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Trouble-Shooting Acrobat PDF files

There are numerous reasons that an Adobe® Acrobat file may not display properly in your web browser. Adobe's Support Knowledgebase documents many of these issues.

AwwaRF strives to provide Acrobat files according to "best-practices" for posting pdf files, but despite those efforts, you may experience a problem when trying to view a PDF file. We have found the following suggestions from this Adobe support document to work in resolving problems with opening PDF files (consult your IT department to see if they have a preference regarding these suggestions):

  • Make sure your system meets the minimum requirements for the Acrobat product (see the ReadMe file that is installed with the Acrobat product).
  • Use the latest version of the Acrobat product. The free Adobe® Reader®, version 7 and above, is highly recommended to mitigate most issues. Downloads and updates are available on the Adobe site.
  • Because of the differences in how browsers process a PDF file, generally speaking, Netscape and Firefox has fewer problems in displaying pdf files than Internet Explorer.

Netscape®/ Foxfire® Users:

Occassionally, a pdf file opening in a Netscape browser will quickly open and then display a blank page and a status bar message "done". If you wait a few minutes, the file may open and display correctly. If that does not work, save the file locally to your pc using this procedure:

1) Using your mouse, right-click the link to the pdf.

2) From the pop-up menu that opens, choose "Save Link Target As" or "Save Link As"

3) From the dialog box that opens, select a location to save the file (ie. Desktop) and click Save.

4) Go to the location that you saved the file and open it from there.

Microsoft® Internet Explorer users:

Occassionally, a pdf file opening in the Internet Explorer browser will display a blank page and a status bar message "done". Your cpu processes may spike to 100% and appear to lock your pc. Either one of the next suggestions should allow you view the file.

Save and open the pdf locally on your pc.

1) Using your mouse, right-click the link to the pdf.

2) From the pop-up menu that opens, choose "Save Target As"

3) From the dialog box that opens, select a location to save the file (ie. Desktop) and click Save.

4) Go to the location that you saved the file and open it from there.

Change the setting of your Acrobat product to open the pdf outside your browser.
(note this will apply to all pdfs, but you may find this a preferable and faster way to view pdfs)

1) Close your browser. Open your Acrobat product.

2) From the Acrobat toolbar, select Edit > Preferences > Internet

3) Deselect the box, "Display PDF in browser".

4) Open your browser, click the pdf link, and if prompted - choose open or save - to view the PDF.


If you are still unable to view the file using Adobe® Reader® 7.x, e-mail to request the pdf. Include the url of the page which contains the pdf link and the pdf name.

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