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heatherw97881363
Participant
May 1, 2015
Answered

Error message "Could not find Acrobat External Window Handler" in internet explorer

  • May 1, 2015
  • 1 reply
  • 19358 views

I have installed Acrobat Reader DC a number of times but still get an error message "Could not find Acrobat External Window Handler" when trying to open documents in IE. ewh.api file is missing but after deleting and reinstalling (4 times) repairing installation (2 times) and looking for update to IE (latest is installed) the error still appears and I cannot download documents from certain internet sites. Please help

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Anubha Goel

    Hi Heather,

    Could you please open a PDF in Reader DC only (not in browser) and check if it opens fine or not.

    Also, let me know whether you have installed Acrobat also on your machine. If yes, then what version?

    Please try running the cleaner tool Download Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool - Adobe Labs in order to remove all traces of Reader.

    Then, install Reader DC again from the below mentioned link:

    Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Install for all versions

    Let me know how it goes.

    Regards,

    Anubha

    1 reply

    Anubha Goel
    Participating Frequently
    May 4, 2015

    Hey heatherw97881363,

    We would certainly love to help you.

    Please refer the following link discussing the same error and see if this helps:

    Error "Could not find Acrobat External Windows Handler" occurs when you view a PDF file (Acrobat and Adobe Reader 4.x-5.…

    Although this link is for older versions of Acrobat/Reader, but please check if this assists in your case.

    Regards,

    Anubha

    heatherw97881363
    Participant
    May 8, 2015

    Hi Anubha

    I have tried this for the second time but nothing in the link works. I have uninstalled and reinstalled Adobe 5 times now and it doesn't fix it, the ewh32.api file is still missing. I have unchecked ALL the boxes in the internet preferences window. Nothing seems to make any difference. This is causing me a lot of problems. Can you suggest anything else?

    Heather

    Anubha Goel
    Anubha GoelCorrect answer
    Participating Frequently
    May 11, 2015

    Hi Heather,

    Could you please open a PDF in Reader DC only (not in browser) and check if it opens fine or not.

    Also, let me know whether you have installed Acrobat also on your machine. If yes, then what version?

    Please try running the cleaner tool Download Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool - Adobe Labs in order to remove all traces of Reader.

    Then, install Reader DC again from the below mentioned link:

    Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Install for all versions

    Let me know how it goes.

    Regards,

    Anubha