Adobe Acrobat Reader Troubleshooting

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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:
  1. Acrobat 6: in the Print dialog box, click the "Advanced" button. Check "Print as Image".
  2. Acrobat Reader 4 and 5: in the Print dialog box, check "Print As Image".
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.