Section 3.2: Fetching Documents from the Web

Using the Integrated Browser | Using Mobile Safari | Processing Files from the Web

In addition to transferring files to your device via the Aji Reader Service, you can download PDF files from the web and import them into your library. You can do this using Aji Annotate's integrated web browser, or using the standard Mobile Safari browser.

In either case, you will not be able to search newly downloaded documents until they have been processed by the Aji Reader Service; for more details, see below.

Using the Integrated Browser

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From the "Fetch" tab, select "Web Download" to bring up Aji Annotate's Web Download interface:

This screen allows you to choose a "starting URL" for browsing for PDF files. You can type a URL directly into the box, or select (and optionally edit) an entry from the auto-completion list below. The auto-completion interface remembers all URLs that you have entered or visited, making it easy to revisit commonly-used sites for obtaining more PDF documents. Aji Annotate remembers the most frequently used sites and prioritizes them at the top of the list.

Once you've selected a starting URL, you'll be taken to the integrated web browser:

Use this just like the Mobile Safari browser for searching and navigating the web to find your document. When you've found a PDF document, simply tap the link: Aji Annotate will download the PDF document and add it to your document Library:

Once complete, you can tap the orange icon to start reading the newly-downloaded document, or else continue browsing for more documents to download. When finished, tap the close button to return to the Aji Annotate home screen.

Files downloaded from the web are stored in the "Web Downloads" folder in the root of the Browse screen:

Using Mobile Safari

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In addition to using the integrated browser, you can import PDF documents that you find using the standard Mobile Safari browser. This is done using the "pdf://" (and "pdfs://") URL scheme, which is supported by Aji Annotate.

When you have your PDF document (or a web page that you'd like to open in Aji Annotate's integrated browser) loaded in Mobile Safari, tap the URL bar in order to edit the URL:

Then, use your finger to move the cursor all the way to the start of the URL, and position the cursor immediately after the "http" (before the "://"). Using the backspace key, delete the "http" and replace it with "pdf", then tap "Go":

Note: If the URL starts with "https://", replace the "https" with "pdfs".

This will cause Mobile Safari to launch Aji Annotate. Aji Annotate will then automatically download the PDF document that you were visiting and import it into your Library; or, if you were on a normal web page, that page will be loaded in Aji Annotate's integrated browser.

This technique allows you to quickly obtain PDF files on the web without having to re-type the entire URL in Aji Annotate.

Processing Files from the Web

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When downloading files directly from the Web, Aji Annotate does not have access to the PDF Metadata that are required to provide the search and PDF Outline functionality, and to view previously created Annotations (see the Metadata section for more details). Therefore, immediately after downloading, you will not be search these documents. Of course, you will still be able to read these documents and use many of the basic features of Aji Annotate.

However, Aji Annotate keeps track of all files which are missing Metadata; the next time that Aji Annotate is able to communicate with the Aji Reader Service, it will automatically request processing of the new files from the Aji Reader Service. So, the next time you are at your computer running the Aji Reader Service, Aji Annotate will obtain the required Metadata so that from that point on, you will be able to access all functions for the new document. When this is ready, the document's icon will change to "normal", and you will see a status Notification indicating that the file is ready: