Link to FREE PDF Reader

Using Adobe Acrobat PDFs (Portable Document Format)

We use PDFs throughout this website to present printable versions of the online training we have created. For the most part we offer just two types of PDFs, Training Guides and Job Aids.

Training Guides present conceptual information, step-by-step instructions, and screenshots explaining the procedures for completing all the tasks included in the document. These typically cover a group of related procedures.

A Job Aid is a quick reference guide, containing only the procedures for completing a single task, without conceptual information or screenshots.

In order to view these documents you must download and install Adobe Reader®. To get the latest version go to the Adobe Reader download page on Adobe.com.

You can use the Adobe Reader to save, view, search, and print PDFs. After opening a PDF in Reader, you have a variety of tools to help you find information quickly. You can use the Reader for everyday PDF tasks:

Reader Help

The following information is from the Adobe Reader Help File and contains basic information about opening, navigating, and printing PDF documents. You can view the entire Help File by selecting Reader Help from the Acrobat Reader Help menu.

Opening PDF Documents

To open a PDF document from a Web page, click the document title.

Adjusting the View of PDF Documents

To increase magnification, select the zoom-in tool , and click the page. To decrease magnification, select the zoom-out tool , and click the page.

Setting Page Layout

You can use several different page layouts when viewing PDF documents: Single Page, (one page at a time); Continuous, (continuous vertical column). There are several other viewing options.

To modify the page layout, click the Single Page button , or the Continuous button , or select any option by viewing the Page Display menu (under the View menu).

Browsing with Bookmarks

Acrobat Reader allows you to move to specific places in PDF documents using Bookmarks that take you to specific pre-defined locations within the document.

To browse using a bookmark:

  1. Show the Bookmarks palette. You may need to choose Window > Show Bookmarks to open the palette or click the Bookmarks tab to bring the palette to the front of its group.
  2. To jump to a topic using its bookmark, click the bookmark's icon or text in the palette.

The bookmark for the part of the document currently showing is boldfaced.

If the navigation pane disappears when you click a bookmark, click the Show/Hide Navigation Pane button on the command bar. Deselect Hide After Use in the navigation pane's palette menu (the triangle next to the name Bookmarks at the top of the palette) if you want the navigation pane to remain open after you click a bookmark.

When a parent bookmark is collapsed, it has a plus sign. If the bookmark you want to click is hidden in a collapsed parent, click the plus sign next to the parent to show it.

Printing PDF Documents

  1. If you don't need to print the entire document, do one of the following:
    • To select pages to print, click thumbnails in the Thumbnails palette. You can Ctrl-click thumbnails to select non-contiguous pages, or Shift-click to select a contiguous range of pages. You can also select a contiguous page range in the Print dialog box.
    • To select an area on a page to print, select the graphic select tool , and drag on the page to draw the area you want.
  2. Choose File > Page Setup to set general printing options. The available options will vary with different printers and drivers. See your printer driver documentation for details.
  3. Click the Print button , or choose File > Print. Specify the printer, page range, number of copies, and other options, and click OK. Most of the options are the same as they are for other applications, but note the following:
    • Selected Pages Or Selected Graphic prints only the pages or page area you selected before opening the Print dialog box. Page From/To prints a range of pages. Expand small pages to paper size enlarges the PDF file to fit the paper size specified in the printer properties.
    • Print As Image prints the pages as bitmap images. You may want to print pages as images if normal printing does not produce the desired results.

Note: With each new release, Adobe continues to add functionality to Adobe Reader® software, making it an extremely versatile tool capable of viewing, searching, digitally signing, verifying, printing, and collaborating with electronic documents. By distributing this software in a multitude of languages and platforms at no charge, Adobe continues to offer end users the ultimate tool for electronic document sharing.