Configuring Netscape Navigator for Mac OS to Display PDF Files
What's Covered
Using the PDFViewer Plug-in
Configuring Navigator 2.x or 3.x to Use Acrobat as a Helper Application
Configuring Navigator 4.x to Use Acrobat as a Helper Application
Downloading a PDF File to Your Hard Drive
You can display PDF files within Netscape Navigator 2.x or later using Adobe Acrobat's PDFViewer plug-in, or by using an Acrobat 3.0 or later viewer as a helper application. When you use the PDFViewer plug-in, Navigator displays PDF files within its browser window. When Navigator uses an Acrobat viewer as a helper application, PDF files appear in the Acrobat viewer window outside of the browser window.
Adobe recommends you use Navigator 3.0 or later, which supports Acrobat 3.0 and later features such as byteserving (page-at-a-time downloading) and online form submission.
Using the PDFViewer Plug-In
When you install an Acrobat viewer on a computer that has Navigator 2.x or 3.x installed, the Acrobat installer automatically copies the PDFViewer plug-in file into the Netscape Navigator:Plug-ins folder. When you're using Navigator 4.x, which is included with Netscape Communicator, the Acrobat installer places the PDFViewer plug-in file into the Acrobat:Web Browser Plug-in folder. You'll need to move the PDFViewer plug-in file from the Acrobat:Web Browser Plug-in folder into the Netscape Navigator:Plug-ins or Netscape Communicator:Plug-ins folder.
If you select a PDF file in the browser while the plug-in is installed, the file will download to Navigator's Temp folder, and then Navigator will use your Acrobat viewer to display the file within the browser window.
If a PDF file you select does not display within the browser window, do one or more of the following:
-- Use Navigator 3.0 or later.
-- Make sure the PDFViewer plug-in is in the Netscape Navigator:Plug-ins or Netscape Communicator:Plug-ins folder. If it is not, copy it into that folder from the Acrobat:Web Browser Plug-in folder.
-- Deselect Acrobat as a helper application in Navigator 3.x or later:
1. Open Navigator and choose Options > General Preferences (Navigator 3.x) or Edit > Preferences (Navigator 4.x).
2. In the Preferences dialog box, click the Helpers tab (Navigator 3.x) or Applications in the left pane (Navigator 4.x).
3. Select "application/pdf," "Portable Document Format," or "Reader" from the Description list or the Handled By list.
4. Click Delete.
5. Repeat steps 3 - 4 for each reference to Acrobat or PDF files.
6. Click OK to close the Preferences dialog box and then restart Navigator.
Configuring Navigator 2.x or 3.x to Use Acrobat as a Helper Application
When you configure Navigator 2.x or 3.x to use your Acrobat viewer as a helper application, Navigator starts your Acrobat viewer, then displays PDF files in the Acrobat viewer window.
To configure Navigator 3.x to use Acrobat as a helper application:
1. If the PDFViewer plug-in is installed, quit Navigator and remove the PDFViewer plug-in from the Netscape Navigator:Plug-ins or Netscape Communicator:Plug-ins folder.
2. Start Navigator.
3. Choose Options > General Preferences.
4. In the Preferences dialog box, click the Helpers tab.
5. Do either of the following:
- If "Portable Document Format" is listed in the Description section, select it, click Edit, and then go to step 9.
- If "Portable Document Format" is not listed, click New, and then go to step 6.
6. Type "Portable Document Format" in the Description text box.
7. Type "application/pdf" in the MIME Type text box.
8. Type "pdf" in the Suffixes text box.
9. Select Application in the Handled By section.
10. Click Browse.
11. Locate and select your Acrobat viewer's application file, then click Open.
12. Choose PDF from the File Type pop-up menu, then click OK.
13. Restart Navigator.
To configure Navigator 2.x to use Acrobat as a helper application:
1. If the PDFViewer plug-in is installed, quit Navigator and remove the PDFViewer plug-in from the Netscape Navigator:Plug-ins or Netscape Communicator:Plug-ins folder.
2. Start Navigator.
3. Choose Options > General Preferences, then select Helpers.
4. Do either of the following:
- If "Portable Document Format" is listed in the Description section, select it and click Edit and then go to step 8.
- If "Portable Document Format" is not listed, click New.
5. Type "application" in the MIME Type text box.
6. Type "pdf" in the MIME Subtype text box, then click OK.
7. Type "pdf" in the Extensions: text box.
8. Click Browse.
9. Locate and select your Acrobat viewer's application file, then click Open.
10. Choose "PDF" from the File Type pop-up menu.
11. Click Launch Application, then click OK.
12. Choose Options > Save Options.
13. Restart Navigator.
Configuring Navigator 4.x to Use Acrobat as a Helper Application
After you've moved the PDFViewer plug-in file from the Acrobat:Web Browser Plug-in folder into the Netscape Navigator:Plug-ins folder or Netscape Communicator:Plug-ins, Navigator 4.x automatically uses the plug-in to display PDF files. When you configure Navigator, you can specify whether it will continue to use the PDFViewer plug-in or use Acrobat as a helper application.
To configure Navigator 4.x to use the PDFViewer plug-in or use Acrobat as a helper application:
1. If you haven't already moved the PDFViewer plug-in from the Acrobat:Web Browser Plug-in folder into the Netscape Navigator:Plug-ins or Netscape Communicator:Plug-ins folder, quit Navigator 4.x and then move the plug-in.
2. Start Navigator.
3. Choose Edit > Preferences.
4. In the left pane, select Navigator, then select Applications.
5. Click New.
6. Select "Portable Document Format" in the Applications list, then click Edit.
7. The Edit Type dialog box should list PDFViewer as the plug-in in the Handled By section. It also lists the Description as "Portable Document Format", the MIME Type as "application/pdf", and the Suffixes as "pdf." If you want to continue using the PDFViewer plug-in, click OK, then move to step 10. If you want to use Acrobat as a helper application, select the Application radio button, then click Choose.
8. Locate your Acrobat viewer's application file on your hard drive, then click Open.
9. Choose PDF from the File Type pop-up menu.
10. Click OK to close the Edit Type dialog box.
If you want to switch between using the PDFViewer plug-in and using Acrobat as a helper application, you can select either the Plug-in radio button or the Application radio button in the Edit Type dialog box.
Downloading a PDF File to Your Hard Drive
After you download a PDF file to your hard drive, you can copy text, distribute the file, or save the file to a disk.
To download a PDF file from a link:
1. Position the mouse cursor on the link to a PDF file, hold the mouse button down, then choose Save This Link As from the pop-up menu.
2. In the Save As dialog box, select a location on your hard disk, then click Save.
To download an open PDF file:
1. Choose File > Save As.
2. In the Save As dialog box, select a location on your hard disk, then click Save.
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