RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

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Simon Knight
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Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:41 am
Location: Gunthorpe, North Lincs, UK

RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Simon Knight » Sat Jan 05, 2019 11:46 am

Hi All,

Some years ago I created an application to aid me in renaming PDF files produced by a document scanner. I believe that the last time I worked on the code base it was in Livecode 8. I need to make some minor changes so have opened the file in Livecode 9.0.2. While the application runs the display of the revbrowser is now different.

My aim was and is to have the PDF file fill the screen space allocated to the Revbrowser. While in earlier versions of Livecode this worked it has changed in LC 9. When a pdf file is loaded from local disc for anything other than the first time the RevBrowser displays an Adobe style menu bar across the top and down the right side (please see attached screen shots). Does anyone know how to suppress the display of these unwanted extras? I should say that I have read the dictionary but have not yet found any mention of these menus and buttons.
Screen Shot 2019-01-05 at 10.41.00.png
Unwanted top button bar
Screen Shot 2019-01-05 at 10.41.34.png
Unwanted side bar
As you can see these features use a large amount of screen real estate and they seem to default on with each new document.

Any hints welcomed.

best wishes

Simon
best wishes
Skids

Klaus
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Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Klaus » Sat Jan 05, 2019 12:11 pm

Hi Simon,

what platform are you experiencing this on?
In any case this looks like a "feature" of the Acrobat PDF Web Plugin, which you cannot get rid of.


Best

Klaus

bogs
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Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by bogs » Sat Jan 05, 2019 12:33 pm

Klaus wrote:
Sat Jan 05, 2019 12:11 pm
this looks like a "feature" of the Acrobat PDF Web Plugin
Simon Knight wrote:
Sat Jan 05, 2019 11:46 am
in earlier versions of Livecode this worked it has changed in LC 9.
Just curious Simon, what happens if you open the program now in Lc 8? Do you see the old behavior return or no?

If the old behavior returns, then it may indeed be something new. If no, I'd vote with Klaus, and it is the plugin itself.
Image

Simon Knight
Posts: 845
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:41 am
Location: Gunthorpe, North Lincs, UK

Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Simon Knight » Sat Jan 05, 2019 2:41 pm

Hi,

I should have said that I am on Mac OS 10.12.6 Sierra.

My application displays a list of PDFs that are in a selected folder. These are listed in a field and should be displayed when clicked on. The Livecode file loads into Livecode 8 and the unwanted menus do not appear. However, each successive PDF requires longer and longer to render meaning that it appears that they are being displayed as blank pages. Eventually the app and sometimes the computer become unusable. This problem is also evident in older versions of the application that have been compiled.

Simon
Last edited by Simon Knight on Sat Jan 05, 2019 10:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
best wishes
Skids

Simon Knight
Posts: 845
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:41 am
Location: Gunthorpe, North Lincs, UK

Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Simon Knight » Sat Jan 05, 2019 3:21 pm

I have just downloaded LC 6.7.10 and found an old version of my application that uses a RevBrowser. While it runs there is a definite slow down in the display of PDF once seven or eight have been displayed. My guess is that the revBrowser is doing some form of buffering, the good news is that the Adobe Clutter is not shown so only appears to be associated with LC version 9.02 (not tested in earlier versions of version 9).

The Adobe Clutter includes an option to subscribe which I can't imagine many application creators will want in their apps so I will put this in as a bug report or at least an unwanted feature.

I wonder if the Browser Widget suffers from the same feature?

best wishes

Simon
best wishes
Skids

Klaus
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Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Klaus » Sat Jan 05, 2019 3:22 pm

Do you have the Acrobat PDF Web plugin installed? This is a setting somewhere deep in the preferences of Acrobat Reader (or PRO, if installed), if I remember correctly.

If yes, please remove it and test again.

Simon Knight
Posts: 845
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:41 am
Location: Gunthorpe, North Lincs, UK

Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Simon Knight » Sat Jan 05, 2019 4:02 pm

I have entered a bug report to see what Edinburgh think:

https://quality.livecode.com/show_bug.cgi?id=21776
best wishes
Skids

Simon Knight
Posts: 845
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:41 am
Location: Gunthorpe, North Lincs, UK

Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Simon Knight » Sat Jan 05, 2019 4:16 pm

Hi Klaus,
"Do you have the Acrobat PDF Web plugin installed? This is a setting somewhere deep in the preferences of Acrobat Reader (or PRO, if installed), if I remember correctly."
I have no idea but will go on a hunt. I'm on a mac so I tend to use preview or PDFPen but I bet AcrobatReader is lurking somewhere.

Simon
best wishes
Skids

Simon Knight
Posts: 845
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:41 am
Location: Gunthorpe, North Lincs, UK

Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Simon Knight » Sat Jan 05, 2019 4:32 pm

Well Klaus yet again you have hit the nail on the head.

I found Adobe Acrobat Reader DC and looked at the preferences of which there are dozens. I could not find anyway of switching it off so I deleted the application and allowed Hazel to clean out any associated files.

The result is that my LC version 9 code will not display PDFs and posts a folder dialog requesting that I find a file for it : "AdobePDFViewer cannot find a compatible Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader to view this PDF. Please Select one."

So it seems that LC version 9.02 requires that Adobe Acrobat or Reader be installed.

Happily my old version of the application code still runs in LC version 6 although some of the compiled applications do not. I've not tested the latest version but can not see any reason why it should fail as the revBrowser commands and handlers have not been changed.

I shudder to think what other undocumented dependencies have been introduced.

best wishes
Simon
best wishes
Skids

Klaus
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Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Klaus » Sat Jan 05, 2019 4:54 pm

Just tried with 9.02 and any PDF is being displayed nicely although I do NOT have any Adobve Acrobat stuff installed. But on the other hand I am running macOS 10.14.2.

Simon Knight
Posts: 845
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:41 am
Location: Gunthorpe, North Lincs, UK

Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Simon Knight » Sat Jan 05, 2019 10:08 pm

Hi Klaus,

I suppose it may be down to the OS but in the past Livecode has been pretty flexible. Its a little ironic that the reason I am still using Mac OS Sierra is because I use Adobe Lightroom and I am not certain how well it runs on High Sierra and beyond.

How did you test the display of PDF, I ask as you may be using different syntax?

My code runs fine under LC 8.19 on OS Sierra so it is looking like this might be an issue over the OS. I'm just down loading LC 8.2 for test.

Simon
best wishes
Skids

Klaus
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Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Klaus » Sat Jan 05, 2019 10:30 pm

Hi Simon,
How did you test the display of PDF, I ask as you may be using different syntax?
with a plain:

Code: Select all

...
answer file "Yadda..."
put it into tPDF
replace " " with "%20" in tPDF
set the url of widget 1 to tPDF
...
Best

Klaus

Simon Knight
Posts: 845
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:41 am
Location: Gunthorpe, North Lincs, UK

Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Simon Knight » Sat Jan 05, 2019 10:52 pm

Thanks again.

My code is old and predates widgets and I could see no advantage in using a widget so it uses a revBrowser. However, having said that I have just tried your code with a Browser Widget and get the same message to locate an adobe pdf reader when using LC 9.02.

My Application code also does have a problem running in LC8 : if I move a PDF file that has been displayed by the revBrowser then it appears to slow or stop the rendering of further PDF documents. I suspect that there is some buffering and moving the file trips the revBrowser up.

It will be interesting to see what Edinburgh have to say.

best wishes

Simon
best wishes
Skids

Simon Knight
Posts: 845
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:41 am
Location: Gunthorpe, North Lincs, UK

Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Simon Knight » Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:53 pm

I'm cross posting with the use-livecode group email for widest coverage. Tore suggested that I still had Adobe files lurking on my computer and that I reinstall the Reader App and then use the Adobe Cleaner app to get rid of it. Below is my reply to Tore.

Excellent advice Tore - many thanks.

I reinstalled Adobe Acrobat Reader DC and confirmed that my app PDFrename was now displaying PDFs when run in LC 9.02 and that a second selection of a PDF caused the Adobe related menus and button bar to be displayed i.e. back to my starting point.

Next I ran the Adobe Cleaner App which I downloaded from the Adobe web site. Thus ran and reported that the Reader had been removed. I checked the log file and it contained a very long list of files so this removal app is necessary.

Then I ran my app PDFrename and confirmed that it could display PDFs and continue to do so once the PDFs are renamed and moved all without any Adobe clutter. All this works but the display of PDFs is slower without Adobe Reader installed and slower than with earlier versions of LC. Unfortunately this slowness now occurs in the older versions so may be OS related. It could be that in the past I had an older version of Adobe Reader installed that did not force menus to be displayed and ran faster than the native OS.

So this is a problem partially solved. The true problem is that we can produce applications that use the revBrowser control which may have a UI that varies significantly depending on what the end user has installed on his computer. I think this is undesirable.
best wishes
Skids

Simon Knight
Posts: 845
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:41 am
Location: Gunthorpe, North Lincs, UK

Re: RevBrowser Now displays PDFs with Adobe Clutter

Post by Simon Knight » Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:20 pm

A update:

Panos at Livecode has confirmed this "feature" as a bug.
best wishes
Skids

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