About PDF Documents

Fire and Ice: Puritan and Reformed Writings
[Table of Contents] [Fast Index] [Site Map]

About PDF Documents

Table of Contents Page Back to Previous Page

Some of the sermons and longer articles from Fire and Ice are available as Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files. This page is to answer some common questions about these files.

Why Acrobat? Acrobat is the name of a program by Adobe that creates files in Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF files are electronic documents that can be read on any computer platform using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Using the Reader, PDF files are convenient for reading, printing, and giving to friends the sermons on Fire and Ice.
Also, PDF files are smaller than HTML files, so they will download faster than their HTML counterparts.

How do I view PDF files?
First, you install the free reader. Then, if you have Netscape 3.0 or higher, or Internet Explorer 3.0 or higher, clicking on a PDF link will automatically open the reader inside your browser. The PDF file will open to the first page all by itself, and you can read through it a page at a time.
To read the files offline, you can double-click on them, or drag-and-drop them onto the reader.

How do I get a reader?
The free Acrobat Reader may be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/. It is also available on AOL, Compuserve, and many other places. Often the Reader may be found on those "Internet Shareware" CD's that are found everywhere. For UK readers, the Acrobat Reader is found in every issue of PC Pro Magazine's coverdisks.

How do I download PDF files to read them later?
This is a question that sounds silly at first, but it is a very good question. Most things, such as the zipped Word documents, are downloaded by left-clicking on a link. A dialog box then appears, asking you where to save it on your disk. This does not happen with PDF documents, because the browser assumes you wish to read the file online, using the Reader inside the browser window.
To save the file to disk for reading and printing later, you need to right-click on the link. You should then select "Save Target As..." (IE) or "Save link as..." (NS) to save the file to disk. Alternatively, in some browsers you can left-click while holding down the shift key.

How do I print PDF documents?

PDF documents print from the Reader just like word processor documents. Because they are platform-independent and the fonts are embedded in the document itself, you should have no printing problems. The margins are set so that both US and A4 paper sizes will work.
There are third party plug-ins available for the Acrobat Reader to allow different methods of printing, such as "two up," duplex, and so on. Visit the Adobe web page for more information.
You can also select, copy, and search the text in PDF files using the Reader. There are plug-ins for other enhancements as well.

I tried the Acrobat Reader from my Christian Library CD, and it wouldn't open your sermons.
The sermons on Fire and Ice are in Acrobat 3.0 format. This format allows for smaller file sizes and font embedding. Unfortunately, readers distributed some time ago on those CDs will not read the new format. You will need to download a new reader from Adobe.

Why is the type grey in PDF documents?
The text looks grey because by default the Acrobat Reader has font smoothing turned on. You can turn it off by clicking on File, Preferences, General, and then unchecking the "Font Smoothing" box.

Can PDF files have macro viruses like Word documents?
No.

Why should I use PDF documents?
Because having the ink on paper is the next best thing to being there.

PDF Index An index of all the Adobe Acrobat files on Fire and Ice. Also available as a PDF file. Download the PDF version to your computer, put in the same folder as your other PDF's from Fire and Ice, and now they're all organized and easy to find.
Suggestion: download the PDF version of the index and put a shortcut to it on your desktop. Now you can open your favorite sermons in only two clicks!

About Word documents

Table of Contents	Main Page	Quote of the Week
History & Biography	Poetry	If You're Looking For...
New & Favourite	Reformed Links	Fast Index

http://www.puritansermons.com/

Why Acrobat?	Acrobat is the name of a program by Adobe that creates files in Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF files are electronic documents that can be read on any computer platform using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Using the Reader, PDF files are convenient for reading, printing, and giving to friends the sermons on Fire and Ice. Also, PDF files are smaller than HTML files, so they will download faster than their HTML counterparts.
How do I view PDF files?	First, you install the free reader. Then, if you have Netscape 3.0 or higher, or Internet Explorer 3.0 or higher, clicking on a PDF link will automatically open the reader inside your browser. The PDF file will open to the first page all by itself, and you can read through it a page at a time. To read the files offline, you can double-click on them, or drag-and-drop them onto the reader.
How do I get a reader?	The free Acrobat Reader may be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/. It is also available on AOL, Compuserve, and many other places. Often the Reader may be found on those "Internet Shareware" CD's that are found everywhere. For UK readers, the Acrobat Reader is found in every issue of PC Pro Magazine's coverdisks.
How do I download PDF files to read them later?	This is a question that sounds silly at first, but it is a very good question. Most things, such as the zipped Word documents, are downloaded by left-clicking on a link. A dialog box then appears, asking you where to save it on your disk. This does not happen with PDF documents, because the browser assumes you wish to read the file online, using the Reader inside the browser window. To save the file to disk for reading and printing later, you need to right-click on the link. You should then select "Save Target As..." (IE) or "Save link as..." (NS) to save the file to disk. Alternatively, in some browsers you can left-click while holding down the shift key.
How do I print PDF documents?	PDF documents print from the Reader just like word processor documents. Because they are platform-independent and the fonts are embedded in the document itself, you should have no printing problems. The margins are set so that both US and A4 paper sizes will work. There are third party plug-ins available for the Acrobat Reader to allow different methods of printing, such as "two up," duplex, and so on. Visit the Adobe web page for more information. You can also select, copy, and search the text in PDF files using the Reader. There are plug-ins for other enhancements as well.
I tried the Acrobat Reader from my Christian Library CD, and it wouldn't open your sermons.	The sermons on Fire and Ice are in Acrobat 3.0 format. This format allows for smaller file sizes and font embedding. Unfortunately, readers distributed some time ago on those CDs will not read the new format. You will need to download a new reader from Adobe.
Why is the type grey in PDF documents?	The text looks grey because by default the Acrobat Reader has font smoothing turned on. You can turn it off by clicking on File, Preferences, General, and then unchecking the "Font Smoothing" box.
Can PDF files have macro viruses like Word documents?	No.
Why should I use PDF documents?	Because having the ink on paper is the next best thing to being there.