Plug-in Architecture

Acrobat plug-ins are dynamically-linked extension to Acrobat or Adobe Reader. They can hook into the user interface in a number of ways and can registered to be called when a variety of events occur in the application. A plug-in is a program written in ANSI C/C++ that uses Acrobat public APIs. The Acrobat API is divided into several layers; each layer controls a different aspect of the Acrobat environment. Plug-in projects consist of header files, SDK source files, user source files, user GUI resource files. The Acrobat SDK provides tools to help create these projects. The output file is a dynamically linked library file, with the extension .api, that should be placed in the Plug-ins folder under Acrobat. The Acrobat core and extended APIs enable you to write plug-ins that integrate with Adobe Reader.

ADOBE READER 9

Developing Plug-ins and Applications

Learn to use Acrobat SDK 9 to create plug-ins for Adobe Reader 9 and Acrobat 9 as well as to develop PDF Library applications. The Acrobat SDK contains two libraries: the Acrobat core API and the PDF Library API. The latest API descriptions are contained in the Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference.

Developing for Adobe Reader

Get familiar with the components of the Adobe Acrobat Software Development Kit (SDK) that are relevant to the development for Adobe Reader. Understand, as a developer, how to extend or customize Adobe Reader and how such efforts differ from those intended for Acrobat. This section is meant for you if you’re either new to Adobe Reader development or have experience with the Acrobat SDK.

Creating an Adobe Reader 9 Plug-In

Learn to develop and enable a plug-in to be loaded by Adobe Reader 9. Also learn to troubleshoot the Adobe Reader 9 plug-in.

ADOBE READER 8

Developing Plug-ins and Applications (PDF, 4.6M)

(Apr 2007)
Understand and learn to develop the Acrobat plug-ins and PDF Library applications. Also learn to upgrade plug-ins from Acrobat 7 to Acrobat 8, know the platform-specific techniques for developing plug-ins, and obtain the list of Acrobat SDK header files.

Build Plug-ins for Adobe Reader

You must complete an Integration Key License Agreement (IKLA) to obtain a public key to allow you to build plug-ins for Adobe Reader software.

Developing for Adobe Reader (PDF, 953k)

(Nov 2006)
Learn the steps and process that must be followed to enable a plug-in to be loaded by Adobe Reader.

Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference (PDF, 14.5M)

(Jul 2005)
Get detailed descriptions of the PDF Library and Acrobat core and extended APIs.