Cannot save copy from browser

[R.Janssen]

When using version 2.5.199 as a plugin in Mozilla Seamonkey 2.4.1, when a mail is received with a PDF
attachment it displays nicely, but when the "floppy" icon is clicked to save a copy of the document
nothing happens. When using the "save copy" function or "save as" from the menu bar, result
is the same. No dialog appears to ask for a place to save the file.
I tried upgrading to 2.5.201 but that did not fix it.

I think it worked OK before, but I am not sure. It may have broken when PDF-XChange viewer was
upgraded, but it may be because of a Seamonkey upgrade just as well.
Recently, Seamonkey has started to create the temporary file it hands over to the viewer as read-only
file, maybe this affects it. I think Thunderbird does the same thing.
(this was done to alert users that a save-back to the same file will not be possible because it is
a temporary file that will be deleted when the program is closed)

Do others see this problem in other browsers or versions?
(it is a bit difficult to test with other browsers in our environment)

[Paul - PDF-XChange]

Hi R.Janssen,

thanks for the report. I believe you are the first to report this issue with Seamonkey. It is normal as you say to not be able to save the read-only document, however Save As should work.

From your description it would seem that you have the email client set to open PDF attachmentsd directly in PDF-XChange and not as an addin in a browser. Is that correct?
I am also assuming that if you save the attachment first then open it in PDF-XChamge Viewer from the saved location that it can be changed and saved as normal. Is that also correct?

I'd like to see first hand what is happening here. If you have a little time I could set up SeaMonkey on a machine here and see if I get the same issue. To do this I'd need your system environment details. The easiest way to senf them to me is to open the Viewer and use Help --> Report a Problem. Just be sure to cross reference this thread so I know it's from you and for this issue.

regards

[R.Janssen]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your reply. As you probably know, Seamonkey is a combination of Firefox and Thunderbird.
I install PDF-Xchange viewer and then a PDF can be opened in the browser. PDF-Xchange functions
as an addin to the browser, showing the document within the display area of a browser window.

When I receive a mail with a PDF attachment and doubleclick on the attachment name, a browser
window opens and it shows the attachment. I have configured this to show only the toolbars, not
the menu bar. The leftmost icon on the toolbar is a floppy disk icon which shows "save a copy"
(in my local language) when hovering above it. When I click that icon, nothing happens. When
I enable the menu bar, the two enabled entries (save as and save copy) also don't work.

When I open a PDF document from the windows explorer, thus running PDF-Xchange as a standalone
program, those functions work fine. Also when the file is readonly.

When clicking on an attachement in a mail, Seamonkey decodes the MIME encoded part of the mail
and saves it in a file in %TEMP%. In the some version not too long ago, a change was made to make
this file readonly (visible in the properties/security window of the file) so naive users will not edit a
word document they receive and just click "save" assuming it will be kept on their disk. This change
is known to confuse some applications (like openoffice). Maybe it is the reason for this problem as
well, but don't blindly assume that as I have not done any testing to confirm that.

I just sent a "report a problem" mail from a document opened in the mail.
Does it work OK for you in other Mozilla programs? (e.g. Firefox)

[Paul - PDF-XChange]

Thanks R.Janssen,

thanks for the details and the files - I got them. I'll see about testing this today or tomorrow if I run out of time.

I'll post back here with what I find.

[R.Janssen]

Ok thanks, I'll check back here to see what you find!

[Paul - PDF-XChange]

Hi R.Janssen

I must apologise - I've not managed to get to this yet. It's on the top of my list for tomorrow.

Hope that's OK...

Paul

[R.Janssen]

Of course!
I think you provide exceptional responsiveness when supporting your product.

[Paul - PDF-XChange]

Hi R.Janssen,

I installed Seamonkey on a Win XP x86 machine. It appears that the mail component of Seamonkey is calling the web browser to display that file using the PDF-XChange Viewer addin for Gecko based browsers.

So far so good. The problem you report is evident here also, trying to save the PDF from within the Seamonkey browser does not work. Now the plugin is the same as used in Firefox and on that same test machine the feature works as expected - the Save dialogue is greyed out because it's a temp file and the Save as items open the dialogue box allowing you to choose another location.

So given that the addin works in Firefox I concur with your suggestion that it is a change in the Seamonkey code that is the problem here. I looked for a setting to associate the PDF-XChange stand alone Viewer with PDF attachments but could not find it. I think your best option here it to save the files from the email client locally and open them directly from your hard drive.

hth

[R.Janssen]

Thank you for your analysis!

There is a preferences dialog under Edit, and in that dialog there is a browser
item that you can expand, containing "helper applications".
That is where you can associate mime types with plugins or external helpers.
(it looks like the support for configurable handling of file extensions has been dropped)

However, generally I like the handling of PDF attachments by the plugin rather than by
the external viewer program. E.g. on our intranet we have lots of pdf content and it
neatly displays in browser windows, even in framesets.

I still have a question before I consider that we just "have to live with this":

When the viewer plugin shows the "save a copy" icon and I click on it, why doesn't it
popup a file selector dialog? I see some flashing as if it is redrawing the window but there
never is a file selection. Is this decided by the plugin framework in the browser, or
is this a decision that the plugin makes by itself?
And if so, what is this decision based on? The fact that the file is readonly?
(as that is what has changed)

I can understand that the "save" option is greyed out because the file is readonly,
but what I don't understand is why the "save as" or "save copy" are enabled but still
cannot perform their intended function.

[Paul - PDF-XChange]

You make a good point that we have not identified why the call is not working in SeaMonkey.

We certainly can investigate this, however given the priority of finishing V3 and the fact that this works in Firefox correctly we must consider this somewhat low in priority.

I have created a support request Ticket for this RT#1423: Cannot save copy from browser.

This is definitely long term...

[R.Janssen]

Ok, thank you for your effort!
Given that there is an easy workaround I don't mind that it is put at low priority.

[Paul - PDF-XChange]