How To Download and Install Adobe Reader
Beginners’ SIG – Nov. 9, 2006
Presented by Darrylin Coleman
To open a .PDF file you need Adobe Reader, a small, free program that you can download from the Internet. To see if Adobe Reader 7.0 is already installed on your computer, click Start >> All Programs, and look in your list of programs for Adobe Reader 7.0. If you find Adobe Reader 7.0 listed, the current version is installed on your computer.
This document will take you step-by-step through the process of downloading and installing Adobe Reader. In these instructions, click refers to a left-click and double-click refers to a double left-click.
1. Go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html This is the Adobe Reader Download page.
4. The Save As dialog box opens. Click the down-arrow at the end of the Save in box. From the drop-down menu that appears click on Desktop, and that location will now be displayed in the Save in box. (Note: You do not need to change anything that appears in the File name or the Save as type boxes.)
5. Click the Save button in the lower right-hand corner of the Save As dialog box. The Adobe Reader Installation program will now download to your Desktop.
6. The Download complete window opens; click Close. (Depending on your settings, this step may happen automatically.)
7. Close the Adobe Web page.
8. The Adobe Reader Installation icon appears on your Desktop. Check for viruses. Right-click the icon, and a context menu appears. Depending on your anti-virus program, click Scan with Norton AntiVirus (Norton), click Scan for Viruses (McAfee), or Scan with AVG (Grisoft). When the virus scan completes, click OK or Close.
9. At this time, be sure to close any programs you may have opened. [Note: For the Adobe Reader program installation, this simply means that there should be no open programs in your taskbar. It is not necessary to open Windows Task Manager and End Task on all running programs.]
10. Before you install Adobe Reader, disable your anti-virus program. To do this, locate the anti-virus icon in the System Tray, to the far right, on your Taskbar. Right-click the anti-virus icon. A menu appears. Click Disable Auto-Protect (Norton), Exit (McAfee) or Quit AVG Control Center (AVG). A red X on the icon in the System Tray indicates that your anti-virus program has been disabled.
11. Once you have disabled your anti-virus program, double-click the Adobe Reader Installation icon on your Desktop, and the installation will begin. The Adobe Reader Setup window opens. On the Open File Security box click on Run. Adobe Download Manager box appears, and the files begin downloading. (This takes several minutes.)
12. Click Next on the following two boxes. The Destination Folder window opens. Click Next to accept the default location of the program.
13. The Ready To Install window opens; click Install. On the Setup Completed window, click Finish.
14. The Adobe Reader program is now installed on your computer. [Click Start and then All Programs. On the All Programs menu, you will see the Adobe Reader icon.]
15. Delete the Adobe Reader Installation icon; right-click on the icon and then click Delete. The Confirm File Delete window opens; click YES. (You are deleting only the installation program, which you no longer need, since Adobe Reader is now installed on your computer.)
16. The installation program placed a shortcut to Adobe Reader on your Desktop. Since PDF files are opened by double-clicking the file, Adobe Reader will open automatically, and you do not need this shortcut icon. Right-click on the Adobe Reader shortcut icon. A context menu appears; click Delete. The Confirm File Delete window opens; click YES.
17. Finally, reboot your computer to enable your anti virus program.