+ How do I find standards in the portal?

There are several ways. If you are looking for a specific standard, and know the document number or title, you can use the Search Page. Simply type in the document number in the “Document Number” field or a few key words from the title or abstract in the “Words in Record” field, then click the Start Search button.

You can also browse by subject using one of the two “Browse by Subject” pages prepared by the Department of Energy. The first page, Vehicle Systems and Refueling Facilities divides into four major sub-areas. These in turn are divided into more specific subject areas. By clicking on one of these, you will see a list of standards that are associated with that subject. The On-site Hydrogen Generation and Fuel Cells page functions the same way.

+ Who classified the standards with these templates?

Each standards developing organization (SDO) classified their own standards. ANSI incorporated this classification into the portal database to be able to create the listings. The lists are dynamic, and are re-created every time they are opened.

+ How can I obtain a copy of a standard I find here?

For a limited number of standards, you will see a download link in the search result list. See “Downloading a Standard” below for further instructions.

+ Downloading a Standard and DRM

The standards on this site are protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM). DRM is technology allows publisher to protect copyrighted material such as electronic standards by defining the abilities or "rights". These rights determine what users can to do with electronic documents (like opening, copying, printing). This technology is intended to protect the works of authors by controlling the distribution of their content to authorized users. By using DRM, publishers and authors are able to continue to offer copyrighted publications electronically.

+ Upgrading to Adobe Reader 6

Before you complete your download of a standard, you must first download the free Adobe Reader 6 software (full version) to view the documents you download. These documents can reside on only one computer. Please be sure to download the standards to your primary computer.

Follow these steps to download Adobe Reader 6 and activate it for use with DRM-protected documents:

+ A. If necessary, log into your PC with Administrator Privileges

In many cases, the user will have to be logged in with administrator privileges to complete the Adobe Reader installation. Please check with your IT department for access to administrator privileges.

+ B. Installation Steps

• + Language = English
• + Platform = (user’s platform)
• + Connection = Broadband or Dial-up*
  *If you select Connection = Dial-up, you will be given the option of downloading the “Basic” version of Reader 6 under “Step 2 of 2”. DRM does not work with this basic version. You must check “Download the full version of Acrobat Reader” (this is automatically checked if you choose Connection = Broadband).

+ C. Your first download and DRM “Activation”

Now you may left-click on the Download link to download your standard.

In order for you to successfully read files with DRM (file locking) applied, the Adobe Reader is “activated” during your first download. This is a process that does not require the user’s input - it happens in the background with “anonymous” activation.

• The first attempted download of a file with DRM applied will trigger the automatic “DRM Activation” of the Reader.
  Upon downloading the DRM-protected file, the user will see a dialog box reading “Receiving Document Activation Data”, then a “Receiving Document Permissions” dialog, and then the document will open. This completes the DRM “activation” and locks the document to that user’s PC. Subsequent downloads of DRM-protected files will now also lock to the user’s PC – going forward, you will only see the “Receiving Document Permissions” dialog, not the “Receiving Document Activation Data” dialog.

After the DRM activation is complete and the document opened, the user is taken to the Adobe DRM Activation complete page. This tells the user that they have successfully activated the Reader for DRM.

+ Opening my standards after download

Upon initial download and activation, the downloaded documents will open in Adobe Reader automatically. To access your standards after their first use, open "My Bookshelf" from the File menu. Click on the eBooks icon and select My Bookshelf. The actual PDF files are stored in the following locations: