Downloading documents from the Internet

For Windows users, click with your right mouse button on the file link until a pop up menu appears. Choose "Save This Link As..." or "Save Target As..." from the pop up menu. A dialog box will appear. Choose where you would like the file saved, then click the "Save" button.

Windows files in OPI's site are provided in several formats that are widely used in the Windows community for online file distribution. Use the information in the following sections to determine how to open a file after downloading.

Opening .exe and .txt Files

To open a .exe or .txt file, double-click it. We recommend that you move each downloaded .exe (i.e., executable) file into its own folder before running it.

Opening PDF Files

To view a PDF file, open it in an Acrobat viewer (e.g., Acrobat Reader).

See Adobe's Web site at www.adobe.com for more information about the Adobe Acrobat product line.

Opening .zip Files

After downloading a .zip file, you can use the PKZip or WinZip utility to access the file's contents. For more information about PKZip, visit PKWare's Web site at www.pkware.com/shareware. For more information about WinZip, visit the WinZip's Web site at www.winzip.com.

Note: PKZip and WinZip are shareware utilities. If you use either utility regularly, you are obligated to pay a shareware fee to PKWare, Inc. (PKZip) or Nico Mak Computing, Inc. (WinZip). Read the license agreement that comes with the utility for more details.

For MacOS users, click and hold your mouse button down on the file link until a pop up menu appears. Choose "Save This Link As..." or "Download Link To Disk..." from the pop up menu. A dialog box will appear. Choose where you would like the file saved, then click the "Save" button. If given a choice, make sure to choose "Source" not "Text" in the "Format:" pop up menu in the dialog box.

Macintosh files in the OPI site are provided in several formats that are widely used in the Macintosh community for online file distribution. Use the information in the following sections to determine how to open a file after downloading.

Opening .sea and .txt Files

To open a .sea or .txt file, double-click it.

Opening PDF Files

To view a PDF file, open it in Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Exchange.

See the Adobe Web site at www.adobe.com for more information about the Adobe Acrobat product line.

Opening .bin, .sit, .sit.hqx, and .sea.hqx Files

After downloading a .bin, .sit, .sit.hqx, or .sea.hqx file, you can use StuffIt Expander or another utility to access the file's contents. StuffIt Expander is a free utility for accessing the contents of .bin, .sit, .sit.hqx, and .sea.hqx files. For more information about StuffIt Expander, visit the Aladdin Systems Web site at www.aladdinsys.com/expander/index.html.

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By default Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer browsers will save downloaded files to preset directories or folders. If you are using the MacOS, files will usually end up in either the same folder as the browser application or on the Desktop.

Windows users will usually find downloads in the C:\TEMP\ directory or you will be prompted as to where to save the download. However, this location can be specified in the preferences section of your browser. If you are not sure what directory or folder your downloads are being saved in, open up the preferences window in your browser and check the location.

Generally, the time of day should not be a factor when downloading files. However, there are so many variables that can ultimately affect the quality and length of the download process, you may not be successful on your first try. We recommend that if you are having difficulty downloading files during the day, try again in the evening or on the weekend. During these times, the traffic on the web site and the North American portion of the internet is usually lighter.

Chances are the file was not completely downloaded. This can occur when there is an interruption in the stream of data between our web server and your computer. Generally this happens when our site is extremely busy or the internet traffic is heavy. Try downloading the file again at another time. We are continually monitoring the performance of the web site to avoid overloading and to make sure that you will be able to download the files as needed. In a perfect world, internet connections would always be fast and downloads would always work the first time.

Your web browser is not set up correctly to handle the .hqx or .zip compressed file formats. Instead of saving the file to your hard drive, your web browser is reading the downloaded information as if it was raw text. Since the browser has not been set up to do anything specific with the download, it simply loads the information into a window. You will need to configure a helper application to either save the downloaded file to your hard drive or automatically decompress it. You can force most browsers to save the file directly to disk by pressing the option key (MacOS) or the alt key (Windows) when you click on the download link.

For information on configuring for spreadsheet files in Internet Explorer
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/help/miecfg.htm

For information on configuring helper applications in Netscape:
http://home.netscape.com/assist/helper_apps/shorthelper.html

For information on helper applications in general:
http://home.netscape.com/assist/helper_apps/

No. We are trying to encourage our customers to use the OPI web site as a resource. Sending you documents via e-mail or courier would defeat the purpose of the system we have in place to provide online delivery.

If you have difficulties accessing documents through the Internet, and must receive documents through traditional delivery channels, please contact the responsible OPI staff specialist.

If after all this, you are still having difficulties with a product or some part of the web site just doesn't make sense to you, please let us know.

You can call our Help Desk at 406-444-1626 between the hours 8 am and 5 pm MST Monday through Friday