Students working on campus have access to the software installed in the general access computer labs, such as Microsoft Word. Off-campus students may be using Word, WordPerfect, Microsoft Works or another word processing program. In addition to the program used to create the document, the version used can make a difference. For example, a Word document created with Word 97 or Word 2000 cannot be viewed with Word 95. Documents created in Word, PowerPoint and other programs will require the software or viewer in order to access the information.
Many products have viewers which can be downloaded free from the web.
A PDF file can be created from many programs, including Word and PowerPoint. Some programs provide a viewer or helper application, commonly referred to as a plug-in, that allows users without the program to access the file. These programs must be installed and properly configured before the student can access the information. The CNS Help Desk's website contains links to popular plug-ins. The installation instructions and requirements vary by plug-in.