What is PDF?

PDF stands for "Portable Document Format." This computer file format was created by Adobe Systems as an international standard for exchanging, storing, and retrieving electronic information, while preserving the original document layout and appearance.

In the quilt world, many patterns offered on the Internet are now in PDF format. The visual and printed quality of the text, patterns, and other graphics is much higher than simply printing the documents directly from the Internet as web pages. The final printed size of PDF patterns remains true, whereas printing graphics files off the WWW can be problematic for many.

You'll need the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader to read PDF documents. If you don't already have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer (it may have come as part of your Internet connection software), click on the Adobe button below to go directly to their site. Follow their instructions for downloading and installing the FREE Reader software. Remember that once you download the Reader, you must still install it to be able to use it for reading a PDF file.

Download the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader

Once you've installed the Reader, you're ready to go! Point your mouse on the PDF file link (this is usually the name of the file, often followed by the file size in kilobytes) and RIGHT click. Select the "Save Link As" option (Netscape) or "Save Target As" (Internet Explorer). This begins the downloading of the PDF document to your computer. You'll be asked to designate where on your computer you wish to store it, and you can also change the name if you wish. Once the file download has been completed, use the Adobe Acrobat Reader to open and print the file at your leisure. (If you are unable to begin downloading, your computer security profile may prevent you from downloading off the Internet.)

You can simply left click on the file link, which opens up the Adobe Acrobat Reader for you to read the file on-line before deciding whether to download it. Usually this takes more time, especially if you decide then to save it to your computer anyway.

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Page last updated October 29, 1999


Copyright 1999 Beth Maddocks (Piece By Number)
All Rights Reserved
Permission is given to individuals to use patterns and designs for personal use only.
For other uses, please contact the author.