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defaultadnaufrpi6pe
Participant
August 11, 2021
Question

Combining multiple files Adobe Acrobat Pro DC causes crash with no error upon completion

  • August 11, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 7227 views

I'm having an issue with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC when I try to use the "Combine files into a single PDF" function. 

Whenever I try to combine the files that I have into a single pdf, the program crashes after converting the final file with no error message given and no trace of the combined file upon restarting Acrobat. I'm working with a large volume of files, around 600 total, which consist of .txt and Word 97 -2003 .doc file types. I have tried combining the data into smaller sets of between 150 to 200 files and the crashing still occurs. How can I combine this large set of files without crashing?

My version of Acrobat is 2021.005.20060
My version of Word and Office are 15.0.4420.1017 and I'm on a Windows 10 laptop.

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2 replies

try67
Community Expert
try67Community Expert
Community Expert
August 11, 2021

My guess it's a bit too much for the application to handle all at once. Try doing it in batches. Combine the first 100 pages, then the second 100 pages, etc., then try to combine those individual files with each other.

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defaultadnaufrpi6peAuthor
Participant
August 11, 2021

Even batches of only 50 files are crashing, but at least not all the time. Highest rate of success is when Acrobat is the active window on screen and/or the only program running. This isn't very ideal for doing other work at the same time though.

    try67
    Community Expert
    try67Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 12, 2021

    Yes, Acrobat does not have a very good memory handling system, and it's one a single-thread only application, which means it's not very efficient. I would recommend using some other tool to do it, like a command-line application.

    Amal.
    Community Manager
    Amal.Community Manager
    Community Manager
    August 11, 2021

    Hi there

     

    Hope you are doing well and sorry for the trouble. As described the application is crashing when you try to combine 600 files

     

    - Is the application crashing only when you try to combine the PDFs or is it also crashing while using it otherwise?

     

    - Are these documents stored on a shared network/drive? if yes, please try to download them to your computer first and then try to combine and check.

     

    Also try to reset the Acrobat preferences as described here - https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat/how-to-reset-acrobat-preference-settings-to-default/td-p/4792082 and reboot the computer once and check.

     

    You may also try to turn off the protected mode for testing (Win only) Go to Edit > Preferences > Enhanced Security > Uncheck 'Enable protected mode at startup' Turn off the protected mode and uncheck 'Enhanced Security' > Click OK and reboot the computer.
    Note: Please turn on the security after testing to avoid any security risk.

     

    As you are combining these many files, the content and the size of the files may cause some performance issues.You may also try to create a PDF portfolio as described in the help page - https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-customize-pdf-portfolios.html and see if that works for you.

     

    Regards

    Amal

     

      D
      defaultadnaufrpi6peAuthor
      Participant
      August 11, 2021

      The application is only crashing when I try to combine PDFs and the files I am combining are stored locally. 

       

      My Acrobat preferences folder was empty, but I followed the reset procedure you linked anyway and it didn't prevent crashing.
      I have yet to try turning off protected mode but I will. 

      Is a PDF portfolio a .pdf type file? Eventually the pdf I am creating will be embedded into a word document and I do not know if that's possible with a PDF portfolio. If it was, could it be opened with any PDF viewer, not just Acrobat?

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