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Sallo1467
Participant
March 30, 2020
Answered

Error: cannot open pdf files in Indesign

  • March 30, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 4793 views

Hello,

 

We keep getting the error message when trying to open a pdf file in indesign. 

 

Cannot open the file #$@#$.pdf. Adobe Indesign may not support the file format, plugin that supports the file format may be missing or the file may be open in another

application?

 

can anyone help

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer KyleGNally

Vladen, the answer given as the correct answer is incomplete. I'll assume you're using InDesign CC2020; this process may differ in earlier versions. YMMV, but you should be able to get a result you can work with.

 

First, you need to know the total pages of your PDF. After finding that:

 

  1. Right-click the page thumbnail view (on the right in the default InDesign applicamtion window layout, right where that single page already is).
  2. Click the "inset pages" menu option. Select "Insert pages...".
  3. In the "inset pages" dialog box, type the number of the PDF pages in the original PDF. Click OK.
  4. Select the very first page of the white document ithumbnails n InDeign's thumbnail page view.
  5. Click File ---> Place..., navigate to the folder containing the PDF you wish to place,  and select the PDF you want to insert from the "Place file" dialog box that appears.
  6. Make certain the "show import options" checkbox is selected as well.
  7. Click "open".
  8. In the "Place PDF" dialog that appears, select the appropriate placing options for your PDF. You probably want to choose "Media" from the dropdown box 
  9. If your PDF has a white background, make sire that "transparent background" is unchecked.
  10. Click OK.
  11. Place each page, one at a time, approximately where you'd like it to be on each individual page in the main document window in InDesign. Where spreads occur in InDesign, click the left and then the right page, in order, one at a time. Note that InDesign does not automatically advance to the next page as you place the PDF pages into the InDesign document.
  12. Adjust the page placing per page as required,
  13. Add text and other elements as you wish. If you want to remove specific, individual elements, create shapes of the same color as the background to make them invisible. You will not be able to remove  any elements or substantially alter the PDF pages themselves, but you can ,make small alteration or add new elements that don't exist in the original PDF..

---

I'm doing this using a PDF of sheet muxic created using MakeMusic Finale (a music notation and engraving application) and it works.

 

Hope this helps.

2 replies

KyleGNally
KyleGNallyCorrect answer
Participant
May 16, 2020

Vladen, the answer given as the correct answer is incomplete. I'll assume you're using InDesign CC2020; this process may differ in earlier versions. YMMV, but you should be able to get a result you can work with.

 

First, you need to know the total pages of your PDF. After finding that:

 

  1. Right-click the page thumbnail view (on the right in the default InDesign applicamtion window layout, right where that single page already is).
  2. Click the "inset pages" menu option. Select "Insert pages...".
  3. In the "inset pages" dialog box, type the number of the PDF pages in the original PDF. Click OK.
  4. Select the very first page of the white document ithumbnails n InDeign's thumbnail page view.
  5. Click File ---> Place..., navigate to the folder containing the PDF you wish to place,  and select the PDF you want to insert from the "Place file" dialog box that appears.
  6. Make certain the "show import options" checkbox is selected as well.
  7. Click "open".
  8. In the "Place PDF" dialog that appears, select the appropriate placing options for your PDF. You probably want to choose "Media" from the dropdown box 
  9. If your PDF has a white background, make sire that "transparent background" is unchecked.
  10. Click OK.
  11. Place each page, one at a time, approximately where you'd like it to be on each individual page in the main document window in InDesign. Where spreads occur in InDesign, click the left and then the right page, in order, one at a time. Note that InDesign does not automatically advance to the next page as you place the PDF pages into the InDesign document.
  12. Adjust the page placing per page as required,
  13. Add text and other elements as you wish. If you want to remove specific, individual elements, create shapes of the same color as the background to make them invisible. You will not be able to remove  any elements or substantially alter the PDF pages themselves, but you can ,make small alteration or add new elements that don't exist in the original PDF..

---

I'm doing this using a PDF of sheet muxic created using MakeMusic Finale (a music notation and engraving application) and it works.

 

Hope this helps.

    A
    Anonymous
    June 5, 2021

    Thank You!!

     

    vladan saveljic
    vladan saveljic
    Inspiring
    March 30, 2020

    In which way you try to open pdf in indesign?

    InDesign can't open pdf files but you can place pdf file into indeseign

    File > Place

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