Canada Border Services Agency
Symbol of the Government of Canada
Skip to content | Skip to institutional links

Common menu bar links

Home > Publications and forms >

Institutional links

About PDF

General information
View and print
Download
Troubleshooting

General information

All forms on our Web site are available in Portable Document Format (.pdf). This means that if you have Adobe Acrobat Reader software you will be able to view, print, or download these documents.

The Reader is available free from the Adobe Systems Web site.

If you have any difficulty downloading the Reader, the Adobe site also offers customer support.

View and print

Once the Reader is installed on your computer, you just have to click on the hyperlink that leads to the .pdf file. Before printing, check the form's page size: some of them should be printed on legal-size paper (8.5" x 14").

The Adobe Reader indicates the page size -- along with the number of pages -- in the lower left-hand corner of your screen.

Once you've completed a form on-screen and verified its page size, select File and then Print in the Reader's menu.

  • This brings you to the print dialog box.
  • To change the paper size, click on Setup in the print dialog box.
  • To make the proper adjustments:
    • In Adobe Reader 4.05, the Fit to page check box must be selected.
    • In Adobe Reader 5.0, the Shrink oversized pages to paper size and Auto-rotate and center pages check boxes must be selected.

Download

Downloading a file will allow you to view and print a file without having to connect to the Internet or the CBSA site. Downloading allows you to have a copy of the form or publication permanently on your computer. There are two ways to download a .pdf file onto your own computer.

1. To download before opening the .pdf file:

Microsoft Internet Explorer
Right-click on the hyperlinked .pdf file name and select Save Target As. Save the file in the directory of your choice, then access it with your Reader.
Netscape
Right-click on the hyperlinked .pdf file name and select Save Link As. Save the file in the directory of your choice, then access it with your Reader.

2. To download after opening the .pdf file:

Acrobat Reader version 4.0

Microsoft Internet Explorer
In your Web browser's toolbar, select File and then Save As. Save the file in the directory of your choice, then access it with your Reader.
Netscape
In your Web browser's toolbar, select File and then Open page. In the menu box, select Choose file and save the file in the directory of your choice. Make sure the file specification says All types. Access the file with your Reader.

Acrobat Reader version 5.0

Microsoft Internet Explorer
In your Acrobat Reader's toolbar, click on the diskette icon. Save the file in the directory of your choice and then access it with your Reader.
Netscape
In your Acrobat Reader's toolbar, click on the diskette icon. Save the file in the directory of your choice and then access it with your Reader.

Troubleshooting

If you have tried to access a .pdf form or publication (i.e., the link you clicked had .pdf at the end of it) and it did not open, ensure you have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If this software is not installed on your computer, read the general information section to find out how to get a free copy.

If you use Adobe Acrobat Reader and you're having problems viewing, printing, or downloading .pdf files, you should modify your Reader preferences:

Acrobat Reader 4.0 Acrobat Reader 5.0
  1. Close your browser
  2. Open Acrobat Reader
  3. Select the File menu
  4. Select Preferences
  5. Select General
  6. In the Options part of this dialog box, make sure Web Browser Integration is not selected.
  1. Close your browser
  2. Open Acrobat Reader
  3. Select the Edit menu
  4. Select Preferences
  5. In the Options part of this dialog box, make sure Display PDF in Browser is not selected.

After you've followed these instructions, when you're using your browser and click on a hyperlink to a .pdf document, it will open in a separate window.

Note:

By removing the Web browser integration, you will no longer be able to link from your document to other items on the Internet. You will still be able to follow the internal document links.

If you've modified your Reader preferences but you're still having problems, you can download the .pdf file onto your own computer by following the download instructions.

Date Modified: 2004-02-02

Top of Page
Important Notices