Downloading Files
The files available for download in the extranet pages are in a variety of formats. The following notes detail the file types and the software required to open them. Select from the links below.
Adobe PDF - Microsoft Excel - Microsoft Word - ZIP file
Adobe PDF documents
Adobe's portable document format files have the .pdf extension and allow information from any software application to be viewed on any computer system without the possibility of information being lost or altered.
Adobe provide a free PDF file reader application called Adobe Reader. This can be downloaded from the Adobe website.
Microsoft Excel files
Microsoft Excel is one of the most widely used spreadsheet applications on the market. Excel files have the .xls extension, but Excel can also open a number of other file types including comma separated value files (.csv) and plain text files (.txt).
If you do not have Microsoft Excel, you can view and print Excel files using the Microsoft Excel Viewer 2003. This can be downloaded from the Microsoft website (open in new window).
If you need to edit data, save a spreadsheet or create a new one, there is an open source alternative available in the Calc application within the Open Office suite of office applications. Being open source, Open Office is free to download, use and distribute. It is compatible with all other major office suites.
For more information and to download the software, visit the Open Office website (opens in new window).
Microsoft Word files
Microsoft Word is one of the most widely used word processing applications on the market. Word files have the .doc extension, but Word can also open a number of other file types including plain text files (.txt), rich text files (.rtf) and web pages (.htm or .html).
If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can view and print Word files using the Microsoft Word Viewer 2003. This can be downloaded from the Microsoft website (open in new window).
If you need to edit text, save a document or create a new one, there is an open source alternative available in the Writer application within the Open Office suite of office applications. Being open source, Open Office is free to download, use and distribute. It is compatible with all other major office suites.
For more information and to download the software, visit the Open Office website (opens in new window).
ZIP files
The ZIP file format is a popular lossless data compression and archival format. A ZIP file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce their file size, or stored as-is. ZIP files generally use the file extensions .zip.
A wide selection of applications are now available to create, modify, or open (unzip, decompress) ZIP files, notably WinZip, WinRAR or 7-Zip.
If you would like to open a ZIP file, download it onto your computer by right clicking the link and selecting 'save target as....'.
Other queriesIf you have any questions about downloading files from the extranet or the software required to open them, please email the website administrator.