The District 20 Trumpet on the Web

For the computer user who only does e-mail

Adobe Reader: To read the Trumpet on the District 20 Web site you will need to have Acrobat Reader on your computer (it now seems to be called Adobe Reader). Here is how to get that program. (Get yourself a drink - this is going to take a while.) Open your Web browser (probably Internet Explorer) and type in http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. in the slot at the top. (Whenever nothing happens, hit Enter.)

The Download: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and choose a Language - English, then your “Platform”, which apparently refers to your operating system eg. Windows 98. (If you don’t know what yours is, choose any one that sounds familiar or call for help from a grandchild.)

Then Connection, dial-up or broadband. (If you don’t know this either it’s probably dial-up.) You probably want to uncheck all the other little boxes inviting you to download other stuff - isn’t this enough already? Then click on Continue.

Are we there yet? Dream on. We’re on a new page that they really want you to read because it’s easy to miss a little red oval button top left that says Download.

Ah, action.

A new window that says: Do you want to run or save this file?

“Well, how the heck do I know?”  (If you find yourself talking to computers, join the club.)

You will notice the file has a ridiculously long name, AdbeRdr70_DLM_enu_full.exe, but it’s probably a good idea to jot it down as these things can burrow into some obscure directory never to be seen again. Click on Save. Now it asks you where you want to save it. It may suggest TEMP. That’s OK but you may want to use Desktop instead. It can’t hide from you there. Use the arrow thingy on the right to find the list within that little slot and select Desktop.

Now go to your desktop and click on the new Icon there - it says AdbeRd...

At last! The download begins. Have another drink; this will take some time. After a while - the program does have the grace to tell you what percentage of the program has arrived - the hard drive will spring into furious action, rattling away to indicate it is crunching numbers at enormous speed, and a Setup window will arrive on your screen.

The Installation: This is the easy part. You don’t have to do much more than press Next, Next, Next, Install and Finish.

Go back to your desktop. That little icon called AdbeRd... can be deleted (right click and select Delete). It has done it’s job and unpacked Adobe Reader which should have it’s own little icon on your desktop. You can forget about it. It will open automatically if you ever click on a file which ends in .pdf (portable document file) including the District 20 Trumpet. If you want to practice, go now to your Web browser and type in members.aol.com/dist20.

Action! When you click on March/April D20 Trumpet, Acrobat Reader will automatically open. There are some nifty little tools horizontally along the top of the page. The Zoom Tool, with a + sign, is handy for enlarging. There is a search tool if you are looking for your name.

You can print on to ordinary letter paper but the pages are condensed. Legal size paper produces a larger and more readable print. (Be sure to tell the printer that the paper size is legal, under Properties or Setup or some such.) If you want to print just one page, use the Print Tool or go to File, then Print. Then choose a Range eg 1-1 for just the first page or 10-12 for those three pages.

Good luck!

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