Technical Note

Deploying Adobe Reader 9

Introduction

CONTENTS Getting Started 2
Adobe Reader 9 can be deployed across an enterprise using a variety of Microsoft Windows system and third-party software distribution tools. It offers new features and bug fixes which make upgrading especially attractive. For information on the benefits of upgrading, see:
http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/ http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/productinfo/reasons_to_upgrade/
Downloading and expanding the Installer 4 Example: Preparing for an MSI Installation 7 Appendix A: Command Line Switches for Expanding the Reader Installer Package 11 Appendix B: Command Line Switches for the Bootstrap Installer 12 Appendix C: Setting Installer Options Using Command-line Properties 13 Appendix D: Locale Codes Appendix E: Resources 16 15
The English-language version of Reader 9 includes menus to connect users to Acrobat.coma set of online services which include file sharing and storage, PDF conversion, an online word processor, and web conferencing:
http://www.adobe.com/acom/
This document discusses issues which should be considered before deployment, and it explains how to download and expand the compressed installer package. Adobe Customization Wizard can be used to customize the installation and application settings to create more efficient workflows and better enforcement of preferred organizational practices. For example, it can be used to customize digital signature and security settings, and to edit the registry and installer tables to lock settings so they cannot be altered by users. This document does not describe detailed deployment procedures. Once the installer has been downloaded, expanded, and customized, the resulting bootstrap installer and MSI package can be used with a variety of software distribution tools. Adobe provides installation guides for two popular deployment tools: Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS), or Group Policy Object (GPO) with Active Directory.
N OTE : Customization Wizard 9 will be available soon after the release of Reader 9. Customization Wizard 8 will not work with Reader 9. Other deployment guide documents (listed in Appendix E: Resources) for Reader 9 will also follow shortly after the release of Reader 9.
Intended Audience This document is for enterprise IT administrators who manage solutions for their users. It is assumed that the reader has a knowledge of Windows installers and of Adobe Reader.

J u l y 08

Compatibility This document describes the Adobe Reader installer for Windows, which is compatible with the following operating systems and servers: Microsoft Windows 2000, Service Pack 4 Microsoft Windows XP Home, Professional, or Tablet PC Edition with Service Pack 2 or 3 (32-bit and 64-bit) Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise, with or without Service Pack 1 (32-bit and 64-bit) Windows Server 2003 (32-bit and with Service Pack 2 for 64-bit) If you are using the MSI installer, you must have MSI 3.0 or higher.

Getting Started

The following sections discuss issues to consider while planning for installation and use of Adobe Reader 9. Hosting Reader on a Centralized Server Adobe Reader can be hosted on a centralized server and then emulated on client machines using Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server or Microsoft WTS (Windows Terminal Services). For information see Hosting in Appendix E: Resources on page 16, for the following documents: Adobe Acrobat 9 for Microsoft Windows Terminal Services Adobe Acrobat 9 for Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server These documents will be available soon after the release of Reader 9. Installer Interactions with Earlier Versions of Reader When upgrading to Reader 9, the installer will always remove all earlier versions of Reader except Reader 5. Only one version of Reader can be installed at one time, but multiple languages are allowed. The installer will also preserve user preferences, as of Reader 8 or higher, for all future upgrades. Table 1 shows the level of support for earlier versions of Reader. TABLE 1 Installer Support for Earlier Versions
Installed Version of Reader 5 (and earlier) 8 Preferences preserved? No Can be uninstalled by the Reader 9 Installer? No

No No Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Deploying Reader 9

Using Customization Wizard 9 to Control Installation and Operation Adobe Customization Wizard was developed to allow IT administrators to easily customize the Adobe Reader installer and application. It enables organizations to customize their workflows for more efficiency and to be less susceptible to error. Adobe Customization Wizard 9 allows you to: Optimize the behavior of the installer by including silent installation, preserialization, reboot, multilingual, and custom setup choices. Customize key application preferences and customize collaboration and security settings. Help prevent users from modifying certain preferences. Customize user access points to Acrobat.com
N OTE : Customization Wizard 9 will be available soon after the release of Reader 9. Customization Wizard 8 will not work with Reader 9.
For information on Customization Wizard 9, see the links for the data sheet and for downloading the software in Appendix E: Resources on page 16. The most important public properties defined in the installer tables are listed in Appendix C: Setting Installer Options Using Command-line Properties on page 13. These properties may be used on the command line to make simple behavioral changes to the installer, but Adobe recommends using Customization Wizard rather than command line arguments.

N OTE : Prior to version 8, customization was handled by the Adobe
InstallShield Tuner utility. Choosing Reader Settings and Preferences A key step in planning for deployment of Reader 9 is to decide the installation parameters and user preferences you would like to set. You can then use Adobe Customization Wizard 9 to control both the installation and use of Reader. For more information about features such as security, using document review servers, and other product features that may require custom settings, see the documents listed in Appendix E: Resources Appendix E: Resources on page 16. Plug-ins Many organizations use plug-ins for Reader to customize their workflows to meet their particular needs. Customization Wizard 9 allows you to specify which custom plug-ins will be automatically installed during installation. Organizations can either use plug-ins from third-party suppliers or by developing their own plug-ins using the Acrobat Software Developers Kit (SDK). For more information, see the Acrobat Developer Center: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/
Upgrading Reader When Acrobat Is Installed When deploying Reader 9 for users with Acrobat on their systems, the installer will set the more functional of the two applications, Acrobat, as the default PDF viewer. If the Acrobat application is an early version such as 5 or 6, opening PDFs can be significantly slower than with Reader 9. It is possible to use Customization Wizard 9 to set Reader 9 as the default viewer, and the user can then open Acrobat as needed. However, Adobe does not recommend or support having both applications installed on the same system. Ideally, the users Acrobat should be upgraded to the latest version and used as the default viewer, which will provide the user with better performance and enhanced security. Acrobat.com The English language version of Reader 9 provides the user with menus to connect to the Acrobat.com web site, and also installs the AIR runtime. Some enterprises may prefer to not provide links to external Web sites. To do that, the enterprise version of the installer should be used:
IM PO RTANT: Before downloading the enterprise version of the installer, you
should have a Reader distribution license agreement in place as referred to in the numbered step: Download, complete, and return the Reader license agreement on page 5. By clicking the link, you agree to the License Agreements and Privacy Policies for the software included. http://www.adobe.com/go/7PG1W1K26 Adobe Customization Wizard 9 can be used to disable Acrobat.com menus in Reader 9. Until Customization Wizard 9 is released (shortly after the release of Reader 9), you must manually edit the registry to disable the Acrobat.com feature by setting the following entry:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\9.0\Workflows] "bEnableAcrobatHS"=dword:00000000

Downloading and expanding the Installer
The Adobe Reader Installer is compressed using Nosso technology from NetOpSystems. When it is downloaded, the Nosso package can be run from the command line to expand the installer and leave both the bootstrap and MSI installer files on the desktop. Figure 1 shows an overview of the process of licensing, downloading, and expanding the installer package. A full description of the procedure follows.
FIGURE 1 Deployment Process Diagram
Submit redistribution application and receive approval from Adobe
Download Nossocompressed installer
Expand Nossocompressed package

Customize the installer

Use Setup.exe bootstrap installer

Use MSI installer

To download and expand the installer package, do the following:
1. Download, complete, and return the Reader license agreement
1a. To distribute Adobe Reader on a CD, with a computer product, or within your enterprise, you must complete the Reader Distribution agreement form: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/distribute.html 1b. Read the information on the page that is displayed. Under the heading Distribute free Adobe Reader Enterprise Edition, click the link Adobe Reader Distribution Agreement, or navigate to: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrdistribute.html 1c. Select the means of distribution from the drop-down menu titled Select One, and select the operating system. 1d. Fill out the form and click the Accept and Submit button. A web page will appear which explains that you will receive an e-mail message to validate your e-mail address, to which you must respond. It also explains that you need to respond within two days. After responding, you will be notified within two days whether your application has been accepted or denied. If your application is accepted, the e-mail you receive will contain a link for where to go to download Reader. The license agreement is good for one
year, and you will receive a reminder by e-mail in advance of the expiration date.
2. Download the Nosso-compressed installer package
2a. Using the link specified in your confirmation e-mail, go to the download page for the enterprise version of Adobe Reader. 2b. Choose the language and platform from the drop-down menu. 2c. Read the License Agreement 2d. Click Download Adobe Reader. You will be asked whether you wish to run or save the file; select Save. The Nosso-compressed installer package will be placed on the desktop.

3. Expand the Nosso-compressed package
Expand the Nosso-compressed file using the following from either the Run dialog or DOS command window:
<path to>\AdbeRdr90_en_US.exe <switches>
For example, the following command specifies that no files are to be executed after the expansion or installation, and the resulting files are to be placed in a folder named Reader9:
<path to>\AdbeRdr90_en_US.exe -nos_o"Reader9" -nos_ne
where the switch -nos_ne specifies to not execute any file after installation, and Reader9 is an example of a folder name for where to put the output files. It is best if you do not use an existing directory, and do not leave any spaces after -nos_o. A list of all command line switches for use in expanding the Nosso-compressed package is shown in Appendix A. If you are not using the U.S. English version of Reader, you must substitute the appropriate locale code for en_US. A list of all locale codes is shown in Appendix D. An example of the process and resulting files is shown in Example: Preparing for an MSI Installation on page 7.
N OTE : If you are using SMS and do not need to customize, you can use the Nosso-
compressed file directly with the SMS installer (proceed to step 5).
4. Customize before deployment
You can use Adobe Customization Wizard 9 to customize the installation by producing a.mst transform file to be added to the MSI package. For an example, see Step 5 below. To control whether Reader 9 links to Acrobat.com (it is only available in the English language version), see Acrobat.com on page 4.
5. Deploy using a software distribution tool
You can deploy Reader 9 using either the Setup.exe bootstrap or the MSI Installer: To use the Setup.exe bootstrap installer use the following from the command line:
<path to>\setup.exe <switches>
The switches are listed in Appendix B: Command Line Switches for the Bootstrap Installer on page 12. Example: To run the installer in silent mode, use the /sAll switch:
<path to>\setup.exe /sAll
If you used Customization Wizard to create a transform, the setup.ini file will already reference the transform file, and you only need to execute the above command. If you created a transform by another method, you can reference it as follows:
<path to>\setup.exe /sAll TRANSFORMS=<path to>\AdbeRdr.mst
To use the MSI installer use the following from the command line:
<path to>\msiexec.exe <switches>
The switches include those specified by Microsoft Windows: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314881/EN-US/ as well as the installer public properties defined by Adobe shown in Appendix C: Setting Installer Options Using Command-line Properties on page 13. Example: The following command will install Reader silently:

<path to>\msiexec.exe /i AcroRead.msi /qn
The following example shows a command line with arguments which reference a transform file:
<path to>\msiexec /i <path to>\AdbeRdr.msi TRANSFORMS=[UNCPath]\AdbeRdr.mst /qn
The MSI package can be used with a variety of system and third-party software distribution tools. Adobe publishes guides for two of the more popular tools: SMS and Group Policy, which are available at: http://www.adobe.com/go/reader_developer
Example: Preparing for an MSI Installation
The following example shows the steps (corresponding to the numbered steps in the above procedure) for downloading and expanding the installer package.

TABLE 2

Preparing for an MSI Installation
English language installer (including Acrobat.com)
Procedure Resulting disk contents:
Non-English language Installer (without Acrobat.com)

Resulting disk contents:

Sign and submit the Reader redistribution license agreement (URL in return e-mail) Download Reader Click Download button. Select Save

AdbeRdr90_en_US.exe

AdbeRdr90_fr_FR.exe

Expand the Nosso package

Choose Start > Run and enter:
<path to> AdbeRdr90_en_US.exe nos_oReader9Install -nos_ne

and click OK

Customize the installer
Use Customization Wizard 9 to create a.mst transform file which is added to the MSI installer package.
The resulting MSI package is now ready for installation.
Deploy the resulting MSI package
For installing with SMS or GPO, see Appendix E: Resources on page 16. For bootstrap and MSI installer, see examples on page 6.
Post-deployment Integration
Deploying Acrobat or Adobe Reader in enterprise environments usually requires integration of the client into, for example, a security infrastructure such as a PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) or a system for review and commenting which uses a central comments depository. There may also be a need to specify and configure for LDAP Directory Servers, digital signature workflows, or for OCSP and Timestamp servers. For more information, see the Acrobat 9 Security Administration Guide, and Review and Commenting document which is listed in Appendix E: Resources on page 16.
Copyright 20072008 Adobe Systems, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe Systems Incorporated 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110-2704 USA http://www.adobe.com Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Adobe LiveCycle, and Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Mac OS is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista, and Word are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

11 July 2008

Appendix A: Command Line Switches for Expanding the Reader Installer Package
The general form of the command to convert a Nosso-compressed file to an MSI package is: <path to>\AdbeRdr90_en_US.exe [<switches>.] where: <switches> can consist of either Nosso or Adobe switches. The values for the NOS-Switches are shown in Table A.1. TABLE A.1 Switches for Expanding Nosso Installer Argument -nos_ne Description
Do not execute any file after installation (overrides the -e switch) This switch should be used if user only wants to extract the installer contents and not run the installer. Do not delete files after installation (overrides the -r switch) The -r switch uses the existing folder and overwrites the extraction files to the same folder without creating an additional extraction folder. Specifies the name of folder where the contents of the expanded package are to be placed. The folder name should be enclosed in quotation marks. It is best i f you do not use an existing folder, and there should be no space following the -nos_o. For example: <path to>\AdbeRdr90_en_US.exe -nos_oTestFolder -nos_ne

-nos_nd

-nos_o
This switch specifies that installation will be run in silent mode.
Defaults: output folder: %TEMPDIR%/Adobe <Productname>
Appendix B: Command Line Switches for the Bootstrap Installer
Arguments can be passed to the Setup.exe bootstrap installer to control its operation. The general form of the command is: <path to>\Setup.exe [<switches>.] The values for the bootstrap installer switches are shown in Table B.1.
N OTE : All parameters are case insensitive.
TABLE B.1 Switches for the Setup.exe bootstrap installer

Switch /sAll /sPB /rs

Description
Run installer in silent mode. Silent mode with minimum UI, Progress Bar only. Reboot Suppress. Setup.exe will not initiate reboot even if it is required. Reboot Prompt Suppress. If reboot is required, the system restarts without warning. Relative or absolute path to an alternative (different) Bootstrapper INI file. The CmdLine of alternative INI will be ignored. Enable Error Logging. Log file Bootstrap.log will be generated in temp directory. Set Language, where LANG_ID is the decimal code of the destination installation language. Use it only for the multilingual installer, and make sure that the corresponding language transform file exist in the setup directory. If /sl "LANG_ID" is not set and you are running the multilingual installer interactively (not silently), Choose Setup Language dialog will be displayed. Identifies the portion of CmdLine for additional MSIEXEC command line parameters. Everything following /msi is passed to MSIEXEC without analyzing and without any changes. See Windows Installer Command-Line Options: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/enus/msi/setup/command_line_options.asp

/ini "PATH"

/sl "LANG_ID"

/msi[Command line]

Appendix C: Setting Installer Options Using Command-line Properties
This appendix lists the public properties of the installer which can be specified or overridden by passing arguments to the installer when executing from the command line.

N OTE :

Public property arguments must be all uppercase characters, and they can include underscores.
Scope of Runtime Property Settings Some properties may be preset in the installer tables, and others not. The effect of specifying properties at the command line is shown in Table C.1. For any property that is set in more than one place, the command line has the highest precedence, then a transform, then the Property table. TABLE C.1 Effect of Runtime Arguments on Property Values Property set in installer table?

Yes No

Runtime value overrides property table?
Yes (property not in table, so runtime command determines setting)

At maintenance time

Property defaults to value set in installer property table Property is not set in table or by the command line.
EXAMPLE 1.1 Setting Public Properties at Runtime The following installer command installs Reader in silent mode and overrides the browser integration property so it is turned on (it is off by default):
<path to>\msiexec.exe /i AcroRead.msi /qn DISABLE_BROWSER_INTEGRATION=YES
The public properties which can be set using the command line are shown in Table C.2. These settings can be used to override whatever settings are specified in the installer table.
TABLE C.2 Public Properties for Command Line Control of the Installer
Action Disable setup files caching Disable Acrobat/Reader browser integration Turn off PDFMaker feature Property DISABLE_CACHE=1 DISABLE_BROWSER_INTEGRATION=YES DISABLE_PDFMAKER=YES
Action Turn off Create PDF feature Turn off Asian Language Support feature Turn off Reader SearchAndIndex feature Turn off Reader MultimediaPlugin feature Turn off Reader ImageViewerPlugin feature Turn off Reader CE_FONTS feature
Property DISABLE_DISTILLER=YES DISABLE_ASIAN_FONTS=YES DISABLE_SEARCH5=YES DISABLE_MULTIMEDIA=YES DISABLE_IMAGEVIEWER=YES DISABLE_CE_FONTS=YES

Turn off Reader Accessibility_Plugins feature DISABLE_ACCESSIBILITY=YES Turn off Reader Atmosphere_3D feature Turn off Reader AdobeCommonLinguistics feature (Spelling) Disable and hide Launch checkbox on final dialog Set PDF ownership type (Acrobat) Set PDF ownership type (Reader) Default install level Disable interoperability handling DISABLE_3D=YES DISABLE_LINGUISTICS=YES SUPPRESS_APP_LAUNCH=Yes DEFAULT_VERB=Open DEFAULT_VERB=Read INSTALLLEVEL=100 IGNORE_INTEROP_REQS=YES

Appendix D: Locale Codes

The Reader Installer filename is of the form: <path to>\AdbeRdr90_en_US.exe where en_US is the locale code for the language and country supported by that file. The locale code consists of a language code and a country code. The locale codes for the Reader 9 installer are listed in Table B.1.

TABLE B.1

Language Chinese Simplified Chinese Traditional Danish Dutch English Finnish French German Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Portuguese Brazilian Spanish Swedish
Code zh_CN zh_TW da_DK nl_NL en_US fi_FI fr_FR de_DE it_IT ja_JP ko_KR nb_NO pt_BR es_ES sv_SE

Appendix E: Resources

The following lists documents related to the deployment of Reader 9 and related features such as security, digital signature workflows, and the administration of review and commenting systems.
IM PO RTANT: The following documents will not be available until shortly
after the release of Reader 9. Adobe Customization Wizard 9
Data Sheet: http://www.adobe.com/go/reader_wizard_info Download Customization Wizard 9: http://www.adobe.com/go/reader_wizard

Deployment Guides

http://www.adobe.com/go/enterprise_deployment Adobe Acrobat 9 for Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) Adobe Acrobat 9 for Microsoft Windows Group Policy and the Active Directory Service

Hosting

http://www.adobe.com/go/enterprise_deployment Adobe Acrobat 9 for Microsoft Windows Terminal Services Adobe Acrobat 9 for Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server
Security and Digital Signatures
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/security.html Digital Signatures in PDF Digital Signatures in Acrobat Acrobat Security User Guide Acrobat Security Administration Guide

Review and Commenting

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/online_review_admin.html
Acrobat Online Collaboration: Setup and Administration

Developing for Adobe Reader

Adobe Acrobat SDK

November 2006 Version 8.0
2006 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe Acrobat SDK 8.0 Developing for Adobe Reader for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and UNIX Edition 1.0, November 2006 If this guide is distributed with software that includes an end user agreement, this guide, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. Except as permitted by any such license, no part of this guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Please note that the content in this guide is protected under copyright law even if it is not distributed with software that includes an end user license agreement. The content of this guide is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe Systems Incorporated assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in the informational content contained in this guide. Please remember that existing artwork or images that you may want to include in your project may be protected under copyright law. The unauthorized incorporation of such material into your new work could be a violation of the rights of the copyright owner. Please be sure to obtain any permission required from the copyright owner. Any references to company names and company logos in sample material are for demonstration purposes only and are not intended to refer to any actual organization. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Reader, LiveCycle, Photoshop, PostScript, Illustrator, and After Effects are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. AIX is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Apple and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. HP-UX is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. JavaScript and Solaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Microsoft and Windows are either a registered trademark or a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Pentium is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. Red Hat is a trademark or registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, California 95110, USA. Notice to U.S. Government End Users. The Software and Documentation are Commercial Items, as that term is defined at 48 C.F.R. 2.101, consisting of Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software Documentation, as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 or 48 C.F.R. 227.7202, as applicable. Consistent with 48 C.F.R. 12.212 or 48 C.F.R. 227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4, as applicable, the Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software Documentation are being licensed to U.S. Government end users (a) only as Commercial Items and (b) with only those rights as are granted to all other end users pursuant to the terms and conditions herein. Unpublished-rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States. Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110-2704, USA. For U.S. Government End Users, Adobe agrees to comply with all applicable equal opportunity laws including, if appropriate, the provisions of Executive Order 11246, as amended, Section 402 of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (38 USC 4212), and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the regulations at 41 CFR Parts 60-1 through 60-60, 60-250, and 60-741. The affirmative action clause and regulations contained in the preceding sentence shall be incorporated by reference.

Contents

Preface..... 4
Whats in this guide?..... 4 Who should read this guide?...... 4 Related documentation...... 4

Introduction.... 6

Supported platforms..... 6 Windows...... 6 Mac OS....... 6 Linux...... 7 Solaris...... 7 AIX...... 8 HP-UX...... 8 Technologies available within the Acrobat SDK..... 8 JavaScript..... 9 Interapplication communication..... 9 Plug-ins...... 9

JavaScript APIs..... 10

Objects, properties and methods....10
Interapplication Communication... 25
OLE automation......25 DDE messages.....27 Apple events......27

Plug-ins..... 28

APIs available for Adobe Reader.....29

Index.... 30

Preface
Adobe Reader belongs to the Adobe Acrobat family of products, and is used for viewing, navigating, and printing PDF documents. For more information on the Acrobat family of products, see http://www.adobe.com/go/acrobat_developer.

Whats in this guide?

This guide provides an introduction to those portions of the Adobe Acrobat Software Development Kit (SDK) that pertain to your development efforts for Adobe Reader. It provides a general overview of the types of things you can do with the SDK and the technologies that are available to you through the SDK. This document provides a starting point for developers who would like to understand how to extend or customize Adobe Reader, and provides information clarifying how such efforts differ from those intended for Acrobat. It is possible to extend and customize Adobe Reader by using the Adobe Acrobat SDK to write JavaScript code, implement interapplication communication, and write plug-ins. This document indicates the relevant subsets of the JavaScript APIs, interapplication communication APIs, and the Acrobat and PDF Library APIs. It describes each of those collections of APIs and their intended purposes, and clarifies what is available on all supported platforms.
Who should read this guide?
This guide is meant for developers who are either new to Adobe Reader development or have experience with the Acrobat SDK. For information about Acrobat SDK technologies and the many ways that developers can extend Acrobat or Adobe Reader using the Acrobat SDK, see the Overview.

Related documentation

The following resources and samples provide further information about the Acrobat SDK, as well as additional documents that you should have available for reference. For information about A roadmap containing descriptions of all the documentation in the Acrobat SDK. A description of known issues and implementation details specific to the various platforms supported in the Acrobat SDK. Answers to frequently asked questions about the Acrobat 8.0 SDK. The new features in this SDK release. See Acrobat SDK Documentation Roadmap Readme

Developer FAQ Whats New

Related documentation 5
For information about A general overview of the capabilities and usage of the Acrobat SDK. An introduction to those portions of the Acrobat SDK that pertain to development efforts for Adobe Reader. Descriptions and implementation details for samples included with the Acrobat SDK. An overview of the SnippetRunner tool and the plug-in snippets provided with the Acrobat SDK. A description of how to develop external applications that use Apple events, AppleScript, DDE, or OLE to control Acrobat or Adobe Reader or render PDF documents. Detailed descriptions of the APIs available for Apple events, AppleScript, DDE, or OLE to control Acrobat or Adobe Reader or render PDF documents. An overview of how to use JavaScript to develop and enhance standard workflows in Acrobat or Adobe Reader. Detailed descriptions of the JavaScript APIs for developing and enhancing standard workflows in Acrobat or Reader. A detailed description of the PDF file format. A description of how to develop plug-ins for Acrobat and Adobe Reader, as well as PDF Library applications. A detailed description of the APIs available to create plug-ins for Acrobat and Adobe Reader, as well as PDF Library applications. Describes the syntax and semantics of the PostScript language and the Adobe imaging model.
See Overview Developing for Adobe Reader Guide to SDK Samples Snippet Runner Cookbook Developing Applications using Interapplication Communication Interapplication Communication API Reference Developing Acrobat Applications using JavaScript JavaScript for Acrobat API Reference PDF Reference Developing Plug-ins and Applications Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference
PostScript Language Reference, third edition

Introduction

This chapter describes the supported platforms for development using the Acrobat SDK, and summarizes the technologies available within the Acrobat SDK.

Supported platforms

This section describes the requirements for using the interapplication communication and Acrobat core and extended APIs on all supported platforms. The following platforms are currently supported for development with Adobe Reader:

Windows Mac OS Linux Solaris AIX HP-UX
Details for each platform are described below.

Windows

Versions Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2
Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Home Edition
Development environments Microsoft Visual Studio.NET 2003
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005
Note: For more information on the Windows environment, see the Overview and Developing Plug-ins and Applications.

Mac OS

Versions Mac OS X versions 10.2.8 or later. Development environment Xcode 2.3
Note: For more information on Mac OS development environments, see the Overview and Developing Plug-ins and Applications.

Linux 7

Machine requirements 32-bit Intel Pentium-class processor, 128 MB RAM (256 MB recommended), 70 MB hard disk space. Distributions and versions Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 3.0, with Linux kernel version 2.4.21
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 4.0, with Linux kernel version 2.6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 3.0, with Linux kernel version 2.4.21 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 4.0, with Linux kernel version 2.6 Red Hat Linux Desktop Red Hat Linux version 9.0, with Linux kernel versions 2.4.20 through 2.6 SuSE Linux Enterprise Server version 9, with Linux kernel version 2.6 SuSE Linux Professional version 9.2, with Linux Kernel kernel 2.6.4 Turbolinux 10 Desktop, with Linux kernel version 2.6 Red Flag Linux Desktop 4.0
Note: Not all versions of Red Hat Linux will automatically install the GNOME GTK+ Library, which is required for developing plug-ins for Adobe Reader on Linux. To ensure that your Adobe Reader plug-ins will compile, make sure the GNOME GTK+ Library has been installed on your system.
Supported browsers Mozilla versions 1.73 and 1.8
Netscape version 7 Firefox version 1.0
Development environment Standard GNU Compiler: gcc version 3.2

Solaris

Machine requirements UltraSPARC or UltraSPARC IIIi processor, 128 MB RAM, 70 MB hard disk space. Versions Solaris Operating System versions 8 and 9 Supported browsers Mozilla version 1.73

Netscape version 7

Machine requirements RISC System/6000 or IBM Power5 processor, 128 MB RAM, 70 MB hard disk space. Versions IBM AIX versions 5.2 and 5.2.0.35 Supported browser Mozilla version 1.73 Development environment Native compiler: xIC version 6.0
Machine requirements 32 bit PA-8000x processor, 128 MB RAM, 70 MB hard disk space. Versions HP-UX versions 11 and 11i Supported browser Mozilla version 1.6 Development environment HP ANSI C++ native compiler: aCC version A.03.33
Technologies available within the Acrobat SDK
The primary technologies for creating software to extend or customize Adobe Reader are JavaScript, interapplication communication, and plug-ins. For information about choosing an appropriate technology for your project, see the Overview guide. It is important to consider the role of Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions in your development efforts with JavaScript and plug-ins. Though the APIs available for Adobe Reader are normally limited in both cases, additional APIs can be used for a given PDF document if that document is rights-enabled, meaning that it has additional usage rights. LiveCycle Reader Extensions is a server product that enables document producers and creators to quickly and easily embed additional usage rights into PDF documents, which results in extra functionality when the documents are opened. The extra functionality makes the following activities possible:

Saving forms with results offline Connecting forms to databases or online services Attaching files and media clips Saving copies of documents with changes intact

JavaScript 9

Submitting completed documents electronically Digitally signing documents Sharing documents with others to review and add comments using intuitive markup tools such as electronic sticky notes, highlights, and text strike-throughs
Note: With LiveCycle Reader Extensions, it is not necessary to distribute any plug-ins or other special software to implement these features. For more information on the Adobe LiveCycle products, see the Developer FAQ.

JavaScript

JavaScript is a platform-independent scripting language with which you can customize the behavior of PDF documents in Acrobat or Adobe Reader, as well as the behavior of Acrobat or Adobe Reader itself. You will find that using JavaScript is, in many cases, much easier than writing plug-ins. Note: Adobe Reader support for JavaScript is limited. For details, see JavaScript APIs on page 10.
Interapplication communication
Acrobat and Adobe Reader provide support for interapplication communication (IAC) through OLE automation and DDE on Windows platforms, and through Apple events and AppleScript on Mac OS. IAC is only supported on Windows and Mac OS platforms, and is not supported on Linux or UNIX platforms. Note: Adobe Reader support for IAC is limited. For details, see Interapplication Communication on page 25.

Plug-ins

Plug-ins are dynamically linked extensions to Acrobat or Adobe Reader, and can be developed on all supported platforms. A plug-in can extend or customize the functionality of Acrobat or Adobe Reader, and can be integrated into the user interface. Plug-ins are written in ANSI C/C++ using the Acrobat APIs. In order to write a plug-in for Adobe Reader, you must create a Reader-enabled plug-in. Note: Adobe Reader support for the Acrobat core and extended APIs is limited. For details, see Plug-ins on page 28.

JavaScript APIs

With Adobe Reader, JavaScript can be used for a number of tasks:
To develop and process Acrobat forms and XML forms To customize the behavior and appearance of a PDF document To facilitate online team review To implement security policies To interact with web services To customize the behavior and appearance of Adobe Reader itself
Note: The JavaScript debugger available in Acrobat is not normally available in Adobe Reader, though debug messages can be triggered to appear in the console. The complete debugger functionality can be enabled in Adobe Reader on Windows and Mac OS platforms. For details, see Developing Acrobat Applications using JavaScript. As you learned in Technologies available within the Acrobat SDK on page 8, additional usage rights may be applied to a PDF document using LiveCycle Reader Extensions. For detailed information on which JavaScript APIs are available in rights-enabled PDF documents, see Developing Acrobat Applications using JavaScript.

Objects, properties and methods
On all supported platforms, JavaScript can be used for processing within a single document, processing for a given page within a document, and processing for a given form field. The following table JavaScript objects, properties, and methods available in Adobe Reader contains a list of the JavaScript objects, properties, and methods that can be used with Adobe Reader. Note: Some of the objects listed below, such as those related to the console, debugger, media players, and text-to-speech, are not available for all platforms. Also, many properties and methods are only available within certain contexts and circumstances. For details, see the JavaScript for Acrobat API Reference and Developing Acrobat Applications using JavaScript.
JavaScript objects, properties, and methods available in Adobe Reader

Object

Alerter AlternatePresentation Annotation active type alignment AP arrowBegin arrowEnd attachIcon

Properties

Methods
dispatch start stop destroy getProps getStateInModel setProps transitionToState
Objects, properties and methods 11

Annotation

author borderEffectIntensity borderEffectStyle callout caretSymbol contents creationDate dash delay doc doCaption fillColor gestures hidden inReplyTo intent leaderExtend leaderLength lineEnding lock modDate name noteIcon noView opacity page point points popupOpen popupRect print quads rect readOnly refType richContents richDefaults rotate seqNum soundIcon state stateModel strokeColor style subject textFont textSize toggleNoView type vertices width

(Continued)

Objects, properties and methods 12

Annot3D

activated context3D innerRect name page rect activeDocs calculate constants focusRect formsVersion fromPDFConverters fs fullscreen language media monitors numPlugIns openInPlace platform plugIns printerNames runtimeHighlight runtimeHighlightColor thermometer toolbar toolbarHorizontal toolbarVertical viewerType viewerVariation viewerVersion
addMenuItem addSubMenu addToolButton alert beep beginPriv browseForDoc clearInterval clearTimeOut endPriv execDialog execMenuItem getNthPlugInName getPath goBack goForward hideMenuItem hideToolbarButton launchURL listMenuItems listToolbarButtons openDoc popUpMenu popUpMenuEx removeToolButton response setInterval setTimeOut trustedFunction trustPropagatorFunction addStockEvents alertFileNotFound alertSelectFailed argsDWIM canPlayOrAlert computeFloatWinRect constrainRectToScreen createPlayer getAltTextData getAltTextSettings getAnnotStockEvents getAnnotTraceEvents getPlayers

app.media

align canResize closeReason defaultVisible ifOffScreen layout monitorType openCode over pageEventNames raiseCode raiseSystem renditionType
Objects, properties and methods 13
status trace version windowType

getPlayerStockEvents getPlayerTraceEvents getRenditionSettings getURLData getURLSettings getWindowBorderSize openPlayer removeStockEvents startPlayer execute

Bookmark

children doc parent binary issuerDN keyUsage MD5Hash SHA1Hash serialNumber subjectCN subjectDN ubRights usage

Certificate

Collab
addStateModel documentToStream removeStateModel transparent black white red green blue cyan magenta yellow dkGray gray ltGray columnNum name type typeName value name description type typeName convert equal

Column

ColumnInfo
Objects, properties and methods 14

console

clear hide println show
Note: Only println is supported on Linux and UNIX platforms.
Data creationDate description MIMEType modDate name path size enable end load store info canList canDoCustomSearch canDoCustomUISearh canDoStandardSearch groups name uiName alternatePresentations author baseURL bookmarkRoot calculate creationDate creator dataObjects delay disclosed docID documentFileName dynamicXFAForm external fileSize hidden hostContainer icons info innerAppWindowRect innerDocWindowRect isModal connect search

Dialog

Directory DirConnection

Document

addAnnot addField addIcon bringToFront calculateNow closeDoc createDataObject deletePages embedDocAsDataObject exportAsFDF exportAsFDFStr exportAsText exportAsXFDF exportAsXFDFStr exportDataObject exportXFAData getAnnot getAnnot3D getAnnots getAnnots3D getDataObject getDataObjectContents
Objects, properties and methods 15
keywords layout media modDate mouseX mouseY noautocomplete nocache numFields numPages numTemplates path outerAppWindowRect outerDocWindowRect pageNum pageWindowRect permStatusReady producer requiresFullSave securityHandler selectedAnnots sounds spellDictionaryOrder subject templates URL viewState xfa XFAForeground zoom zoomType
getField getIcon getLinks getNthFieldName getNthTemplate getOCGs getOCGOrder getPageBox getPageLabel getPageNthWord getPageNthWordQuads getPageNumWords getPageRotation getPageTransition getPrintParams getSound getTemplate getURL gotoNamedDest importAnFDF importAnXFDF importDataObject importIcon importSound importTextData importXFAData mailDoc mailForm openDataObject print removeDataObject removeField resetForm saveAs scroll selectPageNthWord setDataObjectContents setPageAction submitForm syncAnnotScan deleteRendition getAnnot getAnnots getOpenPlayers getRendition newPlayer postMessage

Doc.media

canPlay

Embedded PDF

messageHandler
Objects, properties and methods 16
fileName lineNumber extMessage message name change changeEx commitKey fieldFull keyDown modifier name rc richChange richChangeEx richValue selEnd selStart shift source target targetName type value willCommit

toString

Events
add dispatch remove afterBlur afterClose afterDestroy afterDone afterError afterEscape afterEveryEvent afterFocus afterPause afterPlay afterReady afterScript afterSeek afterStatus afterStop onBlur onClose onDestroy onDone onError onEscape onEveryEvent

EventListener

Objects, properties and methods 17
onFocus onGetRect onPause onPlay onReady onScript onSeek onStatus onStop
alignment borderStyle buttonAlignX buttonAlignY buttonFitBounds buttonPosition buttonScaleHow buttonScaleWhen calcOrderIndex charLimit comb commitOnSelChange currentValueIndices defaultStyle defaultValue doNotScroll doNotSpellCheck delay display doc editable exportValues fileSelect fillColor hidden highlight lineWidth multiline multipleSelection name numItems page password print radiosInUnison readonly rect required richText richValue strokeColor style
browseForFileToSubmit buttonGetCaption buttonGetIcon buttonSetCaption buttonSetIcon checkThisBox clearItems defaultIsChecked deleteItemAt getArray getItemAt getLock insertItemAt isBoxChecked isDefaultChecked setFocus setItems signatureGetModifications signatureGetSeedValue signatureInfo signatureSign signatureValidate
Objects, properties and methods 18
submitName textColor textFont textSize type userName value valueAsString backgroundColor clickAdvances cursor defaultTransition escapeExits isFullScreen loop timeDelay transitions usePageTiming useTimer

FullScreen

Global HostContainer Icon Icon Stream messageHandler name read width height corporation email loginName name available name path selected frame index name time player
setPersistent subscribe postMessage

Identity

Marker

Markers

Objects, properties and methods 19

MediaOffset

frame marker time annot defaultSize doc events hasFocus id innerRect isOpen isPlaying markers outerRect page settings uiSize visible rendition selectContext players rejects rendition autoPlay baseURL bgColor bgOpacity data duration endAt floating layout monitor monitorType page palindrome players rate repeat showUI startAt visible volume windowType

MediaPlayer

close open pause play seek setFocus stop triggerGetRect where
MediaReject MediaSelection

MediaSettings

Objects, properties and methods 20

Monitor

colorDepth isPrimary rect workRect

Monitors

(Same as Array)
bestColor bestFit desktop document filter largest leastOverlap mostOverlap nonDocument primary secondary select tallest widest getIntent setAction
constants initState locked name state id mimeTypes name version

PlayerInfo

canPlay canUseData honors select

PlayerInfoList PlugIn

certfied loaded name path version
Objects, properties and methods 21

PrintParams

binaryOK colorOverride constants downloadFarEastFonts fileName firstPage flags fontPolicy interactive lastPage nUpAutoRotate nUpNumPagesH nUpNumPagesV nUpPageBorder nUpPageOrder pageHandling pageSubset printAsImage printContent printerName psLevel reversePages usePrinterCRD useT1Conversion c cn o ou e altText doc fileName type uiName columnArray altText alwaysShowFocus display doc events extFocusRect innerDeviceRect noTrigger outerDeviceRect page player rect

Rendition

getPlaySettings select testCriteria

Row ScreenAnnot

hasFocus setFocus
Objects, properties and methods 22

Search

attachments available bookmarks docInfo docText docXMP ignoreAccents ignoreAsianCharacterWidth indexes jpegExif legacySearch markup matchCase matchWholeWord maxDocs objectMetadata proximity proximityRange refine soundex stem thesaurus wordMatching handlers appearances digitalIDs directories directoryHandlers isLoggedIn loginName loginPath name signAuthor signFDF signInvisible signValidate signVisible uiName
addIndex getIndexForPath query removeIndex

Security SecurityHandler

getHandler login logout newDirectory

SignatureInfo

(see the JavaScript for Acrobat API Reference for a detailed description of the properties)
Objects, properties and methods 23

wiredump

connect queryServices resolveService request response streamDecode streamDigest streamEncode streamFromString stringFromStream play pause stop
alignment fontFamily fontStretch fontStyle fontWeight strikethrough subscript superscript text textColor textSize underline available dictionaryNames dictionaryOrder domainNames languages languageOrder addWord check checkText checkWord customDictionaryClose customDictionaryOpen ignoreAll removeWord userWords spawn begin end

Template Thermometer

hidden name cancelled duration text value
Objects, properties and methods 24
available numSpeakers pitch soundCues speaker speechCues speechRate volume
getNthSpeakerName pause qSilence qSound qText reset resume stop talk crackURL iconStreamFromIcon printd printf printx scand spansToXML streamFromString stringFromStream xmlToSpans
(Corresponds to the appModel container. For details, see Developing Acrobat Applications using JavaScript.)
(Corresponds to the appModel container. For details, see Developing Acrobat Applications using JavaScript)

applyXPath parse

XMLData
For a complete description of the capabilities and usage of JavaScript for Acrobat, see Developing Acrobat Applications using JavaScript and the JavaScript for Acrobat API Reference.
Interapplication Communication
Only a limited subset of the complete IAC functionality is available for Adobe Reader. For detailed descriptions of the syntax and usage of the IAC APIs discussed in this chapter, see the Interapplication Communication API Reference and Developing Applications using Interapplication Communication. Note: IAC is not supported on the Linux or UNIX platforms.

OLE automation

On Windows, the only OLE automation supported for Adobe Reader is the PDF browser controls interface, which enables you to treat a PDF document as an ActiveX document within an external application. This makes it possible to load a file, move to various pages within the file, highlight a text selection, and specify various print and display options, as shown below.

PDF browser controls

OLE automation 26
PDF browser controls are available through the AxAcroPDFLib.AxAcroPDF interface, which provides the following methods used to programmatically control the PDF document window:

GoBackwardStack GoForwardStack GotoFirstPage GotoLastPage GotoNextPage GotoPreviousPage LoadFile Print PrintAll PrintAllFit PrintPages PrintPagesFit PrintWithDialog SetCurrentHighlight SetCurrentPage SetLayoutMode SetNamedDest SetPageMode SetShowScrollbars SetShowToolbar SetView SetViewRect SetViewScroll SetZoom SetZoomScroll

DDE messages 27

DDE messages
Adobe Reader supports the following DDE messages:

AppExit CloseAllDocs DocClose DocGoTo DocGoToNameDest DocOpen FileOpen FileOpenEx FilePrint FilePrintEx FilePrintSilent FilePrintSilentEx FilePrintTo FilePrintToEx

Apple events

On Mac OS, you may use Apple events and AppleScript. Adobe Reader supports only the following required Apple events:

open print quit run

The Acrobat core and extended APIs enable you to write plug-ins that integrate with Adobe Reader. For detailed information on the API architecture, methods, and usage, see Developing Plug-ins and Applications and the Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference. Any plug-ins written for Adobe Reader must be Reader-enabled, which means that you will need to obtain permission and licensing from Adobe Systems. When developing a Reader-enabled plug-in, follow the steps described in Developing Plug-ins and Applications to make specific changes to your plug-in code in order for Adobe Reader to recognize and load it. For information on what you can and cannot do with Reader-enabled plug-ins, see the Reader Integration Key License Program. A Reader-enabled plug-in is a dynamically linked extension to Adobe Reader created using C/C++ APIs, and can be developed for any supported platform:
DLLs on Windows (using the extension.api) Shared libraries (code fragments) on Mac OS X Shared libraries on Linux or UNIX platforms
As you learned in Technologies available within the Acrobat SDK on page 8, additional usage rights may be applied to a PDF document using LiveCycle Reader Extensions. For information on checking permissions associated with a given PDF document, see Developing Plug-ins and Applications. Note: With LiveCycle Reader Extensions, it is not necessary to distribute any plug-ins or other special software to implement the additional usage rights available within the PDF document.
APIs available for Adobe Reader 29
APIs available for Adobe Reader
Host Function Tables (HFTs) are tables of function pointers, essentially providing a means by which plug-ins call methods in Adobe Reader. The following HFTs are available for development with Adobe Reader:
AcroView AcroViewSweetPea Cos PDModel ASExtra PDSRead AcroSupport Core Forms TTS DigSigHFT AcroHLS (Not available on Linux or UNIX platforms) PubSecHFT Search WebLink
For details about specific API support within each of the HFTs, see Developing Plug-ins and Applications. For information about the various Acrobat layers and the organization of the related HFTs, see the Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference. For a summary of the Acrobat extended APIs, see the Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference. For details regarding the additional usage rights that may be applied to a PDF document, see Developing Plug-ins and Applications.
ActiveX document 25 additional usage rights 8, 10, 28 Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions 8, 10, 28 AIX 6, 8 Apple events 9, 25 AppleScript 9, 27

Mac OS 6 Macintosh 6

OLE automation 9, 25