Questions & Answers - Technical/Website Issues

The areas dealt with below are the most common queries the Charities Board receives concerning its online activities. If you have a query you find is not covered on this page, please email the webmaster, fill in an online question form, or, as a last resort, contact us by phone.

How can I obtain an application form for a grants programme online?

We have downloadable application forms online for all of our grants programmes. These application forms are available in a single format, the Adobe pdf (portable document file) format. To read and use the pdf application forms requires Adobe Acrobat reader (available from the main download page of our site) which is freely distributed. We recommend use of version 3.01 of Acrobat Reader for our application forms.

Can I save content entered into the downloadable application form?

Content entered in the form cannot be saved. This is due to both the limitations of the free Acrobat Reader utility and also because of security requirements which the National Lottery Charities Board is bound to by law. This may change in the near future and we will keep you informed via this website if and when this change occurs.

Due to the lack of a save function, we recommend that rather than fill in the whole application in one sitting, you enter and print out a page at a time.

Alternatively, it is possible to use a text editing application/programme (such as Windows Notepad or Microsoft Word) to enter your answers which can then be saved and cut-and-pasted across to the application form in Adobe Acrobat. After highlighting the text within your chosen application, most documents allow the use of CTRL+C to copy/cut the text from one application and then CTRL+V to paste the highlighted text into another. If this does not appear to work on your machine or programme, please consult the manual or in-programme help.

How do I download a file from the internet?

To download a file (such as a pdf application form), the process is the same on most browsers:

1. Move the mouse pointer over the relevant link (usually an underlined word or a specific image) and then click the right mouse button once. A grey menu will appear close to your mouse pointer.
2. From this menu, select either "Save Target As..." (Internet Explorer) or "Save Link As..." (Netscape Navigator).
3. You will be prompted for a file location. Please choose a location on your computer that you will remember (write it down) and click "OK".
4. The file will proceed to download. Depending on the size of the file and the capacity of your computer and Internet link, the downloading process may take anywhere from ten seconds upwards to complete.

NOTE:

You must ensure that you do not click the left button on the download link, as this will result in the content you wish to downloaded being opened and may in some cases cause a temporary freezing of your system. If this happens, please close the browser and begin again or reboot your computer.

Why won't my application form print out properly?

There are a number of reasons why this might happen:

1. Printer driver problems: A small number of printers (for instance, HP Deskjet) may not have the Adobe Postscript Printer Driver installed as part of their setup. This driver is sometimes needed to ensure correct printing of a pdf document. If you experience problems which you think may be printer-driver related, please contact your hardware manufacturer or consult their online help sections (these will probably be detailed in the printer manual). Alternatively, the driver you may be looking for could be on Adobe's website which contains a number of downloadable printer drivers. Access the Adobe site at www.adobe.com.
2. Text is not embedded: Once text is entered into a field on the pdf application form, it is necessary to click outside the field (or into another field) to seal the text into the page for the printer to recognise when it processes the form for printing.
3. Correct printer not selected on Adobe Acrobat: Please check the Printer Properties under the 'File" menu on Adobe Acrobat to make sure that your desired printer is currently enabled/selected.