Adobe®Acrobat®Reader™ is free, and freely distributable, software that lets you view and print Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

System Requirements. Click on this link to see if your computer has the necessary requirements to handle this software.

To download the free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, you need to do a couple of things. You will need to go to the Adobe web site. There is a link at the bottom of this page that will take you to the download page on Adobe's web site. You will enter some information, download Acrobat Reader to your computer, and then install it on your computer. Follow the directions below.

DIRECTIONS

WINDOWS

After you arrive at the Adobe web site, you may have to scroll down to the Get Acrobat Reader...Free! link.

Click on this link. On the next page, you will see 3 steps.

STEP 1

1. Select the language you prefer.
2. Select which platform, or computer type, on which you are currently working.

STEP 2

You need to enter your name and email address.

STEP 3

Click the red DOWNLOAD button. A new web page appears. A FILE DOWNLOAD window will appear on your screen. It will ask, "What would you like to do with this file?" Select SAVE THIS PROGRAM TO DISK, then click on the OK button.

A SAVE AS window will pop up. Select DESKTOP in the SAVE IN: drop-down menu. Click SAVE. Downloading begins. After the download is complete, click on the CLOSE button.

STEP 4

Quit or hide your browser. Now, on your desktop, locate the file icon that you just downloaded. It may be named something similar to ar405eng.exe, depending on your earlier selections. Double-click this icon. This will automatically begin to unpack Acrobat Reader.

NOTE: At this point, if a version of Acrobat Reader is already installed on your computer and you weren't aware of it, you will be advised by a pop-up window. You can CANCEL installation and use the version of Acrobat that is already installed. If you get no such alert, no version of Acrobat Reader exists on your computer. CONTINUE with the installation.

When the Acrobat Reader Setup window appears, follow the instructions, and you should have no trouble installing this software.

MACINTOSH

REPEAT STEPS 1 AND 2.

In Step 1, if you are not sure which type of file to download (.bin or .hqx) click on the link at the bottom of the Step 1 box. This will give you detailed information on the differences with these two files and which one would be best for you.

STEP 3

Click the red DOWNLOAD button. A new web page appears. Downloading will begin in the background. If you are using Netscape, or if you are using Internet Explorer, these downloads will be slightly different but will provide the same result. After download is complete, a "Reader Installer" icon will appear on your desktop.

NOTE: This Acrobat file is encoded. Which means it will need to be uncompressed after being downloaded to your computer. If you have Stuffit Expander on your computer already, this uncompressing step will take place automatically after download. The "Reader Installer" icon will appear on your desktop as an uncompressed file ready to use.

If you do not have Stuffit Expander on your computer, click here for a free download of this software, and follow the directions on this site.

STEP 4

Double-click on the "Reader Installer" icon. Follow the instructions to install this software on your computer.

Click here to go to the Adobe web site.