Inline PDF solution available for Camino 2.0a1pre builds

[paulc]

Was asked to do some testing, thought what I saw might to useful to some, so I'll post this in this thread.

First, I'm still running 10.4.11 (need classic, beta testing commercial application). Second, I used /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/, not ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ as there should be no practical differences as I'm the sole user anyway). Last, I used a pdf that mixed text and graphics and used both direct drag n drop as well as fetching from my web space... all tests showed either method to work identically.

Following stardomains advice about extracting the right item from the xpi file, the 0.9.9 item worked while the latest rev, 1.1.2, crashed Camino. 0.9.9 DID work in Camino (2.0b4). BUT it simply displayed the pdf (page scroll mode, pages one after the other) with no options to do anything with it... Camino's zoom function didn't even work. Even with it's foibles, the Shubert item is far more useful, allowing zoom and saving the pdf locally.

I checked FF (3.5.1, not the VERY latest). It gave me a message about some PDF plugin being disabled, I think that means from it's own location. 0.9.9 from /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ displayed the document in the exact same fashion as Camino. After I went "back" to the Shubert plugin, I used FF's own internal mechanism to "update" it's plugin and I now have a functioning "Firefox PDG Plugin for Mac OS X 1.1.2." Again I am assuming this would not bother anything as it probably is only available to FF. It works like my manual loading of 0.9.9, not the most useful.

For the hell of it I also tested with Safari. No matter what, IT uses what seems clearly an Adobe plugin. This one is VERY nice as it gives the end user several functions, zooming, saving etc. I THINK this item might be /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/AdobePDFViewer.plugin.

If that's true, the question I have is is it specifically written to ONLY work in Safari (maybe any webkit browser)? Seems that if Camino can use this item, life would be that much better for Camino users! Something tells me it will be said such functionality needs to be in Gecko... FWIW, it sure would be good if all Gecko browsers used the Adobe pdf browsing plugin.

Finally, I DO note that the4 Shubert plugin seemed to work perfectly. Scroll, zoom, all seemed to work just fine with no "smearing". I suppose some may say it was because I did drag n drop, but everything I did I repeated by a download from a web address. Only guess I can hazard is the file I was using was a well crafted PDF!

[stardomains]

If you right click with the FF plugin you get a bunch of options:

[paulc]

Oh my... who knew<g>?

Of course, extracting the right item and that xpi a zip variant with additional functionality aren't exactly common knowledge.

Just as a matter of curiosity, I understand Mozilla went their own direction, but wonder why create a seamless experience for FF, leave Camino users to jump through a few hoops, when letting Adobe provide pdf abilities in gecko at the least gets Mozilla out of much of any responsibility for supporting pdf?

[cflawson]

Yes, the Adobe plugin only works in Safari, because it's not written to use the Netscape Plugin API (NPAPI) required by Gecko browsers, if I understand it correctly.

cl

[paulc]

Thanks Chris... kind of a shame.

[paulc]

For some reason page up & down AND the up/down arrow keys seem not to work with the FF plugin. Only way seems to be my trackball scroll wheel... in single page mode that wheel is the PONOY way to go page to page.

Could it be a 10.4.11/2.0b4 thing?

[cflawson]

Thanks Chris... kind of a shame.

Agreed; people should be complaining loudly to Adobe about this.

cl