Adobe Acrobat Reader Troubleshooting
Get Acrobat
Reader
VIEWING
PDF Files with Internet Explorer and Acrobat Reader
- PROBLEM: After clicking on a link to a PDF
file in your Internet Explorer window, you receive an error message
relating to a missing ActiveX Component, Internet Explorer crashes,
or you see only a blank page in your browser
window after a PDF file seems to have completed downloading.
- SOLUTION 1: Upgrade to the very latest version
of Internet Explorer and/or Acrobat Reader (in Acrobat or Adobe
Reader, choose Help > Check For Updates Now to install the update).
If this does not fix the problem, see Solution 2.
- SOLUTION 2: Instead of viewing the PDF files
inside your web browser window, you have two choices: allow Acrobat
Reader to run in a separate window from the browser by disabling
Browser Integration, or save the PDF file to your hard drive for
later viewing.
- To Disable Browser Integration, launch
Acrobat Reader (usually located in c:/program_files/adobe/acrobat...).
- Acrobat 6 or 7: Go to Edit -- Preferences, and click on
Internet. Uncheck "Display PDF in Browser."
- Acrobat 5: Go to Edit -- Preferences --
Options. In the "Web Browser Options", uncheck
"Display PDF in Browser".
- Acrobat 4: Go to File -- Preferences --
General.
In the Options section, uncheck the “Web Browser Integration”
box and click OK.
- Then quit Acrobat Reader and Internet Explorer
for the changes to take effect. The next time you click
a link for a PDF file, Acrobat Reader will open in a separate
window from your web browser. If prompted, choose ”Open
This File From Its Current Location.” This allows for immediate
viewing of PDF files, without having to save the file to
your hard drive.
- To Save the File to Your Hard Drive,
Right-click the link to the PDF file and choose “Save Target
As...” You will then specify where on your hard drive you would
like to save the file. After the download is complete, go to
the directory on your drive where you saved the PDF file and
double-click it. This will launch Acrobat Reader by itself,
separate from Internet Explorer.
SAVING
PDF Files To Your Hard Drive
- PROBLEM: You are unable to save
a PDF file to your hard drive when when the file was opened from a
drop-down menu (i.e. from the Literature & Software
Download Center).
- SOLUTION: If you view PDF files inside your browser window
(i.e. Browser Integration is turned On), click the Save button on
the Acrobat toolbar (located underneath your browser's "Back"
button) to Save the file to disk. The Save icon looks like a floppy
disk. Specify the location on your hard drive where you want the file
saved.
- SOLUTION: If you have Web Browser Integration turned off
in Acrobat Reader, you need to reactivate the "Confirm Open After
Download" option for PDF files. The Confirm Open dialog box is
the one that pops up the first time you attempt to download a PDF
file from the Internet, asking if you want to View the File From Its
Current Location, or Save to Disk. You need to re-enable this dialog
box, so that you can choose "Save to Disk" for the PDF file
you're wanting to save.
- Go to Windows Explorer (Start -- Programs -- Windows Explorer).
- Go to the View menu, and choose "Options"
- Click File Types tab
- Select "Adobe Acrobat Document" from the "Registered
File Types" listing, and click the "Edit" button
- Click the checkbox called "Confirm Open After Download"
PRINTING
PDF Files
- PROBLEM: When printing a PDF file to a non
PostScript Hewlett-Packard LaserJet laser printer, complex graphics
drop out and/or TrueType fonts print incorrectly.
- SOLUTIONS: Do one or more of the following:
- Acrobat 6: in the Print dialog box, click
the "Advanced" button. Check "Print as Image".
- Acrobat Reader 4 and 5: in the Print
dialog box, check "Print As Image".
- Acrobat Reader 3, Most Common Fix: Set
up the printer to either download TrueType fonts as bitmap fonts,
or print them as graphics:
- Choose File -- Print
- Click Setup
- Select the appropriate printer and click
“Properties”
- LaserJet 3 and 4 Models: click the Fonts tab
- LaserJet 5 and 6 Models: click the Print Quality
tab
- Select either “Download TrueType Fonts
as Bitmap Soft Fonts” or “Print TrueType Fonts as Graphics”
-
Click OK.
- If you’re printing to a LaserJet 4, 5 or 6,
print the PDF file in Raster mode instead of Vector (HP-GL/2)
mode:
- Follow first three steps from Solution 2
above
- LaserJet 4 and 5 Models: select the Graphics tab,
then “Use Raster Graphics”
- LaserJet 6 Models: from the Print Quality tab,
in the “Graphics Mode” section, select “Raster”
-
Click OK.
- Set the printer’s Dithering option to get better
results printing graphics:
-
Follow first three steps from Solution 2
above
-
Click the Graphics tab
-
Select either “Fine” or “Coarse” from the
Dithering options, then click OK.
- If you’re printing at a high resolution (i.e.
600dpi), reduce to 300dpi. This will lower the quality of photos
and other graphics, however.
- Follow first three steps from Solution 2
above
- Click the Graphics tab
- Choose a lower resolution from the Resolution
pop-up menu, then click OK.
- If your printer has a PostScript option, use
the PostScript mode for 600dpi printing.
Additional Information:
When you print to a PCL printer (i.e. HP LaserJet, non-PostScript
printers), the PCL printer driver converts graphics and text into
a format the printer can interpret. When printing PDF files, the PCL
printer driver may not correctly convert the information if the printer
driver is in vector HP-GL/2 mode, if the file contains complex graphics
or TrueType fonts, or if the printer’s Dithering option is set to
None.
When printing at a high resolution such as 600dpi, a PCL printer
may not have enough memory to print files, particularly if they contain
graphics.
If a PCL printer has a PostScript option, it uses a PostScript printer
driver when the PostScript option is selected. Because PDF files are
already in PostScript format, the printer can readily interpret the
information (it doesn’t have to be converted), and they print as expected.
Contact Hewlett-Packard or refer to your printer’s documentation
for more information about your printer’s options and capabilities. The printer drivers included with Windows 3.1x for the HP LaserJet
III, IIID, IIIP, and IIISi are not based on the Universal Printer
Driver 3.1.2, and therefore, may not correctly convert information
so that PDF files print as expected. |