Tasks | Help

Help

These guidelines are designed to help less experienced web-users when downloading pdf files from the web using Adobe Acrobat Reader and the browsers Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer.

• How to Download PDF Files From the Web
• Using Netscape Navigator
• Using Internet Explorer
• Opening Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Selecting, Copying and Pasting Text From PDF Files
• Moving Between Programs
• Copying and Pasting Graphics

How to Download PDF Files From the Web

You can save the pdf file permanently to your own computer's hard disk, so that you can open the file at any time without having to download it through the web site.

These instructions assume you have already downloaded or have a copy of Adobe Acrobat on your hard drive. The application Acrobat Reader and instructions on how to download it can be accessed by clicking on the Adobe Acrobat button.

Locate the file/program/document you wish to download. It's a good idea to create a new folder before you begin to download the pdf files. eg create a folder called E506Cal (E506 Calculus), then save the pdf task files for this Mathematics subject to that folder.

If You Are Using Netscape Navigator

For a PC		Right-click on the Name of the desired task. From the drop menu, select Save Link As.
For a Mac		Position the cursor on the Name of the desired task, and hold the mouse button down. From the drop menu, select Save This Link As.

A window will then open asking where to save the file and how to name it. Complete this information eg. save to the E506Cal folder on the desktop or hard drive and name c2pf1.pdf (file name for the task Interger and Sign Function), and click on Save.

If You Are Using Internet Explorer

For a PC		Right-click on the Name of the desired task. From the drop menu, select Save Target As.
For a Mac		Position the cursor on the Name of the desired task, and hold the mouse button down. From the drop menu, select Download Link To Disk.

A window will then open asking where to save the file and how to name it. Complete this information eg. save to the E506Cal folder on the desktop or hard drive and name c2pf1.pdf (file name for the task Interger and Sign Function), and click on Save.

Opening Adobe Acrobat Reader

Open Acrobat Reader by clicking on the Acrobat Reader icon.

Go to Acrobat's File menu at the top left of the Acrobat window, and go down to Open.

Locate the required pdf file that you have saved onto your hard drive, and click on it to open it.

It's a good idea at this stage to enlarge the window for Acrobat Reader to fill the screen, to make the document easier to read.

Selecting, Copying and Pasting Text From PDF Files

You can select text in one of two ways.

1. Click on the text selection tool abc on the tool bar.
2. Go to the Tools menu and go to Select Text.

Position your cursor and drag to highlight the text you want to copy.

To select the text in only one column of a multicolumn page, hold down Ctrl key (Windows) or Option key (Mac) while you drag to highlight the required text.

To select all the text on that page, go to the Edit menu at the top of the Acrobat Reader window and down to Select All.

Once you have highlighted the text you want to copy, go to the Edit menu and down to Copy and click on it. This copies the text to the Clipboard of your computer.

Now go to your word processing program by clicking on its icon, and open a blank document. Paste the text from the Clipboard to the new document by going to the Edit menu and down to Paste.

You can now edit, amend or add to the text in your word processing document, just as you would in any other document.

Moving Between Programs

You can move between Acrobat Reader and your word processing program simply by clicking on their icons on your screen or status bar.

You can go back to the pdf file, for example to the next page or another column, and copy the required text and paste it into your word processing document.

Note: You can only copy one item to the Clipboard at a time. You must then save it to your word processing document before going on to the next block of text or graphic.

Copying and Pasting Graphics

You can copy graphics in a similar fashion, by going to the Tools menu and down to the Select Graphics command.

Draw a box around the graphic to select it, then copy the graphic to the Clipboard by going to the Edit menu and down to Copy.

Paste the graphic into your word processing document in the same way that you pasted text - go the the Edit menu and down to Paste.