Rules and procedures

CASA documents on CD – Advice for Mac users

The CASA CD-ROM document library is compatible with Apple Macs but some users may experience problems.

The problem

On a Mac running any version of Mac OS X with normal set up, PDF documents open in a program called Preview by default. Preview has lots of advantages over Adobe Reader, fast launch times being just one. Unfortunately, one thing it cannot do is handle cross-document links, where a link on a page takes you to a different document. The CASA CD is dependant on these links for its basic functionality.

This means that links on the CD simply do nothing if the files are opened in Preview

The solution

You need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed

Look for Acrobat Reader or Adobe Reader in your applications folder if you are not sure. If you do not have it installed, there is an installer for Acrobat Reader 6 on the CD.

Open the 'start.pdf' file with Acrobat Reader

There are two simple ways to do this:

• Option-click or Right-click on 'Start.pdf'. On the menu that appears, go to Open with and select Acrobat Reader from the list of applications.
• Or: Find Acrobat Reader ( or Adobe Reader) in your Applications folder. It will be inside a folder of the same name. Drag the application into your Dock. Now, whenever you want to open a PDF file in Acrobat, drag the file to this icon in the Dock to have it open in Reader rather than Preview.

Alternatively, make all PDF files open in Reader by default

• Option-click or Right-click on 'Start.pdf'. On the menu that appears, choose Get Info
• In the 'Get Info' window, There is an item 'Open with'. Choose Acrobat Reader ( or Adobe Reader) from the menu below. You will be told that you can't change the file on the CD, do you want to change all files of this type to open in Reader? Choose 'Continue'.
• Close the 'Get info' window.
• From now on, double-clicking on a PDF will always open Adobe Reader rather than Preview.