Adobe Acrobat 8 and IE7

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This could also be an IE issue, but decided to post it here first. Feel free to move it to IE if deemed appropriate.

I have a problem that is driving me batty. I suspect it is a Sympatico type problem but cannot find any reference to it in the Sympatico tech forums.

If you answer NO to any of the following questions, just delete this message and have a great day!!!

1. Do you run with Internet Explorer v7 (with all current updates)?
2. Do you have Adobe Acrobat Professional v8.1.2 installed?
3. Is your operating system Windows XP or Windows Vista?

If you answered YES to all three of those questions, then I would like you to test something for me… if you feel comfortable with the task. If not comfortable, then delete this message and get on with reading the rest of your e-mail.

OK, here’s the situation. When Acrobat is installed it also installs add-ons to various products like MS Office, IE7 and other apps. In all cases, with the exception of IE7, the add-on is fully functional.

The Acrobat add-on icon in IE7 should always be “active”. Clicking on this icon allows the creation of a PDF file reflecting the contents of the web page with all links preserved as hyperlinks.

In my environment, the icon is active for all sites except my home page of: http://sympatico.msn.ca/%5B/url%5D

At first, I thought it might be a “home-page” issue. I have replaced http://sympatico.msn.ca/%5B/url%5D as my home page with any site, say http://www.wopr.com/cgi-bin/w3t/wwwthreads.pl%5B/url%5D. The problem still persists with http://sympatico.msn.ca/%5B/url%5D showing the Acrobat add-on as inactive whereas the “new” Home Page is showing the add-on as active.

Now for those astute readers that might suggest that I should use the File | Print | Adobe PDF feature, fergetaboutit. That feature doesn’t work and is documented as a problem at many tech forums.

So, here comes the request for you to test the scenario on your beast.

Click on the http://sympatico.msn.ca/%5B/url%5D link, select Tools from the menu line, then Internet Options and under the General Tab, click on the Use Current button under the Home Page section. Then click on Apply, OK and close down IE7. Then reload IE7.

Does your Acrobat icon show as active or inactive?

P.S. Before changing your Home Page link, please save the link so you can reset your Home Page to your desired selection when the test is complete.

Thanks for your help in this matter.

Cheers, Bob

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Just an update… in my original post I stated: “Now for those astute readers that might suggest that I should use the File | Print | Adobe PDF feature, fergetaboutit. That feature doesn’t work and is documented as a problem at many tech forums..

With the release of the recent update v8.1.3 of Adobe Acrobat, I can now use the File | Print | Adobe PDF feature.

However, the original issue of not being able to create a PDF file of my home page using the add-on icon is still an outstanding problem.

Oh, such is my poor miserable life!!!

Cheers, Bob

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(Edited by DaveA on 07-Nov-08 09:54. )

I just visited your site and YES, I to loose the active icon to a inactive icon.
It must be some setting at the web site that is blocking use of Adobe.

Edit.
I just went to the MSN home page and even Google home page, they are blocking the use of Adobe.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Thanks for testing the Sympatico web site for me Dave. Now I know it’s not just me!!!

I just visited two of the Google sites, COM and CA, and both are working OK with the Adobe icon set to active. Likewise for the MSN site. Now it is your turn to feel frustrated!

P.S. did you update to v8.1.3? If not, have you tried the File | Print | Adobe PDF feature?

Cheers, Bob

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(Edited by DaveA on 10-Nov-08 09:51. Corrected version 10 to 9, as I enterd the wrong version [smile])

I am now running Version 9 of Adobe Reader but have Adobe Acrobat distiller 6 also installed.

I found out that if I visit your link it tweaks my system so I get the inactive icon at some sites until I shut down IE and then fire it back up.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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As far as I know, Adobe Reader 10 isn’t out yet – at least not officially. The version currently offered is 9 – see screenshot below (it’s for Windows XP but the same holds for Windows Vista)

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Hans,
You are correct I have 9 NOT 10.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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I have no idea how this feature works — I don’t have Acrobat, although I suppose there might be a trial version I could test — but I have a thought. Could it be that this feature only works on pages that allow caching? Often dynamic pages (.pl, .php, .asp, etc.) are sent with headers that instruct the browser not to cache them. In that case, perhaps, the add-in would recognize that it might not have the complete contents of the page on disk, and therefore disables itself. Just a guess.

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Interesting thought about the cache.

Would using the View Source feature in the IE7 browser identify the type of dynamic page or header? I just tried the View Source command on my home page and not sure what to look for.

Cheers, Bob

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