International Journal of Leprosy and other Mycobacterial Diseases

Help and Frequently Asked Questions

This section will be expanded and improved as we receive more questions from our readers. If you have any questions or problems that are not explained in the following documents, please contact us at ila@ilsl.br. We cannot guarantee a personal response, but we will keep your questions in mind as we revise this section.

Frequently Asked Questions about PDFs

1. I am using Internet Explorer and when I attempt to open a PDF file (the "print version") I get text and/or binary coding instead of launching Acrobat Reader.

When asked to retrieve PDF files, our server runs a simple program (a CGI script) which tells your browser to download the PDF file. This is different from simply pointing to a directory location where the file resides. We use CGI for the purposes of security, since we have to check to see whether you are a subscriber before we allow a full-text download. Because MicroSoft's Internet Explorer (IE) and America Online (AOL) will not invoke Acrobat when CGI scripts are involved or only when the PDF file has been distilled with certain versions and platforms of the Acrobat Distiller, people using these browsers are often unable to view the PDF files directly. IE and AOL will most likely lock up, produce a blank screen, or display binary gibberish. There are actually several Acrobat related problems with IE and AOL, but this one is the most noticeable.

Here are two realtively simple ways to work around this problem:

• Download and setup Netscape Communicator as your default browser. Netrscape doe not seem to have any of the compatibility problems that have plagued Microsoft over the years. Netscape can be downloaded for free at .
• 'Save' the PDF file to your disk by moving the mouse over the link and pressing the right mouse button; click on 'Save link as' or 'Save target as' (depending upon which browser you are using). Then open the file directly in Acrobat Reader.

2. How do I save a PDF file to my hard drive instead of opening it directly in Acrobat Reader or after I've read it?

To save a PDF file directly to your hard drive, click on it with the right mouse button (Windows) or hold the mouse button down (Macintosh) until a menu appears that offers you choices of what to do with the link. Choose the "save link as" option and a "save as" box will appear on your screen. You will have to change the name of the file to something ending in .pdf, since the default name and extention is determined by the link. The link is not a direct link to a PDF file but an instruction to look up the file in a database, so the browser cannot figure out the correct file name from the link.

3. I am having troubles printing PDF files (such as PostScript errors, out-of-memory errors, etc.). What can I do?

Here are several things you may try that can help:

• Save the file to your hard drive first (see question 1).
• Try printing it on a different printer, preferrably a newer one or one with more memory.
• Try printing it one page at a time. (This especially helps in out-of-memory errors, though it may solve other errors as well.)
• Make sure you are using the latest version of Acrobat Reader. The latest version as of 7/1/97 is 3.0, which you can download for free at http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html.

If your question is not answered here or none of our suggestions works for you, contact our Help Desk at ila@ilsl.br with your question and we will try to answer it here. Be sure to include the exact error message, your operating system, your browser (name and version number), your version of Acrobat Reader, and the file name(s) with which you were having trouble. We cannot guarantee a personal response, but your questions will be kept in mind as we update this page.