Why is Adobe Acrobat Required with VRL?

Author: Eric Vasbinder

Comparison of VRL to LAN Method

Our new Vista Remote Link technology has a number of powerful new features, and provides the ability of our Vista rich client to connect to the Vista database over the Internet, without using a VPN or terminal services / RDP.  This is very much like Microsoft Office 365's Outlook rich client. 

As part of this design, reports are generated differently with VRL than they are generated with Vista's older, legacy LAN connection mechanism.  With the LAN connection method, the Vista client made all connections directly to the database, pulled the data results into memory, and then generates the report in memory on the local client.  If a PDF is required as an export, one is then generated on the LAN at the time it's requested.

Conversely, with VRL reports are generated on the app server instead of the client; the app server performs all report queries directly to the database instead of the client.   Reports are generated on the app server as PDF files directly, similar to how most banking web sites generate statements as PDF files which are then downloaded to user workstations for viewing.

Benefits to VRL Approach

Generating reports on the app server as PDFs provide a number of benefits:

• Modernity:  It is a more modern approach, serving to abstract the database connection so that the database is kept more pristine.

• Performance:  The reports can be generated more rapidly on the app server in our cloud, with all report queries being handled, in effect, right on top of the database server in our cloud, rather than needing to be sent all the way down to a rich client to generate the reports.

• Security:  By inserting the app server in between the database and the rich client, the overall security posture of Vista's app improves.

Requirements of VRL Approach

Given all of the above, in order for the viewing, printing, and exporting of reports to occur in a VRL world, customers need to have Adobe Acrobat (Reader or Pro) installed on their local workstations.  For example, without this application being installed on the local workstation, reports cannot be printed.  Remember:  all reports are generated on the app server as PDF files, which are then downloaded to the local workstation.   As such, when a print job is started, Vista downloads a PDF, opens it rapidly, and tells Adobe Acrobat to print the file.   This is why you may notice Adobe Acrobat opening temporarily when printing from VRL.

If you are not sure that Adobe Acrobat is set up correctly - for example, if Acrobat is not your default PDF reader, please take a look at this FAQ article:  https://sites.google.com/trimble.com/vista-cloud-faq/home/troubleshooting/error-no-application-associated-pdf-print