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ZIP, PDF-Format & Forms

Zip format

Files can often be downloaded from the Deutsche Bundesbank’s website in ZIP archives. ZIP archives generally contain several files which belong together and are also compressed in order to minimise the size of the archive. Besides ZIP, the best-known file extensions of archives are ARJ, ARC and IZArc, to name but a few.

In order to process or open ZIP archives, you need to have an appropriate program installed on your computer. The WinZip program, for instance, can be downloaded from the following website: http://www.winzip.de.

WinZip is a registered trademark of WinZip Computing, Inc.

PDF format

Portable-Document-Format is a special data format for the electronic exchange of data. The advantage to this format is that the original document can be opened and displayed on the screen exactly as it was created, regardless of the operating system (Windows, Mac, Unix, etc). However, you need to have installed a PDF reader on your computer.

The software is available from Adobe®, for example, and is offered free of charge on the internet. You can download the Adobe Acrobat Reader directly from the Adobe® website by clicking on the link below.

Notes on the Bundesbank’s forms

Report forms in portable document format generally contain input fields that are not specially marked and can be filled in with the Adobe Acrobat Reader (from version 4.0, but preferably with 4.05). To do so, simply place the cursor on any input field (the “hand cursor” changes to the “input cursor”). The first thing to do when filling in most forms is to enter the reporting deadline. To move to the next input field, press the tab key. You can jump back to the previous input field by pressing the shift and tab keys at the same time.

The data entered with the Adobe Acrobat Reader can be printed but cannot be saved or processed. This requires an Adobe program that allows PDF documents to be processed, which is not freeware. If you require further information on these products, please see the relevant product description on the Adobe website.

Report forms in rich text format (RTF) can be generated and read by many different programs including the widely available Microsoft Word program, for example. Unlike PDF forms, RTF forms are not provided individually. Rather, a separate ZIP archive for each business area can be downloaded.

Note

You are responsible for any fees incurred for connecting with Adobe®. Please also note that before downloading the Acrobat® Reader you must enter into a contract with Adobe® under their terms of business. The Deutsche Bundesbank has not checked the quality of the porducts supplied by Adobe® and, inproviding this link, takes no responsibility for the quality of the Adobe Acrobat® Reader. The Bundesbank also declines all liability for the products and actions of Adobe®.