Downloading files

General Information

In addition to the web pages on this site, which can be read online using your normal web browser, some resources are posted on the site in other file formats more appropriate to their use or content. These may require the use of additional software. Information on how to use these file types, together with links to sites where you can download the necessary software, is provided on this page. The presence of information about a file type on this page does not mean that it is neccessarily in use on the site at the present time.

PDF files   |    ZIP files   |   Word .doc files

PDF files

PDF files are used on this site for documents that you are likely to want to print out to read offline, for example long articles, and those where the formatting of the document is important, such as worksheets. Unlike web pages, which may display differently on different computers according to the users' exact system and settings, PDF files retain their original formatting across a range of platforms, ensuring that every copy of the document is the same. This means, for example, that we can ensure that page breaks appear at sensible points, and that the documents will print out on A4.

To use PDF files you will need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded free of charge from Adobe's web site. Follow the image link or the text link to download Acrobat Reader. It is a useful program to have on your computer as many web sites, including that of the DfES, use PDF files as the main media in which to distribute important documents.

To save PDF documents to your computer:
Either open the document by clicking on the appropriate link and then use the 'Save' command on the Acrobat Reader toolbar (not the one on the web browser toolbar or menu);
Or right click on the download link and choose 'Save Target As...' (in Internet Explorer) or 'Save Link As...' (in Netscape).

To print PDF files:
Print the file using the 'Print' option from the Acrobat Reader toolbar, not from the web browser menu or toolbar. Sometimes it is easier to first save the file, then open it from your hard drive directly into Acrobat Reader rather than within your web browser. Consult the Acrobat Reader help file for further information on what settings to choose for the best results.

ZIP files

Zip files (also known as compressed folders or archives) are files that have been shrunk in size to help to decrease download times. A zip file may comprise anything from a single file, a folder containing a number of files, or even a huge batch of folders and subfolders, each having many files inside.

If your PC is running a recent version of Microsoft Windows such as Me or XP, you will probably be able to open them automatically, without any further software. However, on older operating systems, such as Windows 98, you will need a utility program, such as pkunzip or WinZip. An evaluation version of WinZip can be downloaded free of charge from www.winzip.com, but be aware that you should license it if you want to continue using it once the evaluation period has run out, or you will be infringing copyright restrictions.

Mac users may be unable to open zip files. Please contact editorial@natsoc.c-of-e.org.uk if a file you need is available only in zip format, and you cannot open it. We may be able to provide you with a link to the full, uncompressed version of the file, though this will be a larger file and take longer to download.

Word .doc files

Microsoft Word files normally have the file extension .doc. A Word file can normally be read by any version of Word that is the same age or more recent than that in which it was created, and by some other current word processors. In general, .doc files that appear on this site will have been saved using either Word 97 or Word 2000, on a PC. If your software is of the same age or more recent, you should be able to use them. If you have older software, you might have some difficulty with the .doc files that we provide, especially with regard to heavily formatted documents such as tables. If you have trouble reading our .doc files, contact us at editorial@natsoc.c-of-e.org.uk as we may be able to email them to you in a different format, such as RTF.
Note: When opening .doc files from any site, if you receive a message asking whether you would like to enable or disable macros, you should choose to disable macros. This will help to protect your system from macro viruses.