Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free plug-in (an add-on software program) that allows you to to read and print Adobe PDF files.

The PDF files on this website include the handbook, the handbook forms, sheet music, clinicians' rehearsal notes, (there are links to AMEA application forms, which are PDFs); anything that exists as a document created by a specific kind of software such as Microsoft Word or Finale.

The advantage of PDF is that it captures exactly what the document looks like (PDF files are somewhat like picture files) and transfers it over the internet without any changes in font, loss of images, etc. The user need not have the software on his/her computer that created the file.

PDF files are created with Adobe Acrobat Professional software (not free) which import files or scans and convert them to PDF.

To get Adobe Reader,

1. go to adobe.com,
2. download Adobe Reader (follow instructions on Adobe website; Adobe Reader 7.0.8 is the latest version as of September 2006)
3. run it to install it (double-click its icon and follow the instructions)

After it is installed on your computer, you don't have to do anything...Adobe Reader automatically opens a PDF file when you click on a link to the file.