JavaScript not functioning in administrative deployment

Question

I've created an administrative installation of Adobe Reader 9 as per the instructions here:
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/gpo_ad_9.pdf
I've applied the patches in the order specified here:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/498/cpsid_49880.html
And I've deployed the package using a GPO.
We have a particular PDF form which uses JavaScript to total the numbers entered in the form and display the total at the bottom. When I try to open this PDF with the version of Adobe Reader deployed, the total is not updated. When I open the JavaScript debugger, I get the following errors:
InitializeFormsTrackerJS is not defined
1:App:Init
AFDate_FormatEX is not defined
1:Field:Format
AFDate_FormatEx is not defined
1:Field:Format
AFDate_FormatEx is not defined
One of my colleagues discovered that the version of JSBytecodewin.bin in the "Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Javascripts Folder" in the AIP may be suspect. I replaced that file with the version available from here: http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/853/cpsid_85367.html and redeployed the package. Note that the issue documented there does not apply to me; we are not using a Tier 4 language version of Reader and I did not receive any error message while patching the AIP. However, this appears to have resolved the issue.
Here is the set of commands I used to create the deployment point (server names changed):
msiexec /a "\\server\share\Software\Adobe Reader 9\AdbeRdr930_en_US.msi"
msiexec /a \\server\deploy\AdobeReader934\adberdr930_en_us.msi /p "\\server\share\Software\Adobe Reader 9\AdbeRdrUpd932_all_incr.msp"
msiexec /a \\server\deploy\AdobeReader934\adberdr930_en_us.msi /p "\\server\share\Software\Adobe Reader 9\AdbeRdrUpd933_all_incr.msp"
msiexec /a \\server\deploy\AdobeReader934\adberdr930_en_us.msi /p "\\server\share\Software\Adobe Reader 9\AdbeRdrUpd934_all_incr.msp"
I have an MST that accepts the EULA and disables automatic updates, but this issue manifests itself whether or not I apply it.
Can anyone shed any light on what may be happening here? The workaround we've discovered is helpful for now, but I'm hesitant to rely on it for the long term. I suspect this is an issue with the Reader installer.

Answer 1

The reason JSByteCodewin.bin is not updated is because you are not installing on a clean machine.
If you deploy the same 9.3.4 or 9.3.3 AIP on a clean machine then you won't see this problem.
Whenever Acrobat or Reader AIP is used for installation then one thing to be ensured is that - No previous version of the same product is installed on the machine.
If you will try to manually install from an AIP on a machine with some existing version installed then installation wouldn't even start and fail straight way.
If you use GPO to deploy the AIP on a machine with some existing version installed then installation would go through successfully but it is very likely that some of the files will not be patched. (This seems to be the case with you!)
Reason: When deploying via GPO the comand which basically runs on the client is-
          msiexec /i <msi inside AIP> REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=vomus
          This command won't give correct results all the time. so avoid using it.
Here is what you should do- (Here I am taking Reader as an example )
NOTE: This method is mainly for enterprise admins. Individual users should avoid using AIP altogether for Acrobat/Reader installations.
1. First of all make sure client machine has no version of Reader installed.
2. Now let's say Reader 9.3 is avaliable.
3. Create Reader 9.3 AIP and deploy via GPO.
4. On client you now have 9.3 Reader installed.
5. Now let's say Reader 9.3.2 patch is avaliable.
6. Create Reader 9.3.2 AIP
7. On your server, go to Group Policy management console and delink the earlier AIP from the OU. Example: Delink the Reader 9.3 AIP
8. Link the newly created Reader 9.3.2 AIP
9. Restart the client
(Step 7 is important!)
Since you have delinked the last deployed AIP, so on client restart first Reader 9.3 would be uninstalled followed by the installation of Reader 9.3.2. So effectively you are installing Reader 9.3.2 from an AIP on  a clean machine.
NOTE: To make sure on delinking the uninstallation happens, check the option "Uninstall this application when it falls out of the scope of management. Refer page 6 of http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/gpo_ad_9.pdf
If you are doing any of the below cases then new version would get installed but there is a possibility that some files are not updated. So it's better to avoid these scenarios :
(1) If you don't delink the earlier AIP(Reader 9.3) and link the newly created AIP(Reader 9.3.2) and enforce it, then on client restart Reader 9.3.2 would be installed but there is a possibility that some files are not updated.
(2) If you have installed previous version (Reader 9.3) on your client without using GPO ( like manually installed from an AIP or directly installed from a msi installer)  and new version (Reader 9.3.2) you are trying to deploy via GPO.
Hope this helps you.