Frequently Asked Questions — Portable Document Format (PDF) Files    What is a PDF file? The Portable Document Format was invented by Adobe Systems to make it possible to view and print documents on a wide variety of computer platforms without having to have the software and fonts that created the original document on every single machine. It is the de facto standard for document handling worldwide, and on the World Wide Web. How can I read them, and what does it cost? Adobe's Acrobat software creates PDF files. However, if you do not wish to create files, only to view and print them, Adobe makes an Acrobat Reader package available at no charge. You can download a version for your Windows, Macintosh or Unix-type machine directly from Adobe. How do I install the Reader? Complete information is provided by Adobe at the download point. The Reader will be installed as a browser plug-in; in other words, when the Web browser encounters a PDF file, the Reader will automatically be loaded. Can I copy these files onto my home computer? You can. If the Reader is already running, use its Save function; if the Reader is not yet running, right-click on the link to the document and select Save Target As.... Will they look exactly like the hard-copy versions of the same documents? Within the limitations of the technology, yes. Some ornate fonts are rendered in more generic form, and maps and other drawings are not always perfectly generated, but purely-text content will appear as it does on paper. I tried to bring up a PDF file and got a blank screen. What happened? We can't tell from this end. We suggest reloading the page, or trying to save it to your own computer (see above). If this fails, both Adobe and Microsoft (for users of Microsoft Internet Explorer) have published pages which address this issue. I went to Adobe and they don't have a version for WebTV. What should I do? At the present time, Microsoft, which owns WebTV, has not implemented support for PDF files. If you subscribe to WebTV, you should feel free to ask them why not.