Tech: How to open a PDF file

Subject: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Jeep man
Date: 10 May 03 - 07:19 PM

I suppose everyone but me know how to open a PDF file. But my computer skills are such that I would have to really work to get up to average. Jim

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Amos
Date: 10 May 03 - 07:21 PM

You have to have Acrobat Reader installed, which is available free from www.adobe.com.

Once it is installed you just double click on any PDF file and Acrobat Reader opens it.

A

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Jeep man
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:21 PM

Thanks, Amos.Will try. Jim

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:26 PM

Just thought I'd share a recent experience of mine. I tried to download Acrobat reader, and I couldn't get on www.adobe.com. I browser said "the page is not unavailable." Unbelievable, of course.

Turned out my Internet Explorer was too old. When I went to Google and searched for "update Internet Explorer," I was sent to a page where I could download IE 6, free.

It took a couple of tries, but it finally worked. It has made an improvement.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 May 03 - 11:06 PM

Adobe has some wonderful (and some quite expensive) products. The reader is very useful. If you buy the program you get a "distiller" that allows you to make PDF files yourself--also something that can be very useful. Here is the page directly for downloading Acrobat Reader.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 10 May 03 - 11:35 PM

leeneia - (and anyone else interested)

If your IE got old enough to balk, it might be suspected that you haven't kept Windows up to date?

Now that you have an up to date IE, you'd be able to go to the Windows Update Site, where you can let them check for any updates you should have for your setup - and they're all free, although some of the recent ones are fairly large and can take a while to download and install.

There have been quite a few recent fixes that make surfing a lot safer.

Take a look when you have some time available.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Mark Clark
Date: 11 May 03 - 12:48 AM

If you want to make the occasional PDF file but you can't justify the rather expensive Adobe Acrobat Professional product that gives you the capability, there are other ways that don't cost any money at all.

First download and install the Ghostscript and GSview products from the Ghostscript download page. Ghostscript is an open software workalike for Adobe's proprietary PostScript page description language (PDL).

Now using the printer setup panel, install a suitable PostScript printer that includes color capability and has a resolution of at least 600 dpi. The Apple Color LW 12/660 is a good choice. As you go through the print setup wizard, select the option that says you always want to print to a file rather than a physical printer. Give the printer a name like "Make PostScript File" or some such.

Then when you have a document or window of any sort that you would like to turn into a PDF file, print it using the Ctrl-P key sequence and when the print dialog appears, choose Make PostScript File or whatever you called your printer. You will be prompted for a file name; call it yourchosenname.ps. This creates a PostScript file that can be sent to a real PostScript printer or viewed with GSview. When you installed GSview it will have captured the association for the .PS extension so you should be able to simple double-click your PostScript file and have it launch the GSview program with your document displayed. You'll probably have to click past the registration notice but there is no need for you to register GSview for non-commercial home use.

Assuming your document looks okay in GSview, select File/Convert from the menu and choose pdfwrite in the output list. This will create a PDF document from your PostScript file. The PDF file is much smaller than the PostScript file and can be emailed to friends without worrying about viruses or the possibility that someone will modify your document and pass it off as their own.

If you use ABC+ notation to create music scores, you probably already use the abcm2ps program to create PostScript files from your ABC source file. Using GSview, you can turn your score into a PDF file for sharing with friends or placing on a Web site.

Since the Adobe Acrobat Reader is free to everyone, there is no expense in sharing documents and music this way.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From:
Date: 11 May 03 - 01:17 AM

For making PDF without paying for all the expense of Adobe's Acrobat program, you might look at PDFactory from Fineprint Software

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 May 03 - 07:33 PM

I just loaded the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader update last week. I used to get PDF forms from various places, but I'd have to fill the forms out by hand because Acrobat didn't allow you to add information to a document. Now my stockbroker sends me PDF forms that have a "form-filler" feature. I can fill out the form on my ocmputer now, and then print it - but I can't save the filled-out form unless I buy an Adobe upgrade.

Somewhere along the way, some setting changes and I am no longer able to read PDF pages online. I now have to download the document, and then view it. Can anybody tell me how to reset Acrobat Reader so it will view a PDF page thriough my MSIE browser while I'm online, without a separate download and file save?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: PoppaGator
Date: 11 May 03 - 09:16 PM

My employer recently bought the "full" Acrobat product to allow us (actually, me) to create PDFs. I found it pretty frustrating; although the product has loads of capabilities I'll never use, I wasn't readily able to do the one thing I needed, which was to merge two existing files (one MS Word, one MS Publisher, both 11 x 17 "two-page spreads") into a single PDF. I finally managed to produce the desired result, thanks to a workaround suggested by a fellow user on a self-help forum site.

As it turns out, the less expensive "Distiller" would have provided the same basic functions I use in the "full" Acrobat, at a considerably lower (but still substantial) cost.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Mark Clark
Date: 11 May 03 - 10:14 PM

There is another PDF tool you may like as well. It's called GhostWord. It works together with Ghostscript and provides a button on the toolbar of Microsoft Office products such as Word and Excel that, when clicked, produces a PDF file from your document.

Yet another free way to create PDF files.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: IvanB
Date: 11 May 03 - 11:45 PM

Joe, I had the same problem with Acrobat Reader on my desktop, but on my notebook, with the same OS and same version of Acrobat Reader installed I had no problems. I downloaded A/R again on the desktop (I clicked the box for Step 2 (inclusion of some additional features), I don't know if that made a difference or not, but when I reinstalled, it became available from IE 6.0.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 May 03 - 11:54 PM

Joe,

I agree with IvanB, the easiest thing to do to begin with is to download and reinstall the program. There have been some interesting suggestions here--worth giving them a try for PDF files. It's always nice when resourcefulness can save some bucks!

Publisher in the "Pack and Go" mode is SUPPOSED to save all of the fonts to the file and such, but I haven't had luck with it performing as it should. Same with PowerPoint--pack and go is supposed to save that stuff. Hmmmm. I may just have answered my own question for a problem I've been having with a server at work . . .

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 12 May 03 - 04:06 AM

PoppaGator -

Adobe has flipflopped a couple of times on naming of their Acrobat stuff. "Acrobat Reader" has been used fairly consistently for the program to "read only" pdf files.

The old version used to call the program to make pdf files "Distiller," but that's an obsolete version that you can't get from Adobe anymore.

The new "make pdfs" is apparently just called "Acrobat" - unless they've changed it again in the last couple of months.

It is kinda hard to keep up with them.

I'm not aware of a way to merge mutliple files during the creation of a pdf, but in the new Acrobat, if you create a separate pdf from each of the component files, you can merge the pdf files. Select "Open as pdf" for the first file, then select "Open as pdf" for the second file. It will ask "Create New File or Append Document." Select "Append Document" and the two files will be merged. Save as pdf.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: jeffp
Date: 12 May 03 - 07:56 AM

Also, under the "Document" menu, you will find commands to:

Insert Pages
Extract Pages
Replace Pages
Delete Pages

Crop Pages
Rotate Pages

These cover most situations.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From:
Date: 12 May 03 - 10:43 AM

I know in Word '97, you had to SPECIFY that it embed the fonts in the document (I recommend only embedding the characters used in the document rather than the whole font)

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: PoppaGator
Date: 12 May 03 - 11:15 AM

JohnInKansas,

To tell you the truth, I don't remember all the details of the trouble I had trying to complete a task that I thought would and should have been simple after buiying the full-featured Acrobat. One persitent problem was that each "subdocument" I was trying to merge into a combined PDF would be reduced in size and automatically centered within a "frame" with a visible outline (2 pt rule). I eventually solved the problem with a complicated workaround provided by a helpful fellow user.

I use a program called "Help and Manual" to write software instructions that can then be output to a number of formats, including PDF (for a printable "Manual') as well as Classic Winhelp, HTML Help, and other "online" (really, "onscreen") help formats. It's not a complete PDF-generating solution, because output is always formatted in a preset "manual" style, with title page, table of contents, footers with page numbers, etc.

This PDF generating function is included in the software package, which is much less expensive than Acrobat! Also less expensive than RoboHelp and other competing products. For anyone who's interested, this package is availble online at:

www.ec-software.com

(Sorry -- despite collecting a paycheck as a "technical" writer, I haven't figured out how to insert a hyperlink in these messages -- at least, not to sites outside mudcat.org.)

Be sure not to omit the hyphen; www.ecsoftware.com is an entirely different site. For the record, I'm not a salesman or employee, just a satisfied user.

Tom Henehan

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: NicoleC
Date: 12 May 03 - 11:30 AM

Tom,

Sounds like you wanted Adobe Framemaker, not Acrobat. I love Acrobat and use it almost daily, but it isn't the full-fledged document management and creation system that Framemaker is. If you convert all your separate docs to PDF and use "Insert Page," it does exactly what you want.

I'm rather annoyed at Adobe for the new so-called versions of Acrobat. I see nothing in the "Professional" version that warrants the $450 price tag! And "Standard" doesn't appear to be any different from the old version of Acrobat. Acrobat "Elements" might be useful, but no thanks, like Distiller Server I don't need 1000 licenses.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 03:50 PM

I have no trouble opening most Acrobat files, but there are a couple of websites that won't open- I get this message:

"Acrobat Reader file does not begin %PDF"

I can download the files but they won't open. The one I was trying to get was in this website: Christmas
Within this site is Trad.Padstow, and a link "Padstow Carols," which is the one I was trying to obtain.

Any way for the simple-minded to do this?

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: TheBigPinkLad
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 03:59 PM

That's a zip file, Q. You need to save it to your hard drive, then you need to use "unzip" to get the pdf file out. Or uyou can PM me with your email address and I'll send you the pdf file.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: TheBigPinkLad
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 04:03 PM

Spoke too soon. The extracted files are in a program called Noteworthy Composer. I can't open them, sorry.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 04:08 PM

that is a zip file of NOTEWORTHY COMPOSER files. so once it is unzipped you will need either noteworthy or noteworthy reader to view them.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 04:39 PM

Noteworthy has both pay, and a free 1.75 plug-in. Will the "free" plug-in work without bringing aboard problems? I don't want to make midis notate, just read files.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 08:24 PM

I keep an old version of "Noteworthy Reader" as a browser plugin for these eventualities. I cordially dislike Noteworthy, but people will insist on using it instead of standard midi format, which is far preferable.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 08:27 PM

Thanks, Malcolm, BigPinkLad and all.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bert
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 08:32 PM

Why would anyone deliberately CREATE a PDF file? Seems to me all that PDF does, is slow down getting the file.

Look how well Mudact manages to transfer data quickly and accurately without PDF.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 09:22 PM

People create PDF's when they want their work left untampered-with, in my experience. Too bad-- scanners can pick up text now, nyah nyah!

~S~

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 09:58 PM

There are very good reasons for pdfs, but they are often used unnecessarily and inappropriately, by people who don't understand that a file designed for commercial print output is far too large for web display. They can easily be (re)purposed at a lower resolution.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bill D
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 11:43 AM

easy way to open a PDF when you dont want full Adobe loading s-l-o-w-l-y...

PDF Reader

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: pavane
Date: 01 Feb 05 - 09:37 AM

My position must be the same as many others. I need to create and submit just ONE document in PDF format, because that is the only format in which it will be accepted. Buying Adobe is just not practicable for that.

Does anyone offer a conversion route on a pay per use basis?

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 01 Feb 05 - 09:47 AM

Have you tried PDFCreator?

Home site here

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: pavane
Date: 01 Feb 05 - 11:00 AM

Thanks, MMario - I will investigate.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 01 Feb 05 - 12:52 PM

The main reason why many people use .pdf files is because it assures that the appearance of the document will be the same for all users, and it also permits mixing text and pictures in a reasonably standardized way. The Reader has always been free, so anyone (in theory at least) can just download it.

There has also been the belief that a .pdf file was a "safer" way to post stuff, since the main content is a "mostly binary" file and it was believed that it was unlikely malicious (executable) content could be added.

Adobe has found, though, that a couple of vulnerabilities exist in some versions of both the Readers and in the Acrobat (and possibly in the older Distiller) used to create .pdf files. The vulnerabilies that have been found are considered "serious" but thus far there have been no reports of anyone trying to use them. Unconfirmed but suggestive information indicates the vulnerabilities could only be used in a .pdf attached to an email, since the exploit apparently relies on other "content" arriving at the same time.

For Windows and MacOSX the problem is fixed in Reader version 6.03, so if you have an older one, you probably should update.

A slightly different vulnerability has been found in Reader version 5.0.9 for Unix.

FREE UPDATES should be available at Adobe Downloads. Click on the Reader for your OS.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 01 Feb 05 - 02:50 PM

At the Adobe Acrobat page, near the bottom right corner of the page, there's a "Create Adobe pdf online" button. This will take you to a sign-in page, and you'll need to create an account. The "normal" method, if you want to use the service, is to subscribe to it for $9.99 per month (US), but there is a "free trial" button that lets you do your first 5 conversions to .pdf for free. (Available only in the US & Canada.) I haven't tried this service, but if you want the latest features in your one-time pdf document it might be worth a trial. I'd suspect that you do sort of need to know what the latest features are to make this place any better than one of the "free conversion" sites.

Note that this same page has a couple of buttons to get to downloads of the free Reader.

The NEW ACROBAT:

For Windows only (and only for WinXP, Win2000-SP2, and Server 2003) Adobe Acrobat 7.0 has just been released. It does have a couple of nice(?) features, and is reportedly much faster than previous versions. I doubt if many here will want to buy the full Acrobat, but new "features" may appear in web documents for people using only the free Reader 7.0 fairly soon.

The full Acrobat 7.0 comes in a Standard version ($299 US, upgrade $99) that "should be all that most small businesses might want," but it also comes in a Professional version ($449, upgrade $159). The Standard version should put "one-step pdf" buttons in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. The Professional version also adds the create PDF buttons in AutoCAD, Visio, and Project.

For people who just want to look at stuff, and have just the free Reader 7.0, documents produced by the Professional version of Acrobat 7.0 can be made so that you can add annotations using only the free Reader. The intended use is so that people who don't have the full Acrobat can send comments back to their editor. It could also help organize stuff you save for your own use, since you'll be able to add a note about where you got it and why, etc.. It does depend on the creator of the document "turning on" the feature, so it's hard to say how much you'll run into "notable" documents on the web.

The bad news (?) for Reader-only users is that both Standard and Professional versions reportedly allow easy "locking" and/or password protection for various end uses of the document, so it may become common to find pdf files that you can look at, but that prevent you from copying text or other stuff from them, and may even prevent you from printing (or saving?) the document. Older versions could do some of this, but the new version makes it easier, so you're likely to see more stuff with these (and other) "features" turned on.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 06:53 PM

Help...!! I am trying to print out a pdf at the FedEx site. Have removed my adobe acrobat reader as it was nto working right. Went to adobe and downloaded the new reader 7.0(?) and when I try to open it I get a message saying windows doesn't recognise a file ending in "aom." Have tried the fix recommended at adobe, to no avail.

SO, removed it all from my computer, downloaded the Foxit reader BillD recommended and I am still getting a "spod" thingie when I go to print, rather than a printout.

Hope this makes sense to somebody. Thanks for any help.

kat

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 07:00 PM

hmmm...sounds like the post of the filename 'might' be wrong...

no...look here

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 07:00 PM

Run your virus scan, check for malware (both of these just as a precaution), then turn off your computer. When it reboots try downloading the Adobe software and running it.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 07:02 PM

and here

it seems to be a file with motion or 'effects' added....

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 07:04 PM

The Foxit Reader, nice as it is, wouldn't touch this one.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 07:13 PM

Virus scan is done daily and things are fine. Thanks, though.

Bill, I'd found that info at Adobe, but I don't have the aftereffects and don't want it. THEY even say, on their own website, that "sometimes" the new reader will download as an aom, which is ridiculous 'cause there "ain't" no motion to it, that I can see! If they know that happens, from their own site, why odn't the remedy it??!!

Now, when I click on the pdf page to read it and print I am told I did something illegal with a "Basic Plug-in!" I don't even wanna think what THAT means!**bg**

Thanks!

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bert
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 07:18 PM

Openoffice can read pdf files.

they are here

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Amos
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 07:45 PM

Adobe After Effects is a different program. If it took the original PDF file and added some kind of graphics effects, ti would explain the user sending you an ".aom" file, but it could also have been an error on the original poster's part. You can try forcing the issue by changing the name of the file to ".pdf", but Acrobat files have signature strings embedded in the front end which have to be there for an Adobe Reader or Acrobat application to open them. So it might not work but is worth trying.

A

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 08:19 PM

Thanks, Bertdarlin'...will take a look at it.

Amos, the original user is FedEx and does have a graphic of a signature panel, I guess.

What gets me is the "aom" file was from Adobe! It was their new Acrobat Reader which downloaded in that format!

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 10:39 PM

I hate it when these big boys create 'new' tricks that only work when you hold your mouth right! They seem to want to create a 'need' for something that only they can fulfill.

Sorry, Adobe...if the GUI and operation is not transparent and workable without my doing a week of research, I don't need it!

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 11:10 PM

Me, too, Bill. Even when I tried to download an older version it came up as an aom file. What gets me is they say it may do so, so they know it's effed up and still let it go on.

Downloading OpenOfice right now, but it sure is slow, esp. as I am on cable.

Thanks, folks.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 11:34 PM

Open Office will be worth the wait....good product.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 01:20 PM

kat -

Quite likely the .aom file you found is the download manager from Adobe. The latest (7.0.7) version of Reader is an enormous ~20 MB. When you start the download, the file manager may be downloaded first, so that it can allow you to resume an incomplete or interrupted download of the "real file" you're attempting to get.

Adobe instructs you to click on "Run" when you start the download of the the new reader, but you can still click "Save File As" and put the installation file somewhere on your machine.

The real "Reader Installation File" that I got is:

AdbeRdr707_en_US.exe 20,757 KB

The .aom "installer" should self-delete when the download is complete, but if the real download doesn't finish the installer might still be on your machine. If it was still on your machine, it's most likely that you didn't get a completed download of the reader.

Note: I have not checked to verify that the AdbeRdr707_en_US.exe that I got with the "Save As" is the installer that will unpack and load the executable Reader, and is not just a "runnable file." I already (supposedly) have the latest updates, so I'm reluctant to "execute" the download on my machine. I'm assuming it's an installer, since my Acrobat 7\Reader shows 240 Files in 107 Folders and a total of 59,246,821 bytes. (Since we have Acrobat, I may have some "extras.")

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: treewind
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 01:28 PM

Open Office in regular use here (at home and at work). Creating PDF's is a trivial with OO.

Anahata

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 01:47 PM

I keep on coming across sites with PDF files that won't open on Firefox, which I generally use as my browser, so I have to open up Internet Explorer and copy the URL across in order to read or print them. A minor problem, but a nuisance.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bill D
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 02:06 PM

IE will open PDF files internally? I thought all browsers just used the default PDF program (usually Adobe, though I have reset mine to be Foxit).

Upon checking, I see that my Firefox has an Adobe plugin(6.0) installed, and will use that as the default! I hadn't noticed, as I usually download the .pdf file and open it in Foxit....hmmmm....I need to see how I can override this.

In Opera, there is a dialogue box in preferences, where I have told it to use Foxit, so no matter which way I go, Foxit is used. If it requires Adobe Reader, I would have to download it and manually open it in Adobe.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 02:06 PM

McGrath -

When I encounter something that I know is a .pdf, I usually right click the link and choose "Save Target As" and put the .pdf file in my "scratch" folder. When the .pdf is downloaded, a double-click on the file opens it directly in the Reader, so it doesn't matter if your browser can display it.

(If you hover your cursor over a link in IE, the address appears on the bottom bar, and usually ends with .pdf if it's an Acrobat file.)

Overall I find it much faster, and a file you don't want after you look is easily deleted.

I would assume you can do something similar in Netscape or any other browser?

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 04:38 PM

I can't even do that with the FedEx thing, John. When I click to go to the link/page, I get the illegal mucking about message with no address bar at the top.

They faxed it to the insurance company anyway, so it really doesn't matter in this instanc,e but it does irk me.

I have downloaded OO, but how do I get it to work? I rebooted and went to FedEx, no acrobat reader on my machine, and it still didn't work.

Sometimes I still feel like such a Luddite/eegit/babeinthewoodskat

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 05:49 PM

kat -

If you're trying to check on a FedEx shipment, you usually have to have a "user account" set up before you can get to information on a shipment. You can't (as an example) check on someone else's shipment unless they give you the tracking number/login (and one assumes, their permission to see it).

If you have the shipment tracking number, you might be able to get in; but they do have a reasonably (?????) secure system. Usually only the sender and/or recipient can get in with the shipment number, and if you've changed names, email addy, or address, since the shipment took place, they're unlikely to recognize you.

On sites where you have to login, individual pages may be secured so that you do have to open the page - and often you can't use a "save target" on a link from another page, even if the same login is good for both pages.

The blank page, error message and no header, usually means that a sign-in is required and you haven't done it.

I just hope they don't report you to the privacy police...

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 06:48 PM

I don't think that's the case in this instance. I have printed the darn thing out, earlier this year, using the same methods, when my adobe worked. They recognise the tracking number and give me the option of printing out the Signature Confirmation thingie OR having them fax to the person of my choice, so I think I am safe.:-) Thanks, though, for your concern AND for not commenting about my babe-in-the-woods status!**bg**

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 09:03 PM

kat -

It's been a while since I've had anything that needed checking with FedEx, but it seems like they made me go to an "archive" to get anything more than about 10 days after delivery. Your present problem does look like the bad Reader was at least a willing partner in the conspiracy against you.

Sometime when the pressure's off a bit, I'd still suggest making another try at getting the real Adobe Reader. They keep adding "features" that sites I run into seem to be using. (Government sites are big offenders, so I suspect they get a discount.) I doubt the "alternative" programs are likely to keep up with some of the stuff. Being able to read and print a .pdf is one thing, but being able to fill in the blanks in a .pdf form and send it back is only a first step down the horrid path.

Have a chocolate - and a good stiff shot, and think happy.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 10:45 PM

Funny you should say that, John. I just asked Rog to go get some chocolate! One shot and he'd be picking me up off the floor, though.:-) Happy, I can do!

Yes, I will keep trying to get the Reader as I've always liked it. Thanks for your encouragement.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 10:15 AM

Who uses Open Office? Tell me more about it, please--I have a friend who needs some good word processing software who can't afford Word. Will this do it? (I didn't follow the link--I'm looking for testimonials right now).

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: manitas_at_work
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 10:51 AM

I used Open Office before I got Word through the Home Use program and still have it loaded on my laptop. It will do what Word and Excel do and will also read PDF ( I think it can also write PDF files). It's pretty easy to use - some of the functions are not where you expect if you've gotten too used to Word.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bill D
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 01:22 PM

it will do all usual common 'office' functions, plus business cards, labels, spread sheets, background textures/colors, database, display of installed fonts, presentation stuff..(like PowerPoint)....calculations...etc, etc...

It is intended to 'almost' replicate most of what Word can do. Some arcane features are not there, I guess, but it is totally amazing for free....

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bill D
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 01:24 PM

and yes, it says it will export a text file directly as PDF...

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bill D
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 01:28 PM

and...I am playing an MP3 as I type...it will preview movies, too..


"The Media Player supports many different media formats. You can also insert media files from the Media Player into your document.

On Windows systems, the Media Player uses DirectShow, which should be installed on your system by default."

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 01:29 PM

Ha! After my computer crash of last week, I had to reinstall Photoshop. Lo and behold, there's a version of Acrobat Reader, so what did I do? I installed it! Yippee!!

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 01:51 PM

Open Office has received good ratings from a number of respectable reviewers. It can do nearly everything that a 4- or 5-generation old Word can do, and for most people that's more than "good enough." Most people don't really use 90% of the capabilities of any recent Word version, and are unlikely to us much more of what Open Office can do. I use frequently several features in my Word 2002 that are not available on Lin's Word 2000, and both are "obsolescent" versions.

A common comment from reviewers who actually try to explore all the capabilities is that commands/tools/methods in Open Office are less consistently organized than in Word, so that you sometimes have to swap philosophies when you change what you want to do, but that will likely be smoothed out with a little time.

For most "casual users" and for some relatively advanced users, Open Office is a good program, according to those who've made realistic comparisons with other alternatives. (I wonder why I've never seen its capabilities compared to Word Perfect.)

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Tootler
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 06:10 PM

I am gradually converting myself to OO. As I have retired recently, I will no longer get access to free copies of MS Office which I could get quite legally under the terms of my former employer's licence.

I find OO a very good programme which does some things better than MS Office components. The various packages are better integrated but some things are more clunky than MS Office.

Geoff

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 06:28 PM

It's easy enough to turn on Internet Explorer and read the files. It just seems silly that it's necessary, since Firefox is so much better generally.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Aug 06 - 08:45 PM

Well, revisiting this as it still does not work. The Adobe 4 which I found was empty. I've deleted 6 and 7; 7 still downloads as an aom file.

BillD, I have downloaded Foxit, thanks, but the two pdf files I found on frogs, to test it on, it didn't work. Could have been the website. I guess I'll wait until the enxt pdf comes along and see if it will work. I do have foxit set as my default.

kat

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Aug 06 - 12:35 PM

hmmmm..the Adobe I have (version 6) works fine, but I think I have only needed it once or twice. Foxit is my default also, and it does 99% of what I need.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to open a PDF file
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 10 Aug 06 - 06:47 PM

Adobe doesn't seem to me to give particularly good info on problems, but from what I'm able to glean and incorporate into my "translation" (hopefully intelligible, but not strictly according to rigorous computereze) I think I can step through what's normal, and perhaps it will help find what's going wrong. Sorry if it's teedjus:

1. Adobe normally downloads and installs an Adobe Download Manager with your first download from the Reader website or from their "eBooks" site. This particular Download Manager is used only for the Reader and for eBooks.

1.a. If the Download Manager has been successfully installed, it should appear at:

"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ESD\AdobeDownloadManager.exe"

The version I have (after update to Reader version 7.0.8) is:

Version 2.0.0.43, 405 KB

1.b. If the Download Manager is not installed:

(You can look in Start | Settings | Control Panel | Add or Remove Programs to be sure whether the Adobe Download Manager is installed.)

" If you selected Save instead of Open in the File Download dialog box, the Download Manager Installer gets copied onto your computer without starting Download Manager. To determine if Download Manager is on your computer, search for the Download Manager installer by its file name:
-- AdbeRdr70_DLM_enu.exe (Adobe Reader 7.0)
-- AdbeRdr60_DLM_enu_full.exe (Adobe Reader 6.0)
If the file is on your computer, double-click it to start Download Manager. Download Manger then automatically starts the Adobe Reader installer."

1.c. The Reader download allows you to choose to not use the Download Manager, in which case a "Reader Installer" file is downloaded to your computer. Generally, this installer (when not accompanied by the Download Manager) will NOT AUTOMATICALLY complete the installation. You have to find the file and double-click it to do the installation.

2. The .aom file appears to be a "script file" for the Download Manager. Each time you visit the Reader download site, Adobe checks the version of Reader on your machine and looks to see if there is a later version. If there is, a new .aom file is downloaded and should be automatically directed to the Download Manager. The .aom file tells the Download Manager how to perform that particular download and installation, but is not itself the download you want.

2.a. The .aom file should disappear when it's been processed by the Download manager.

2.b. If the .aom file that you found is approximately 330 KB, it is likely that it is a "proper" script for the Download of either Reader v.6 or Reader v.7, that has gotten separated from the Download Manager or failed to complete processing for some reason.

If this is what you have, Adobe suggests you drag the .aom file and drop it onto the Download Manager, and then double-click the Download Manager to open it. If part of the download of the Reader Installer was completed, you could be offered a "Continue" choice, otherwise the Download Manager should begin a new download of the program for which the .aom was created. – which hopefully will be the Reader you want.

If the drag and drop of the .aom file onto the Download Manager doesn't work, a restart of a new download is recommended.

In a worst case situation, the Download Manager may be hung up attempting to process an impossible script, so uninstalling the Download Manager (Control Panel | Add Remove Programs) may be needed to get a "clean start" at the Reader download site.

***

A: It is recommended that you allow Adobe to download the Download Manager and allow it to "run" rather than saving it for later execution.

(The Manager is updated frequently, so you'll need a new one, or updates, nearly every time you visit the Adobe site.)

B: When the Download Manager is installed, it should proceed to the Reader Download. You should again be offered the "save" or "run" option. If you choose to "save" you will have to find the file and double-click it to continue to Installing the Reader. If you allow it to "Run" the installation should be automatically completed.

(Updates to the Reader have been fairly frequent, so saving the file to "keep track of" what you've got becomes rather futile if you try to keep up to date. Allowing the Reader download to "Run" seems much more practical.)

C: Under normal circumstances an interrupted download can be restarted by double-clicking the Adobe Download Manager. If there is an uncompleted .aom file loaded by the Download Manager, you should see a "continue" option. Erratic connections and "inferior" ISP policies, interference from firewalls and AV, and/or mishandling by third party "download programs" can cause a file to be corrupted rather than just incomplete, in which case a restart of a new download probably would be required. A rare (for Windows) "corruption" of the file name downloaded can occur with some browsers, in which case the file may be okay if renamed. The site you're downloading from should tell you the name of the file and you can compare that to the file you get (if you make notes). The only common "filename corruption" is replacement of a dot (.) with an underbar (_).

I can't guarantee that this description is technically accurate; but stepping through the procedures as though this is what's happening doesn't seem to reveal any conflicts. Consider it a "conversational English" description, not necessarily "program language correct."

John