The following article is taken from the Adobe Web Site:

What's Covered

Description of Adobe Acrobat Reader
Description of PDF
Description of Adobe Acrobat
Obtaining Acrobat Reader
Using Acrobat Reader
Acrobat Reader Support

Description of Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Acrobat Reader is free, and freely distributable, software that lets you view and print Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Acrobat Reader also lets you fill in and submit PDF forms online. Acrobat Reader is available for the following platforms:

- Mac OS
- Windows 95
- Windows 98
- Windows NT 3.51
- Windows NT 4.0
- Windows 3.1x
- OS/2
- UNIX: DEC Alpha
- UNIX: HP-UX
- UNIX: IBM AIX
- UNIX: Linux
- UNIX: SGI IRIX
- UNIX: Sun Solaris x86
- UNIX: Sun Solaris SPARC

Description of PDF
PDF is an acronym for "Portable Document Format." PDF is a file format created by Adobe that lets you view and print a file exactly as the author designed it, without needing to have the same application or fonts used to create the file. Since its introduction in 1993, PDF has become an Internet standard for electronic distribution that faithfully preserves the look and feel of the original document complete with fonts, colors, images, and layout.

Before the PDF file format existed, people exchanging electronic documents needed to have the same application and fonts used to create the documents to see them exactly the way they were designed. Now, you can create PDF files using Adobe Acrobat. (Note: Adobe Acrobat is not the same thing as Adobe Acrobat Reader. See the "Description of Adobe Acrobat" section below.) You can then deliver PDF files to your readers, and they can view and print them, exactly as you designed them, using free Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

Here is an example of a typical use for PDF files:

1. You create a document in any application on a computer that has Adobe Acrobat installed.
2. You create a PDF version of your document using Adobe Acrobat.
3. You distribute the PDF file. For example, you e-mail it, post it on a Web server, or copy it to a floppy disk or network server.
4. Your reader receives the PDF file. For example, the reader receives the file as an attachment via e-mail, downloads it from your Web site, or copies it from a floppy disk or network server to a computer.
5. With the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, your reader can view and print the PDF file, which looks and prints exactly as you saw it on your own computer. No additional applications, fonts, or files are needed.

The PDF file format offers many advantages, including:

- PDF files are compressed to produce smaller file sizes, which reduces file transfer time and required storage space.
- PDF files can link to text, graphic, sound, and movie files.
- PDF files can be indexed so that you can easily search their contents.
- PDF files can be duplicated and distributed at a lower cost than paper-based documents.
- PDF files have form features that enable you to create a form, which readers can fill out on-screen and submit electronically.
- With the proper Asian-language (i.e., Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese) font kits available for free from Adobe, your readers can use non-Asian language computers to view and print documents containing Asian-language characters.

For more details about the Adobe PDF file format, see About Adobe PDF on Adobe's Web site.

Description of Adobe Acrobat
Acrobat Reader enables you to view and print PDF files, but that is just a small part of what you can do with PDF. To create and enhance PDF files, you must purchase and use the Adobe Acrobat package.

The Adobe Acrobat package includes several applications that can make PDF a part of your everyday workflow: - Acrobat Distiller and Acrobat PDFWriter enable you to convert any document to PDF. - Acrobat Exchange 3.0x or Acrobat 4.0 (the application, rather than the package) enable you to enhance PDF files with navigational features (e.g., bookmarks or links), security features (e.g., password), and annotation features (e.g., underline or strikethrough). You can also use these applications to convert scanned paper documents to PDF, create PDF forms to gather data from your readers, and cut and paste text and tables to and from PDF files. - Acrobat Catalog enables you to index all of the text in your PDF files, so they're easily searchable.

For more information about the Adobe Acrobat package, see the Acrobat section of Adobe's Web site.

Obtaining Acrobat Reader
You can download a free copy of Acrobat Reader byfollowing the link below:

Acrobat Reader is freely distributable, so it may be available at other locations (e.g., local BBS sites). However, Adobe does not maintain a list of those locations.

You can also obtain Acrobat Reader on CD-ROM from Adobe Customer Services for a small shipping fee. To order the Acrobat Reader CD-ROM from within the United States or Canada, call Adobe Customer Services at 800-642-3623. To order from outside the United States or Canada, contact your local Adobe distributor.

Acrobat Reader is not available on floppy disk. However, the Acrobat Reader CD-ROM includes disk-based installers that you can copy and distribute.

Using Acrobat Reader
After installing Acrobat Reader, double-click a PDF file to start Acrobat Reader and view the file. Or you can start Acrobat Reader first, then choose File > Open to view a PDF file.

For more help using Acrobat Reader, choose Help > Acrobat Guide from within Acrobat Reader.

Acrobat Reader Support Options
If you encounter problems while downloading or installing Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Web site or FTP site, see Common Issues with Acrobat Reader or see document 314803, "Troubleshooting Problems When Downloading or Installing Acrobat Reader."

- Visit Acrobat Reader Top Issues on the Adobe Web site at www.adobe.com.

- Search the Customer Support Database on the Adobe Web site at www.adobe.com.

- See Adobe Acrobat Technical Guides on the Adobe Web site at www.adobe.com.

- Post a question in the Acrobat Reader forum on the Adobe Web site at www.adobe.com. An Adobe representative will respond by posting a follow-up message in the same forum thread.

- To obtain an index of available technical solutions documents, send an e-mail addressed to techdocs@adobe.com with "250099" in the Subject field.