Hello @Bbauer,
I hope you are doing well, and thanks for reaching out. We're sorry for the trouble you had.
Could you please share more details about the issue?
Which product and version are you using?
A) Acrobat Reader DC
B) Acrobat Standard/Pro (please share exact version from Menu (Win) |Acrobat (Mac) Help → About Acrobat)
What environment is this happening in?
A) Windows (which version?)
B) macOS
How is the network file accessed?
A) Mapped network drive (e.g., Z:\)
B) UNC path (e.g., \\server\folder)
C) SharePoint/OneDrive synced folder
Is it happening with the Old Outlook UI or the new Outlook UI?
Thanks for the detailed troubleshooting. Since local PDFs attach correctly but Acrobat freezes only when the PDF is opened from a network location, this looks like a workflow-specific hang rather than a general Acrobat/Outlook installation issue.
Suggestions:
Confirm the Acrobat share workflow being used
In the current Acrobat UI, open the PDF and select Share in the upper-right corner.
Acrobat supports sharing by inviting people, creating a link, using third-party apps such as Microsoft Outlook, or sending a link/attaching the file by email.
When a third-party app such as Outlook is selected, Acrobat creates a shareable link and opens the selected app with the link in a draft message. To learn more, check this article: https://adobe.ly/44ZHTkD
Check whether the issue happens with link sharing vs. attachment sharing
Try Share > Create a link first, then manually paste the link into Outlook.
If link sharing works but attaching a file via email freezes only for network PDFs, that helps narrow the issue to the local file handoff/attachment workflow rather than the Adobe cloud sharing workflow.
Verify Outlook format/settings.
If you are using the Acrobat integration/add-in for Outlook, the Acrobat for Outlook plug-in does not work when Outlook is set to RTF format. Set Outlook's default message format to HTML, then restart Outlook and Acrobat.
Keep Protected Mode / Enhanced Security enabled after testing
Disabling Protected View, Protected Mode, or Enhanced Security is useful for testing, but Adobe recommends keeping Protected Mode enabled for normal use.
If the network location is trusted, the supported approach is to add it under Menu > Preferences > Security (Enhanced) > Privileged Locations using Add File, Add Folder Path, or Add Host.
Check for security software or plug-in interference
The antivirus/security tools and third-party plug-ins can interfere with Acrobat's sandboxed security model in some environments.
If this is managed by IT, test once with endpoint protection/DLP/network inspection policy temporarily relaxed for Acrobat and Outlook, or compare against a clean test profile/machine.
Let us know how it goes after trying the suggestions, and please reach out if you need any assistance.
Regards,
Anand Sri.
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