PDF files thus maintain the look and printability of the original document, including layout, fonts, colors, and pictures. This, as you can imagine, is extremely useful for distributing brochures, pamphlets, large reports, etc through the Web. Adobe Acrobat Reader is the software which is required to be able to open and view a document created in the .PDF, or portable document format. Such documents cannot be opened in WordPerfect, Word, Excel, or any other type of software except the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Adobe Systems, Inc., makes Adobe Acrobat Reader available for free.
Complete instructions are available at the Web address given above.
Once properly installed, when you click on a link to a pdf file, your Web browser will automatically launch the Acrobat Reader software and display the PDF file for you to read, or print.