What is Acrobat Reader?

Adobe® Acrobat Reader is free software that allows you to view and print Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Portable Document Format (PDF) is the open standard for electronic document distribution worldwide. Adobe PDF is a universal file format that preserves all the fonts, formatting, graphics and color of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. Adobe PDF files are compact and can be shared, viewed, navigated and printed exactly as intended by anyone with free Adobe Acrobat Reader software. In plain language, it is a file that will look the same on the screen and in print, regardless of what kind of computer someone is using or the software that was used to create it.

How to Download the Software

Almost anyone can view and print Adobe PDF files! Users with DOS, Macintosh, SUN, UNIX and Windows systems can view and print PDF files using free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html for the steps for downloading to your computer.

How to View PDF files

Once the Acrobat Reader software is installed, you just need to click on any PDF file for it to load directly on your computer. This file is a temporary file and it will be deleted when you exit your Web browser. You can zoom in and out of this document using the magnifying glass tool or by indicating a percentage at the top of the menu.

Note that on the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Web site PDF files are indicated as (pdf) after the link name.

How to Print and/or Save PDF files

Be sure NOT to print PDF files from your Web browser, but use the print button at the top left of the Acrobat toolbar.

If you would like to save the document once you have opened it for viewing, click on the disk icon also on the top left of the Acrobat toolbar. A "Save As" window appears and allows you to name the file and to choose a location for saving.