Help with Opening and Printing PDF Files
- Frequently Asked Questions -
Definitions
Q: What is HTML? What is
PDF?
A: HTML (HyperText Markup
Language) refers to the programming language used to create most web pages.
When you open Netscape or Internet Explorer to view our site on the web, you
are looking at a page that was created using HTML. While you can
print that page on most printers, web pages are not designed with printing
in mind; for example; you cant control the page breaks, and the pages
might be too wide for an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.
Each PDF (Adobe® Portable Document Format)
file on our site is almost like a picture or photo of the original
report. These are files that were created from a document that was
specifically meant to be printed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. These files
can easily be saved to your hard drive or to a disk or CD and reopened
later, with no change to the appearance. To open these files, we
recommend that you use the most current version of Acrobat Reader,
available as a free download from Adobe.
Opening Files
Q: This is taking way too
long! The internet shouldnt take more than a few seconds to run something.
How can I make this work faster?
A: The procedure for creating
either HTML or PDF files does take time, because these files are created on
the fly. That is, reports are not stored in memory on a server, rather,
each report or group of reports is generated dynamically from a common database.
For AEIS reports, especially printing all campuses, you may be faced with
a wait of a minute or more. For individual Accountability Data Tables, Campus
Group reports, or School Report Cards (SRC) the wait should be brief. Please
note that once you open a PDF file, it is simple to copy on to your hard
drive. It will then open very quickly. (See Saving Files below.)
Q: I waited for a long time
for my AEIS reports to open and got an error message. What happened?
A: This happened because
the file took too much time to load and your system "timed out."
Although we have greatly improved the download speed on our end, we know that
some internet connections may still have problems in downloading large numbers
of campus reports. Try to access your AEIS reports by thirds (the second,
third, and fourth choices under 1.C).
If problems persist, contact us at Performance
Reporting, and we will send you your reports by email, or we will print
them and send you the printed copies.
Saving Files
Q: How do I save a PDF file?
A: Adobe Acrobat allows
the user to easily copy a PDF file to a hard drive or removable disk. Simply
click on the disk icon on the screen, usually in the upper left
corner. (See diagram.)

(Click
here to download this diagram as a printable PDF.)
Printing Files
Q: I printed an AEIS report
and the right columns are cut off. How do I get it to print all the columns
on one page?
A:
If you have correctly opened an AEIS PDF file, it should automatically print
landscape or wide. If it does not, go to your print menu and select
landscape orientation. (The exact location of the landscape selection
for printing from your computer varies by operating system as well as by printer
type.)
Q: I successfully printed
the PDF version, but bits of the type were cut off around all edges. How do
I get it to print a little smaller?
A: Some printers need a
wider margin than what the PDF file offers. In your print menu, you should
have an option to shrink to fit or scale to fit. Many
printers also allow the user to reduce the size to a certain percent, such
as 90%.
Blank Screen
Q: I went through all the
steps and waited, but what opened was a BLANK screen. Wheres the report?
A: We have noticed this
problem sometimes occurs, especially with Internet Explorer. It may be that
you need to update your Adobe® Acrobat Reader. These updates are free,
available from Adobe.
You may also try clicking
on “Refresh” or “Reload” once your browser has completed
downloading. If it still does not come up, try searching for the district
or campus by number or county. You may also consider using a different internet
browser, such as Netscape or Firefox to open the report.
If you are still having problems, contact us at performance.reporting@tea.state.tx.us,
and we will send you your reports by email, or we will print them
and send you the printed copies.
File Won't Open
Q: I have tried
to open a PDF version of the AEIS reports, but have been unsuccessful. My
PC appears to save a copy of the file, but then when it tries to open it,
the message I get is: "There is no viewer available for the type of object
you are trying to open."
A: Your computer may be downloading and saving the file without
its ".pdf"
suffix. PCs need that suffix in order to know what application
to use in opening the file. If that is the case, save the file
to your hard drive and rename it, adding .pdf to the end. The PC
should then be able to open it.
Small Image
Q: I opened a report for
my district, but the image on my screen is too small for me to read. Do I
have to print it in order to be able to look at it?
A: No, Adobe Acrobat allows
the viewer to zoom in easily. Here are a few tips:
- Close the left frame (the one
that says bookmarks or thumbnails), by clicking
on the double-arrow button at the bottom of the screen (see diagram above).
This allows the report to span the width of your screen.
- Click on the show actual
size button. This displays the report at 100%.
- If 100% is not big enough,
select the zoom tool (which looks like a magnifying glass). Each time you
click on the report with the zoom tool, it gets incrementally larger.
Report Size
Q: I just printed the AEIS
reports for my district and ended up with 300 pages! Cant you warn us
about how many pages are in this file?
A: Adobe Acrobat shows
how many pages are in your file (see diagram above).
It also lets you know what page you are on, e.g. page 1 of 300.
Blank Pages
Q: The download of all AEIS
campus reports gave me several blank pages. What happened? Is there supposed
to be data on those?
A: To allow for double-sided
printing, a blank page has been intentionally added after every cover sheet
and at the end of every campus AEIS and SRC report that ends in an odd number.
If you prefer to print your reports single-sided, these blank pages can be
discarded.
Printing a Single
Campus Report
Q: I downloaded and saved
the PDF for all campuses. I dont want to have to print everything if
I only need one campus. How can I tell which pages are for a specific high
school?
A: The schools are arranged in campus ID number order (typically,
high schools first, then middle schools, then elementary). You can
scroll through the file to see what the first page is for a school
and the last page, then send only those pages to print. You may
also use the binocular icon to search for a particular school by
name. (See the diagram above to see where page numbers are shown
on the Acrobat Reader screen.) Also, the Performance Reporting website
(at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/)
has campus searches of individual schools.
* * *
If problems persist, contact us
at Performance Reporting, and we will
send you your reports by email, or we will print them and send you the printed
copies.
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