Are you having trouble viewing some digital images linked to the Qld State Archives Indexes?  Well, that was a problem that I was having, as were some other researchers.

In particular I was looking at the Assisted Immigration 1848-1912, and the problem was only for certain ships – not all ships.

When I found the person I was looking for on the index, then tried to access the digital copy, all I got was a blank white page.

After trying to view around 10 different records I was becoming extremely annoyed.   I tried a different computer, the same result.

It seems as though, in my case, it was the browser I use: Google Chrome.  So upon the suggestion of someone else to try the same lookup using Internet Explorer, it worked!!!   Problem solved!!   I could view the digital image.

I could now view the digital image, but I still wanted to use Chrome and not have to switch browsers each time.

I contacted QSA who investigated the problematic ships, and informed me that it is a known issue.

After a little more investigation, I found that the problem is a PDF viewer configuration issue with, as in my case, Google Chrome, and I was able to change the settings in Chrome to overcome this problem.

If you use Google Chrome, ensure that your Chrome plugin settings for your choice of PDF viewer are set to use the Adobe PDF viewer, not the Chrome PDF viewer.  The same suggestion applies for Firefox users.

If you are also experiencing this problem viewing certain images, follow the easy instructions at:

• Google Chrome Adobe PDF Plugin help page
• Firefox Adobe PDF Plugin help page
• Adobe PDF browser configuration help page which provides instructions for configuring the Adobe PDF Plugin to work with Chrome, and Firefox for both Windows and Mac OS.

Browser settings are important for image accessibility, but if you have had issues, hopefully these simple instructions will enable you to continue enjoying the fantastic immigration index images provided by Queensland State Archives!