Unable to display PDF using Adobe Acrobat ActiveX in 64bit LabVIEW

[varshinee97]

Unable to display PDF files using activeX and also web browser(.NET)  in LabVIEW 64bit 2020. Is there any alternative way to view PDFs in LabVIEW 64bit? 

[rolfk]

The problem is likely that the according ActiveX and .Net components are in reality 32-bit native compiled components. That makes them impossible to be loaded in-process which is the standard way of invoking ActiveX and .Net components.

The easiest by far would be to display the document externally by invoking the standard registered PDF viewer through SystemExec. Is that not a solution for you?

[varshinee97]

The front panel has other controls and indicators with PDF viewer as a part. Invoking it separately affects our current UI. 

[rolfk]

Well an ActiveX interface could also be invoked out of process in theory. But that is entirely up to the ActiveX control registration and LabVIEW has no influence on this. It is fairly convoluted to register an ActiveX control correctly in the Windows registry to enable that option and has not been done very often. It also requires the ActiveX control to be written in a certain way to allow this without any trouble.

If the installation of a control does not allow this option it is usually safe to assume that the control would probably run into some problem in one way or the other if attempted to do this. Or the control developer did not want to bother about the necessary registry settings. It was not well documented by Microsoft and nowadays with Microsoft trying to dissuade any ActiveX use as much as possible in favor of .Net, it is almost impossible to still find the necessary information.

[varshinee97]

That's unfortunate. Is there no other alternate way to view PDF in LabVIEW's front panel?