Where am I?

You are at the MAF site help page. If you have arrived at this page through a search engine, favourite or bookmark and want to find other parts of MAFnet,, navigation aids can be found at the top and bottom of this page. These aids can be found on all parts of MAFnet, and the left hand menu changes according to where you are in the site. You can also see a "breadcrumb" trail just above the Site Help banner. This is a constant feature of the MAF web sites, and provides some clickable links if you wish to quickly climb up the navigational structure.

How do I find what I want to know?

Try clicking the arrow to the right of the "Choose topic" box at the top of the page - that presents an express way of getting to the major parts of the site - select an area, click and you should go there. To get more choices you may:

start from the extensive menus available on the MAF home page;
use the MAF search engine;
use the A-Z Index; or
explore the sitemap.

Who do I contact if that does not work?

Use the contact link at the bottom of the page.

How do I contact people in MAF?

Firstly see the contact MAF page . That leads to a number of pages listing contacts for MAF businesses, and in some cases individuals within those businesses. You will find a variety of ways to contact those businesses. Each page includes a form to get you in contact with a person familiar with the subject of that page.

If you wish to e-mail and individual, and you know the name of the person within MAF that you wish to contact - even if you do not know the business they work for - the usual convention in MAF is firstname.lastname@maf.govt.nz.

Where is all the food information?

See the New Zealand Food Safety Authority site.

How do I get the search results down to a reasonable number?

The number of results from a search query in the box at the top of the page may be quite large. It is possible to reduce the number of results, as well as make them more useful and targeted, by using the advanced search function (the link is just to the right of the search box up top), and in that advanced search you can use the drop-down box to select the area of the MAF site you wish to target your searches to. In most areas of the site there are also search boxes in the right hand column that search within the area you are currently in.

Why can't I see some of the information on MAFnet?

Some of the information on MAFnet is sensitive, and protected usually for commercial reasons. If you wish to see that material you must apply for, and qualify for, a password.

How can I read PDF files?

PDF files display books and other documents in a printable and viewable format.

Information about viewing PDF files []

How can I convert a PDF file to accessible HTML?

Adobe provide a free simple on-line PDF conversion tool for blind and visually impaired users. To use this tool with documents on our website, find and open the .pdf you would like to convert, then open the conversion tool in a new window. Copy the URL (address or location) of the PDF and paste this into the URL field on the conversion page. Click the Get this Adobe PDF Document as HTML button and wait while the tool generates a HTML file for your speech-synthesis software to read. See more information about Adobe's accessibility features.

How can I read Microsoft Excel (xls) files?

If you wish to view Microsoft Excel™ files and you do not have Excel™ installed on your computer, you may download a free viewer from Microsoft.

Well, how do I read Microsoft Word (.doc) files

If you wish to read Microsoft Word™ files and you do not have Word™ installed on your computer, you may download a free viewer from Microsoft.

Which browsers work best on MAFnet?

It should perform well with all browsers.

Up-to-date browsers are available by clicking your choice below:

How do I tell if my browser has JavaScript turned on?

JavaScript is a programming language that makes web pages interactive, and in most browsers JavaScript is turned on by default. If you're having problems with areas of our site you may wish to check that JavaScript is active on your browser.

Click on the button below to see if your browser has JavaScript enabled. If you get a box pop up with a message in it, you're okay. If nothing happens, follow the steps below to turn JavaScript on.

How do I turn JavaScript on?

You can find out what browser you are using under Help on your browser tool bar. In all cases you will need to restart your browser in order for the changes to take effect.

For Netscape Navigator 4 or higher, select Edit then Preferences, then click on the word Advanced, and ensure the Enable JavaScript box is ticked.

For Internet Explorer 4 or higher, go to the Tools menu (View, then Internet Options in IE4) and select Internet Options. Select the Security tab and click the Custom Level button. Ensure Active X Controls are enabled.

What do your abbreviations mean?

See Abbreviations; a list for the perplexed!

Where is your Glossary?

Try this glossary for a start. Most major publications will have their own glossary as well: see other glossaries

Contact for Enquiries

MAF Information Services
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND

Fax: +64 4 894 0721
Contact this person