Apple Event Objects and Apple Events¶

This chapter describes the supported Apple event objects, with descriptions of each object’s elements and properties, and the supported Apple events.

Objects¶

Acrobat presents the following objects to the Apple event interface:

annotation
application
bookmark
conversion
document
Link Annotation
menu
menu item
page
PDF Window
Text Annotation

annotation¶

An annotation on a page in a PDF file that corresponds to PDAnnot, an internal Acrobat class. This object was formerly known as PDAnnot.

Acrobat also has two built-in annotation objects. For more information, see Link Annotation and Text Annotation.

Plural form

Annotations

Properties

Property	Class	Description
best type	type class [r/o]	The best descriptor type.
bounds	a list of small real	The boundary rectangle for the annotation in PDF space (left, top, right, bottom).
class	type class [r/o]	The class.
color	‘RGB’	The color of the border around the annotation.
contents	international text	Text annotations only. The textual contents of the note.
default type	type class [r/o]	The default descriptor type.
destination page number	integer	Link annotations only. The page number to appear in the PDF window when the annotation link is activated.
destination rectangle	a list of small real	Link annotations only. The boundary rectangle (specified in user space) for the view of the destination. Coordinates are specified in the following order: left, top, right, bottom.
fit type	constant	Link annotations only. Determines how the destination rectangle is fitted to the window when the link is activated. Values are: `Left Top Zoom`, `Fit Page`, `Fit Width`, `Fit Height`, `Fit Rect`, `Fit BBox`, `Fit BB Width`, `Fit BB Height` These are described in the PDF Reference.
index	integer [r/o]	The annotation’s index within the page object.
modification date	date	The date and time the annotation was last modified.
name	string	Text annotations only. The annotation’s label.
open state	Boolean	Text annotations only. Whether the annotation is open.
subtype	international text [r/o]	The subtype of the annotation.
zoom factor	small real	Link annotations only. If `fit type` is `Left Top Zoom`, this specifies the zoom factor; otherwise it is ignored. Setting this property automatically sets `fit type` to `Left Top Zoom`.

Related methods

application¶

The Acrobat or Acrobat Reader application itself.

Elements

Element	Accessed by
document	name, numeric index
PDF Window	name, numeric index
menu	name, numeric index
menu item	name

Properties

Property	Class	Description
active doc	reference	The active document.
active tool	international text	The type of the currently active tool. See the Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference for a list of tool names.
anti_alias text	Boolean	Determines whether to anti-alias text and monochrome images.
best type	type class [r/o]	The best descriptor type.
case sensitivity	Boolean	Determines whether searches are case- sensitive.
class	type class [r/o]	The class.
default type	type class [r/o]	The default descriptor type.
default zoom factor	small real	The default zoom factor, in percent, used for displaying new documents. For example, a value of 100 corresponds to a zoom factor of 1.0 (100%).
default zoom type	constant	The default zoom type when opening a new document. Valid values are `no vary`, `fit page`, `fit width`, `fit height`, and `fit visible width`.
download entire file	Boolean	Determines whether to download the entire file.
frontmost	Boolean	Determines whether Acrobat is the frontmost application. Value can be set to true only.
fullscreen click advances	Boolean	Determines whether mouse click advances in fullscreen mode.
fullscreen cursor	Boolean	Determines whether to hide the cursor in fullscreen mode.
fullscreen escape	Boolean	Determines whether the Esc key can be used to exit fullscreen mode.
fullscreen loop	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether the document’s pages are displayed in a loop while in fullscreen mode.
fullscreen timer delay	integer	The number of seconds to advance to the next page in fullscreen mode.
fullscreen transition	international text [r/o]	Default fullscreen transition.
highlight color	‘RGB ‘	Color used to highlight selections.
maximum documents	integer [r/o]	Maximum number of open documents.
name	string [r/o]	The application’s name.
note color	‘RGB ‘	A list of three values between 0 and 65535 representing the color of the border around text annotations. For example, the following sets the note color to deep blue:`set the note color to {0, 0, 32768}`.
note font name	international text	Deprecated.
note font size	integer	Deprecated.
open in place	Boolean	Determines whether to open cross-document links in the same window.
page layout	international text	Default page layout. Values are: `Single Page`, `Continuous`, `Facing`, and `Continuous - Facing`.
page units	international text	Default page display units: `Points`, `Inches` or `Millimeters.`
PS level	integer	Deprecated. Set the PostScript level when using save or print pages commands.
save as linearize	Boolean	Determines whether to save the document as optimized for the web.
show splash at startup	Boolean	Determines whether the splash screen is shown at startup.
skip warnings	Boolean	Determines whether to skip warning dialog boxes during program execution.
shrink to fit	Boolean	Deprecated.
text note label	international text	The text that will appear in the title bar of all newly created text notes.
toolbar visibility	Boolean	Determines whether the toolbar is visible.
UI language	international text [r/o]	A three-character language code identifying which language is used in the Acrobat user interface. Example: `ENU` represents English.
use fullscreen timer	Boolean	Determines whether to use a timer to advance pages in fullscreen mode
version	string [r/o]	The version number of the application.
whole word searching	Boolean	Determines whether searches are applied to whole words only.

AVPageView¶

Note

Deprecated. Use PDF Window instead.

bookmark¶

A bookmark on a page in a PDF file. Corresponds to Acrobat’s PDBookmark object.

Note

This object was formerly known as PDBookmark.

Plural form

Bookmarks

Properties

Property	Class	Description
best type	type class [r/o]	The best descriptor type.
class	type class [r/o]	The class.
default type	type class [r/o]	The default descriptor type.
destination page number	integer	The page number to which the PDF Window goes when the bookmark’s action is performed.
destination rectangle	list of small real	Boundary rectangle (specified in user space) for the view of the destination when the bookmark’s action is performed. Coordinates are specified in the following order: (left, top, right, bottom). Set this only after setting `fit type`.
fit type	constant	Controls how the destination rectangle is fitted to the window when the bookmark’s action is performed. Possible values: `Left Top Zoom`: Sets a specified zoom and a specified location on the page. `Fit Page`: Sets the zoom factor so that the entire page fits into the window. `Fit Width`: Sets the zoom factor so that the width of the page fits into the window. `Fit Height`: Sets the zoom factor so that the height of the page fits into the window. `Fit Rect`: Sets the zoom factor so that the specified rectangle fits into the window. `Fit BBox`: Sets the zoom so that the rectangle enclosing all marks on the page (known as the bounding box) fits into the window. `Fit BB Width`: Sets the zoom factor so that the width of the bounding box fits into the window. `Fit BB Height`: Sets the zoom factor so that the height of the bounding box fits into the window.
index	integer [r/o]	The bookmark’s index within the document.
name	international text	The bookmark’s title.
zoom factor	small real	The zoom factor used when `fit type` is `Left Top Zoom` ; ignored otherwise. Setting this property automatically sets `fit type` to `Left Top Zoom`.

conversion¶

A file type converter that exports PDF files into other formats. Conversions correspond to the list of formats specified in the Acrobat Save As menu. A list of formats can be obtained as follows:

get every conversion

Properties

Property	Class	Description
best type	type class [r/o]	The best descriptor type.
class	type class [r/o]	The class.
default type	type class [r/o]	The default descriptor type.
index	integer [r/o]	The index number of the converter.
name	international text	The conversion’s description.

save

">

document

Represents a single open document in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.

Elements

Element	Accessed by
page	Numeric index. The first page in a document is page 1.
bookmark	Name or numeric index.
PDF Window	An index of 1 or with the `some` keyword in AppleScript. No document has more than one `PDF Window`.

Plural form

documents

Properties

Property	Class	Description
best type	type class [r/o]	The best descriptor type.
bounds	bounding rectangle [r/o]	The boundary rectangle for the document’s window, in screen coordinates (left, top, right, bottom).
class	type class [r/o]	The class.
default type	type class [r/o]	The default descriptor type.
file alias	alias [r/o]	An alias for the file to which the document will be saved if no other name is specified; this is usually the same path from which the document was read.
modified	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether the document has been modified and should be saved.
name	international text [r/o]	The document’s name as it appears in the window’s titlebar.
view mode	constant	The viewing mode of the document. Possible values: `just pages`, `pages and thumbs`, or `pages and bookmarks`.

EPS Conversion¶

A file type converter that exports PDF files into EPS format.

Properties

Inherits from PostScript Conversion.

save

Link Annotation¶

A link annotation on a page in a PDF file. Can only be used as the target of a make event. All other access is via the annotation class.

Note

This object was formerly known as PDLinkAnnot.

Properties

Inherits from annotation.

menu¶

A menu in the Acrobat or Acrobat Reader menu bar.

Elements

Element	Accessed by
menu item	name, numeric index.

Properties

Property	Class	Description
best type	type class [r/o]	The best descriptor type.
class	type class [r/o]	The class.
default type	type class [r/o]	The default descriptor type.
name	international text [r/o]	The menu’s name (a language-independent name that uniquely identifies the menu). See the Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference for a list of menu names.
title	string [r/o]	The menu’s title as it would appear in the user interface.

execute

menu item¶

A menu item contained within a menu in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.

Properties

Property	Class	Description
best type	type class [r/o]	The best descriptor type.
class	type class [r/o]	The class.
default type	type class [r/o]	The default descriptor type.
enabled	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether the menu item is enabled.
has submenu	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether the menu item has a hierarchical sub-menu.
marked	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether the menu item is checked.
name	international text [r/o]	The menu item’s language-independent name. See the Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference for a list of menu item names.
title	string [r/o]	The menu’s title as it would appear in the user interface.

execute

">

page

A single page in the PDF representation of a document. Corresponds to Acrobat’s internal PDPage object.

Note

This object was formerly known as PDPage.

Elements

Element	Accessed by
annotation	numeric index.

Plural form

Pages

Properties

Property	Class	Description
best type	type class [r/o]	The best descriptor type.
bounds	list of small real	The boundary rectangle for the page in user space (left, top, right, bottom).
class	type class [r/o]	The class.
default type	type class [r/o]	The default descriptor type.
page number	integer [r/o]	The page’s number. The first page in a document is page 1.
rotation	integer	The rotation angle of the page in degrees (0, 90, 180, or 270).

PDAnnot¶

Note

Deprecated. Use annotation instead.

PDBookMark¶

Note

Deprecated. Use bookmark instead.

PDLinkAnnot¶

Note

Deprecated. Use Link Annotation instead.

PDPage¶

Note

Deprecated. Use page instead.

PDTextAnnot¶

Note

Deprecated. Use Text Annotation instead.

PDF Window¶

The area of the Acrobat or Acrobat Reader window that displays the contents of a page within the document. Corresponds to the Acrobat internal AvPageView object. A document that is not visible does not have a PDF Window.

Note

This object was formerly known as AVPageView.

Elements

Element	Accessed by
page	numeric index. The first page in a document is page 1.

Properties

Property	Class	Description
best type	type class [r/o]	The best descriptor type.
bounds	bounding rectangle	The boundary rectangle for the window.
class	type class [r/o]	The class.
default type	type class [r/o]	The default descriptor type.
document	document [r/o]	The document that owns this window.
index	integer	The number of the window.
name	international text [r/o]	The document’s name as shown in the window’s titlebar.
page number	integer	The number of the currently displayed page.
position	point [r/o]	The upper left coordinates of the window.
visible	Boolean [r/o]	Whether the window is visible.
zoomed	Boolean	Whether the window is zoomed.
zoom factor	small real	The current zoom factor specified as a percentage. For example, a value of 100 corresponds to a zoom factor of 1.0 (100%).
zoom type	constant	The zooming and content fitting algorithm currently employed. Possible values: `no vary`, `fit page`, `fit width`, `fit height`, and `fit visible width`.

PostScript Conversion¶

A file type converter that exports PDF files into PostScript format.

Properties

Inherits other properties from conversion.

Property	Class	Description
annotations	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether to include annotations.
binary	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether the output file should be in binary or ASCII text format.
embedded fonts	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether to include fonts.
halftones	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether to use halftone screens.
images	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether to include RGB and LAB images.
postScript level	integer [r/o]	The PostScript Language level. Only levels 2 and 3 are supported.
preview	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether to include preview in output.
TrueType	Boolean [r/o]	Determines whether to convert TrueType fonts to Type 1.

save

Text Annotation¶

A PDF text annotation (note) on a page in a PDF file. Can only be used as the target of a make event. All other access is via the annotation class.

Note

This object was formerly known as TextAnnot.

Properties

Inherits from annotation.

Required suite events¶

The following events are sent by the Finder to all applications:

open
print
quit
run

Note

Most of these events have counterparts in the Core suite that have greater functionality. The Required suite is not listed in the AppleScript dictionary, even though it is implemented.

Acrobat Reader also supports the Required suite events, but no others.

open¶

Opens a file.

Syntax

open [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
open	The file or files to open.

print¶

Prints one or more files.

Syntax

print
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
print	The file or files to print.

quit¶

Terminates an application. For information on a variant event in the Core suite that accepts options, see quit.

Syntax

quit

run¶

Launches the application and invokes its standard startup procedures.

Syntax

run

Core suite events¶

Acrobat supports the following subset of the Core suite of Apple events:

close
count
delete
exists
get
make
move
open
quit
save
set

close¶

Closes a document.

Syntax

close
 [reference] saving
 [constant] linearize
 [boolean]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
close	The document to close.
saving	Determines whether to save a document that has been modified before quitting. Possible values: `yes`: Save the document. `no`: Do not save the document. `ask`: Ask the user whether to save the document. The default value is `ask`.
linearize	Determines whether the document should be optimized for the web when saving before closing.

Related events

open

count¶

Counts the number of instances of a particular class.

Syntax

count
 [type class] of
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
count	The class whose instances are to be counted.
each	The class whose instances are to be counted. This keyword is optional.

Note

There is an alternate form using the keyword each in which the parameters are reversed:

      count
[reference] each
[type class]

Returns

An integer specifying the number of elements.

AppleScript example

count annotation of document "dev_acro.pdf"
count menu item of menu "View"
count document 1 each bookmark

delete¶

Deletes one or more objects.

Syntax

delete
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
delete	The object to be deleted.

make
exists

AppleScript example

delete first bookmark of document "test.pdf"

exists¶

Tests whether a specified object exists.

Syntax

[reference] exists

exists
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
exists	Object whose existence is checked.

Returns

true if the object exists, false otherwise.

AppleScript example

exists second document

second document exists

get¶

Retrieves the value of an object or property.

Syntax

get [reference] as [class]

Note

The keyword get is optional.

Parameters

Parameter	Description
get	The object or property whose value is returned.
as	The form in which the data is returned.

Returns

The value of the specified property or object. If the specified object does not exist, no result is returned.

set

AppleScript example

get the name of last bookmark
get the index of last bookmark as string

make¶

Creates a new object.

Syntax

make
 new [
type class] at
 [location reference] with data
 [anything] with properties
 [record]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
make [new]	The class of the new object.
at	The location at which to insert the new object.
with data	The initial data for the new object.
with properties	The initial values for the properties of the new object.

Returns

A reference to the newly created object.

AppleScript example

set myAnnotation to make TextAnnotation at beginning
set name of myAnnotation to "Werner Heisenberg"
set contents of myAnnotation to "Might have been here"

move¶

Moves a page object.

Syntax

move
 [reference] to
 [location reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
move	The page object to move. The first page in a document is page 1.
to	The new location for the page.

Returns

A reference to the page that is moved.

AppleScript example

move page 3 to before page 1

open¶

Opens a document or documents.

Syntax

open
 [list of alias] invisible
 [boolean] options
 [string]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
open	The document or documents to open.
invisible	Whether the opened document should be hidden. Default is `false`.
options	Optional parameter string of open actions.

close

quit¶

Causes the Acrobat application to quit.

Syntax

quit
 saving [constant]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
saving	Determines whether to save documents that have been modified before quitting. Possible values: `yes`: Save the document. `no`: Do not save the document. `ask`: If the documents have been modified, ask the user whether to save them. The default value is `ask`.

AppleScript example

quit saving yes

save¶

Saves a document.

Syntax

save
 [reference] to
 [file specification] using
 [reference] linearize[
 boolean]

Parameters

save	The document to be saved.
to	The file into which the document is to be saved. This parameter is optional in Acrobat 6.0 and higher. Specifying the `to` parameter is equivalent to doing a Save As. You can save a document in one of the supported formats with the `using` parameter.
linearize	Determines whether the document should be optimized for the web.
using	The conversion method used to save the document in the desired format. Supported conversions by name are EPS Conversion and PostScript Conversion. All others can be specified by index using the conversion object.

AppleScript example

save document 1 to file "MyHardDrive:tempBig.ps" using PostScript Conversion with embedded fonts, images, preview, and annotation without binary given postScript level: 1

set¶

Sets an object’s data or properties.

Syntax

set
 [reference] to
 [anything]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
set	The object or property whose value is set.
to	The new value.

get

AppleScript example

set the name of first bookmark to "Chapter 1"

Acrobat application events¶

This section describes a number of Acrobat API calls for the Apple event interface that are specific to Acrobat applications. The supported events in this suite are:

bring to front
clear selection
close all docs
create thumbs
delete pages
delete thumbs
execute
find next note
find text
get info
go backward
go forward
goto
goto next
goto previous
insert pages
is toolbutton enabled
maximize
perform
print pages
read page down
read page up
remove toolbutton
replace pages
scroll
select text
set info
zoom

Apple encourages the use of an application’s signature as the name of its class for application-specific Apple events. The string CARO is the name of the class for Acrobat-specific Apple events:

#define kAEAcrobatViewerClass 'CARO'

AppleScript does not need this information.

bring to front¶

Brings the specified document’s window to the front.

Syntax

bring to front
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
bring to front	The document to be displayed as the active document in the front window.

AppleScript example

bring to front document "AppleEvt.pdf"

Apple event ID

kAEBringToFront ('bfrt')

clear selection¶

Clears the document’s current selection, if any.

Syntax

clear selection
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
clear selection	The document containing the selection to be cleared

select text

AppleScript example

clear selection document "PLUGINS.PDF"

Apple event ID

kAEClearSelection ('clsl')

close all docs¶

Closes all documents.

Syntax

close all docs
 saving
 [constant]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
saving	Determines whether to save modified documents before closing. Possible values: `yes`: Save the document. `no`: Do not save the document. `ask`: If the document has been modified, ask the user whether to save it. The default value is `ask`.

open (Required suite)
open (Core suite)

AppleScript example

close all docs

Apple event ID

kAECloseAllDocs ('cldc')

create thumbs¶

Creates thumbnail images for all pages in the document.

Syntax

create thumbs
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
create thumbs	The document in which thumbnails are created.

delete thumbs

AppleScript example

create thumbs document "roadmap.pdf"

Apple event ID

kAECreateThumbs ('crtb')

delete pages¶

Deletes the specified pages in the document.

Syntax

delete pages
 [reference] first
 [integer] last [
integer]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
delete pages	The document containing the pages to be deleted.
first	The first page to be deleted. The first page in a document is page 1.
last	The last page to be deleted.

AppleScript example

delete pages document "AppleEvt.pdf" first 1 last 3

Apple event ID

kAEDeletePages ('dlpg')

Apple event parameters

keyAEFirstPage ('frpg')
keyAELastPage ('lapg'')

delete thumbs¶

Deletes all thumbnails from the document.

Syntax

delete thumbs
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
delete thumbs	The document from which thumbnails are deleted.

create thumbs

AppleScript example

delete thumbs document "AppleEvt.pdf"

Apple event ID

kAEDeleteThumbs ('dltb')

execute¶

Executes the specified menu item.

Syntax

execute
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
execute	The menu item to execute. See the Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference for a list of menu item names.

AppleScript example

activate
execute menu item "Open"

Apple event ID

kAEExecute ('exec')

find next note¶

Finds and selects the next text note in a document.

Syntax

find next note
 [reference] wrap around
 [boolean]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
find next note	The document in which to find the next text note.
wrap around	Determines whether to continue the search at the beginning of a document if a note has not been found after the end of the document is reached. If `true`, the search wraps around; otherwise it does not. The default value is `false`.

Returns

The text annotation found.

find text

AppleScript example

find next note document "dev_acro.pdf"

Apple event ID

kAEFindNextNote ('fnnt')

Apple event parameters

keyAEWrapAround ('wrar')

find text¶

Finds text in a document.

Syntax

find text
 [reference] string
 [international text] case sensitive
 [boolean] whole words
 [boolean] wrap around
 [boolean]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
find text	The document to be searched.
string	The string to be found.
case sensitive	Determines whether searching is case-sensitive. The default value is `false`.
whole words	Determines whether to search only for whole words. The default value is `false`.
wrap around	Determines whether to continue the search at the beginning of a document if the specified text has not been found after the end of the document is reached. If `true`, the search wraps around; otherwise it does not. The default value is `false`.

find next note

AppleScript example

find text document "PLUGINS.PDF" string "Develop" whole words true

Apple event ID

kAEFindText ('ftxt')

Apple event parameters

keyAESearchString ('sstr')
keyAECaseSensitive ('case')
keyAEWholeWordsOnly ('whwd')
keyAEWrapAround ('wrar')

get info¶

Gets the value of the specified key in the document’s Info dictionary.

Syntax

get info
 [reference] key
 [international text]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
get info	The document from which to obtain the `Info` dictionary entry.
key	The case-sensitive `Info` dictionary key whose value is to be obtained. The predefined keys are: `Creator`, `Producer`, `CreationDate`, `Author`, `Title`, `Subject`, and `Keywords`. None of these is required in the PDF file.

Returns

A string containing the specified key’s value, or an empty string if the key is not found.

AppleScript example

get info document "PLUGINS.PDF" key "CreationDate"

Apple event ID

kAEGetInfo ('gnfo')

Apple event parameters

keyAEInfoKey ('inky')

go backward¶

Goes to the previous view in the stored view history. Does nothing if the current view is the first view in the history.

Syntax

go backward
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
go backward	A PDF Window object

AppleScript example

go backward first PDF Window

Apple event ID

kAEGoBack ('gbck')

go forward¶

Goes to the next view in the stored view history. Does nothing if the current view is the last view in the history.

Syntax

go forward
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
go forward	A PDF Window object

AppleScript example

go forward first PDF Window

Apple event ID

kAEGoForward ('gfwd')

goto¶

Displays the page that has the specified page number.

Syntax

goto
 [reference] page
 [integer]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
goto	The PDF Window object in which to change the page.
page	The page number of the page to be displayed. The first page in a document is page 1.

AppleScript example

goto first PDF Window page 2

Apple event ID

kAEGotoPage ('gtpg')

Apple event parameters

keyAEPageNumber ('pg #')

goto next¶

Displays the next page after the one currently displayed in the PDF Window. Does nothing if the current page is the last page in the document.

Syntax

goto next
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
goto next	The PDF Window object in which to change the page.

AppleScript example

goto next first PDF Window

Apple event ID

kAEGotoNextPage ('nxpg')

goto previous¶

Displays the previous page before the one currently displayed in the PDF Window. Does nothing if the current page is the first page in the document.

Syntax

goto previous
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
goto previous	The PDF Window object in which to change the page.

AppleScript example

goto previous first PDF Window

Apple event ID

kAEGotoPrevPage ('pvpg')

insert pages¶

Inserts one or more pages from one document into another.

Syntax

insert pages
 [reference] after
 [integer] from
 [reference] starting with
 [integer] number of pages
 [integer] insert bookmarks
 [boolean]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
insert pages	The target document in which to insert the page or pages.
after	The number of the page after which the pages will be inserted. The first page in a document is page 1.
from	The source document containing the page or pages to be inserted.
starting with	The first page to be inserted.
number of pages	The number of pages to be inserted.
insert bookmarks	Determines whether to copy bookmarks that point to the inserted pages. Default is `true`.

delete pages

AppleScript example

insert pages document "AppleEvt.pdf" after 2 from document "dev_acro.pdf" starting with 1 number of pages 4

Apple event ID

kAEInsertPages ('inpg')

Apple event parameters

keyAEInsertAfter ('inaf')
keyAESourceDoc ('srdc')
kAESourceStartPage ('stpg')
keyAENumPages ('nmpg')
keyAEInsertBookmarks ('inbm')

is toolbutton enabled¶

Determines whether the specified toolbar button is enabled.

Syntax

is toolbutton enabled named
 [international text]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
named	Button name. See the PDF Library documentation for a list of toolbar button names.

Returns

true if the toolbar button is enabled, false otherwise.

remove toolbutton

AppleScript example

is toolbutton enabled named "AcroSrch:Query"

Apple event ID

kAEIsToolButtonEnabled ('tben')

Apple event parameters

keyAEButtonname ('tbnm')

maximize¶

Sets the document’s window size to either its maximum or original size.

Syntax

maximize
 [reference] max size
 [integer]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
maximize	The document whose window is to be resized.
max size	If `true`, the document’s window is set to full size. If `false`, the window is returned to its original size.

AppleScript example

maximize document "AppleEvt.pdf" max size false

Apple event ID

kAEMaximize ('maxi')

Apple event parameters

keyAEMaxSize ('mxsz')

perform¶

Executes a bookmark’s or link annotation’s action.

Syntax

perform
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
object	The bookmark or page object whose action is to be performed.

AppleScript example

perform last bookmark

Apple event ID

kAEPerform ('prfm')

print pages¶

Prints one or more pages from a document without displaying a modal Print dialog box.

Syntax

print pages
 [reference] first
 [integer] last
 [integer] PS Level
 [integer] binary output
 [boolean] shrink to fit
 [boolean]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
print pages	The document containing the page or pages to be printed. This keyword and the actual filename must be specified.
first	The first page to be printed. The default value is 1.
last	The last page to print. The default value is the number of the last page in the document.
PS Level	The PostScript language level (1 or 2) to use when printing to a PostScript printer. The default value is 1.
binary output	Determines whether binary output is permitted (used for PostScript printing only). The default value is `false`.
shrink to fit	Determines whether pages should be shrunk to fit paper in printer. The default value is `false`.

AppleScript example

print pages document "AppleEvt.pdf" first 1 last 3 PS Level 2 binary output true shrink to fit true

Apple event ID

kAEPrintPages ('prpg')

Apple event parameters

keyAEFirstPage ('frpg')
keyAELastPage ('lapg')
keyAEPSLevel ('pslv')
keyAEBinaryOK ('binO')
keyAEShrinkToFit ('s2ft')

read page down¶

Scrolls forward through the document by one screen.

Syntax

read page down
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
read page down	The PDF Window object to be scrolled.

AppleScript example

read page down first PDF Window

Apple event ID

kAEReadPageDown ('pgdn')

read page up¶

Scrolls backward through the document by one screen.

Syntax

read page up
 [reference]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
read page up	The PDF Window object to be scrolled.

AppleScript example

read page up first PDFPageWindow

Apple event ID

kAEReadPageUp ('pgup')

remove toolbutton¶

Removes the specified button from the toolbar.

Syntax

remove toolbutton named
 [international text]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
named	The name of the toolbar button to be removed. See the Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference for a list of toolbar button names.

is toolbutton enabled

AppleScript example

remove toolbutton named "ZoomIn"

Apple event ID

kAERemoveToolButton ('rmtb')

Apple event parameters

keyAEButtonname ('tbnm')

replace pages¶

Replaces one or more pages in a document with pages from another document.

Syntax

replace pages
 [reference] over
 [integer] from
 [reference] starting with
 [integer] number of pages
 [integer] merge notes
 [boolean]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
replace pages	The target document whose pages are to be replaced.
over	The first page to be replaced. The first page in a document is page 1.
from	The source document from which the replacement page or pages are obtained.
starting with	The first page in the source document to be copied.
number of pages	The number of pages to be replaced.
merge notes	Determines whether to copy notes from the source document. The default value is `true`.

AppleScript example

replace pages document "AppleEvt.pdf" over 2 from document "dev_acro.pdf" starting with 1 number of pages 4 merge notes false

Apple event ID

kAEReplacePages ('rppg')

Apple event parameters

keyAEDestStartPage ('dtpg')
keyAESourceDoc ('srdc')
keyAESourceStartPage ('stpg')
keyAENumPages ('nmpg')
keyAEMergeNotes ('mgnt')

scroll¶

Scrolls the view of a page by the specified amount.

Syntax

scroll
 [reference] X Amount
 [integer] Y Amount
 [integer]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
scroll	The PDF Window object in which to scroll the view.
X Amount	The amount to scroll in the horizontal direction, in pixels. Positive values move the view to the right.
Y Amount	The amount to scroll in the vertical direction, in pixels. Positive values move the view down.

AppleScript example

scroll first PDFWindow X Amount 20 Y Amount 100

Apple event ID

kAEScroll ('scrl')

Apple event parameters

keyAEXDelta ('xdlt')
keyAEYDelta ('ydlt')

select text¶

Selects text as specified by either character or word offsets.

Syntax

select text
 [reference] from words
 [list of integer] from chars
 [list of integer]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
select text	The PDF Window object in which to select text.
from words	The words to be selected. This consists of one or more pairs of word offsets from the beginning of the document and word lengths (the number of contiguous words).
from chars	Characters to be selected. This consists of one or more pairs of character offsets from the beginning of the document and character lengths (the number of contiguous characters).

clear selection

AppleScript example

repeat with i from 1 to 10
       repeat with j from 1 to (10 - i)
       select text from words {i, j}
   end repeat
end repeat

Apple event ID

kAESetTextSelection ('stxs')

Apple event parameters

keyAEWordList ('fmwd')
keyAECharList ('fmch')

set info¶

Sets the value of a specified key in the document’s Info dictionary

Syntax

set info
 [reference] key
 [international text] value
 [international text]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
set info	The PDF Window in which to set the value of an `Info` dictionary entry.
key	The `Info` dictionary key whose value is to be set.
value	The value to be stored.

AppleScript example

set info document "PlugIns.pdf" key "Author"

value "Wolfgang Pauli"

Apple event ID

kAESetInfo ('snfo')

Apple event parameters

keyAEInfoKey ('inky')
keyAEInfoValue ('invl')

zoom¶

Changes the zoom level of the specified PDF Window.

Syntax

zoom
 [reference] to
 [small real]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
zoom	The PDF Window object to be zoomed.
to	The zoom factor specified as a percentage. For example, a value of 100 (100%) displays the document with a magnification of 1.0.

AppleScript example

zoom first PDFWindow to 150

Apple event ID

kAEZoomTo ('zmto')

Apple event parameters

keyAEZoomFactor ('zmft')

Miscellaneous events¶

Acrobat provides an Apple event that does not fall into one of the regular suites: do script

do script¶

Executes the specified JavaScript script.

Syntax

do script
 [international text] file
 [alias]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
do script	The JavaScript script to be executed.
file	File holding the JavaScript script to be executed.

Returns

Result of JavaScript execution as text.

AppleScript example

do script MyJavaScriptFile.js