You can configure your browser to view a PDF file either directly in
your web browser or separately in the Acrobat Reader program. This
document describes the two different configurations.
Definitions
Browser: Application used to "surf" the web, such as Netscape Navigator, Netscape Communicator, or Internet Explorer.
Helper application: An application that is automatically launched by your browser in order to open files you encounter on the web.
Plug-in: Software module that enables your browser
to display special file types such as audio, video or PDFs. Differs
from a helper application in that it does not launch a separate
application, it simply works with your browser.
Before You Begin
View teh system requirements for your computer in the articles Downloading and Installing Adobe Acrobat Reader (Mac) or Downloading and Installing Adobe Acrobat Reader (PC)
Two Choices
Your browser can be configured to use Acrobat Reader as either a plug-in or a helper application.
Plug-In
If you have recent versions of Netscape or Internet Explorer
(4.0 or greater), and you downloaded and installed version 4.0 of
Acrobat Reader, it will be automatically configured as a plug-in. This
means that when you click on a PDF file, it will display directly in
your browser window.
Possible Drawbacks:
- After viewing the PDF file you will need to hit the
"back" button in your browser to get back to the web page you were
originally on
- PDFs are not automatically saved when you view them
Helper Application
You may prefer to have Acrobat Reader configured as a helper application.
When Acrobat Reader is set up as a helper application, clicking
on a PDF will automatically open Reader and the PDF file will appear on
your screen in Reader. Your browser will continue to show the page you
were on when you clicked on the link.
Possible Drawbacks:
- In
this mode you cannot use advanced web features such as page-at-a-time
downloading, embedded PDF documents, form submittal in a browser or
search highlighting
Get Detailed Instructions
Instructions
for configuring your browser depend on whether you are using Netscape
or Internet Explorer, and Mac or Windows. Visit the Adobe Acrobat support website for assistance with viewing PDF files in your browser. |
