How to automate the Acrobat Reader plugin in Internet Explorer

[Steve_McKinney@adobeforums.com]

Hi,

I have been trying to figure out how to automate the Acrobat Reader plugin in Internet Explorer. My goal is to find a way to allow users of our web application to print PDFs to the default printer without having to go through the plugin's GUI. Our application includes a browser helper component, and I had hoped it would be possible to use the IWebBrowser2 interface's get_Document() method to get at some sort of interface to the plugin (as is possible for, say, a Word document hosted in Internet Explorer) and then use this to print the document. However, this does not work: get_Document(), when called on an IWebBrowser2 instance with a PDF loaded, returns E_NOINTERFACE. I also tried calling the IWebBrowser2 interface's ExecWB() method with OLECMDID_PRINT, OLECMDEXECOPT_DONTPROMPTUSER, and PRINT_DONTBOTHERUSER, and printed a blank page rather than the PDF.

Is it possible to do what I am attempting? Like I said, my core goal is to print a PDF from within Internet Explorer without requiring user interaction. I'd appreciate any suggestions as to how I might accomplish this -- it doesn't _have_ to be by automating the plugin (maybe that is a the wrong approach... though it sure would be nice if the plugin provided access to its object model via IWebBrowser2->get_Document()).

Thanks in Advance,

Steve Mckinney
Senior Developer
Paxon Corporation

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

The ability to do printing from server side without prompting on the
client was considered a major security hole, and is now impossible. If
you find a way, Adobe will fix the bug asap...

Aandi Inston

[Steve_McKinney@adobeforums.com]

I disagree that what I am attempting to to would constitute a major security hole. I am not suggesting that I would like to print without prompting from untrusted javascript code. It would be accomplished via a _trusted_ browser helper component that users _choose_ to install as part of our web application, the same way they choose to install the Acrobat Reader plugin itself, or any other plugin for that matter.

[Sabian_Zildjian@adobeforums.com]

You are also using Internet Explorer's API not Acrobat/Readers API. You might try using the AcroPDF.DLL ActiveX controls "printall" method but you will receive a warning dialog unless you set the registry item for the permanent dismissal of that dialog.

Sabian

[Steve_McKinney@adobeforums.com]

Thanks, I'll take a look at that option. I presume I would load the PDF into the AcroPDF control and then print?

[Sabian_Zildjian@adobeforums.com]

Yes, that is what you do.

Sabian

[Brian_L_Lawson@adobeforums.com]

I have used the printall method with success, but only with local file system files. Is there a way I can load a file from the server side via a URL?

Right now, my client-side javascript will load a file on the client machine (ie. c:\path\to\filename.pdf), but I need to perform loadFile(URL/file.pdf) because I want to wait until the file is loaded until I try to print.

Thanks,
Brian

[Leonard_Rosenthol@adobeforums.com]

There is no support for loading PDFs via URLs in the ActiveX control.

[Brian_L_Lawson@adobeforums.com]

IF that were entirely true, then the whole purpose of this thread is moot (automating printing server side). It is possible to load the file via URLs using the following html code:
----------------------------------------------------------





function waitLoad()
{
setTimeout("printFile()",2000);
}

function printFile()
{
var objPdf = document.getElementById('pdf');
objPdf.PrintAllFit(1);
}


-------------------------------------------
So, if I used php or some other scripting language on the server to fill in the name of the pdf, I can load it via a URL, wait a couple of seconds for it to load, and then print it without user interaction. I wish that the LoadFile method would load a URL so that when it returns, I know it is loaded and I don't have to put faith in a timer that may not be enough for a large file.

This is the situation I'm in. This way works but I don't like the timer. I'd rather have the plugin let me know when it's loaded. Is there another method that can help me do what I want?

Thank again.

[Leonard_Rosenthol@adobeforums.com]

Sorry for the confusion, let me pick my words more carefully...

There is no methods for loading a PDF via a URL in the ActiveX control APIs. What you are doing in your code is actually having the web page load the PDF - that's different (and obviously works).

Now about your task...

Silent printing (aka printing w/o user interaction) is considered a security violation and is no longer supported by Acrobat/Reader except in a trusted context. You wouldn't want to be browsing to a web site and have your printer start spewing junk, would you??

If you are working in a controlled environment, then I recommend you read up on the new Reader 9 Security Model and it's Trust Manager.

[Brian_L_Lawson@adobeforums.com]

Is there a method on the ActiveX control to let me know when the file is finished loading?

[Leonard_Rosenthol@adobeforums.com]

No.

[Brian_L_Lawson@adobeforums.com]

I was looking through the Interapplication Communication API guide and it seems to say that the ActiveX control has a Src() method that will set a document's URL. Can't that be used to open a pdf via URL, then use the PrintAllFit() to do what I want?