Question

I have a link in a pdf-document (PDF1), which is embedded in a browser instance. Or let’s say the Adobe Reader is embedded in a browser window.

In this pdf-document (PDF2) is a link to a servlet, which view opens another pdf-file.

Now the new pdf-document is opened in a embedded Adobe Reader in the same browser window. How can this document (PDF2) be opened in a new browser window with a new embedded Adobe Reader?

Does this depend on the editor tool used for the generation of the pdf-document?

PS: I am not creating the first one (PDF1), but I am faced with the question, how to open the second one (PDF2) in a new window, so the first document is not ‘lost’ and has to be reopened again.

Answer 1

I think you can’t do this without changing Acrobat Reader. What happens is this:

• You download the first file.
• IE notices ‘PDF’ and embeds Acrobat Reader. The reader gets the URL as an argument. Despite the fact that AR renders the document inside of an IE window, AR is now in full control of the document. So when you click on a link, it’s AR (and not IE) who processes the event and downloads the second document.

I suggest to try Foxit Reader or some other PDF reader which doesn’t use a ‘single document’ UI. Foxit uses tabs and can display several PDF documents.

They are faster, too and more comfortable to use.

[EDIT] Actually, AR calls the OS to handle the link. You can achieve the same effect by copy an URL into the clipboard and then click on the ‘Start’ button and ‘Run…’. Paste the URL into the dialog. Or open a command line prompt and paste the URL at the prompt.

The OS will start downloading the file, determine the type and then directly invoke the application which is registered for that type. IE does the same thing which has caused some of the security holes in the past (site offers IE some data which seems to be of type XXX but is in fact a virus. IE will call the OS to execute it and user wonders how he got infected).