Retrieve direct download URLs for Adobe Reader DC by parsing the release notes page.

README.md

Get Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Direct Download URLs

Overview

This PowerShell script contains a function that retrieves the latest direct download URLs for Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. It performs the following steps:

1. Parses the Adobe release notes page.
2. Fetches the latest release note version URL.
3. Visits that URL and parses the latest release link.
4. Extracts the relevant version information.
5. Constructs URLs for the installer and update files.
6. Returns the version and direct download URLs for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, as well as the corresponding MSP update files into a PowerShell custom object.

Requirements

• PowerShell 5.1 or later
• curl.exe (built-in to Windows 11). If you don't have curl.exe, install it from here.

Curl Usage

This script uses curl.exe instead of the Invoke-WebRequest alias due to issues with the latter.

Get-AdobeAcrobatReaderDCUrls.ps1

[CmdletBinding()]
param ()

# Function to get the latest version and download URL of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
function Get-AdobeAcrobatReaderDCUrls {
    [CmdletBinding()]
    param ()

    # URL of the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC release notes page
    $apiUrl = 'https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/release-note/release-notes-acrobat-reader.html'
    Write-Debug "Fetching main release notes page: $apiUrl"

    try {
        # Fetch the main release notes page using curl.exe
        $response = curl.exe -s $apiUrl
        if ($response) {
            $htmlContent = $response
            Write-Debug "Main release notes page content fetched."
        } else {
            throw "Failed to fetch main release notes page."
        }
    } catch {
        # Handle errors in fetching the main release notes page
        Write-Debug "Error fetching main release notes page: $_"
        Write-Output "Error fetching main release notes page: $_"
        exit
    }

    # Extract the first <a> link that matches the specified pattern
    $linkPattern = [regex]::new('<a href="(https://www\.adobe\.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/ReleaseNotesDC/[^"]+)"[^>]*>(DC [^<]+)</a>', [System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions]::IgnoreCase)
    $linkMatch = $linkPattern.Match($htmlContent)
    Write-Debug "Searching for the first release notes link..."

    if ($linkMatch.Success) {
        # Extract the release notes URL and version from the matched link
        $releaseNotesUrl = $linkMatch.Groups[1].Value
        $version = $linkMatch.Groups[2].Value
        Write-Debug "Release Notes URL: $releaseNotesUrl"
        Write-Debug "Version: $version"

        # Fetch the release notes page to get the .msp file link
        Write-Debug "Fetching release notes page: $releaseNotesUrl"
        try {
            $releaseNotesResponse = curl.exe -s $releaseNotesUrl
            if ($releaseNotesResponse) {
                $releaseNotesContent = $releaseNotesResponse
                Write-Debug "Release notes page content fetched."
            } else {
                throw "Failed to fetch release notes page."
            }
        } catch {
            # Handle errors in fetching the release notes page
            Write-Debug "Error fetching release notes page: $_"
            Write-Output "Error fetching release notes page: $_"
            exit
        }

        # Find the .msp file link in the release notes page
        $mspLinkPattern = [regex]::new('<a[^>]+href="([^"]+\.msp)"[^>]*>([^<]+)</a>', [System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions]::IgnoreCase)
        $mspLinkMatch = $mspLinkPattern.Match($releaseNotesContent)
        Write-Debug "Searching for the .msp file link..."

        if ($mspLinkMatch.Success) {
            # Extract the .msp file URL and version
            $mspUrl = $mspLinkMatch.Groups[1].Value
            Write-Debug "MSP URL: $mspUrl"
            $mspFileName = [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($mspUrl)
            $mspVersion = $mspFileName -replace '.*?(\d{4,}).*', '$1'
            Write-Debug "Extracted MSP Version: $mspVersion"

            # Construct the download URLs for the MUI installer and MSP update files
            $MUIurl = "https://ardownload2.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/AcrobatDC/$mspVersion/AcroRdrDC${mspVersion}_MUI.exe"
            Write-Debug "MUI URL: $MUIurl"

            $MUIurl64 = "https://ardownload2.adobe.com/pub/adobe/acrobat/win/AcrobatDC/$mspVersion/AcroRdrDCx64${mspVersion}_MUI.exe"
            Write-Debug "MUI URL 64-bit: $MUIurl64"

            $MUImspURL = "https://ardownload2.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/AcrobatDC/$mspVersion/AcroRdrDCUpd${mspVersion}_MUI.msp"
            Write-Debug "MUI MSP URL: $MUImspURL"

            $MUImspURL64 = "https://ardownload2.adobe.com/pub/adobe/acrobat/win/AcrobatDC/$mspVersion/AcroRdrDCx64Upd${mspVersion}_MUI.msp"
            Write-Debug "MUI MSP URL 64-bit: $MUImspURL64"

            # Return the extracted information as a PowerShell custom object
            return [PSCustomObject]@{
                Version         = $version
                ReleaseNotesUrl = $releaseNotesUrl
                MUIurl          = $MUIurl
                MUIurl64        = $MUIurl64
                MUImspURL       = $MUImspURL
                MUImspURL64     = $MUImspURL64
            }
        } else {
            # Handle cases where the .msp file link is not found
            Write-Debug "MSP file link not found."
            Write-Output "MSP file link not found."
            exit
        }
    } else {
        # Handle cases where the version link is not found
        Write-Debug "Version link not found."
        Write-Output "Version link not found."
        exit
    }
}

# Example usage
$latest = Get-AdobeAcrobatReaderDCUrls

# Write the latest version and URLs
$latest