About Adobe Acrobat Reader and Using PDF Files

Adobe Acrobat Reader is software that is used to view and print PDF (Portable Document Format) documents. Adobe makes Reader available at no cost for anyone to download and use. PDF is a preferred format because it retains the exact layout and fonts that the designer of a document intended. Reader is available for many different types of computers (e.g., Windows, Macintosh, Unix), so documents are viewable regardless of the operating system your computer uses. PDF documents can also contain interactive features such as hyperlinks to web sites and e-mail addresses, as well as forms features.

More info from Adobe: page 1 | page 2

Obtaining Acrobat Reader

Many computers already have Acrobat Reader installed. To see if it is installed on your machine, try opening this Acrobat Reader Test Page. If the page does not appear on screen, Reader is probably not installed on your computer. If the page opens but there are errors, then you may need to upgrade to a more recent version. If you are responsible for completing patient data forms for HAT, then you will need to use either version 4.05, 5.05, or 5.1 (Windows and Macintosh only). To download the installation program for the latest version (5.1), use either of the following links:

When the download is finished, you must run the installation program (e.g., ar505enu.exe) to install Reader. Depending on the speed of your internet connection, it can take as long as 30-60 minutes to complete the download. If you are updating your current version of Reader to a newer version, you should uninstall your current version before upgrading.

If you have an older system and want to install Reader version 4.05, use the following links: