PAST
PRESENTATIONS
Frequently Asked Questions
I
can't find every session that was presented at my conference. Why
is it missing?
We
request electronic copies of workshop handouts from each speaker.
However, not every session is available before the conference materials
are posted. Often, these items will be posted at a later date.
In
addition, there may be restrictions placed on speakers concerning
the availability of published materials, which prohibit certain
presentations from being offered through this website.
back
to top
Problems
Using Adobe/Acrobat Reader for .PDFs?
We
are receiving numerous reports that Web users are experiencing problems
accessing .pdf documents using various recent versions
of Adobe/Acrobat Reader software.
Frequently, older versions of the Adobe Reader will fail
before beginning to display the .pdf documents embedded INSIDE the
Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) browser window (embedding
is the reader software's default/preset behavior).
The vast majority of these problems disappear
after you upgrade your copy of Adobe/Acrobat Reader to the current
version. (As of January 2007, the current version of Adobe
Reader for Windows XP was version 8.)
back
to top
Symptoms
You may experience the following problems, either intermittently
or consistently, while attempting to view .pdf documents.
- MSIE
browser displays a blank screen and/or freezes/crashes.
- Dialog
box over a blank screen claims: "File does not begin
with '%PDF-'."
- Browser
displays screens full of gibberish codes (see example below).
back
to top
Why
is this Happening?
Apparently many older editions of Adobe/Acrobat Reader
have grown too bulky to load and embed reliably inside the MSIE
browser's available memory. (Advertising and animation functions
were added.) These Microsoft/Adobe "ActiveX®
Plug-In" technologies are particularly unreliable when Adobe
Reader version 6 is used with MSIE version 6.
back
to top
Solutions
The
most effective solution to these problems is to update your Adobe/Acrobat
software to the current version. (As of January 2007, the current
version of Adobe Reader for Windows XP was version
8. Critical security issues exist in earlier versions,
see http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb07-01.html)
Visit http://www.adobe.com
to obtain and install the latest Adobe Reader viewer software.
You must have administrative rights on your machine to install or
upgrade software—home users generally do
have these rights; corporate/networked users generally do
not.
For those who cannot install the upgrade, possible
solutions are offered below to assist you in viewing .pdfs reliably.
#1. Disable the "Display
PDF in Browser" option in your reader software.
- Use
Start - Programs - Adobe
Reader to run the program directly (instead of running
while embedded inside the Web browser).
- Pull
down the Edit menu of the Reader and choose Preferences.
- In
the Internet settings page, de-select (uncheck)
the "Display PDF in Browser" option.
#2. Delete the Temporary
Internet Files cache used by the MSIE browser.
- Close
all Web browser windows.
- Right-Click
on the "Internet Explorer" icon (large lower-case blue
'e') visible on the desktop.
- Choose
"Properties" and make sure the first
tab, "General," is selected.
- Click
the middle "Delete Files" button (see
dialog box as shown below) and then wait as long as necessary
for the computer to clean up. (The first time will take a few
minutes on some computers; succeeding cycles are usually much
quicker.)
- Return
to the website and try clicking on the .pdf document link again.
- Repeat as necessary.
#3.
Use the "Save Target As" option to save
the .pdf to your computer's hard disk drive.
- You
can save a copy of the .pdf document from the website to your
own hard drive, and then use the Reader (outside of the browser)
to open and print the copy.
- At
the website, put your cursor/pointer on the .pdf item you want
and right-click on your mouse, then choose "Save Target As"
from the little menu that will pop up nearby.
- "Save Target As"
will allow you to save the .pdf document on your desktop or to
your "My Documents" folder.
Notes:
[a] Some browsers will show "Save Link As" instead
of "Save Target As"; [b] to pop up the menu on a single
button (Apple) mouse, use a 3-second hold down of the button.
- After
saving the .pdf file to your hard drive, start up the Acrobat
Reader by double-clicking its desktop icon or by using the Windows
Start - Programs menu. Then, open and print your (just-recently-saved)
copy of the .pdf file from your hard disk.
Caution:
Be alert for File Type errors while using "Save
Target As" as shown below. If you cannot avoid the file type
error, you must start over.
The
Delete Temporary Internet Files fix (see above)
usually resolves this 'wrong file type' issue.
#4. Use the new, free and
safer Mozilla
Firefox Web browser. http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox
The Adobe/Acrobat Reader seems to inter-operate smoothly with Firefox.
For browsing Web pages, more and more Internet users have switched
to using Firefox instead of Microsoft's Internet Explorer
(MSIE) as their preferred tool.
Firefox will copy your favorites and other settings from MSIE automatically
during installation. Additionally, Firefox offers many security
advantages (anti-spyware, anti-popups) over MSIE. In response,
Microsoft has issued a new version (7) of MSIE for Windows XP SP2
and for Vista with many improvements. Those users with totally up-to-date
and validated copies of Windows should obtain the MSIE7 upgrade
as well as Firefox; the two products will co-exist on the
same system without trouble.
back
to top
Other
Strategies
Adobe indicates you may also notice an improvement if you re-install
the Reader software. We recommend you use the minimum configuration
without add-ons.
back
to top
Information and images courtesy of:
David
A. Kell
UCSF
Additional
questions? Please contact our Webmaster.
Home
| About
Us
| Conference
Calendar
| View Past Presentations
View E-Seminars
| Registration
| FAQ
| Contact
Us |
