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I have a PHP script which displays a PDF inside an object element. Adobe Reader plugins handle this fine and using the Adobe toolbar users can print the embedded PDF. However, some users insist on using the File menu (98% of users on Internet explorer 8) to print the HTML document. Utilizing this File->Print menu in IE, the HTML document is printed out without the contents (PDF) of the OBJECT element. (Print Preview) Using this method to print the document in Chrome or FF results in only the data currently shown in the Object viewport, to be printed. That is, a partial object and not the actual PDF.

I have searched and read a few related questions on StackOverflow, but nothing specific to this situation or case. Some of these 'solutions' use a Javascript method or function to print the content via a button or link. If I can't get my users to use the Adobe toolbar in the browser to print a PDF, I doubt they'll change their minds to use a button that says 'PRINT'.

Why does the File->Print method in IE result in a blank page? Is there a way to make the browser print the contents of an Object element when using the File->Print menu. No JS hacks, buttons, links to 'click here', iframes, or suggestion to 'display it inline' etc.

For reference, the code for this 'View PDF' is below (which, again, works fine to display the PDF content in the object element; no issues).

echo "
<html>
 <head>
  <title>View PDF</title>
 </head>
 <body scroll='no'>
  <object data='getFile.php?f={$file_hash}' type='application/pdf' width='100%' height='100%' >
  <h2>Error: No PDF plugin</h2>
  <p>The browser does not have a PDF viewer installed.  In order to view the PDF in the browser, please <a href='http://get.adobe.com/reader'>download Adobe Reader</a>. </p>
  </object>
 </body>
</html>";
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PenguinCoder
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2 Answers2

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As far as I know there is no solution for this issue. I have seen some developers "solving" the problem by generating a PDF file that automatically shows the print dialog when opened

Another option could be to show the PDF file in a new window that removes the toolbar and menus in order to avoid the visual ambiguity.

Window.open(url, "_blank", "location=0,menubar=0,toolbar=0");

I do not know if this one works, but you could try detecting the browser print event, then calling pdfDoc.printAll(); on your Acrobat Reader object.

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yms
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  • Thanks for the information, I'll attempt your suggestions tomorrow and let you know the outcome. – PenguinCoder Oct 10 '12 at 19:58
  • Implemented the suggestion of the `window.open()` method to remove the menubar. It'll confuse some users, but only allow the one method of printing; thanks. – PenguinCoder Oct 11 '12 at 12:04
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Open just the PDF - without the HTML & object. Then File->Print will always work.

Of course it depends much more on the browser/reader configuration if the PDF is displayed in the browser or opened in a new Reader window

Niko Sams
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  • Thanks for the response. However, for this implementation I cannot open just the PDF. That would be entirely too easy! If just the PDF is opened, I cannot programmaticly set the window title of the browser. Due to client requirements, this is 'not acceptable' as the page must display a specific title and not the URL (as would happen if the PDF is opened and not embedded). – PenguinCoder Oct 10 '12 at 19:57