Hello -  I am authoring a very sensitive e-book (.doc or .pdf) and I
was curious if there was any way to embed a macro or a javascript or
something which would automatically open a internet webpage when the
user opened and read the document. This would not be used for the
traditional web-browser pop-ups which everyone hates, but its a
promotional activity for the e-book I am writing in the event it gets
widely distributed. Thanks so much

TL

Hello,

Just my 2 cents:

If you are creating a PDF e-book, why not just have the 1st page be
the "webpage" that you want to direct people to? Because anytime you
open an e-book, you see page 1 :)

I did find this link that talks about the ability of adding javascript
to a PDF file:

http://www.planetpdf.com/developer/article.asp?ContentID=6575

So a javascript guru might be able to create what you are seeking.

Google search : javascript pdf

Hi, Tom. It is often better to state your goal and ask how to
accomplish it to avoid questions like:

--do you want to learn how OFTEN an individual has read the document
--do you want to learn how MANY individuals have read the document

There is no nice, easy way to do this in Microsoft Word unless you are
in a controlled environment, such as a network. Imagine you have
intro.doc with 2 macros that run automatically on open of intro.doc:
one to "hit" the webpage (counter?) and one to open ebook.doc. If
macros are disabled, they can't read ebook.doc. Macros can be halted
by savvy users, however.

If you just want to count the downloads (views), this can be done a
number of ways: scripting on a web page by a savvy PHP or ASP coder;
web stats that may or may not be provided by your web host.

Basically, more information would be very helpful in resolving your issue.

After reading your question again, I'm going to say that there's no
nice way to protect an ebook from being distributed except the usual
verbage in the document that makes people feel guilty for sharing it.