What are PDFs?

PDF (Portable Document Format) files have become a standard format on the internet because they allow for the preservation of all the fonts, formatting, graphics, and color of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. Basically the PDF creater program takes a "picture" of a document. That "picture" can then be shared via the internet or email and, no matter what type of computer they are using, whoever sees it is seeing exactly what was written and/or designed.

PovNet and PDFs

Our goal is to make the information on this website accessible to all users and, whenever possible, we have provided a web accessible version. But because we link to many different sites many of the resources are in PDF format. If you are having trouble accessing PDF's linked on our site try some of the tips below. If you are still having trouble please email or call us and we will try to get you an accessible version of the information.

How Do I Use PDFs?

You do need a program to read PDF files. The most common program is a free program entitled Acrobat Reader. Acrobat Reader is available on the Adobe website. You can also download various versions of Adobe Reader and for various operating systems - Windows, Mac, Unix/Linux or Mobile.

PDF Troubleshooting

If you are having trouble with PDFs try some of the following...

• Adobe Reader

  If you are having trouble with Adobe Reader try the Adobe Reader support page. Sometimes you will open up a PDF and Adobe Reader asks you to update your version of the program - you do not have to update your version. But if you are having problems opening up a PDF it can sometimes help to have an up to date version of Acrobat Reader.

• Foxit

  If Adobe Reader isn't working for you, try downloading another free PDF reader called Foxit. Foxit is a free program that is much smaller in size but gives you similar features to Adobe.

• For Firefox Users

  If you use the Firefox browser which can be a good alternative to Internet Explorer, you can download the PDF Download. After you have installed PDF Download, when you click on a PDF file, a window comes up which gives you a couple of different options: Download it, Open PDF, View as HTML, Bypass PDF Download or Cancel. This allows you to choose if you want to view a PDF file inside the browser (as a PDF or HTML), if you want to view it outside Firefox with your default or custom PDF reader, or if you want to download it on to your computer.

PDF's and Accessibilty

If you using Adobe Reader and are having trouble accessing PDF files try some of the following...

• Check Accessibility of Document

  Some screen readers don't read PDF's very well. When opening a PDF file, blind users have no way of knowing if the document is accessible or if it will read in the proper order. The Reader Quick Check feature in recent versions of Adobe Reader automatically assesses a document’s accessibility, indicating to the user if the document is a scanned image or if tags are present.

  In the Menu

  1. Choose Document > Accessibility Quick Check

  or

  	Windows	Mac
  Keyboard Shortcut	Alt+D+Q	Cmd+D+Q

• Read Out Loud

  Adobe Reader 6.0 and up has a read out loud feature. The voice will be the default voice on your computer.

  1. Choose View > Read Out Loud
  2. Choose Read This Page Only
     or Read To End of Document

or

Keyboard Shortcut	Windows and Mac
Read This Page Only	Shift+Ctrl+V
Read To End of Document	Shift+Ctrl+B
Pause	Shift+Ctrl+C
Stop	Shift+Ctrl+E

• To scroll automatically through a document

  1. Choose View > Automatically Scroll
  2. Do any of the following:
     • To change the scrolling speed, press a number key where 9 is the fastest and O is the slowest or press the Up or Down arrow keys.
     • To reverse the direction of the scrolling, press the hyphen or minus sigh key.
     • To jump to the next or previous page, press the Left or Right arrow keys.
     • To stop automatic scrolling, press ESC or choose View > Automatically Scroll again.

• Convert PDF to Text

  1. Choose File > Save As Text