Configuring Navigator for Mac OS to Display PDF Files

FaxYI number 731008

What's Covered
Using the PDFViewer Plug-in
Configuring Navigator 2.x or 3.x to Use Acrobat as a Helper Application
Configuring Navigator 4.x to Use Acrobat as a Helper Application
Downloading a PDF File to Your Hard Drive

You can display PDF files within Netscape Navigator 2.x, 3.x, or 4.x by using Adobe Acrobat's PDFViewer plug-in, or by using Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x as a helper application. When you use the PDFViewer plug-in, Navigator displays PDF files within its browser window; when you configure Navigator to use Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x as a helper application, PDF files display within the Acrobat viewer (i.e., Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Exchange) window.

Adobe recommends you use Navigator 3.0 or later, which supports Acrobat 3.0x features such as byte serving (page at a time downloading) and online form submission.

Using the PDFViewer Plug-In
When you install Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x on a computer on which Navigator 2.x or 3.x is installed, the Acrobat installer automatically copies the PDFViewer plug-in file into the Plug-ins folder in the Netscape Navigator folder. When you're using Navigator 4.x, which is included with Netscape Communicator, you'll need to manually move the PDFViewer plug-in file from the Web Browser Plug-in folder in the Acrobat 3.0x folder into the Plug-ins folder in the Netscape Communicator folder.

If you select a PDF file while the plug-in is installed, the file will download to Netscape's Temp directory, and then Navigator will use your Acrobat viewer to display the file within the browser window.

If a PDF file you select does not display within the browser window, do one or more of the following:
A. Use Navigator 2.0 or later.

B. Make sure the PDFViewer plug-in is located in the Plug-ins folder in the Netscape Navigator folder or the Netscape Communicator folder. If it is not, copy it from the Web Browser Plug-in folder in the Acrobat 3.0x folder.

C. Deselect Acrobat as a helper application in Navigator 3.x:
1. Open Navigator and choose Options > General Preferences.
2. In the Preferences dialog box, click the Helpers tab.
3. Select "application/pdf," "Portable Document Format," or "Reader" from the Description list or the Handled By list.
4. Click Delete.
6. Repeat steps 3 - 4 for each reference to Acrobat or PDF files.
7. Click OK to close the General Preferences dialog box and then restart Navigator.

Configuring Navigator 2.x or 3.x to Use Acrobat as a Helper Application
When you configure Navigator 2.x or 3.x to use Acrobat as a helper application, Navigator starts Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Exchange, then displays PDF files within the Acrobat viewer window.

If you use Acrobat Exchange 3.0x, you can choose File > Save As from the viewer window and save the PDF file to your hard disk.

To configure Navigator 3.x to use Acrobat as a helper application:
1. If the PDFViewer plug-in is installed, quit Navigator and remove the PDFViewer plug-in from the Plug-ins folder in the Netscape Navigator folder.
2. Start Navigator.
3. Choose Options > General Preferences, then select Helpers.
4. If "Portable Document Format" is listed in the Description section, select it and click Edit and then go to step 8. If "Portable Document Format" is not listed, click New.
5. Type "Portable Document Format" in the Description text box
6. Type "application/pdf" in the MIME Type text box.
7. Type "pdf" in the Suffixes text box.
8. Select Application from the Handled By options box.
9. Click Browse.
10. Locate and select the Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x application file, then click Open.
11. Choose PDF from the File Type pop-up menu, then click OK.
12. Restart Navigator.

To configure Navigator 2.x to use Acrobat as a helper application:
1. If the PDFViewer plug-in is installed, quit Navigator and remove the PDFViewer plug-in from the Plug-ins folder in the Netscape Navigator folder.
2. Start Navigator.
3. Choose Options > General Preferences, then select Helpers.
4. If "Portable Document Format" is listed in the Description section, select it and click Edit and then go to step 8. If "Portable Document Format" is not listed, click New.
5. Type "application" in the MIME Type text box.
6. Type "pdf" in the MIME Subtype text box, then click OK.
7. Type "pdf" in the Extensions: text box.
8. Click Browse.
9. Locate and select the Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x application file, then click Open.
10. Choose "PDF" from the File Type pop-up menu.
11. Click Launch Application, then click OK.
12. Choose Options > Save Options.
13. Restart Navigator.

Configuring Navigator 4.x to Use Acrobat as a Helper Application
After you've moved the PDFViewer plug-in file from the Web Browser Plug-in folder in the Acrobat 3.0x folder into the Plug-ins folder in the Netscape Communicator folder, Navigator 4.x automatically uses the plug-in to display PDF files. When you configure Navigator, you can specify whether it will continue to use the PDFViewer plug-in or use Acrobat as a helper application.

If you use Acrobat Exchange 3.0x, you can choose File > Save As from the viewer window and save the PDF file to your hard disk.

To configure Navigator 4.x to use the PDFViewer plug-in or use Acrobat as a helper application:
1. If you haven't already moved the PDFViewer plug-in from the Web Browser Plug-in folder in the Acrobat 3.0x folder into the Plug-ins folder in the Netscape Communicator folder, quit Navigator 4.x and then move the plug-in.
2. Start Navigator.
3. Choose Edit > Preferences.
4. In the left pane, select Navigator, then select Applications.
5. Click New.
6. Select "Portable Document Format" in the Applications list, then click Edit.
7. The Edit Type dialog box should list PDFViewer as the plug-in in the Handled By section. It also lists the Description as "Portable Document Format", the MIME Type as "application/pdf", and the Suffixes as "pdf." If you want to continue using the PDFViewer plug-in, click OK, then move to step 10. If you want to use Acrobat as a helper application, select the Application radio button, then click Choose.
8. Locate the Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x application on your hard drive, then click Open.
9. Choose PDF from the File Type pop-up menu.
10. Click OK to close the Edit Type dialog box.

If you want to switch between using the PDFViewer plug-in and using Acrobat as a helper application, you can select either the Plug-in radio button or the Application radio button in the Edit Type dialog box.

Downloading a PDF File to Your Hard Drive
After you download a PDF file to your hard drive, you can copy text, distribute the file, or save the file to a disk.

To download a PDF file from a link:
1. Click and hold the mouse on the link to a PDF file, then choose Save This Link As from the pop-up menu.
2. In the Save As dialog box, select a location on your hard drive, then click Save.

To download an open PDF file:
1. Choose File > Save As.
2. In the Save As dialog box, select a location on your hard drive, then click Save.

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