If you have trouble reading files with Acrobat...

Try making your Adobe Reader "a helper application."

If you are using America Online or Internet Explorer, your problem with reading .pdf files may be caused by a configuration setting between your browser and Acrobat Reader. Here are instructions to enable your browser to use Acrobat Reader as a helper application, which should alleviate the problem.

1. Exit from AOL or Internet Explorer.
2. Start Adobe Acrobat Reader.
3. Go to Edit > Preferences > Options (Acrobat 5.0 or higher) or to File > Preferences > General (Acrobat 4.x).
4. Uncheck or deselect the "Display PDF in Browser option" (Acrobat 5.0 or higher) or the "Web Browser Integration" option (Acrobat 4.x).
5. Click OK.
6. Exit from Acrobat.
7. Restart AOL or Internet Explorer.

The next time you click on a link to a PDF file in AOL or Internet Explorer, a dialog box will prompt you to specify what to do with the file. If you select "Open this file from its current location," the browser will open the PDF file in a new Acrobat window. If you select "Save this file to disk," the browser will save the PDF file to your hard drive, from where you can open it later.