The Legislative Reference Bureau is a non-partisan legislative service agency that publishes statutes and rules. It does not apply, interpret, or enforce any statutes, rules, or other law.
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Many documents at this website are produced in NXT or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) formats. Many documents are available in both formats. If you wish to access a particular statute or administrative code section, or part thereof, perform word searches, or copy text to another file, use NXT documents. (NXT Search and Navigation Help). If you wish to view an entire statute or code chapter or print more than a small piece of text, use the PDF.
Text in PDF is composed and reproduced to look like the official printed version. Text in NXT documents does not look like the official publications, looking more like a standard word processor produced document. PDF files are better for printing because of their appearance and because they require much less paper. NXT is better for saving text to other files in other formats including word processor files because the user can easily block any amount of desired text, and copy and paste it to the user's file. However, PDF documents allow the user to print or to copy text, as formatted. Instructions for printing and copying from PDF documents are set forth below.
NXT documents may not contain all tables and graphics that are in the printed documents. PDF documents contain all the graphics and tables. When a graphic is not included in a NXT document, a note states that fact and a link to the PDF version of the document is inserted in the text. Other links to PDF files are imbedded throughout NXT documents that are also produced in PDF. These links take the user to the PDF version of the document, which reproduces the original as it would be composed for official printing. When linking from a statute or administrative code provision in NXT to the PDF version, the link takes the user to the beginning of the chapter that contains the material that the user is viewing rather than to the specific section, or part thereof.
NXT allows the user to perform searches across many files by combining many individual files into a single document. For example, all of the chapters of the statutes are combined in a single infobase, which allows the user to find the specific location of any word or term in each place where it appears anywhere in the statutes. NXT allows the use of a variety of complex searches. The statutes and administrative code infobases contain custom search templates that allow the user to go directly to a particular citation within those infobases. Go to "NXT Help" for more information on searching and navigation.
Printing and copying text from documents in PDF format. (These instructions apply to Acrobat 5.0 or later. If you are using an earlier version of Acrobat, the current version may be downloaded from the Adobe website, which may be accessed by clicking the icon at the end of the document).
Printer icon: A single page, a range of pages, or the entire document (chapter) may be printed by clicking on the printer icon on the Acrobat tool bar and selecting the desired option.
Graphic Select Tool. By using the Graphic Select Tool, a piece of selected text may be printed or copied as formatted. The Graphic Select Tool icon is located on the Acrobat tool bar and is a dashed-line box around a circle with an arrow attached to its upper left side. Once the Graphic Select Tool is selected, place your cursor at the beginning of the text you wish to select and drag it across that text to draw a box around the selected material. Then click your right mouse button and choose print or copy from the menu, as is appropriate. The text is actually copied as a graphic, which means that the text may not be reformatted or manipulated when pasted into another document, although it may be moved about within the document.
If you wish to copy an entire document (chapter) into another document so that it appears as formatted, select "select all" from the menu, then again bring up the pop-up menu with a right mouse button click and select "copy". You may then paste the entire pdf document into the other document as a graphic. If you wish to copy a document or piece of text into another document so that it may be manipulated within your document, read on.
Column Select Tool. By using the Column Select Tool, you may copy an entire document or selected portions of the document, as text, that may be pasted into another document where it may be reformatted or otherwise manipulated. The Column Select Tool icon is located on the Acrobat tool bar, but you may be required to expand the toolbar in order to access it. The icon is an upper case "T" with a dashed-line box around it. If you do not see that icon, it is hidden, and you find it by finding the Text Select Tool, which is an upper case "T" with a small dashed-line box at the right side of its base. There is a small back arrow pointing down next to the Text Select Tool. Click the arrow. You will then see the "T" with a dashed-line box around it. That is the Column Select Tool. By clicking on "Expand this Button", the Column Select Tool will appear on the toolbar next to the Text Select Tool.
Once the Column Select Tool is selected, place your cursor at the beginning of the text you wish to select and drag it across that text to draw a box around the selected material. Then click your right mouse button and choose print or copy from the menu, as is appropriate.
In order to copy an entire chapter, click the Column Select Tool icon. Then click your right mouse button, which brings up a pop-up menu. Select "select all", then again bring up the pop-up menu with a right mouse button click and select copy. You may then paste the entire pdf document into the other document as text.
Text Select Tool: By using the Text Select Tool, you may copy an entire document, as text, that may be pasted into another document where it may be reformatted or otherwise manipulated. The Text Select Tool icon is located on the Acrobat tool bar and is an upper case "T" with a small dashed-line box at the right side of its base. In order to copy an entire chapter, click this icon. Then click your right mouse button, which brings up a pop-up menu. Select "select all", then again bring up the pop-up with a right mouse button click and select copy. You may then paste the entire pdf document into the other document as text. The Text Select Tool also allows you to select and copy portions of text, but because most documents on this website are in a 2 column format, and this tool does not allow selecting text in a single column, we recommend using the Column Select Tool to copy selected portions of text.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view and print PDF files. If Acrobat Reader is not installed on your computer, you may obtain it free of charge.
The Legislative Reference Bureau is a non-partisan legislative service agency that publishes statutes and rules. It does not apply, interpret, or enforce any statutes, rules, or other law.
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