What is PDF and Why Does The United Church Use It?

(this information is adapted from information sent from the webmasters at www.united-church.ca)

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format that preserves pages as they were designed in a desktop publishing application. Many documents on our website are available ONLY in PDF. This includes forms, legal documents, large documents (i.e. lots of pages), and documents originally designed for print.

You can view PDF documents in almost any Web browser. All you need is the Adobe Reader plug-in. All PDF documents on our website are compatible with Adobe Reader version 5 or later; however, we highly recommend updating to the most recent version available for your operating system. The reader, a free application distributed by Adobe Systems, can be downloaded from www.adobe.com for Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Error messages and notes

When opening a PDF file, you may receive a notice stating "The file may contain newer information that this viewer can support.  It may not open or display correctly...." If this happens, simply click "OK" and the document should open correctly and appear as usual.  You may also wish to select the "Do not show this message again" option box.

Users outside church house may also receive a message stating the page you are viewing requires "ActiveX" or contains "active content". Please "Allow" this feature, as it is required for the Adobe Reader to function correctly.

Note: You should only allow ActiveX when you are downloading a PDF file. For other instances you should select "No" if asked to enable ActiveX to ensure you do not compromise your computer's security.

If you are not prompted with this question, and Adobe Reader does not automatically launch when you click on a link for a PDF file, please ensure that ActiveX is set to "allow" or "prompt" in your browser's Internet options (usually found under the "Tools" menu).

A note to dial-up users

In some cases, especially with larger documents, users with slower Internet connections may initially see a blank page once Adobe Reader loads.  If this happens, please wait for a few minutes before closing the program or hitting the "Back" button, as the file may simply require a few minutes to completely download.

If you continue to experience difficulty with files from www.sk.united-church.ca, please email the webweavers.