Detecting lack of PDF plugin with True Printing

[Karen]

I am using Silverlight Report Viewer with UseNativePrinting = false.  If Adobe PDF plug-in is not detected then I am prompted to save the PDF file.  Is there a way of detecting this event and prompting the user that they need to install Adobe PDF plug-in?

[Steve]

Hi Karen,

There is no way for you to change this behavior. We've done it this way as we need to provide users with some way to print the report upon printing. Several users have reported that they have limited permissions on their machines and cannot install software, so prompting them to install Acrobat Reader does not do them any good.
Moreover there are users utilizing other PDF programs (FoxIt, SumatraPDF etc.) that do not integrate an usable plug-in for printing, while browsers such as Chrome, have their own PDF plug-ins which are handled correctly by our product.

Kind regards,
Steve
the Telerik team

[Karen]

Thank you for your very quick reply. I understand the reason behind your approach.  I was wondering whether there is a way for me to intercept the event so I can inform the user there is a problem (not necessarily automate the download of the appropriate pdf)

[Steve]

Hi Karen,

You can make a check on the page with the report viewer, whether the user has Adobe PDF plug-in installed in the browser and prompt him to install it. There are various threads on the net that explain how to accomplish this.
You can also do this specifically for the print button by replacing the original OnPrint client-side viewer object. Here is a sample code which illustrates the approach:

<telerik:ReportViewer runat="server" id="ReportViewer1"></telerik:ReportViewer>
            <script type="text/javascript">
            var viewer1 = <%= ReportViewer1.ClientID %>;

            viewer1.OnPrint = function()
            {
                //detect pdf plug-in and inform user if needed
                alert("Print requires adobe pdf plug-in");
                this.PrintReport();
            };

         </script>

Kind regards,
Steve
the Telerik team