Pdf developer faq

Adobe Acrobat 7.0.5

Developer FAQ

July 27, 2005

Adobe Solutions Network — http://partners.adobe.com

© 2005 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Acrobat® Developer FAQ
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Contents

Basic Acrobat SDK Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What Is Acrobat? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What Is the Acrobat SDK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
What Is a Plug-in? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What Is a Certified Plug-in? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
How Does a Script Written in JavaScript Differ From a Plug-in? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
What Are Some Common Uses of the Acrobat SDK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Where Do I Start with the Acrobat SDK?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Where Can I Find Guidelines On Developing Adobe Reader Plug-ins?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
What Are the Requirements For Using Acrobat Forms? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
What Are the Requirements For Using XML Forms? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
What is the FDF Toolkit? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Licensing and Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
What Should I Know About Acrobat Licensing and Distribution? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
What Technical and Licensing Issues are Restricted in the Acrobat SDK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
What ActiveX Solutions Are Provided By the Acrobat SDK?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
User and Developer Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
What Do I Need to Download from the Web to Get the Acrobat SDK?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Where Can I Get Help With Acrobat Product Issues? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Acrobat SDK Development Support Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
How Can I Contact Adobe For Technical Support Issues? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
What Is the ASN Developer Program and How Do I Join? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
What Adobe Resources Are Recommended to Acrobat Developers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
What Developer Resources Are Provided by Outside Companies? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Acrobat and Adobe Reader Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
What Are the API Differences Between Acrobat and Adobe Reader?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Developing for Adobe Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
What Is a Rights-enabled PDF Document? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# .NET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
How Can I Use Visual Basic .NET or Visual C# .NET With the Acrobat SDK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
What Are the Best Resources For Getting Started Using Visual Basic .NET or Visual C# .NET With
the Acrobat SDK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Enterprise Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
How Can I Customize the Acrobat Installer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
PDF Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Acrobat Developer FAQ 3

Contents

What API Methods Are Available to Modify PDF Documents? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
What Options Do I Have to Modify PDF Documents Without C Programming Background?. . 23
How Can I Extract Text From PDF Documents Using the Acrobat SDK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
How Can I Display a PDF File in an External Application Window? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Are Multibyte Font PDF Documents Supported by the Acrobat SDK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
How Are Security and Encryption Provided in PDF Documents? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Full-Text Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
What Tools Are Available with Acrobat For Full-Text Search? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
What Tools Are Available for Extracting and Highlighting Text? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
How Do I Communicate with the Acrobat Search Plug-in? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
How Do I Create Custom DocInfo Fields For Searching?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
How Do I Use Command Lines with Acrobat and Adobe Reader on Windows? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4 Acrobat Developer FAQ

Acrobat Developer FAQ

Basic Acrobat SDK Questions

What Is Acrobat?
Adobe® Acrobat® 7.0 consists of a family of products for creating, modifying, indexing,
searching, displaying, and manipulating PDF (Portable Document Format) files. For further
information about the Acrobat family of products, see the Acrobat Main Page.
What is the Acrobat Family?
● Adobe Reader® for viewing, navigating, and printing PDF documents. Adobe Reader is
free software that lets anyone view and print Adobe PDF files on all major computer
platforms, as well as fill in and submit Adobe PDF forms. Adobe has distributed more
than 500 million copies of the software worldwide.
● Acrobat for adding navigational links, annotations, and security options, in addition to
the functionality provided by Adobe Reader. Acrobat 7.0 is offered in two
configurations:
– Acrobat 7.0 Standard — Offers all of the Adobe PDF creation and distribution tools in
Acrobat Elements® (see below) and also allows users to more effectively manage
document review cycles. Acrobat Standard’s intuitive review and commenting tools
help streamline collaboration and reduce the costs and inefficiencies of paper-based
review processes.
– Acrobat 7.0 Professional — Contains all of the functionality of Acrobat 7.0 Standard
and Acrobat Elements® (see below). In addition, it offers the most advanced control
over document creation, exchange, review, and output. It is intended for users who
need to perform sophisticated tasks, such as preflighting print files, distributing
layered CAD drawings, and creating interactive forms.
● Acrobat Elements for organizations requiring widespread PDF creation capability
without the need to install the full Acrobat Distiller® product on every desktop. Acrobat
Elements allows organizations to extend their investments in Microsoft® Office by
standardizing on Adobe PDF for document distribution. Acrobat Elements is available
through licensing with minimum orders of 1,000 seats. There is no public API for Acrobat
Elements.



What Are the Tools For Creating PDF Files?
● The Adobe Acrobat family. Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Standard and Professional both include
Acrobat Distiller for creating PDF files from PostScript files created with your favorite
applications (including desktop publishing software).
● Acrobat Capture® with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) for creating text-searchable
PDF documents from scanned paper originals.
● The Adobe LiveCycle™ products, which provide core document services designed to
align with your organization’s services-oriented architecture and leverage open
standards including J2EE and XML. They provide key functions such as document
generation, document control and security, document collaboration, and process
management for electronic forms. These products include LiveCycle Forms®.
● Adobe Document Server®. This software can be used to dynamically generate
customized PDF documents. See User and Developer Resources for more information.
Related Adobe Technologies
● Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions® provides advanced services and functionality for
documents and forms accessed by Adobe Reader clients, extending users’ capabilities
for participating in form applications or workflows without requiring the full Acrobat
product.
● Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server® enables document authors and IT administrators to
create usage policies that dynamically control who can view a PDF document,
determine whether the recipient can modify, copy, print, or forward the document, and
establish document expiration dates.
● Adobe LiveCycle Document Security® provides digital signature and encyption
capabilities in a server environment, enabling your organization to securely automate
essential business processes.

What Is the Acrobat SDK?
The Acrobat Software Development Kit contains samples (example source code), header
files (to compile the samples), type libraries, simple utilities, and documentation.
These tools help you design and develop:
● External applications that communicate with and control Acrobat and Adobe Reader.
● Scripts written in JavaScript and used to control Acrobat and Adobe Reader.
● Acrobat plug-ins that extend the functionality of Acrobat Professional, Acrobat
Standard, and Adobe Reader.



Where Can I Get the Acrobat SDK?
There are two ways to obtain the complete Acrobat SDK:
● You may join the ASN Developer Program to receive the full SDK, developer technical
support, marketing assistance, and other benefits.
● You may simply purchase an Acrobat SDK subscription for only US$99.
The Acrobat SDK is available on the Adobe Solutions Network (ASN) Web site. Some
portions are available for free, while others require either an ASN Developer membership or
an Acrobat SDK subscription.
To access the Acrobat SDK, see the Acrobat SDK Main Page.

What Is a Plug-in?
Plug-ins are dynamically-linked extensions to Acrobat or Adobe Reader that enhance or
customize its functionality. They can appear in the user interface in a variety of ways, and
can respond to events that occur in the application.
A plug-in is a program written in ANSI C/C++ that uses the Acrobat public API. Its purpose is
to add functionality to Acrobat Professional, Acrobat Standard, or Adobe Reader. A plug-in
program file must be stored in the Plug_ins folder in the user’s Acrobat or Adobe Reader
installation, and its functionality becomes available when the Acrobat or Adobe Reader
application is started.
There are three types of plug-ins:
1. Regular plug-ins. The samples in the SDK are of this type.
2. Reader-enabled plug-ins. These are plug-ins that are developed with permission from
Adobe, and require special processing to load under Adobe Reader. For more
information, see Adobe Reader-enabled Plug-ins.
3. Certified plug-ins. For more information, see What Is a Certified Plug-in?
Plug-ins are:
● DLLs on Windows. Note, however, that plug-in names must end in .API, not .DLL.
● Code fragments on Macintosh PowerPC.
● Shared libraries on UNIX®.



What Is a Certified Plug-in?
A certified plug-in is considered the most secure type of plug-in available for usage with
Acrobat or Adobe Reader. Certified plug-ins are reserved for Adobe only, and are tested
extensively to ensure that they are in full compliance with Acrobat’s security model. The
Acrobat and Adobe Reader user interfaces provide a checkbox that may be used to ensure
that only certified plug-ins load. In Acrobat or Adobe Reader, select Edit > Preferences... >
Startup and check Use only certified plugins.
NOTE: There is currently no way for third-party plug-ins to be certified by Adobe.

How Does a Script Written in JavaScript Differ From a Plug-in?
Acrobat JavaScript was originally developed for Acrobat Forms, and has been greatly
expanded. You can use Acrobat JavaScript to:
● develop and process PDF forms
● customize the behavior and appearance of the PDF document
● facilitate online team review, implement security policies
● interact with databases and Web services
● customize the Acrobat application itself through access to its user interface components
While developers writing plug-ins have direct access to the Acrobat Core API, JavaScripts
tend to be easier to write and implement, since they are developed using the editor and
debugger that are included in Acrobat Professional. JavaScripts are also easier to distribute
since they can be included directly within a PDF file, whereas plug-ins must be placed in the
Plug_ins folder by either an installer or the user. Acrobat JavaScript can be used across
multiple platforms, while plug-ins must be built on multiple platforms in order to handle
certain platform-specific issues.
It is also worth noting the following comparisons between Acrobat JavaScript and plug-ins:
● Since it is interpreted rather than compiled, execution of Acrobat JavaScript code is
slower than plug-in code. However, the difference tends to be noticeable only in
computationally intensive applications, such as a full text search in a large PDF file.
● Acrobat JavaScript cannot be used to add content to a PDF file via a content stream.
● Acrobat JavaScript is well-suited to quickly adding user interface capabilities.
Finally, while there is a certain amount of overlap between what can be done in JavaScript
and what can be done in a plug-in, some capabilities are only available in JavaScript while
others are only available with a plug-in, as summarized in the table below. For more
information, see the Acrobat SDK User’s Guide.

Capability JavaScript Plug-in
SOAP and Web services Yes No



Capability JavaScript Plug-in
Multimedia Yes No

Set up automated email Yes No
review workflow

Search Acrobat Help Yes No

Use Acrobat security policies Yes No

Content stream and other No Yes
low-layer access

Create new menus or No Yes
toolbars

Create new annotation or No Yes
action types

Modify the scaling factor for No Yes
large PDF file sizes

Access platform-specific No Yes
services or events

Access wireframe drawing No Yes
mode

What Are Some Common Uses of the Acrobat SDK?
The Acrobat SDK enables you to customize or modify how Acrobat looks and operates, and
contains the information necessary to extend Acrobat’s functionality to meet your needs. It
documents and demonstrates the Acrobat core API capabilities, how to use the API, and
how to use and debug Acrobat JavaScript. Some common uses of the Acrobat SDK are
described below. To understand the types of applications you can implement with the
Acrobat SDK, see the Acrobat SDK User’s Guide. To see examples of the types of applications
that can be created with the Acrobat SDK, including ones specifically intended for Windows
and Macintosh platforms, see the Guide to SDK Samples.
PDF File Viewing
You can view a PDF file in your own application’s window using Acrobat. For guidelines on
how this may be done, see How Can I Display a PDF File in an External Application Window?
You can also display a PDF as an ActiveX document in applications using simplified browser
controls, by using an automation interface available in both Adobe Reader and Acrobat. For
details, see the Acrobat Interapplication Communication Overview and Acrobat
Interapplication Communication Reference.



PDF File Printing
You can customize how various portions and layers of a PDF file are printed using Acrobat
JavaScript, Interapplication Communication (IAC), or plug-ins. For more information, see
the Acrobat SDK User’s Guide.
Customizing the User Interface
You can customize the user interface for specific workflows by writing a plug-in or
JavaScript to add or change menu bars, menu items, or tool buttons that appear in the user
interface. For more information, see the Acrobat SDK User’s Guide.
Supporting Workflows
You can support custom workflows for PDF documents by:
● adding elements such as watermarks, bookmarks, and links
● creating custom templates
● automatically filling form fields
● adding metadata
● setting up custom searches and building catalogs
● managing page orientation and fonts
setting up batch jobs
● automating PDF creation through control of Distiller
● merging or splitting documents
● directly accessing the file system to save and open PDF files to and from directory
structures
● saving in various formats such as XML
● optimizing performance of PDF viewing
● applying stamps
● using security settings
● exchanging information with databases
● collaboration servers or Web services
● manipulating engineering drawings
For more information, see the Acrobat SDK User’s Guide.
Controlling an Acrobat or Adobe Reader Session
You can remotely control an Acrobat Professional, Acrobat Standard, or Adobe Reader
session. See the DDEServer sample plug-in for an example of how to communicate with
an Acrobat plug-in from an external application using DDE, and the
RemoteControlAcrobat Interapplication Communication sample. For more
information, see the Guide To SDK Samples.



Where Do I Start with the Acrobat SDK?
To help you get started with the Acrobat SDK, the following documents are included within
the Documentation directory in the SDK installation:
● The Acrobat SDK User’s Guide describes the capabilities of the Acrobat SDK, and provides
a general overview of its usage.
● The Acrobat SDK Documentation Roadmap will help you find all the documentation for
the Acrobat SDK.
● The Acrobat SDK Release Notes contain information relating to the latest release of the
Acrobat SDK.
● Guide To SDK Samples provides a large number of sample applications, scripts, code
snippets, and plug-ins to demonstrate how to use the APIs in the Acrobat SDK. Use this
guide to locate appropriate samples.
● The Acrobat JavaScript Scripting Guide provides an overview of how to write Acrobat
JavaScripts and how to use the JavaScript scripting environment.
● The Acrobat Plug-In Guide describes basic Acrobat plug-in development concepts, and
shows how Acrobat interacts with plug-ins. It demonstrates how your plug-ins can
manipulate and enhance the Acrobat and Adobe Reader user interface as well as the
contents of underlying PDF documents.
● The Acrobat Interapplication Communication Overview describes Acrobat’s facilities for
interapplication communication (DDE and OLE automation on Windows, and
AppleScript and Apple events on the Macintosh).
● The Acrobat and PDF Library API Overview provides a summary of the core API.
● Developing for Adobe Reader provides an introduction to those portions of the Adobe
Acrobat Software Development Kit (SDK) that pertain to your development efforts for
Adobe Reader.



Where Can I Find Guidelines On Developing Adobe Reader Plug-ins?
If you are considering plug-ins for Adobe Reader, bear in mind the following:
● You may not develop an Adobe Reader plug-in without approval from Adobe. There is a
Web-based application where you describe your plug-in and submit the information to
Adobe; Adobe will then review it and let you know whether your application has been
approved. The application and the Adobe Reader Integration Key Licensing Agreement
can only be submitted as a Web form and are found at:
http://partners.adobe.com/asn/acrobat/index.jsp
● There is a fee to obtain the enabling key.
● There is a restricted set of APIs available in Adobe Reader. For technical limitations, see
the following documents:
– Acrobat and PDF Library API Overview
– Acrobat Interapplication Communication Overview
● For information on how to access the Host Function Tables (HFTs) available to Adobe
Reader plug-ins, see the Acrobat SDK Plug-in Guide.
● For instructions on how to make your plug-in Adobe Reader-enabled, see Adobe Reader-
enabled Plug-ins.

What Are the Requirements For Using Acrobat Forms?
You may create and fill in Acrobat forms in PDF files, and submit or import form data. These
forms are typically used for viewing or printing information, filling in information, selecting
choices, digitally signing documents, and exchanging information with databases. Note
that users of Adobe Reader can fill in and submit forms, and can save the form data to disk
of they have LiveCycle Reader Extensions. Once a user fills out an Acrobat form, the data
can be submitted to a server for processing. Data can be exported from a PDF form into
Forms Data Format (FDF) or XML-based FDF (XFDF). Data can only be imported into a PDF
form if it is in FDF or XFDF format. Acrobat forms support the following formats: FDF, XFDF,
tab-delimited text, and XML.
Every FDF file contains a reference to a PDF file for which the data is intended, designated
with the /F key inside the FDF file (unless the FDF file is for the same PDF from which you
submitted your data). When Acrobat or Adobe Reader receives an FDF file, it opens the
corresponding PDF file, and fills the form fields with the data from the FDF file. If the PDF
file is referenced by a URL (for example, http://yourcompany.com/file.pdf), the FDF file must
be sent to the server in response to a submit action from a PDF form. For more
information on the FDF format, which is based on PDF, see the PDF Reference.
Acrobat plug-ins can programmatically import FDF data into a PDF file from a local file
system using the HFT made available by the Forms plug-in. OLE Automation can be used to
programmatically add, modify, or delete form fields, import or export FDF data, execute
scripts written in JavaScript, and much more. For more information, see the Acrobat and
PDF Library API Reference.


Licensing and Distribution

What Are the Requirements For Using XML Forms?
The XML Forms Architecture (XFA) supports the production of XML-based business form
documents known as dynamic XML forms. Dynamic XML forms are suited for exchanging
information with Web services and enterprise infrastructures. Dynamic XML forms include
the following features:
● fields that may be moved and dynamically resized even to the point of spanning
multiple pages
● repeating subforms that can be spawned as needed with page contents shifting
accordingly
● page elements that can be shown or hidden as needed
Use LiveCycle Designer® to create or edit templates. For more information, see
http://www.adobe.com/products/server/.
Dynamic XML forms support both the XML and XDP formats. For more information, see the
Acrobat JavaScript Scripting Guide and the Acrobat JavaScript Scripting Reference.

What is the FDF Toolkit?
The FDF (Forms Data Format) Toolkit is a thread-safe API for writing a server application
that generates FDF data or parses FDF data from a form created by the Acrobat Forms plug-
in. If you need to parse FDF files submitted from a PDF form, or generate FDF files to be
submitted to a PDF form, you can use the FDF Toolkit. The FDF Toolkit supports COM on
Windows, C and Perl on Windows, Solaris™, AIX® or Linux®, and Java VMs compatible with
versions 1.2 or higher.
For detailed information, see the documentation included with the FDF Toolkit.


What Should I Know About Acrobat Licensing and Distribution?
Some of the Acrobat products may be licensed for commercial redistribution.
For smaller quantities, the Adobe Acrobat Publisher Kit includes Acrobat and the right to
reproduce and distribute up to 100 copies of the software. A flexible installer allows custom
installation options on Windows systems and pre-installation of serial numbers. There is no
minimum requirement for number of copies. If you would like to license a Publisher Kit,
contact your Adobe reseller.
For larger quantities, licensing agreements are available from Adobe by special
arrangement.



Products built around Acrobat and Adobe Reader must comply with the Acrobat End-User
License Agreement (EULA). For example, customers who purchase third-party developer
products that use Acrobat still must comply with the Acrobat EULA.
Adobe Reader
You may distribute Adobe Reader, subject to the terms set forth in the license agreement.
However, you must use the installer that comes with Adobe Reader. You may invoke the
Adobe Reader installer from your installer, but the Adobe Reader installer must remain
intact and the End User License Agreement (EULA) must be displayed at first use. For
information on customizing the Adobe Reader installer, see Enterprise Installation.
If you would like to distribute Adobe Reader, see the Adobe Reader distribution page given
below in Additional Resources.
Acrobat Capture (fee-based, license required)
With Acrobat Capture, you can submit an image file to a Capture workflow, where it will be
“captured,” converted to PDF, and made available to the user. Capture can also convert
paper to PDF and includes OCR to recognize text; it preserves the visual layout of the
document. Capture is a stand-alone product that is licensed separately. It is not included as
part of the Acrobat product. Low-volume Capture requires a hardware dongle that counts
the pages processed; dongles are available with various page limits. For OEM’s and
integrators, Adobe offers special pricing for Capture.
Acrobat Toolkits
● FDF Toolkit:
Visit the Acrobat Family Developer Center at
http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/acrobat/fdf/topic.html to obtain the FDF
Toolkit.
● Adobe PDF Library (fee-based, license required):
The Adobe PDF Library is an object code library that can be linked to your application.
The Adobe PDF Library is not free and is not available for free download from the Adobe
public Web site. However, the following URL provides information about the product:
http://partners.adobe.com/asn/pdfl/.
Additional Resources
Adobe Reader distribution:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/distribute.html?readstep
Volume Software Licensing: http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/openoptions/main.html



What Technical and Licensing Issues are Restricted in the Acrobat SDK?
The following is a list of Acrobat Software Development Kit uses that are not supported.
Most activities are identified as Technically Infeasible and/or Contrary to Licensing.
● Use of any Acrobat product in a multithreaded way (Technically Infeasible).
Any multithreaded access to the Acrobat core API is likely to crash or hang the
application. Acrobat makes the following methods available that can help a plug-in or
application manage its thread’s access to the Acrobat core API, as documented in the
Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference:
AVAppRegisterNotification
AVAppRegisterIdleProc
When registering for a notification, the method is passed a function to be called by the
Acrobat viewer when the event occurs. Registering for an IdleProc calls the function
when nothing else is occurring. All notifications and IdleProcs are queued and called
in order. Registering for notifications of events or IdleProcs can help a multithreaded
application ensure that Acrobat is not accessed by multiple threads simultaneously;
however, it is still the application’s responsibility to manage its threads that access
Acrobat.
● Use of any Acrobat product as a server process accessed by multiple clients, unless it is
specifically stated in product documentation as designed and licensed for such purpose
(Technically Infeasible | Contrary to Licensing).
Unless specifically stated in the product documentation and licensing agreement,
Acrobat products are not designed, tested, or licensed for this purpose. This use is in
violation of the licensing restrictions, as described in the End User License Agreement
displayed during Acrobat installation and not supported by Acrobat Developer Support.
● Use of Distiller as a Windows NT service. (Technically Infeasible).
Acrobat Distiller requires the ability to open a window on the desktop to run. It is not
possible to use Distiller as a Windows NT service.
NOTE: For customers needing this capability, the Acrobat 7.0 Professional product provides
for watched folders.
● Use of MenuItemExecute to bring up Acrobat dialog boxes when a PDF file is
displayed in an external window using OLE Automation (Technically Infeasible).
Due to problems of managing window focus, using the Acrobat dialog boxes (using
MenuItemExecute) when a PDF file is displayed in an external window using OLE
Automation is not supported. The actions executed by the dialog box may or may not
affect the intended PDF file and there can be problems of windows not redrawing
properly. The only supported workaround is to use the OLE Automation methods or to
develop a plug-in to achieve any functionality not available in the OLE API to Acrobat.
The Adobe Reader Integration Key License Agreement only permits displaying in an
external window when Acrobat is used, not Adobe Reader.



● Use of the PDF Reference to develop a third-party application that writes PDF files
without the use of Acrobat products.
NOTE: The Adobe PDF Library, available under license, can be used to simplify
development of these types of applications.
We do not provide support to developers who are creating their own PDF generation
capabilities without the use of Adobe products. The PDF Reference is the best resource
for this kind of development. The use of Adobe products to create PDF files as a
benchmark for your own development is recommended. Acrobat Developer Support
will not debug PDF files created with non-Adobe products. Questions regarding the
completeness or accuracy of the PDF Reference will be answered. The PDF Reference is
available for free download from the Adobe Public Web Site.
● Interapplication communication (IAC) between a plug-in and a third-party application.
Interapplication communication between a plug-in and a third-party application does
not differ significantly from interapplication communication between two stand-alone
applications. Documentation for your development platform’s API and development
environment are the best resources for this type of development. The Acrobat SDK
contains two samples that can serve as examples.
– DDEServer demonstrates DDE communication between a stand-alone application
and a plug-in.
– ExternalWindow uses Windows messaging to communicate with a stand-alone
application.
One typical difficulty for developers occurs when a multithreaded stand-alone
application communicates with a plug-in. See User and Developer Resources for more
information.
● Use of platform API methods or API methods of applications other than Acrobat.
Acrobat Developer Support supports the API to the Acrobat family of products.
Questions regarding the use of platform API methods should be directed to the
manufacturer of your operating system.
● Use of the ActiveX® Control or Netscape plug-in to display a PDF file in an external
application besides Internet Explorer or Netscape. The methods used by Acrobat to
display a PDF file in Netscape and Internet Explorer are intended only for use with these
browsers. Use of the ActiveX Control and Netscape plug-in installed by Adobe Reader is
not licensed to other applications. Development with these interfaces is not supported
and no documentation is available.
● Automating importing image files using the Import plug-in to Acrobat (Technically
Infeasible).
The Import plug-in to Acrobat does not provide an API that allows it to be called from a
plug-in or another application. Executing the Import Image menu item with
MenuItemExecute brings up a dialog box requiring user input.
For information about other developer resources, see User and Developer Resources.


User and Developer Resources

What ActiveX Solutions Are Provided By the Acrobat SDK?
The PDF browser control automation object, described in the Acrobat Interapplication
Communication Overview and Acrobat Interapplication Communication Reference, supports
the loading and displaying of PDF documents as ActiveX documents, and its interface is
available in both Acrobat and Adobe Reader.


What Do I Need to Download from the Web to Get the Acrobat SDK?
The Acrobat SDK is made up of many different technical documents and samples for
different operating systems. You can download the installer from the Web site to obtain the
entire Acrobat SDK, or you can download each piece separately using the “exploded”
version. You will need to determine what you would like to do with the SDK, and then check
if there is a sample that gets you started in the right direction.
See the Acrobat SDK Main Page to access the Acrobat SDK. The Web site uses lock icons
next to individual portions of the SDK to indicate that ASN membership or a subscription is
required for access.

Where Can I Get Help With Acrobat Product Issues?
For information and support for the Acrobat and LiveCycle products, you can visit the
following sites:
Acrobat Product Information: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/.
Acrobat Product Support: http://www.adobe.com/support/products/acrobat.html.
Adobe LiveCycle Product Information: http://www.adobe.com/products/server/.
For information on using or installing Adobe Acrobat products, start at the
Acrobat Product Support Page, which contains free downloads of the latest Acrobat
product updates, answers to top product support issues, a searchable support database,
user forums, and product support telephone numbers.
For International customers, see the Adobe International Technical Support and Service
Page.



Acrobat SDK Development Support Resources
In general, Acrobat Developer Support supports software development with the Acrobat
core application programming interface (API), as documented in the Acrobat SDK. Non-
ASN members can buy support cases, except in Japan. ASN Premium members receive
some free cases with their membership. For more information, see the ASN Developer
Program Home Page. For Adobe Developer Support information, see
http://partners.adobe.com/asn/support/index.jsp
Acrobat Developer Support does not support use of the product that does not involve the
Acrobat core API. Any non-programmatic issues, such as questions about installing, using,
customizing, or deploying Acrobat, should be directed to Acrobat Technical Support rather
than Adobe Developer Support. The supported development activities using the Acrobat
SDK include those for which the product is designed, tested, and licensed.
NOTE: Each SDK version will continue to be supported for one major release after the next
SDK version is released.

How Can I Contact Adobe For Technical Support Issues?
If you have a technical support issue and do not find your answer online, you can contact
Adobe Acrobat Technical Support at the telephone numbers listed on the Technical
Support Phone Numbers Page:
http://www.adobe.com/support/phonenumbers/main.html.
Technical support for the Acrobat SDK (“Acrobat Developer Support”) is included with an
ASN membership. It is available to Adobe Solutions Network (ASN) Developer Program
Premium members or may be purchased (except in Japan). For more information, see the
ASN Developer Program Home Page.
NOTE: The UNIX version of the Acrobat SDK is available from
http://partners.adobe.com/asn/acrobat/index.jsp (the Acrobat SDK Main Page).
It has release notes containing UNIX-specific information.
You will find answers to many common technical issues in the Acrobat Developer
Knowledge Base at http://support.adobe.com/devsup/devsup.nsf/main.html.

What Is the ASN Developer Program and How Do I Join?
The Adobe Solutions Network Developer Program includes marketing tools and technical
tools. For complete information on benefits the ASN Developer Program, visit the Adobe
Solutions Network Page at http://partners.adobe.com/.
For developer information related to Adobe LiveCycle products, see
http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/livecycle/devcenter.html.
Contact Information
To contact Adobe Systems, visit the ASN Developer Program contact page at
http://partners.adobe.com/asn/programs/developer/contactus.jsp.



Technical Support
Support for the Adobe Acrobat SDK is available to Adobe Solutions Network (ASN)
Developer Program Premium members or may be purchased (except in Japan).
Technologies Supported
The Acrobat core API; Interapplication Communication (IAC), including Apple events; DDE;
Adobe-generated Portable Document Format (PDF); pdfmark operator; command-line and
initialization file interfaces; installer customization.
Regular Notification of Updates and Upgrades
Members receive e-mail regarding updates to technical notes, development tools, and
development software.
Acrobat Software Development Kit (SDK)
See What Is the Acrobat SDK?

What Adobe Resources Are Recommended to Acrobat Developers?
Information on Partner Resources
Provides plug-ins and applications available from Adobe or third parties, Acrobat/PDF
service providers, or links to pages on how to use the available plug-ins.
Acrobat Main Page.
Provides white papers and case studies of what can be done and what has been done with
Acrobat.

What Developer Resources Are Provided by Outside Companies?
blueworld ListSearch provides search capabilities to Acrobat discussions.
PDFZone provides resources that may be of help with developing and using the Acrobat
products. These resources include forums, mailing lists, and an archive of previous mail.


Acrobat and Adobe Reader Comparison

Acrobat and Adobe Reader Comparison

What Are the API Differences Between Acrobat and Adobe Reader?
Acrobat provides a “full-featured” development environment that includes the entire
Acrobat core API. There are some small differences between the public APIs available in
Acrobat Professional and Acrobat Standard. These are documented in the Acrobat SDK Plug-
in Guide and the Acrobat and PDF Library Reference.
The APIs that may be used for Adobe Reader are limited technically and legally. Technical
limitations are documented in the Acrobat and PDF Library API Overview and the Acrobat
Interapplication Communication Overview.
Both Acrobat and Adobe Reader accept plug-ins. The primary difference between the two
is that Adobe Reader can neither make changes to a file nor save a file. API methods that
change a file in such a way that a save would be required are not available in Adobe Reader.

Developing for Adobe Reader
Adobe Reader only accepts “Reader-enabled” plug-ins, which can only access a limited set
of APIs. For information on enabling plug-ins for Adobe Reader, see Adobe Reader-enabled
Plug-ins and Developing for Adobe Reader. Certain APIs are available to a Reader-enabled
plug-in if the PDF document has been assigned additional usage rights, which is possible
using LiveCycle Reader Extensions. For more information on this, see the Acrobat SDK User’s
Guide.
For additional legal restrictions, see the Adobe Reader Integration Key License Agreement.

What Is a Rights-enabled PDF Document?
A rights-enabled PDF document is used by people with the free and ubiquitous Adobe
Reader to download, save, fill in, digitally sign, and submit electronic PDF forms that have
been “enabled” using LiveCycle Reader Extensions. With a rights-enabled PDF document,
developers are able to use the digital signature APIs for signing and signature verification.
One major advantage of LiveCycle Reader Extensions is that it supports data automation
through XML-based representation and transfer using SOAP, thus ensuring seamless
integration with business logic and advanced data transport capabilities available within
enterprise applications. For more information, see the Acrobat SDK User’s Guide.


Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# .NET

Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# .NET

How Can I Use Visual Basic .NET or Visual C# .NET With the Acrobat SDK?
The Microsoft Windows version of Acrobat is an OLE Automation server. In order to use the
OLE objects made available by Acrobat, you must have the full Acrobat product installed on
your system and the Acrobat.tlb file included in the project references for your Visual
Basic project. This allows you to use the Visual Studio .NET 2003 object browser to browse
the OLE objects.
For Acrobat versions 5.0 and higher, it is possible to access Acrobat’s JavaScript object
model through the OLE Automation JSObject interface. See the JSObjectAccess
sample. For more information, see Programming Acrobat JavaScript Using Visual Basic and
the Acrobat Interapplication Communication Overview.

What Are the Best Resources For Getting Started Using Visual Basic .NET or
Visual C# .NET With the Acrobat SDK?
The Acrobat Interapplication Communication Overview and Acrobat Interapplication
Communication Reference describe the objects and methods available in these languages,
as well as guidelines for usage. These documents (as well as the API) were designed with C
programming in mind, and programming with the API requires some familiarity with C
concepts such as enum.
Besides the object browser, the best resources for programming in these languages are the
sample projects. The samples demonstrate use of the Acrobat OLE objects and contain
comments describing the parameters for the more complicated methods.
The Iac.bas file in the InterAppCommunicationSupportHeaders folder
contains the Visual Basic counterparts to the C #define statements and enumerations
passed to many of the API methods.


Enterprise Installation

Enterprise Installation

How Can I Customize the Acrobat Installer?
Adobe provides various ways in which you can deploy Acrobat to a large number of
systems.
You can find documentation about Enterprise Installation, including information about
tools for customization and installation as well as guidelines for extending enterprise
applications, at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/planning.html.
For technical notes to deploy Acrobat and Adobe Reader throughout your entire
enterprise, see http://partners.adobe.com/asn/acrobat/technotes.jsp.
Solutions for enterprise deployment are provided at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/deployment.html ,where you will find a variety
of technical information on enterprise deployment, including the following:
● Citrix User Document — An explanation of how to use the Citrix Independent
Computing Architecture (ICA) protocol (via the Citrix MetaFrame 1.8 add-on) with
Acrobat.
● SMS User Document — Information on deploying Acrobat to the enterprise via SMS.
● WTS User Document — Information on deploying Acrobat to the enterprise via
Windows Terminal Service.
● InstallShield Tuner for Acrobat — Enterprise installation support for Acrobat.
● Tivoli User Document — Support for enterprise deployment of Acrobat Professional,
Acrobat Standard, Adobe Reader, and Acrobat Elements using Tivoli.


PDF Documents

PDF Documents

What API Methods Are Available to Modify PDF Documents?
Modifying the page contents of a PDF file is primarily accomplished using the Acrobat core
API.
Using the Acrobat core API greatly simplifies modifying and creating PDF page contents. To
demonstrate this, there are several “snippets” available from the SnippetRunner sample
plug-in that show you how to add data to the contents of a page, while ensuring that the
PDF file is still readable after modification. To attempt to do this without using the core API
would be significantly more difficult and could result in an unreadable PDF file.
Acrobat’s automation interfaces are limited mainly to what a user can do through the user
interface and cannot modify the contents of a page.
For more information on the Acrobat core API, see the Acrobat and PDF Library API Overview
and Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference.

What Options Do I Have to Modify PDF Documents Without C Programming
Background?
You can make some modifications to PDF files through Acrobat JavaScript. The Acrobat
JavaScript Scripting Guide and Acrobat JavaScript Scripting Reference, freely available for
download from the Adobe Web site, provide all the information you need to get started
using JavaScript. They serve as a reference to Acrobat’s JavaScript objects, properties, and
methods.

How Can I Extract Text From PDF Documents Using the Acrobat SDK?
You can extract text with the Acrobat SDK in two ways:
● Use the Acrobat core API
● Use Acrobat’s automation API
Through the core API, you can extract ASCII text from a PDF file using Acrobat and a plug-in
developed in C or C++. The TextExtraction and WordFinder sample plug-ins
demonstrate text extraction and can be used as starting points for your own plug-in.
AVConversion methods also can be used to save PDF as text or rich text. In addition, the
SDKTextExtraction sample in the first level of the SaveAsXML directory provides a
good starting point for creating richer extraction tables. For more information, see the
Guide To SDK Samples.


PDF Documents

How Can I Display a PDF File in an External Application Window?
There are several ways to have the Acrobat program display a PDF file in an external
application’s window. Acrobat must be installed on the system to view a PDF file in your
own application’s window.
There is no best way that we suggest to display PDF files in your application; you should
examine the following list for the most appropriate method for your situation. For more
information, see Acrobat Interapplication Communication Overview and Acrobat
Interapplication Communication Reference.
Using Acrobat to View a PDF File in Your Own Application’s Window
Windows Only:
● OLE automation, using the OpenInWindowEx command. This displays a live view of
the PDF file in the OLE application window.
For samples, see the Visual Basic and C++ ActiveView applications.
● OLE automation, using the DrawEx command. This displays a bitmap of the current
page in the OLE application window.
For samples, see the Visual Basic and C++ StaticView applications.
● Copy to Clipboard. This copies a PDF image to the clipboard without requiring an hWnd
or hDC using OLE Automation.
● If you are using simplified browser controls in your application, you may treat the PDF
document as an ActiveX document by using the AcroPDF object’s LoadFile method.
This automation interface is available in both Acrobat and Adobe Reader.
Macintosh Only:
● The AcroAppleEvents sample application demonstrates rendering a PDF file into
another application’s window (see DrawIntoWindowCommand for details).
Windows and Macintosh:
● The ExternalWindow sample plug-in demonstrates a live view of the PDF file in a
window created by the plug-in. You can extend this to display PDF files in an external
application window.

Are Multibyte Font PDF Documents Supported by the Acrobat SDK?
Acrobat allows the creation, modification, and use of PDF files containing multibyte fonts.
For more information, see the Acrobat SDK User’s Guide.


Full-Text Search

How Are Security and Encryption Provided in PDF Documents?
Adobe provides an password-based and certificate-based encryption schemes with
Acrobat. In the password-based scheme, Acrobat queries the user for a password before a
file is opened. The authorization procedure to open a file or to set an owner password can
be modified by creating a custom security handler. For more information on security
handlers and encryption in PDF documents, see the Acrobat SDK User’s Guide.

Full-Text Search

What Tools Are Available with Acrobat For Full-Text Search?
Adobe provides a full-text search system based on third-party technology. However, this
does not preclude other search systems from integrating with Acrobat. The Acrobat search
system was created using only public API and IAC calls, and you can easily remove it from
Acrobat and replace it with another search technology. For more information, see the
Acrobat Interapplication Communication Reference.
The Acrobat interface can be extended with new menus and toolbar icons to allow tight
integration with your search plug-in and Acrobat. For example, buttons to invoke a search
and to find the next or previous occurrences can be added to the toolbar.
For samples of adding menu items and toolbar buttons, see the related snippets in the
SnippetRunner sample plug-in.

What Tools Are Available for Extracting and Highlighting Text?
For indexing and searching PDF files directly, Acrobat provides support through IAC and
plug-in calls. For indexing PDF files, Acrobat provides text extraction APIs. For further
information on extracting text from PDF, see How Can I Extract Text From PDF Documents
Using the Acrobat SDK?


Full-Text Search

How Do I Communicate with the Acrobat Search Plug-in?
You can communicate with the Search plug-in via its plug-in API or via IAC (DDE or Apple
events). Using either of these methods, you can control the Acrobat Search plug-in in the
following ways:
● Control the list of indexes to search
The search interface allows for searches to be performed on one or more of the available
indexes. You can control the list of active indexes.
● Initiate a search with options
You can pass query expressions and search settings to the Acrobat search plug-in and
initiate the search, and the results will be presented to the user.
For an example, see the SearchPDF Visual Basic application. For documentation, see the
Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference.

How Do I Create Custom DocInfo Fields For Searching?
The Catalog feature is used to create a search index; its API is available to third parties via
the Catalog plug-in provided with the Acrobat SDK. See the Acrobat and PDF Library API
Reference and the Acrobat Interapplication Communication Reference for more information.
Once you have built the search index, you must create the custom DocInfo fields, which
can be used to search document metadata. You can accomplish this task with either the
Acrobat core API or using Interapplication Communication. See the Acrobat and PDF Library
API Reference for more information.
At this point you may submit custom queries to the Acrobat Search plug-in to search by the
custom fields, as demonstrated by the SearchQuery sample plug-in. You can include
your custom DocInfo fields in the search by specifying them in the sortSpec parameter
of the SearchExecuteQuery method.


How Do I Use Command Lines with Acrobat and Adobe Reader on Windows?

How Do I Use Command Lines with Acrobat and Adobe Reader on
Windows?
These are unsupported command lines, but have worked for some developers. There is no
documentation for these commands other than what is listed below. You can display and
print a PDF file with Acrobat and Adobe Reader from the command line.
NOTE: All examples below use Adobe Reader, but apply to Acrobat as well. If you are using
Acrobat, substitute Acrobat.exe in place of AcroRd32.exe on the command
line.
AcroRd32.exe pathname — Executes Adobe Reader and displays the file, whose full
path must be provided.
Other options for the command line are:

Option Meaning
/n Launches a separate instance of Acrobat or Adobe Reader, even if one is
currently open.

/s Opens Acrobat or Adobe Reader, suppressing the splash screen.

/o Opens Acrobat or Adobe Reader, suppressing the open file dialog.

/h Opens Acrobat or Adobe Reader in a minimized window.

AcroRd32.exe /p pathname — Executes Adobe Reader and displays the Print
dialog box.
AcroRd32.exe /t path "printername" "drivername" "portname" —
Initiates Adobe Reader and prints a file, whose path must be fully specified, while
suppressing the Print dialog box.
The four parameters of the /t option evaluate to path, printername, drivername,
and portname (all strings).
● printername — The name of your printer.
● drivername — Your printer driver’s name, as it appears in your printer’s properties.
● portname — The printer’s port. portname cannot contain any "/" characters; if it
does, output is routed to the default port for that printer.


How Do I Use Command Lines with Acrobat and Adobe Reader on Windows?


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