File Formats and Plug-ins

Wherever possible, Noridian will post information on this site in open-standard, accessible formats (e.g., HTML). However, there are some areas of the website where specialized media must be used and plug-ins or special viewers may be needed to access the content. Below is a list of file types that are used on the website as well as further information on getting the plug-ins.

Note on viewing and downloading files: Depending on the configuration of user computer, files of the types listed below may:

  • Open inside of web browser,
  • Open in a new program window, or
  • Ask visitor where to save file. If user would like to download a copy of file to his/her computer, right-click (on Windows) or command-click (on Macintosh) and choose "Save Target As…" (IE) or "Save Link As…" (Firefox / Mozilla). This will allow user to save a copy of file to computer rather than having file open inside web browser

Note: All links on this page link to external websites.

File Format Brief Description Links
CSV (Comma Separated Values) CSV is a data format in which each piece of data is separated by a comma. This is a popular format for transferring data from one application to another, because most database and spreadsheet systems are able to import and export comma-delimited data. CSV files can be opened by the majority of spreadsheet and database programs available.  
Microsoft Excel Excel is a popular spreadsheet application. Occasionally, tabular data sets will be made available in Excel format. Additionally, most other office suites (e.g., StarOffice, Lotus, WordPerfect) can read Excel files.
Microsoft Word Word is a popular word processing application. The viewer is available for Windows and MacOS platforms. Additionally, most other office suites (e.g., StarOffice, Lotus, WordPerfect) can read Word files.
PDF (Portable Document Format) PDF files are used to retain the formatting of printed documents and for interactive forms. All major operating systems now include PDF viewing software in the base installation. Additionally, other PDF software (e.g., Adobe Reader) is available for reading PDF files.
ZIP / Self-Extracting ZIP ZIP files are used to simplify the download process by wrapping a number of separate files into a single "wrapper" and compressing the original files by a significant amount. ZIP and UNZIP software is available from a variety of vendors. All major operating systems now include ZIP and UNZIP software in the base installation.  
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