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PDF Open Parameter Only Works Once

cstokley
Registered: Sep 10 2009
Posts: 9

I am having the same problem reported in http://www.acrobatusers.com/forums/aucbb/viewtopic.php?id=7656, but I am using IE 7 and Acrobat Reader 9 (in the prior thread, the solution was to upgrade from Reader 7 to 8).

I've tested this behaviour in IE 6 and 7, and in Acrobat Reader 7, 8 & 9, and it is the same in all versions.

Behaviour:

I have a hyperlink on a web page that goes to a specific page in a file: http://{domain}/docs/Vol_1/00_Vol1_RevC.pdf#page=112

The first time I click on that link, the PDF opens, in the same browser window, on page 112.

I scroll up to page 108.

I press the back button.

I click on the link again, the PDF opens at page 108.

Is this a feature, or a bug?

Thank you for any assistance.

My Product Information:
Reader 9.1.3, Windows
Dimitri
Expert
Registered: Nov 1 2005
Posts: 1389
Hi cstokley,

Acrobat/Reader seems to be storing the last view setting and overriding your Open Parameter. This is a feature, not a bug. When you hit the Back button in the Browser, you are taken back to your web page with the link, right? So, the last view you had of the PDF is page 108, not 112.
There is a Preference named "Restore last View Settings When Opening Documents." Check under your Preferences and see if this is checked. If it is checked, try unchecking it and see if you get the same results- let us know.

Hope this helps,

Dimitri
WindJack Solutions
www.windjack.com
www.pdfscripting.com
cstokley
Registered: Sep 10 2009
Posts: 9
Thank you.

No, it's unchecked (both in Reader and Acrobat). Alas.

Katja
Dimitri
Expert
Registered: Nov 1 2005
Posts: 1389
Hi cstokley,

Bummer that wasn't the source of the problem. Maybe you have discovered a bug :(

Can you provide a link to the page so I (or others here) can check it out?

Dimitri
WindJack Solutions
www.windjack.com
www.pdfscripting.com
cstokley
Registered: Sep 10 2009
Posts: 9
Unfortunately I can't (proprietary information on my corporate intranet), but I will set up a test site and will be grateful if you and/or others will look at it.
cstokley
Registered: Sep 10 2009
Posts: 9
Here's a test site that demonstrates the behaviour: http://dev.brokenclay.org/pdflinks/

Thanks again.
Dimitri
Expert
Registered: Nov 1 2005
Posts: 1389
Hi cstokley,

Thanks for the test file. I followed your steps and am seeing the same behavior you report. I think what is happening is that even though you hit the back button in the Browser, Acrobat remains open in the background and probably the file too. When I hit the back button and then made sure Acrobat was closed before hitting the link again ( using the Task Manager) then the file opens to the correct page the link is set to. You can do this yourself and see in the Task Manager that Acrobat remains open even after you navigate away from the file, so as far as Acrobat is concerned it is the same session and it just brings up an already open file to whatever location it was on at last view, overriding the link instruction. Acrobat will close after a short while automatically, so I think if you try this again but give it a couple minutes before hitting the link a second time it should go to the page set in the link. Whether or not this is a bug I can't say, but it sure is not acting the way you want it to.

Hope this helps,

Dimitri
WindJack Solutions, Inc
www.pdfscripting.com
www.windjack.com
cstokley
Registered: Sep 10 2009
Posts: 9
I'm not seeing the same thing you are.

On the computer that has Acrobat installed, I've got an acrotray.exe process running. When I go to the PDF document (in the browser), I don't see any other Acrobat processes start, nor do I see any process exit when I use Back to return to the web page.

On a computer that doesn't have Acrobat installed, no Adobe processes are running at all, unless I explicitly start Reader.