead.mac which will install the software.
3. Configure your browser to use the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
NCSA Mosaic
• Select "Options", "Preferences", "Helper Applications"
• Select "Add document" type and type "application/pdf"
• Select "Set Application" and give it the name and path to the Acrobat reader
• Select "Set Extension" and define the "pdf" extension and "application/pdf" as the application type.
Netscape Navigator

Follow the Netscape instructions above under Windows.

4. Restart your browser

UNIX for Sun Operating System

1. Download the software. Choose "Options," "Load to Disk" from the Mosaic menu and download the software.
2. Uncompress and untar the software. Change to the directory where you stored the software and run the program to install the software.
3. Configure Mosaic or Netscape to use the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Locate your mime.types file (typically /usr/local/lib/mosaic/mime.types) and add application/pdf pdf
• Locate your mailcap file (typically /usr/local/lib/mosaic/mailcap) and add application/pdf; acroread %s
4. Restart Mosaic or Netscape