NZ Ministry of Health Web Page
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About the Ministry of Health website

Help ordering and downloading publications



Ordering a publication


Not all Ministry of Health publications are available in hard copy - some are only available on the web. You can find the availability status of each publication on the individual document's web page.

If hard copies are available you can order a copy from the Ministry's storage and distribution centre directly from that page by email. Please give your physical and postal address, contact details and a phone number.

Otherwise, you can telephone (04) 496 2277
or write to:
Ministry of Health Publications
c/- Wickliffe Press
PO Box 932, Dunedin
New Zealand
or email moh@wickliffe.co.nz

Downloading or viewing a publication online


Help with PDF documents


Most Ministry of Health publications are made available on the web as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. PDF files are indicated in brackets alongside a link, for example Statement of Intent 2008-11 (PDF, 342 KB).

PDF files can be:

Download free Adobe Acrobat Reader


To read a PDF you need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. You can download the latest free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website.

Tips for using PDF documents


When you've opened a PDF you can select from a number of options on the toolbar and menus that allow you to use the document more efficiently, for example:

Search for keywords
Click the f key on your keyboard while holding down the Ctrl key. A search panel will open on-screen to enable a keyword search.

Scroll quickly through the pages
Click the arrow keys on the toolbar to flick back and forth through the pages.

Change text size
Click the + or - buttons to enlarge or reduce text size. Or change the zoom percentage (eg. from 75% to 100% view).

Copy text to paste in another document
Click on the Select Tool (arrow icon) on the toolbar - or find it in the Tools menu if it's not displayed on the toolbar. This changes the cursor to a vertical line. You will then be able to copy and paste text from the PDF as you would from a Word document. Note: Please be aware of our copyright notice before copying the Ministry's text for use elsewhere.

Troubleshooting


PDF fails to open
Occasionally we hear from people who click on a PDF and instead of it opening correctly in their web browser (eg. Internet Explorer), they see a blank page. This usually happens because the user is operating an older web browser that is incompatible with the PDF.

To get around this problem, save the file to your computer and then click on the saved file. It should now open correctly. (To save a PDF file, right-click on the document link and choose 'save target as' from the menu that appears on-screen.)

PDF takes a long time to open
PDF file sizes (eg. 342 KB) are given as part of the link so you can estimate how long it will take to download. File sizes indicated in mega bytes (MB) take longer to download, especially if you’re using a dial-up modem.

As a rule of thumb, on a 56 K dial-up modem, 50 KB downloads in about 10 seconds. If you have broadband, files will download much faster.

All other problems
If you're having a problem with a PDF, firstly refer to the Adobe Reader Support Centre for a solution.

If you can't find an online solution to your problem, please email the Ministry of Health Web Manager with the link to the PDF you are having problems downloading (copy and paste it from your web browser address bar).

Accessibility for people with disabilities


The latest versions of Adobe Reader (download free from here) include capabilities designed to make it easier for people with disabilities to read PDF files, regardless of whether the files have been optimized for accessibility by the Ministry of Health. Adobe Reader uses accessibility functions built into Windows and Mac OS systems and allows adjustment of user preferences to improve the reading experience for a variety of disabilities.

Help for people using screenreaders
For help accessing PDF documents using assistive technologies such as screenreaders, refer to the screenreader user's guide on the Adobe website.

Help with Microsoft Office documents


Some of the documents on the Ministry of Health website have been created in Microsoft Word 2000, Microsoft Excel 2000, and Microsoft Powerpoint 2000. If you do not have this software, you can download free viewers from Microsoft that allow you to read the documents.

Download free Microsoft viewers


Word
Download free Word Viewer

Excel
Download free Excel Viewer 2003

PowerPoint
Download free Powerpoint 2003 viewer

Download free Powerpoint 2007 viewer



Page last updated: 23 October 2008