Frequently Asked Questions

Are you an educator who loves the convenience of teaching resources from Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT)? You’re not alone! TPT is a great resource for teachers to find digital materials that can help make teaching easier. But sometimes, these PDFs don’t always download, open or print correctly. If this happens, it can be frustrating and time-consuming to figure out how to fix it.

Fortunately, we have compiled some solutions that may help you troubleshoot any technical issues with your TPT PDF resources so you can get back on track quickly and easily. Keep reading to learn more about what might be causing your issue and how you can solve it fast!

What are the Top 5 Issues I see from Teachers using PDF Resources from Teachers Pay Teachers or What I Have Learned?

I have used teaching resources on Teachers Pay Teachers as both an educator and homeschool parent for over a decade. What I Have Learned has also been running for a similar length of time. When it comes to seemingly perplexing technical issues with TPT, I would typically blame the product or seller; however, in reality, most times neither is responsible!

Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) provides digital teaching resources to educators, which can make teaching easier and more efficient. However, there are some technical issues that can arise when downloading, opening, or printing PDFs from TPT. 

The top 5 technical issues that teachers experience with TPT teaching resources include

  1. PDFs not downloading correctly, including file corruption
  2. Files not opening
  3. PDFs not printing properly, including printing off the page and graphics appearing distorted
  4. Links not working

Let’s take a look at each of these issues and how to fix them.

Download Issues

To resolve downloading issues, make sure you are using Google Chrome as your browser and that you have the most recent version installed. Ensure that you don’t settle for just previewing PDFs in the browser window- make sure to actually download them!

Download issues can usually be fixed by refreshing your browser window or restarting your device. If the issue persists, you may need to clear your cache and cookies or try a different browser.

Download your file from What I Have Learned

There are two ways you can access your files: from a link in the email or from your MY ACCOUNTS page.

  1. You should have received an invoice or receipt email with a download link from What I Have Learned, in addition to your PayPal receipt.

    If you don’t receive the email, check your spam, junk, or promotions folder.

    Click on the product title to download the resource. Be sure to access the resource from a computer, not a mobile device.

  2. If you registered as a buyer (not a guest) during the check-out process, you can log into your account to access the file. If you checked out as a guest, you can also create an account.

    If you do create an account, let me know (below).  I will need to link the order to your new account since they were created separately.

If you’re still having difficulty, send me a message below and I’ll help you out!

 Files not opening

File Corruption Issues

This can occur when files aren’t downloaded completely, so double-check that all of the data was transferred successfully before trying to open it up again!

Opening Files

If a PDF is not opening correctly, try downloading an alternate PDF viewer such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you’re having trouble opening PDFs from TPT, it could be because of an outdated version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Make sure your version is up-to-date before trying again.

PDFs OPEN in Preview (Mac) or in my Web Browser

The default PDF application on a Mac is called Preview. It’s also possible to open a PDF file in your web browser. These programs are not always compatible with newer PDF files — Adobe Acrobat Reader tends to work better when it comes to viewing and printing PDFs. It is the industry standard for PDF viewing and printing.

Here’s the trick: Don’t try to open the PDF file by clicking on it. Clicking on the file will open it in Preview or in your web browser. Instead, launch Adobe Acrobat Reader from your Applications folder.

To do this in Adobe Reader:

  1. Click “File”
  2. Select “Open”,
  3. Choose the PDF you want

You may be prompted to make Adobe Acrobat Reader the default program when opening PDFs. If you agree to this option, you should be able to open PDFs by clicking on them in the future.

How to Open Zipped Files

A ZIP file is a compressed folder containing multiple files. I use ZIP files to provide multiple files in one download.

Both Windows and Mac OSX are able to open and uncompress ZIP files without additional software. iPhones and iPads will require an additional app.  

If your computer runs Microsoft Windows: 

  1. Right-click on the unopened ZIP folder.
  2. Choose “Extract All” from the menu.
  3. Choose a destination. This is the place where you want to keep the unzipped files. You can choose “My Documents,” for example.
  4. Click “Extract.”

If your computer runs Mac OSX: 

Double-click the unopened ZIP — the file should extract automatically.

If that doesn’t work, hold down the control key and click the ZIP file icon. Choose “Open With” and then select “Archive Utility.” The utility will extract the ZIP files, and you can find them in the same folder where you downloaded them.

If you’re using a Chromebook:

  1. Double-click on the ZIP file.
  2. The ZIP file has been mounted and is located in the sidebar of the file manager alongside your Downloads folder, Google Drive account, and any other services you mounted.
  3. To extract the files from your archive, open a new file manager window, browse to or create a folder for the files, and then drag everything from one window to the other.

If you’re using a mobile iOS device, such as an iPhone or iPad: 

If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, download and install an app.  iZip is a reliable option that is free in the App Store. 

  1.  Tap file to download it.
  2. When the download is complete, you’ll be redirected to a page where you can choose how to open the file.
  3. Tap “Open in iZip”
  4. That will redirect you to iZip. Tap “OK” to extract.
  5. Tap the folder.
  6. Tap the individual files within the folder, and they’ll open in the appropriate program.

Printing Issues

If the file is a PDF, especially a PDF with a lot of graphics, it may look fine on your screen, but may not print out correctly. If you’re having trouble printing a PDF, please be sure that you’re downloading and opening the PDF with the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Once this application is downloaded and installed to your computer: 

  1. Open the PDF file with Adobe Acrobat Reader
  2. Click “Print”
  3. In the “Page Sizing & Handling” section, select “Shrink Oversized Pages” if needed
  4. Click on “Advanced”
  5. Check the “Print as Image” box
  6. Print the document

#3 above helps with oversized pages. #4 helps with images that aren’t printing correctly.

Links in Products

The Link isn’t clickable

Once the PDF or document containing your link is opened, simply click on it and you will be directed to wherever you wish to go.

If the link does not seem clickable to you, try one of these troubleshooting options:

  • Highlight the entire URL (link). Copy the highlighted text. Paste that link into your Google Chrome browser. Be sure there are not any spaces in the URL when it is copied.
  • Type the URL into a Google Chrome browser window.

 

The Link doesn’t go to the intended place

Videos and games are located on different websites. For some videos or games, the website has changed and the game or the video is no longer available. While we do our best to monitor these websites to make sure they are still live, they sometimes go offline without our knowledge. If this happens, we work quickly to find a new website to take the place of the old one. Please fill out the contact form below.

Access Digital Resources

Access all of our digital resources conveniently using Google Drive! The link won’t take you directly to the materials, but it will guide you to a page where you can make your own copy and store them in your private Drive.

Upon creating the copy, it will grant you access to either Google Slides or Google Docs. To make sure that your future searches are simplified, it is best practice to rename the document for enhanced convenience.

Now you can use this file within Google, or download it as a Powerpoint file, PDF, JPGs, and PNGs. This grants you the freedom to access the resource on any platform outside of Google Classroom!

In order to access the link, you must have both a free Google/Gmail account and an active internet connection.

Still have a question?

Click here to contact me.