Newsletter Help.
I test the newsletter right after putting the issue up. I also test on other computers and check with other users. If other users are able to access the newsletter normally, the newsletter or the website itself is not having a problem.
The newsletter is published in the PDF file format. In order to read the newsletter you must have a PDF reader installed on your computer. Most PDF readers will integrate into the browser so that the PDF file is displayed as a scrollable page in the browser.
For most users, when you click on the large image on the newsletter page, you are able to read the newsletter in your browser as if it were another webpage. Depending on how your PDF reader is installed or its capabilities, or your browser's capabilities, you may be prompted to save the newsletter file on your local computer. You would need to save the file in a known location that you would navigate back to in order to read the file using your PDF reader. It is surprising how many people save files to their computer then don't remember where they saved them when they need to retrieve them later (Windows browsers typically default to the last location saved to and generally start out saving to My Documents or the Desktop).
There are many types of links that you can click on in your web browser. Links on webpages are actually links to files. Most links are to other webpage files. When a link is clicked on while using your web browser, either the browser knows how to handle it or not. Whether it knows or not depends on the version of the browser, and which helper applications are installed to help out the browser. If the browser does not know how to handle a link, then it will prompt to save the file.
There are many other file types that a link can be for. A very common type of link is for an image file. Browsers work with PDF files in the same way they work with images, which you may be more familiar with. These days, browsers themselves know how to display common image files by itself. A few years back, your browser needed an external (or Third-Party) helper application. There are many image file types in use today. The modern browsers usually don't know how to display all image file types, but they can display common file types, such as JPEG. For other file types, your browser may be set to display the image for you or it will prompt you to save the image. It may also open a helper application to handle the image file for you. The same thing can happen with PDF files.
When you install a program on your computer, if it has the ability to also be a Browser Helper Object (BHO), then it will hook itself in to your browser so that your browser will know to ask it to handle the file type in the future. The install process that does this generally happens quietly, since most users aren't interested in all the details or want to be prompted with the many possible decisions made in a typical install. Since multiple applications could handle the same file type (images for example), then what happens when you click a link may change over time. One application may be the default image handler, then when you install another that can do the same things, then it might take over, all without ever asking the user if they would like the change. This is poor design on the developers part but it happens all the time. It especially happens with media file types (audio and video; in other words, especially affecting media players).
A very common type of link on webpages is for PDF files (such as our newsletter). When you click on the large newsletter image, what happens depends on your file association settings. The most common choice is to open the PDF file using a Browser Helper Object (BHO), which in most cases is Adobe Acrobat Reader (there are other PDF readers*). When you click on a PDF file link and the prompt to "Save the file" shows up, then you do not have a Browser Helper Object (BHO) set up to handle PDF files, at least properly. Therefore, the browser prompts to save the file. If the file was opened automatically in the past but now you are prompted to save the file, then your Browser Helper Object (BHO) settings have changed. This may be corrected by reinstalling the Browser Helper Object (BHO) (such as Adobe Acrobat Reader). The browser itself may get corrupted along the way so another handy thing to do is to start the uninstall of your browser in the Add/Remove Programs in your Control Panel. For Internet Explorer, it will have an option to "Repair" the install. Very often this cures problems you didn't even know you had. Other browsers do not have the "repair" option. In those cases, you need to uninstall the browser, then re-install the browser from scratch. Make sure you know where the source files are to re-install your browser, because if you uninstall it but do not know where the source files are on your computer, you cannot get to the web to download another one (because you just uninstalled your web browser). In this case, you need to get a browser setup file from another user on a CD. Most browser setup files are too large for e-mail, plus most e-mail client programs use the browser to display e-mail anyway. In other words, you can't depend on having someone send you the necessary files to re-install a browser.
In recent years, Adobe has become more aggressive with their Adobe Acrobat application. Starting with the 5.0 versions and later, they check to see if a newer version is available on their website each time the application starts up. If you click to update the application, it will update itself automatically. In most cases, this is a hindrance to the user because you are prepared to read a PDF file and now you have to be interrupted to update the Acrobat Reader application. A very common occurrence is that the user "starts" to do the update, then in frustration, kills the update. The next time they need the Acrobat Reader, it may not be correctly installed because it has some files from the previous install, and some files from the newer install. When that happens, your browser may not know how to handle a PDF file and therefore it will prompt to save the file instead.
Try updating your PDF file reader (most likely Adobe Acrobat Reader). If that doesn't solve the problem, if you are an Internet Explorer user, try to "repair" Internet Explorer. If that doesn't cure the problem, you may need to do a System Recovery. There are many other things that can mess up a perfectly working computer such as spyware, viruses, etc. A System Recovery CD is generally supplied with the computer when you purchase it. It will bring the computer back to how it left the store. In recent years, you have a choice of two types of System Recovery. One allows you to save your personal data. The original type totally formats your hard drive to guarantee that there isn't anything that can mess up the computer. Make sure you have any personal data copied off before doing this type of System Recovery. This should not ever be a problem because you should always back up any personal data just in case of a disaster.
I hope this has been informative and helpful.
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