What Is
PDF?
PDF (Portable Document Format) is an electronic portable
document file format that has captured all the elements of a
printed document as an electronic image that you can view,
navigate, print, or forward to someone else. A PDF document will
have a .pdf filename extension (example:
filename.pdf).
How to View PDF
Files
PDF files are created using Adobe Acrobat, Acrobat Capture, or
similar products. To view and use the files, you need the free
Acrobat Reader, which you can easily download from the Adobe Web site. Just go to the Adobe Web site 
, follow a few short instructions, and Acrobat Reader
will automatically be installed for you.
After Acrobat Reader is installed, you can view PDF documents.
Simply clicking on a link to a PDF document will open it up in your
browser. Compared to web pages, PDF documents can take a longer
time to download and display. When you click on a link to the
document, it may seem like nothing is happening while in fact the
document is being downloading behind the browser. Sometimes,
especially when it is a large document, it is a good idea to save
the document to your computer first, and then view the document
from your computer, as opposed to viewing it online. To do
this:
- Right-click on the document, choose “Save As,” and save it
somewhere on your computer—for example, “Desktop” or “My Documents.”
- Then locate the document on your computer, click or
double-click on it, and it will automatically be displayed through
Acrobat Reader.
Why Use PDF?
PDF files are especially useful for documents like articles,
product brochures, topic papers, or fliers in which you want to
preserve the original graphic appearance online. A PDF file
contains one or more page images, each of which you can zoom in on
or out from. You can page forward and backward. PDF documents are
widely used on the Internet, including the TCEQ Web server, for
several reasons:
- A PDF typically has the same appearance, colors, fonts,
graphics and layout as the printed document.
- PDFs can be read online, or saved and printed. The Acrobat
Reader software is freely available for the most popular operating
systems (Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX).
- While the Reader software can’t edit (change) a PDF document,
it can copy text from the document and perform word or text-string
searches of the document.
Printing PDF
Documents
To print a PDF document, you can either click the printer icon
on the toolbar or go to “File” and click on “Print.”
How to Make a
PDF File Accessible
Adobe Acrobat 5.0 and higher versions provide a number of capabilities
that improve access for disabled users. However, for the lower
versions of Acrobat Reader, or for those visually disabled users
whose screen reader software is not compatible with Adobe Acrobat
Reader 5.0, Adobe Systems Inc. also provides online tools to convert
Adobe PDF documents into HTML, which can then be read by a number
of common screen reading programs that synthesize text as audible
speech.
To convert PDF document into HTML files, you can either:
- Go to
Adobe PDF Conversion by Simple Form and enter the URL of any online
PDF document into the electronic form. The PDF document will be
converted to HTML and returned to your browser immediately.
- Or, you can simply type:
http://access.adobe.com/perl/convertPDF.pl?hrl= + the url
of your PDF document as the web address.
For example, if you want to convert the PDF document at http://www.dir.state.tx.us/standards/S761.pdf
into an HTML file, you may type:
http://access.adobe.com/perl/convertPDF.pl?hrl= http://www.dir.state.tx.us/standards/S761.pdf
as
the Web address.
For more advanced information, please read
Adobe’s information about online conversion tools
Electronic
Fill-In-The-Blank PDF Forms
In an effort to simplify the form completion process, the TCEQ
has started to create some of its forms in an electronic,
fill-in-the-blank format. With Acrobat Reader version 3.0 or
higher, users now have the option — on certain TCEQ forms — to
complete the PDF forms electronically, instead of manually writing
or typing the information on a hard copy version.
The form can be completed in several easy steps.
- The user opens the PDF form in Acrobat Reader (in the browser
or as a standalone product). The user can also save the PDF form to
their computer system and open the form in Acrobat Reader at a
later time.
- Once the form is open, the user clicks on the desired field and
a blinking cursor appears.
- After the information has been entered in the field, the user
can tab to the next field.
- After all the fields have been completed, the user can print
out the page. Note: If the cursor is blinking in a field, the
information in that field will not be printed. Hit “Return” or
“Enter” and the information will be captured for all
fields.
For those who have the entire Acrobat suite — Acrobat 4.0,
formerly called Acrobat Exchange — the data can either be saved
separately or as a part of the form. If you save the data only, it
will take up less disk space and can be imported back into the same
form at any time, provided the form has not changed. For more
information on exporting and importing form data, check your
manual.
For those users with Acrobat Reader only, the entered data
cannot be saved for later use.
Note: Use of PDF electronic, fill-in-the-blank forms does
not include online submittal.
