We are here to help make your stay with us as convenient and useful as possible. This page has been designed to assist you in getting them most of the many features this site offers.

General information is provided here to help you navigate and use the Web site.

Web Site Navigation Tutorial

Learn the basics on finding what you are looking for on our Web site. This document introduces you to our basic navigational methods. If you have a printer available, we suggest printing this document, then walking through the Web site as you read along with the document.

 Download & Print the Basic Website Navigation Tutorial (PDF Format).

Using the Site Map

Lost? If you need quick access to an area of information on our Web site, but don't know what to click on to find it, our Site Map is the tool for you. This page contains informative links to every category of information available on the Web site. Think of it as a complete "Table of Contents".

What Are Hyperlinks?

Hyperlinks are words or pictures that, when clicked on with your mouse, take you to other places at our Web site. They are normally used to present more specific or detailed information for a particular topic. You can access a hyperlink by clicking text that is underlined and blue in color.

Downloading Files

Many of the files on this site are self extracting zip files with an .exe extension. A zip file is a file that has been compressed and made smaller so it downloads faster. After downloading the files, just double click on them and they will un-zip themselves. Many of our files are delineated text files, which means they can be opened in any popular word processing or spreadsheet program.

Reading PDF Files

Some publications are too long or too complex to be easily converted to the standard "html" file which your browser usually displays. As a result, Web sites sometimes offer these publications in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF).

What Are PDF Files?

Adobe has created a type of file (Portable Document Format, or "PDF") that looks and prints the same on any computer when opened with the Adobe Acrobat Reader. These files allow for special tables, charts, graphics, and typefaces that cannot be created any other way for the World Wide Web. For example, many government statistical documents are offered in PDF format because of the complex tables or charts (graphs) included. Similarly, brochures and flyers can be displayed as intended and printed out by the user for redistribution.

Do I Need Special Software?

Yes. You need free Adobe Acrobat Reader to use these files. You can download this software FREE from Adobe's WWW site. To get the software, click on the link below. It will take take you to the Adobe Acrobat Reader download site which includes instructions about installing the Reader software.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader NOW!

OK. I'm All Set Up and Ready To Go. Now Can I Just Click On A PDF Link?

You are now ready to download PDF files for viewing. Yes. Go ahead. And remember that now that you have installed the acrobat software, you have the ability to access many more publications and documents on the Internet. Many companies offering publications in this format, and more are doing it every day.

Sometimes you may wish to save PDF files to a disk (your hard drive or a floppy) and then view them offline, or allow your browser to automatically open the file for you to view and/or print. If you click on a PDF file and your computer asks you what you want to do with it, tell it to save it somewhere (that's up to you). After it has been downloaded, open up Adobe Acrobat Reader and then open the file. (Hint: When you are looking for the downloaded file, remember that its name will end in ".pdf".)

Tips for Better Site Searches

Our Web site is fully searchable from every page. Simply type in the text you wish to search for in the white box in your upper-right corner and click the "Search" button.If you wish to search for a multiple-word phrase, such as "billing guides", enclose it in quotes (") to ensure that the search will return only pages with that exact phrase. Typing billing guides into the search box without quotes will return all pages that contain the word "billing" OR the word "guides", and not pages containing your exact phrase.

Remember to narrow your search results by being specific as possible, and to always check your spelling if the results you expected did not appear.

All new materials added to this site become available through the site search process in less than 24 hours.