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In the IUIE, why do PDF files display as a blank frame or as unreadable output?

A bug in the Internet Explorer PDF plug-in can cause IUIE PDF files to display as blank frames. If a PDF file is smaller than 8KB (and most in the IUIE are), Internet Explorer may remove the downloaded PDF file before Adobe Reader has a chance to launch and load the file.

The 5.01 release of the IUIE reduced the frequency of this problem by automatically padding short PDF files to a minimum size of 8KB. This amount of data usually allows Adobe Reader to load the file before Internet Explorer deletes it. However, sometimes the padded PDF file will appear in the browser as garbage. You can correct this by clicking your browser's Refresh button once. (Clicking the Refresh button multiple times tends to alternate the display between the expected PDF file and the unreadable, plain-text version.)

To avoid the problem caused by the bug as well as the problem introduced by padding the PDF file, IUIE Help recommends reinstalling Reader. If this is not possible, try one of these options:

  • If you are using Internet Explorer version 6.02 or later, upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Reader.

  • Select the Save to disk option in the IUIE, rather than opening the PDF file directly, so that it doesn't display in the browser window.

  • Disable inline (browser) PDF viewing by unchecking the Display PDF in Browser option (Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 and higher) or the Web Browser Integration option (Acrobat Reader 4 and below). Unchecking these options causes Reader to always load in its own window:

    • In Adobe Reader 6.0, from the Edit menu, choose Preferences... , and then Internet. Uncheck the box beside Display PDF in Browser.
    • In Acrobat Reader 5.1, under the Edit menu, select Preferences... , and then click Options. Uncheck the box beside Display PDF in Browser.
    • In Acrobat Reader 4.x, from the File menu, choose Preferences... , and then General. In the "Options" section, deselect Web Browser Integration.
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Last modified on May 02, 2008.

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