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Tips for Navigating the Graduate College Handbook

The Graduate College has moved its handbook to an Adobe Acrobat PDF. There are a number of ways to navigate through the chapters and policies, so we wanted to create a guide to help you find the information you need. Below, you will see tutorials on how to use Bookmarks, the Table of Contents, the Find Tool, and the steps to navigate back to your previous position.

In order to best use our handbook, we recommend you change your browser settings to open PDFs in a new tab; however, you can also use Adobe Acrobat to view the document. The handbook works best in Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. We do not recommend you use Microsoft Edge to view the handbook.

Viewing PDFs in Your Web Browser

  • For Firefox: Navigate to "Settings." "Scroll to Applications" and find Portable Document Format (PDF) in the list of file types. Change the action to "Open in Firefox."
  • For Chrome: Navigate to "Settings." Click "Privacy and Security" and select "Site Settings." Then select "Additional Content Settings" and find "PDF Documents." Select "Open PDFs in Chrome."

Bookmarks

If viewing the handbook in an internet browser: After opening the handbook file, you will want to view the sidebar so that you can view the bookmarks. The placement of this varies depending on which browser you use.

  • For Firefox: Click the square icon in the top left corner. Then click the icon that looks like an outline. When you click this, you will see a list of short titles for the policies.
  • For Chrome: Click the bookmark icon in the top right corner. Click the arrow next to “Handbook-2020.pdf.” Then, click the arrows next to the different sections to navigate through the bookmarks.

If viewing the handbook in Adobe Acrobat: After opening the handbook file, you will see an image on the left side of the screen that looks like a bookmark. If you click this icon, a panel will open that lists short titles for the policies. If you click one of these titles, you will be taken to the corresponding policy.

Table of Contents

The Table of Contents is interactive and works the same way whether you use it in Adobe Acrobat or in a browser. After clicking on any of the chapter titles or heading entries, you will be taken directly to that part of the handbook.

The Find Tool

If you know keywords for the policy or information that you are looking for, you can do a find search in the document. This feature works the same way whether you use it in Adobe Acrobat or in a browser.

  • For PC users: use ctrl + F to open the search bar
  • For Mac users: use command + F

Adding a "Back" button to Adobe Acrobat and/or navigating "Back" in the Browser

As you navigate through the handbook, you may realize you would like to navigate back to the previous section that you were viewing.

If viewing the handbook in an internet browser:

  • For PC users: use alt + the left arrow
  • For Mac users: use command + the left arrow

If viewing in Adobe Acrobat: Follow these steps to add a “Back” button in your menu bar.

  1. Right-click in the menu bar.
  2. Click the arrow next to “Show Page Navigation Tools.”
  3. Select “Previous View.”
  4. On the menu bar, an arrow will appear that points to the left. By clicking this arrow, you will be able to navigate back to your previous position in the handbook. Once you activate this button in your Adobe, it should still appear even if you close out of the program.