Last Reviewed: May 19, 2009

Article: DTS0166

Applies to: dtSearch Desktop

1.  Hit highlighting does not work with Adobe Reader 9 or later installed

Adobe Reader 9 disables hit highlighting by default.  To enable hit highlighting,

(1) Open Adobe Reader

(2) Click Edit > Preferences > Search, and

(3) check the box labelled Enable search highlights from external highlight server.

The same procedure applies to Adobe Acrobat 9.

2.  PDF files appear as plain text instead of in Adobe Reader

(1) The PDF file may have attachments.  To tell if a PDF file has attachments, open it in Adobe Reader and look for this icon on the right edge of the window: image4.gif.  Click the paperclip icon to see a list of any attachments in the file.

When dtSearch indexes a PDF file with attachments, the only way to highlight hits in the file is to extract the text because Adobe Reader has no built-in way to highlight hits in an attachment.  If you do not want to search in the attachments, click Options > Preferences > Indexing Options, and uncheck the box to "Index attachments in PDF files".  This will allow PDF files with attachments to be displayed normally after a search.  (You will need to rebuild your indexes after changing this option.)

(2) In dtSearch Desktop, click Options > Preferences > External Viewers, and check that you have "Standard" selected under "PDF viewing options."

3.  PDF files open very slowly in dtSearch Desktop after installing Adobe Reader or Acrobat 9

To make PDF files open faster in dtSearch Desktop, upgrade to dtSearch version 7.54 or later.  

4.  Script Error when PDF files open in dtSearch

After installing the upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 (which can happen via Windows Update), some users start seeing a "Script Error" when opening a PDF file in a browser window or in dtSearch.  This appears to result from damage to the integration between Internet Explorer and Adobe Reader.  To fix the problem, the integration settings have to be restored.  There are several ways to do this:
Option 1.  Download and install the latest version of Adobe Reader from www.adobe.com

Option 2.  Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs, click on the Adobe Product you are using, and click "Change/Remove".  When the "Program Maintenance" window appears, select "Repair".

Option 3.  In Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat, click Edit > Preferences > Internet, and under "Web Browser Options", un-check the box to "Display PDF in browser" is checked, click OK, then open Edit > Preferences > Internet again, re-check the box, and click OK.  

5.  PDF files always open in a separate window

There are two settings that can affect this:
(1) In dtSearch Desktop, click Options > Preferences > External Viewers, and make sure the box to "View PDF files in a separate Adobe Reader window" is not checked.

(2) In Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat, click Edit > Preferences > Internet, and under "Web Browser Options" make sure the box to "Display PDF in browser" is checked.  Sometimes, especially in Adobe Reader 7, this option is checked but Adobe Reader seems to ignore it anyway.   If this happens, uncheck the box, click OK, then open Edit > Preferences > Internet again, re-check the box, and click OK.  

6.  "Next Hit" and "Prev Hit" buttons greyed out in dtSearch Desktop

adobetoolbar.gif

 

When a PDF file is displayed in dtSearch Desktop, the "Next Hit" and "Prev Hit" buttons on the dtSearch Toolbar are disabled, and instead you can use the "Next Hit" and "Prev Hit" buttons on the Adobe Reader toolbar.  To find the buttons on the Adobe Reader toolbar, look for like those pictured on the right.

If the buttons on the Adobe Reader toolbar are grey, it means that either the PDF file has no hits that can be highlighted (for example, if you searched on the filename), or the hits may all appear on the same page.   In Adobe Reader, the "Next Hit" and "Prev Hit" buttons take you to the next or previous page with hits, so if all of the hits are on one page, these buttons cannot do anything.

7.  Missing "Next Hit" and "Prev Hit" buttons in Adobe Reader

If the dtSearch "Next Hit" and "Prev Hit" buttons do not appear in the Adobe Reader toolbar, then the dtSearch plug-in to highlight hits may be disabled.  This can happen in Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat if the "Certified Plug-ins Only" setting is enabled.   

To solve the problem, do the following:

(1) Open Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat

(2) Click Edit >  Preferences > General to access startup options  (in version 6, click Edit > Preferences > Startup)

(3) Un-check the "Use only certified plug-ins" box and click OK.

(4) Close Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat

If you have Adobe Acrobat, the same procedure must be done to change the setting for Adobe Acrobat. (In Adobe Acrobat, click Edit > Preferences > General to access the Preferences dialog box.) Additionally, you may need to reboot for the option change to take effect. This may be necessary if there is a hidden instance of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader running on your computer.

Additional Information

dtSearch uses a "plug-in" component to highlight hits in Adobe Reader. In Adobe Reader 5, Adobe added a new default setting, "Certified Plug-ins Only" that prevents any plug-ins not written by Adobe from working. (Only Adobe's own plug-ins can be certified, so "Certified" really means "Adobe".) Changing the option setting allows the dtSearch plug-in to be loaded by Adobe Reader 5, so that hit highlighting will work correctly.