Worth knowing about Adobe® Acrobat®

There are two variants of Adobe Acrobat: one is the reader (Adobe Acrobat Reader) which is used by anyone who wants to read PDF files; the other is Adobe Acrobat Exchange which allows the user to produce as well as read PDF files.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is free of charge to the end user and is absolutely necessary if you want to read many of the texts on this site. Acrobat Exchange, on the other hand, costs quite a lot and is only worth thinking about if you are considering producing PDF files.

Which version(s) of Acrobat Reader to install?

Some of the PDF files on this site are produced using Adobe Acrobat version 3.01, others using later versions. Personally, I would recommend installing both the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader as well as version 3 (3.01 for Windows, 3.02 for Macintosh).

If you install both version 3 and the latest version, the latter will automatically act as plug-in when you are online. Therefore, if you have installed both versions and if you want to view, with a minimum of bugs, the PDFs I have produced, you will have to save the PDF file you want to your own hard drive, call up Acrobat Reader version 3 and open the required PDF file from inside version 3 by choosing File and then Open.

Installing the latest version of Acrobat Reader for free

1. Visit the Adobe download website

2. Follow the online instructions, selecting right platform, (e.g. Win98, Win2000, Windows XP, Macintosh, Linux or whatever)

3. Choose 'Download for personal use' (the transfer could take a long time, depending on the speed of your phone line and modem setup).

4. Note where on your hard drive you locate the download (it will have a file name like ar500enu.exe).

5. Double-click the downloaded file to install on your computer (if it doesn’t do it for you automatically).

Visit Adobe download site now

Installing Adobe Acrobat Reader version 3 for free
(only on stand-alone Windows or Macintosh)

1. Decide where on your hard drive you are going to put the download and make a note of that location. 2. Choose the alternative (®) you want to download. (The transfer could take a long time, depending on the speed of your connection). 3. Double-click the downloaded file to install Acrobat Reader version 3 on your computer (click file with name like rs16e301.exe if the routine doesn't install the software automatically).

Version 3.01 - with Search for Windows 5.0 MB Version 3.02 - for Macintosh 68K (BinHex) 7.4 MB Version 3.02 - for Macintosh 68K (MacBinary) 5.5 MB