Using Travel-Pix PDFs

For the benefit of people already familiar with PDFs, the quick hints are at the top of this page. 
The Introduction to PDFs follows them.

The "Save" Option

The Adobe Reader gives you the option of saving the PDF file to your hard disk.  This is optional but this can be important because the PDF files are large.

You may wish to save the file to disk:

-  If you have a slow connection and want to avoid ever having to download the file again,
   or if page-to-page performance is slow,

-  If you expect to be viewing the file repeatedly, or

-  If you prefer to view the file offline using the Adobe Reader, as described below.

Home Page      This page >      Top     Save Option     Ideal Setup     Intro to PDFs     Software     Bottom

Ideal Viewing Setup

Ideally ... pictures should occupy the whole monitor screen, without any other clutter.

Even if you temporarily hide any optional panes or toolbars, browser controls will still be taking up part of the screen.

You may not be fanatical about this, but if you would prefer to see just the photos:

-  Use the Adobe Reader to save the PDF file to your hard disk.

-  Save a bookmark so you can return to this site, and then close your browser.

-  Hide any operating system elements that insist on being visible all the time. 
   In Windows you can right click on the task bar and de-select "keep on top of other windows".

-  Go to the saved PDF file and double-click on it.

-  Maximize the Adobe Reader when it starts up.

-  Go to the "View" option in the Reader's menu bar and select "Full Screen Mode".

-  Use the ESC key to exit from Full Screen Mode.

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Introduction to PDFs

The Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) was specifically designed to work on a wide variety of computers with many different operating systems, and it does that extremely well.  The picture PDFs posted on this site will work whether you have a PC or a
Mac, and it won't matter which operating system, web browser, or version of the Adobe Reader you are using.  The Adobe Reader controls will allow you to move through the pictures easily and as quickly as you want, and to skip ahead if you wish.

The required software is almost certainly on your system already, but if not you can get it for free from Adobe as explained below.

When you click on the link to the PDF picture file your web browser will begin to retrieve the file.  You may see a blank white screen during the download. This will take either a few seconds or longer depending on the size of the file and the speed of your internet connection.  Download times range from 10 to 20 seconds on a high speed connection.

The PDF will open in your browser window, more or less as shown in the illustration below. 

When the download is complete you can move through the file easily using any of:
       -  PageUp and PageDn,
       -  any of the arrow keys, or
       -  the mouse buttons.

This default mode of operation is easy, and has only one drawback – any browser clutter around the edges of the pictures. 
You can eliminate some of it if you wish.

-  In the illustration above, the browser setup has the Windows "Favorites" bar permanently visible on the left side. 
   Depending on the geometry of your screen, you may be able to get a larger picture by closing the Favorites bar.

-  The Windows task bar in the above illustration doesn't have to be visible either. 
   Typically you can right click on the task bar and de-select "keep on top of other windows".

Use your browser's BACK button to return to the Travel-Pix destination page.

To Get or Update Adobe Reader Software

If your system does not have an Adobe Reader for viewing PDF files, or if you need an update, you can download one for free from the Adobe Reader page.

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