How to use MenuItemExecute() with AVDoc.OpenInWindowEx()

Question

Is it possible to use Acrobat.MenuItemExecute('Copy'); command with AVDoc.OpenInWindowEx(FFilename, Panel1.handle, 0, True, 0,0, 2, 0, 0, 0); in Delphi 7 and Acrobat XI Pro?

If you help me with an example I'll be glad.

Answer 1

I think the answer to this is probably "no" because before calling Acrobat.MenuItemExecute('Copy'), it is necessary to call BringToFront on the window containing the text you want to copy, otherwise the call to MenuItemExecute('Copy') will fail, even when the document is hosted in one of Acrobat's own windows. I don't see how you could do that successfully when the document window is hosted in your app, rather than Acrobat.

However, there are a few things you could add to your q that might assist in getting a better answer. [...]

Update Please disregard my comments in an earlier version of this answer saying that I could not reproduce the behaviour that I could not select text in the window opened using OpenInWindowEx. In fact, I can now select text fine, what I had overlooked previously is that I had set the Enabled property of my TPanel to False.

Unfortunately, I have still not been able to successfully call Acrobat.MenuItemExecute('Copy') and I am beginning to think that there is no way to do this in a hosted window. I have not found a definitive list, but various comments by Adobe staffers that google found make it clear that many MenuItemExecute strings just to not work when using OpenInWindowEx.

However that may not be the only way to retrieve the selected text back into the Delphi app.

If you look at the hosted window using a tool like WinSpy or Window Detective you will see that contained within the panel window is a whole host of Acrobat windows, including an AVL_AVView one with the Window text "AVPageView" which I imagine is the actual window displaying the PDF text.

I think the key to a possible solution is your observation, which I've confirmed, that pressing Ctrl-C in the window copies the text to the clipboard. So far I have not been able to achieve the equivalent in code, using techniques like keybd_event calls, various Delphi "SendKeys" routines and sending a WM_COPY message to the AVPageView window. I'm sure it must be possible, but I haven't yet found a way.