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_Bob_Bell_
Participant
September 24, 2008
Question

the acrobat reader that is running cannot be used to view PDF files in a browser

  • September 24, 2008
  • 32 replies
  • 72250 views
The subject says it all. I'm unable to open a link to a pdf file.
I'm using Mozilla on a Win 2000 machine.
Version 8.1.2 worked fine. I see some people have reverted back to this version. Is that the only fix?
    This topic has been closed for replies.

    32 replies

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    _winston_bruce_
    Participant
    March 30, 2009
    When I try to open a PDf file it requests that I indicate the operating system and language and try though I may, I am unable to open it. What must I do to open it. It is very frustrating to have Adobe Reader and still can't open PDF files.
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    _Eric_Van_De_Ven_
    Participant
    March 29, 2009
    I have Acrobat reader 8.1 and Adobe pro 9 and was having the same problem.
    Here is what worked for me:
    Go into version 9 and go to the "edit" tab. Go down to "preferences" and click on "internet".
    Un check "display in web browser" and close Adobe 9.

    Now when I open an on line PDF, it opens like it should in Reader 8.

    You may have to go into Reader 8 and do the same as above, except, make sure that "display in web browser" is checked.
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    _vfr700f2_
    Participant
    March 28, 2009
    I have XP Pro SP3, Internet Explorer 7 and Adobe Reader 9, and have this problem too. Tried to uninstall 9, got message that another installation was in progress, and to finish that installation. I couldn't find a way to fix that. Tried to delete Reader 9 one file at a time. Some couldn't be deleted. Was going to try to go back to Reader 8. Finally made it to the bottom of this thread, and saw Jerry's post above. It worked for me too! Too bad this answer can't be moved to the top.

    Here's the simple solution:
    1. Open Adobe 9
    2. Select Help on main Toolbar
    3. Select "Repair Adobe Reader Installation"
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    _Jerry_Nelson_
    Participant
    March 4, 2009
    I FOUND A SIMPLE SOLUTION--I'M RUNNING VISTA AND ADOBE READER 9:

    Like the rest of you I was getting this error message:
    "The Adobe Acrobat/Reader is running can not be used to view PDF files in a web browser. Adobe Acrobat/Reader version 8 or 9 is required. Please exit and try again."

    Here's the simple solution:
    1. Open Adobe 9
    2. Select Help on main Toolbar
    3. Select "Repair Adobe Reader Installation"

    It's working fine for me now.

    Hope this saves someone the time that I wasted trying to figure this out.
    A
    Anonymous
    July 27, 2010

    "The Adobe Acrobat/Reader is running can not be used to view PDF files in a web browser. Adobe Acrobat/Reader version 8 or 9 is required. Please exit and try again."

    Here's the simple solution:
    1. Open Adobe 9
    2. Select Help on main Toolbar
    3. Select "Repair Adobe Reader Installation"

    Yes, but make sure that all previous versions of Acrobat and Reader have been removed from your computer.

    I had on Vista Acrobat Reader 5 and 9 because sometimes was problem with printouts in duplex on Acrobat Reader version 7,8 and 9.

    You can have more then one version of adobe reader on your computer.

    I had to uninstall this Acrobat Reader 5 and select Repair Adobe Reader Installation on Adobe Reader 9.3.3 version.

    Success.

    Michał

    M
    Maharaja1948
    Participant
    September 24, 2010

    Adobe's Support page for KB 405461 helped me with the following:

    1. Go to Start > Run
    2. Type regedit and click OK.
    3. Go to Edit > New > Key and create the missing HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Software\Adobe\Acrobat\Exe.
    4. Go to Edit > New > String Value and name this key (Default).
    5. Select (Default), and then go to Edit > Modify. Type the default path (listed above) in the "Value data" for your product.
    6. Restart your computer.

    for some funny reason, the executable was pointing to non-existing folder of 'Adobe Version 7'.

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    _mifutka_
    Participant
    March 2, 2009
    If you have Acrobat Reader 9 and Acrobat 8 installed on your computer, or previously had Reader 8, you might also have issue with older version of plugin in the Firefox folder.

    Thank you to Gene Hutton, who posted link to

    http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=333563

    This is what helped me (pay attention to the version of dll in the plugins folder):

    The Acrobat PDF plug-in (Nppdf32.dll) installs to the following folders:

    -- Acrobat: Adobe/Acrobat 8.0/Acrobat/Browser

    -- Adobe Reader: Adobe/Acrobat 8.0/Reader/Browser

    -- Acrobat and Adobe Reader: Program Files/Mozilla Firefox/plugins

    If you select a PDF file after installing the plug-in, the PDF file will download to the browser's Temp folder, and the browser will open Acrobat or Adobe Reader to display the file within the browser window. The Acrobat toolbar at the top of the browser window is an indicator that the PDF plug-in installed correctly.

    If a PDF file doesn't display properly, then you may need to manually move the Acrobat PDF plug-in to the browser's plug-ins folder, if the plug-in isn't installed there automatically.
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    _Angela_M__White_
    Participant
    February 11, 2009
    Thanks for the help! I don't know the first thing about computer programs, but you all made the instructions easy to follow! I uninstalled 9 and installed 8....no more problems opening PDF in browser!!
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    _Michael_C_Brown_
    Participant
    February 10, 2009
    I was having this issue as well with Firefox 3.0.6 and AR 9.0.0 on WinXP SP3. I closed Firefox, ran the repair process on AR, opened AR (which didn't prompt for anything), closed AR, then launched Firefox. The problem is gone. Thanks guys!

    Michael
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    _chrismrose1_
    Participant
    February 5, 2009
    As regards the Adobe Customization Wizard and problems reported by Denis Hubanic and Richard Finegold in earlier posts, it seems this registry setting
    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Software\Adobe\Acrobat\Exe
    is being written conditional upon the Property

    DEFAULT_VERB = (Read/Open) = Use READER or WRITER to open a PDF.

    So if you choose Writer in the Wizard, then the Property DEFAULT_VERB = Open and nothing is written to
    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Software\Adobe\Acrobat\Exe

    If you choose Reader then DEFAULT_VERB = Read and the registry key is written correctly
    T
    TonyG-BuildingIT
    Participant
    July 29, 2009

    I'm not sure where Chris got his information about the Customization Wizard and registry entries. We built a transform based on using Reader as the default .pdf handler, changing only the EULA options and the auto-update.  The package was deployed successfully after we built a workaround to fix the 9.1.2 update bug Adobe has yet to truly address. Currently all the Reader 9.1.2 computers are having this same issue, and the registry entry outlined here and in http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/405/kb405461.html does not appear to make a difference even after reboot. We tried to install the entry both through the transform and manually with no luck.  The only working solution appears to be manually configuring the Reader options to handle PDF files from web browsers separately and not in the browser, but with over 100 computers to update and support this is not really a feasible option.  Is there a way to push the preference change out to multiple computers, or are we just stuck with a lengthy workaround due to Adobe's refusal to fix their own product?

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    _Stew_Pressnall_
    Participant
    January 29, 2009
    I was having this problem before coming to this forum. Then taking the advice from here, I first uninstalled my Reader v9.0. Then as Gene suggests (post #6), I deleted the folders under Adobe Reader 9.0. Then I reinstalled v9.0 and before doing anything else, I opened the Reader v9.0 by itself as suggested by Kenneth above (post #14). I accepted the terms and when the Reader seemed to have finished coming up for the first time, I closed it and then opened my Firefox browser. Everything works fine now. Thanks to all.
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    _Kenneth_Walenga_
    Participant
    January 28, 2009
    I received the same message, too, after I downloaded and installed Reader v9.0. However, then I opened Reader by itself, separately, and it appeared to "finish" installing. Once it had finished, I had no problem in either Firefox or Chrome.
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