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blong2
blong2
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Reader SDK: any way to see what text the user has selected?

Jun 24, 2009 7:28 AM

I'm using the Adobe Reader SDK with C#, looking at the interapplication communication features.

 

I can open a document in Reader and allow the user to user the reader tools like select text, etc.

 

Here's the problem: I want to have my application know what text the user currently has selected.  And I'd like it to know the name of the field that the user has selected, not just the text of the field.

 

Microsoft Office's Interop has something like this:

currentDocument.GetSelectedText();

 

Is there any way to do this with IAC or the javascript or plug-in features of the Reader SDK?

If not, can it be done with the Acrobat API?  I've looked through both sets of documentation, and haven't found what i needed.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

635 Views   3 Replies   Latest reply: Malcolm Thomson, Jun 24, 2009 1:39 PM
 
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  • lrosenth
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    1. lrosenth,
    Jun 24, 2009 10:39 AM   in reply to blong2
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    The way to do this would be wrote a custom plugin (in C/C++) for Reader and then have that communicate with your external application.

     

    Be aware that you will need to acquire a license from Adobe for developing a Reader plugin.

     
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  • blong2
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    2. blong2,
    Jun 24, 2009 12:54 PM   in reply to lrosenth
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    Thanks for the tip!

     

    Unfortunately, I don't have any experience writing plug-ins for Reader.  I'm having a hard time finding a reference on how to do this...

     

    If you point me at a link for how to do this, I'll give you the ten points for the shiny 'This answers my question' star...

     

    Thanks again

     
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  • Malcolm Thomson
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    3. Malcolm Thomson,
    Jun 24, 2009 1:39 PM   in reply to blong2
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    To write a plug-in for the Adobe Reader you need to go through 2 separate steps.

     

    Step one - Download the Adobe Acrobat SDK (from here http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat)

    and build your plug-in against the Acrobat product, following the documentation to make sure you only use API's that are available in the Reader program. The documentation tells you what version of the Adobe ACrobat or Reader program is needed for the function and whether the function can be called in Reader.

     

    Step two - Apply for a Reader certificate to allow your plug-in to be loaded by the Reader, the link is on the same web page as the above link. This step can be initiated before you have created your plug-in, and I would recommend that you do start this process before you develop your plug-in as Adobe can refuse to give you the certificate in which case all your development would be wasted.

     

    Only once you have permission form Adobe can you make your plug-in work with the reader application.

     

    Once you have done both these steps there are plenty of people on this forum that can help you with specific problems you may encounter.

     

    If you are not sure you have the knowledge to build the plug-in, there are plenty of people that you can hire to create the solution for you.

     

    HTH

     

    Malcolm

     
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