plugins

Sometimes you will click on a link and it will try to run the file it is linked to. If you don't have the software to run the file, then you may be asked if you want to get the software, commonly called a plugin. If you say yes, you are taken to the site to get the plugin.

Once you have downloaded the plugin, you need to install it, and then you can play the file, you were trying to link to.

In general, when installing a plugin, follow the instructions provided.

There is a small number of plugins that you probably 'should' have. They are:

• Flash player from Macromedia - lets you view some interactive animations.
• Quicktime video player from Apple - lets you view some video files.
• Acrobat reader from Adobe - lets you view pdf files, a type of file that is often used to distribute information over the Internet. For example, a software manual can be made available in a digital form with the same appearance as the printed version by putting it into pdf format.

Fortunately, some plugins come packaged with the browser.