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CSA Troubleshooting Guide

Troubleshooting Problems with Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA) Illumina Resources and Sage Publications

Contents: IE 7.x • IE 6.x • Firefox or Netscape

If you're experiencing difficulties when attempting to open PDFs, this may be due to a malfunctioning plug-in within the web browser. If you have installed a Symantec product like Norton Personal Firewall (NPF) or Norton Internet Security (NIS), this may cause problems when you attempt to retrieve PDFs using the CSA Illumina interface. There is also a setting in Adobe Reader that can affect performance during the download process.

Please note: There is no problem with the data in the actual PDF files. The technical support staff at CSA is working with Symantec to determine if there is a way to remedy the problems encountered when using their firewall or security software.

In the meantime, here are some suggestions from CSA that you can use to try and work around these problems. If the problems persist after you've tried these suggestions, please contact a reference librarian.

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Internet Explorer version 7.x

Symptom: The error message indicates that "Internet Explorer could not download this file" and a truncated URL is displayed.

Ensure that you have the latest version of Adobe Reader (7.0.8) installed and the preferences section has the "Display PDF in Browser" option checked.

  1. Open Adobe Reader.
  2. Select Edit from the toolbar.
  3. Select Preferences from the drop-down box.
  4. Select Internet as the category.
  5. Check "Display PDF in browser" (all boxes in Web Browser Options should be marked).

At this point, Adobe Reader should prompt you to restart your computer so that your new configurations will take effect.

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Internet Explorer version 6.x

Symptom: When attempting to open a PDF, the browser displays a blank white screen and freezes. This may be caused by a malfunctioning plug-in.

  1. Close Internet Explorer 6.
  2. Open Adobe Reader.
  3. In the Edit menu, select Preferences.
  4. In the left column, select "Internet."
  5. Uncheck "Display PDF in browser."
  6. Click OK and try retrieving the PDF again.

Symptom: The PDF download appears to be working, but very slowly. The plug-in may be attempting to update itself.

If you wish, you can modify the plug-in's settings to disable automatic updates:

  1. Close your browser.
  2. Open Adobe Reader.
  3. In the Edit menu, select Preferences.
  4. In the left column, select "Updates."
  5. Check "Do not automatically check for critical updates."
  6. Click OK and try retrieving the PDF again.

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Firefox or Netscape

Symptom: During the PDF download, you receive an error message saying that the file is damaged, or that the browser could not open the PDF because it is not a supported file type.

To determine if this problem is due to the use of NPF or NIS software:

  1. Close your browser.
  2. Open Adobe Reader.
  3. In the Edit menu, select Preferences.
  4. In the left column, select Internet.
  5. Uncheck "Display PDF in browser."
  6. Click OK.
  7. Try opening the PDF again, and choose the option to save the file to your computer.
  8. Right click on the file after you have downloaded it and view the "Properties."
  9. If the file size is 0 bytes, disable NIS or NPF and the file should download correctly.

As an alternative, close Firefox or Netscape and try viewing the PDF with Internet Explorer.

Symptom: CSA Illumina displays a screen that reads "please wait while we contact the vendor," and the browser stalls. This may be caused by a malfunctioning plug-in.

  1. Close your browser.
  2. Open Adobe Reader.
  3. In the Edit menu, select Preferences.
  4. In the left column, select "Internet."
  5. Uncheck "Display PDF in browser."
  6. Click OK and try retrieving the PDF again.


Last updated 07/28/08 by .

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