This website contains a number of different types of files to download and it is recognised that some visitors may not have the necessary software and therefore experience difficulties in viewing them.

This page includes links so that you can download and install the following free software in order to view the files on this website:

The file formats include:

Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf)

PDF files are used for viewing, printing and presenting scanned information, images and forms.

To view a PDF file, you will need to have either Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader installed on your computer. If you do not have the necessary software installed, you can download Adobe Reader free of charge from the Adobe website.

Rich Text Format (.rtf)
Rich Text Formats are an alternative to Microsoft Word documents and PDF files for displaying textual information.
To view an RTF file you can use any textual viewer including, Microsoft Word, Wordpad or Notepad. If you do not have the necessary software installed, you can download Microsoft Word Viewer free of charge from the Microsoft Website.

Get Microsoft Word Viewer

Word (.doc) Documents
Word documents are used for displaying textual information, pictures, tables, graphs, mail merges, and HTML..
To view a Microsoft Word file, you need to have Microsoft Word or Word Viewer installed on the computer. If you do not have the necessary software installed, you can download Microsoft Word Viewer free of charge from the Microsoft Website.

Get Microsoft Word Viewer

Excel (.xls)
Excel files are used for displaying data in workbooks, worksheets, tables, forms, maps, lists, charts/graphs and statistical data.

To view a Microsoft Excel file, you need to have Microsoft Excel or Excel Viewer installed on the computer. If you do not have the necessary software installed, you can download Microsoft Excel Viewer free of charge from the Microsoft Website.

Get Microsoft Excel Viewer

PowerPoint (.ppt)
PowerPoint files are used for displaying slides, note pages, handouts, presentations and electronic slideshows.

To view a PowerPoint file you must have Microsoft PowerPoint installed on your computer.  If you do not have the necessary software installed, you can download Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer free of charge from the Microsoft Website.

Get Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer

Design Web Format (.dwf)
Autodesk Design Web Format files are used for communicating design information to anyone needing to view, review, or print designs.

To view a DWF File, you need to have the Autodesk software or Viewer installed on the computer. If you do not have the necessary software installed, you can download Autodesk DWF Viewer free of charge from the Autodesk website.

Get Autodesk DWF Viewer

Zip (.zip)
Zip files are used to store files together as well as compressing the size of the files.

To extract files from a Zip file you need to have a copy of WinZip. Windows XP includes built-in handling of compressed files and folders. To open a compressed (zip) file:

1. Save it from the website to your hard disk by right-clicking and selecting "Save Target As".
2. Open My Computer, and then locate the compressed folder.
3. Do one of the following:
   o To extract a single file or folder, double-click the compressed folder to open it. Then, drag the file or folder from the compressed folder to a new location.
   o To extract all files or folders, right-click the compressed folder, and then click Extract All. In the Compressed (zipped) Folders Extraction Wizard, specify where you want to store the extracted files.

If you are using Mac OS or an older version of Windows, you can download Winzip below. WinZip allows you to "unzip" these files and read the archive contents.

To download a free copy of WinZip please use the link below.

Get WinZip

Shockwave Flash (.swf)
Shockwave Flash files are used to deliver graphics, animation and sound over the Internet.

To be able to play a .swf file you may need to download the Macromedia Flash player. 

 
Macromedia Flash Player is pre-installed in most Web browsers and on most computers, e.g. Windows 98, Windows XP and Netscape Navigator.

Get Flash Player

Windows Media Video (.wmv)
Windows Media Video files allow the playing of video files with sound such as music videos, short films and adverts. 

These files can be played by players such as MPlayer or Windows Media Player, the latter being only available for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh systems.

Get Windows Media Player

Windows Media Audio (.wma)
Windows Media Audio files allow the playing of sound files such as music, audio books and narration.  Apart from Windows Media Player, WMA files can be played using MPlayer, Winamp (with certain limitations), RealPlayer, and many other media players.

Get Windows Media Player

MP3 (.mp3)
MP3 files allow the playing of sound files such as music, audio books and narration.  MP3 is a popular digital audio format designed to greatly reduce the amount of data required to represent audio.  There are many different MP3 players available, either software for personal computers or portable media players.  See Windows Media Player download above.

If you need any further assistance, please contact:
Rachael Marriott ,Research & Information Officer
Email: rachael.marriott@emra.gov.uk
Tel: 01664 502555