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If you haven't downloaded and installed programs from the Internet before,
you might be a little worried about trying it.
We'll talk you through it. It's really easy and, hey, what's the worst
that can happen? Well sure, you could blow up your computer, but that
hardly ever happens.
The free Adobe Reader is a very handy program because it allows you
to view what are called "pdf" files or "portable document
format." These files can look exactly like the original document
when they're downloaded and printed, even though your computer doesn't
have the program or typefaces the document was created with. You'll encounter
pdf files all over the Web, so it'll be handy to have, not just for AYC
stuff, but for lots of others as well.
Here we go. You might want to print this page so you don't have to keep
switching back and forth between windows.
1. Click on the Adobe graphic: 
2. Fill in the blanks. Pick your "platform," which means the
version of either the Windows or Macintosh operating system you have on
your computer. If you don't know which Windows system you have, you can
find the information in your computer's "help" section.
3. Put in your name and e-mail. Adobe's an excellent company and won't
spam you, so go ahead. (If you maintain a spam account someplace, such
as Hotmail, by all means use it.) Click the boxes asking them to send
you things only if you like getting such stuff.
4. Look at Step 3 on the screen. If you've put in your "platform"
information, Step 3 will tell you how big the file is that you're about
to download. It looks like it varies from 700Kb on a Mac OSX to 8.6Mb
on most recent Windows systems. If you're downloading using a regular
phone line 8.6Mb is a pretty big file. Download this when you can walk
away from the computer and leave it running for a long time. At least
one hour.
5. Click on "Download." Pick a place to save it or make a
note of where your computer plans to save it. You'll need to find the
program after you've downloaded it. Adobe suggests putting it in a file
folder. You might put the file folder on the desktop, because it's easy
to find there. Then tell it to download.
6. Time passes.
7. Find the downloaded file. Double click on the file. It will suggest
where to put it and you'll probably just want to accept its suggestion.
8. After it installs, you might need to restart your computer. Go to
the AYC site and try opening one of our PDF files. If it works, congratulations!
You can delete the download folder and file now. If it doesn't, you'll
need help from point 9 below.
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