Unable to read pdf files in help

Module Support
1

In the last versions of VASSAL is no more possible to open the pdf files in the help. Any suggestion about this problem?

Thank You.

2
  • What’s the first version of Vassal where you see the problem?
  • On what operating system
  • What are the exact steps you’re taking to trigger the problem?
  • What do you see when you follow these steps?
  • Have you checked the errorLog for error messages?
3

See also How to report problems.

Is your problem related to Has PDF handling changed in 3.7.21?? In other words, are you on Windows and do you see the PDF opened up in a browser window? In that case, the cause of the change in behaviour is in how the system opens URLs - not Vassal.

Yours,
Christian

4

Hello!

I’m using the last version of Vassal (3.7.26), but looks like that the problem was present since version 3.7.21.

The Operating System is Windows 11.

Since the pdf files (that can be read using Acrobat Reader) are no more accesible in the help, I put a copy of the pdfs in the desktop and open them when necessary.

No. I’ve not yet checked the errorLog file because the problem is caused by Windows (Not Vassal, I think) that blocks the access of Vassal to Adobe Reader.

I tried to access the pdf files from the help using all the browesr (Edge, Chrome and Firefox) without success. Windows always prevent the pdfs to be opnened from the help.

If you need more deteaild informations, just let me know.

Thank ypou for your support..

Panther_2010

Emoji

Someone replied to your post.

| uckelman
August 2 |

  • | - |
  • What’s the first version of Vassal where you see the problem?
  • On what operating system
  • What are the exact steps you’re taking to trigger the problem?
  • What do you see when you follow these steps?
  • Have you checked the errorLog for error messages?
5

Hello Christian.

Yes, my problem is just the same of Has PDF handling changed in 3.7.21?.

I can access the pdfs in Acrobat Reader and in all the browsers (Edge, Chrome, Firefox) biut not fronm the Vassal Help. No Vassal errors are shown, the errror s a Windows error that states that no applications are present on the computer to open the pdf, that is clearly false.

If pdf files are no more usable in help, other types of files can be still opened from the help or the problem is more general?

Thank you for your help..

Panther_2010

Someone replied to your post.

| cholmcc
August 2 |

  • | - |

uckelman:

  • What’s the first version of Vassal where you see the problem?
    …

See also How to report problems.

panther_2010:

In the last versions of VASSAL is no more possible to open the pdf files in the help.

Is your problem related to Has PDF handling changed in 3.7.21?? In other words, are you on Windows and do you see the PDF opened up in a browser window? In that case, the cause of the change in behaviour is in how the system opens URLs - not Vassal.

Yours,
Christian

6

Did you test with 3.7.21, or are you assuming that because of the post Has PDF handling changed in 3.7.21? Please test if you haven’t. That is, get f.ex. 3.7.20 and verify that it works for you there, then progressively install newer releases until you find when it stops working (Note, this will not affect any of your downloaded modules or saves, as long as you do not tinker with those).

Well, in the cited post, the PDFs were shown - just not in a PDF viewer but in a Web-browser. What you seem to say, is that the PDFs are not shown at all.

Did you run the tests described in this reply? If so, can you report the results?

Please do. It might contain useful information.

Then why report it the problem here in this Forum, and not some Windows help-line?

Embedded PDFs are extracted from the module into some some temporary directory. Then Vassal uses java.awt.Desktop#browse to direct the Desktop to open up the file. How that message is handled both by java.awt.Desktop#browse and Desktop depends a lot on the Operating System and the Desktop (Windows+Windows, MacOS+Cocao, Linux+Gnome/KDE/…). In older OpenJDK, java.awt.Desktop#browse on Windows would execute start <filename>, but now it tries to find the default (defined in the Desktop) application to on a URI of the format file:/.../....pdf. For some reason, what it seems to find in some cases is a Web-browser, but perhaps in your case - nothing.

If you run the mentioned tests cited above, you may learn more.

Yours,
Christian

7

Any chance to use the pdf files ih Help in the near future?:expressionless_face:

8

What did you find when you worked through the suggestions in this post?

9

The above link takes me to a BlueSky feed - not a specific post, and there’s off-hand nothing on PDFs in that feed.

@uckelman, perhaps you could summarise or copy’n’paste the post here?

Yours,
Christian

10

That was a bad paste. I’ve fixed the link.

11

Great!!

Many Many thanks!

Emoji

Someone replied to your post.

| uckelman
August 12 |

  • | - |

That was a bad paste. I’ve fixed the link.

12

Do you mean to say that the issue has been solved? If so, what solved it for you?

Remember to mark the post that solved the issue. That really helps others find the solution to their problems. Only you as OP can do that.

Yours,
Christian