PDF Displays different data in Reader vs Acrobat

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
June 21, 2022
3 replies
1338 views

I have a PDF that contains data sent in by a customer. When I open it in Adobe Reader, it displays the data that the customer entered. However, when the very same PDF is opened in Adobe Acrobat, it displays completely different data. I have looked at the PDF in a text editor and found text strings that correspond to the Reader-displayed data but I cannot find any strings that are displayed in the Acrobat display. I am finding this quite bizarre. Is it possible that the PDF has been hacked and can access the internet when opened in Acrobat?

I'm a relative novice when it comes to all things Adobe so please bear with me.

Any help that anybody can offer will be greatly appreciated.

This topic has been closed for replies.

JR Boulay

Community Expert

What is your Acrobat Pro version?

And what is your Acrobat Reader version?

I got a similar issue 2 or 3 years ago: with Acrobat Reader my clients saw the fields filled with the test data used during the design of the form, while with Acrobat Pro the form appeared blank.

I don't remember how I fixed the form, but I remember that it was laborious.

Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

What you describe is indeed bizarre. But you won't see most things in a PDF in plain text. Check indeed that both views are actually in the areas or Acrobat app. Not another app. If the app doesn't say Acrobat at the top, it isn't Acrobat.

yurik10058643Author

Participant

I start the applications, Adobe Reader and Acrobat, from the Start menu and then open the PDF from the application. That way I know which program is opening the PDF. One clue is that the values displayed in Reader can be "found" in the PDF by a text editor program such as NotePad. None of the values displayed in Acrobat is able to be found by that text editor. For privacy reasons, I cannot supply the actual PDF file to you which makes it a real challenge. I had hoped that someone had experienced this behaviour and would have been able to share their experience.