Viewing a TIFF format Bill Image file in EnergyCAP

EnergyCAP, Inc. typically recommends saving bills in PDF format for easy viewing on most computers since most modern computers have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. Some clients, however, have TIFF files because older bill images were saved that way, or their current scanning software prefers TIFF. Although the bill can still be viewed when using EnergyCAP, the bill image opens in an second, external program - typically Microsoft Document Viewer. The downside is that EnergyCAP is left with a blank open window (which usually has an erroneous error message in it). Although this presents no real functionality problems, it can be annoying to have to always close two windows when viewing bill images.

In researching an acceptable plug-in solution for clients, EnergyCAP, Inc. has only found one viable (and free) option: AlternaTIFF. Once installed, AlternaTIFF works very well and has some very nice features that other fee-based plug-ins do not. EnergyCAP, Inc. does not provide support for the plug-in itself, but offers this information as an option for clients who may often need to view TIFF format bill images.

To install the AlternaTIFF software:

1. Obtain Administrator rights to your computer (required for installation of ActiveX components).
   NOTE: If you do not have administrator rights, AlternaTIFF provides a ZIP file with an installer your network administrator could use to install the plug-in.
2. Browse to http://www.alternatiff.com/ with Internet Explorer.
3. Click the first of the three options (ActiveX control, auto-install) and follow the instructions.
4. Once the software is installed, the user will be prompted to click the component in a browser window, opening a registration window. Name, Company and email are required. Once registered, click to see the test page to ensure that the Plug-In is functioning correctly.
5. After confirming that the plugin is working, open a My Computer window.
6. Go to Tools > Folder Options
7. Click the File Types tab
8. Find TIF as a file type
9. Click the Change button, and then select the Internet Explorer file type for the association (Yes, Internet Explorer!).

This association will cause a browser to open to view any TIFF image. The browser will use the new plug-in.