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Participant
June 19, 2019
Answered

Can't add image to pdf

  • June 19, 2019
  • 46 replies
  • 56614 views

I have recently switched from NitroPDF to Adobe Acrobat DC and I'm starting to question why. So much more difficult than Nitro and Soda PDF, and more expensive!

I am trying to add an image to pdf, using the Add Image>Select>open method, to which Adobe responds with a box that says "opening image file as Adobe pdf" (God only knows why !)

I then get an error box - "Unknown error" and it then says "the selected image could not be converted and placed in the document"

I have tried this with .jpg and .png images

Why is this not working?

Correct answer ajkirkcaldie

So after more than 6 hours and 3 different people at Adobe tech support taking over my computer and trying everything - it turns out the only answer they can give me is that I have to "run as administrator" every time I want to edit a document

Everything else they tried didn't work. So, it's painful and tedious, but at least it works

Nowhere near as simple as other programs. I can't just double click to open a doc when in administrator mode, it has to be opened from within Adobe. But it works at least

46 replies

Participant
September 2, 2026

Yes, you can add an image to a PDF using FixMYPDF. Upload your PDF, add your JPG or PNG image, position and resize it as needed, and then download the updated PDF.

Participant
April 3, 2026

I’ve been having this same problem for the past month or so. Been using this for many years to insert an image file (doesn’t matter what type) using Organize Pages without any issues at all. Now getting the same series of errors

 

 

 

Running Acrobat as Administrator makes no difference.

I use this feature all of the time and if I cannot resolve it, I shall be cancelling my subscription and finding a different solution!

Participant
June 1, 2024

Indeed. Other app works well but not acrobat. 

Souvik Sadhu
Legend
December 23, 2024

Hi @Calvin377726148wlv,

 

Hope you are doing well. Thanks for writing in!

 

Do you still experience the issue? If yes, please brief us more on what happens when you try to add an image so we can get this investigated.


-Souvik

Participant
December 24, 2024

Hello, I still get the error message "The selected image could not be converted and placed in the document". How can I solve it? JPG cannot be added to the PDF.

Inspiring
September 7, 2023

Add Image To PDF in Adobe Reader
https://youtu.be/JohNyc_nyL8

Participant
December 24, 2021

I had the same problems for years. I kept getting an error whenever I tried to insert an image or convert an image to pdf. However, yesterday I decided to install Acrobat Pro on a virtual computer with the same version of W10 but with no other programs installed. And lo and behold, these two features work fine. So there must be a conflict somewhere with another program....

 

Update:

I disinstalled Nuance pdf converter, and the features in Acrobat Pro are now working on my PC. So I suggest you remove all other pdf-related software on your computer. Version  2021.007.20102 now works fine on my PC.

Participant
December 24, 2021

I had the same problems for years. I kept getting an error whenever I tried to insert an image or convert an image to pdf. However, yesterday I decided to install Acrobat Pro on a virtual computer with the same version of W10 but with no other programs installed. And lo and behold, these two features work fine. So there must be a conflict somewhere with another program. I will try to track it down.  

Participant
June 26, 2021

Hi, i encountered the same problem - solved it by simply copy pasting . No admin rights required

Participant
September 14, 2021

You're a god.

Participating Frequently
March 14, 2021

as of March 14 both "add an image"

and Adobe Sign are working, have been for ~4 days. 

 

Seems that an automatic update around 5 days ago fixed the issue. 

 

Whatever was happening,  some "fix" or other would make the software

"work" for a couple of hours and then the same issues re-asserted themselves. 

ls_rbls
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 14, 2021

 

If you suspect this could be a bug please use this form to route this concern through the appropriate Adobe support channel:

 

https://www.adobe.com/products/wishform.html

 

I would also suggest to go online and sign in with your AdobeID account at:

 

https://account.adobe.com/support

 

and open a support ticket directly with Adobe.

Technical Generalist
Participating Frequently
March 2, 2021

I am having this issue now. 

Tried the folder permissions thing,

tried the synchronize thing

 

My twist to this problem:

I uninstalled all the Adobe desktop apps

reinstalled

IT WORKS !!!!!!!   - into my test PDF, inserted one JPEG and one PNG

2nd try - oh ... it stopped working.  After one single use.

Thiis has happened 2 times now (

1. uninstall, install, WORKS !!! .... oh, wait ... 2nd attempt, 3rd attempt ... no, not working

2. uninstall, install, WORKS !!! .... oh, wait ...

ls_rbls
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 3, 2021

Is this happening even after applying the last optional uodate that was released around the 25th February?

Technical Generalist
Participating Frequently
March 3, 2021

I don't know when this started but this sounds around the right time frame. 

 

Mine and one other machine at the same location stopped being able to upload documents to the adobe sign app around 25th

 

and I just noticed this add an image failure 2 days ago.

Participant
January 16, 2021

i have encountered this bug "Unknown error, the selected image could not be converted and placed in the document"  myself in Acrobat versions 19 and 20 on windows 10.

i was using an older version 15 before without any problems and kept using it, since i constantly need to add images to PDF files. 

but today i narrowed it down since i want to use the newer version on my brand new PC. and since this pc is cleand and freshly setup i can rule out any problem with the installation or OS.

 

long story short, the problem is in the "ImageConversion.api" file.

just for the fun of it, i copied the old "ImageConversion.api" file from acrobat dc 2015 into the installation folder of the new acrobat dc 20. replacing the file. (make a backup of the DC 20 file first.)

now i can just open DC 20 and "add image" without any problems, works like it should. tested with PNG and JPG, but i assume it works with everything that DC15 supported.

 

file size of "ImageConversion.api" is 2.14 MB in DC20 and 2.01 MB in DC 15

 

hope this will help some of you until adobe fixes the "ImageConversion.api" file

 

GBarnes_DPS
Participant
February 18, 2021

Confirmed fix. Adobe best pay attention to this and resolve ASAP. 

 

We're using this in an enterprise environment and encountered the issue after having to force our users to upgrade from Acrobat 2015 to Acrobat DC Subscription due to licensing limitations.

 

They were not best pleased that their new purchase was faulty.

 

I took the API file from the 2017 release, seems to be the same size.

ls_rbls
Community Expert
Community Expert
February 19, 2021

Thank you for sharing that. I remember a similar issue like this was fixed last year. It was related to the weblink plugin.

 

In the older version of 2015 users were able to use this tool to generate a weblink in the document but users that were upgrading to DC had issues.

 

It was later addressed via updates for MS Windows. I am not sure if it was later addressed in MacOS though.

Technical Generalist