Technology RequirementsMinimum hardware configuration
At a minimum, your computer must have a Pentium processor with 128M of RAM (random access memory) to use ERIC. Browsers supported
ERIC users should have the latest browser version installed to properly access and view ERIC Web pages. ERIC recommends using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or Netscape Navigator 7.0 or above. Netscape is available free-of-charge at Netscape Browser Center . Browser settings
Javascript should be enabled. Additional required software
Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 or above is required to view ERIC documents. The reader is available for free download from the Adobe Web site. Click on the link below to get Acrobat.
 Note: ERIC full-text documents from 1993 - July 2004 are image files, not text files. You may need additional software to convert Adobe image files to text files, but conversion may result in formatting changes and items such as graphics or tables may not be saved or printed. Most of these documents are too large to fit on a floppy disk. Screen resolution
ERIC recommends a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 to optimize page layout display and graphics. Minimum connection speed
ERIC recommends a connection speed of 56Kbps or greater. Username and password ERIC password
You do not need a password to access the ERIC database. However, ERIC provides a personalization feature, My ERIC, which allows you to establish and customize your own private area for using ERIC. Initially, you will have the ability to save and re-run searches. More functionality will be added over time. In order to use this feature, you must establish a password-protected account on the ERIC Web site. Establishing username and password
The MyERIC area of the Web site provides a registration page where you can create a username and password to establish a personalized account with ERIC.
Document formats
ERIC documents (full-text non-journal materials) are available in two formats: image files in Adobe's portable document format (PDF) and text files. Non-journal documents added to ERIC between January 1993 and July 2004 are in PDF image format. ERIC documents added to the database after July 2004 will be available in text format. Downloading and printing large files
The new ERIC Web site optimizes download performance by introducing PDF image files that have been significantly compressed (3:1). This compression leverages Adobe Reader software version 5.0, or above; and therefore all users must have Adobe 5.0 or above installed on their computers. Even with ERIC's 3:1 compression, some ERIC documents are extremely large, and downloading and printing may be problematic. Downloading is especially problematic if you are accessing ERIC through a dial-up modem. You always should check file size and approximate download time, shown in the full-text availability box on the Record Detail screen of your search results, prior to downloading or printing. To print large files, ERIC recommends that you use the print function of your browser to print the document (25 page increments recommended). Section 508 compliance
While the ERIC Web site is 508 compliant, electronically available ERIC documents, from January 1993 to July 2004, are available only in PDF image format. These images are unreadable as text by most page readers. User support
Should you need assistance, user support is available by email and toll-free telephone:
Email ericsupport@csc.com
Toll-free number: 800-538-3742 (Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST) | 
