What are plug-ins?
Plug-ins are software programs that extend the capabilities of web browsers in a specific way - giving you,
for example, the ability to play audio samples, watch streamed meetings using the RealPLayer plug-in and
view documents over the Web that look just as they do when created.
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF)
PDF is an acronym for "Portable Document Format." PDF is a file format created by Adobe that lets you view and
print a file exactly as the author designed it, without needing to have the same application or fonts used to
create the file.
Most documents on the City of Madison web site are published using Adobe's® Portable Document Format (PDF).
To display or print these documents, you must download the free Acrobat® Reader. The Acrobat® Reader allows you to
view, navigate, and print PDF documents. All PDF documents on the City of Madison's Web site are characterized
by the following example, (PDF 32KB), and is usually placed next to the document link. The plug-in is availble for free by going to: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Viewing Microsoft Word Documents
The City of Madison makes wide use of Microsoft Office in it's day to day operations.
Consequently, many documents on this web site are made available in the default Microsoft Office format.
A common solution for viewers without Microsoft Office software is to acquire and use a Word Viewer,
for viewing Microsoft Word documents. Word Viewer 2003 lets you open Word 2003 documents and documents created with all previous versions of Microsoft Word for Windows® and Microsoft Word for Macintosh. In addition to Word document files (.doc), you can also open files saved in the following formats:
- Rich Text Format (.rtf)
- Text (.txt)
- Web Page formats (.htm, .html, .mht, .mhtml)
- WordPerfect 5.x (.wpd)
- WordPerfect 6.x (.doc, .wpd)
- Works 6.0 (.wps)
- Works 7.0 (.wps)
- XML (.xml)
With Word Viewer 2003, you can view, print, and copy document contents to another program. However, you cannot edit an open document,
save a document, or create a new document. This download is a replacement for Word 97 Viewer and all previous Word Viewer versions. The view is available for free by going to: Mircosoft WordViewer 2003
Viewing Microsoft Excel Documents
With Excel Viewer 2003, you can open, view, and print Excel workbooks, even if you don't have Excel installed. You can also copy data from Excel Viewer 2003 to another program. However, you cannot edit data, save a workbook, or create a new workbook. This download is a replacement for Excel Viewer 97 and all previous Excel Viewer versions.
This is a freeware application and can be downloaded from this site by going to: Microsoft Excel Viewer 2003
Streaming Audio and Video
To listen to audio or watch videos on the City of Madison website, you'll need the Real Playerplug-ins.
The plug-in is available for free by going to: RealPlayer
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