Please note that Industrial Press no longer supports this old software program as it will not run on newer machines and operating systems. The archival instructions below, collected to assist with troubleshooting usage and reinstallation issues, are provided solely as a courtesy to our loyal customers.
Good news is that there is an upgrade option: As a previous edition Handbook CD-ROM owner, you are eligible to upgrade to the Machinery’s Handbook 32 Digital Edition Upgrade. (The discounted Upgrade version of this digital product is identical to the regular Digital Edition, except that you must enter your previous edition MH CD-ROM registration number or have a current subscription to a previous edition MH digital product at our eBookStore site.) You can see the full Machinery’s Handbook Product Family and combination packages by clicking here.
Make sure that you have Adobe Reader and/or Acrobat installed before attempting to use this program. The following describes what you need to do AFTER you have run the setup program and authorized your CD-ROM.
If you have completed the authorization program and are having problems with this program, it is likely that this is related to the FileOpen plugin. If you have the version 2.7.0.1 FileOpen plugin installed, you probably will not have any trouble with versions of Adobe’s Reader 9 version and lower. The plugin also is required when using Reader X and XI, along with the changes to the “preferences” mentioned below. Here is a simple way to check the version of the plugin:
1. Open Adobe Reader or Acrobat. If you are using both, you should check this in each version.
In Reader/Acrobat go to Help -> About Third party Plug-ins and click on FileOpen… You should get a dialog box that has the version number of the installed plugin. It should be v2.7.0.1. If you have a different, lower, version, then you must install the updated plugin. To do that, CLOSE Reader/Acrobat and click on this link: http://new.industrialpress.com/ext/applications/foClientInstaller.exe. After the plugin installer completes, check the version as above and verify that you have v2.7.0.1 installed.
2. If you are using Adobe Reader or Acrobat version X (10) or XI (11) there is also a setting in Preferences that needs to be changed. This is simple to do and will get your Handbook working. This is explained below.
- In Adobe Reader X, go to Edit->Preferences -> General category, and look for the check box “Enable Protected Mode at Startup” and UNCHECK it. Then exit preferences and exit Reader. Restart Reader and test the Handbook. It should now work. Check if the Print function is available.
- In Reader XI, the process is the same, except you need to go to Edit->Preferences->Security (Enhanced) category and UNCHECK the “Enable Protected Mode at Startup” box. Then exit Preferences and Reader and test the Handbook.
- In Acrobat 11, the setting is on the Edit->Preferences->Security (Enhanced) page, but you have to set the Protected View radio button to Off, then close Acrobat and reopen, and test.
- Acrobat 10 did not originally have this setting, but may now. It will probably be on the Edit->Preferences->General category page.
3. Once you get the MH26 working, you will want to verify that you can print if you need to use that functionality. With Adobe Reader X, XI, and DC, some users have been unable to print; others do not experience this problem. Here is what we suggest you try. There is another FileOPen plugin available at http://plugin.fileopen.com. (This plugin is also used by the 28th to 30th edition Handbooks.) CLOSE Reader/Acrobat, and click on the link above, then click OK on the page to install the plugin. Then, reopen your 26th Handbook and test if you can print.