Answered
word document, now won't open
. I did this to password protect the pdf. I open in Word, Double click on the .pdf image and get an error that says Acrobat is no
CORCTON34033231Correct answer
Community Expert
Oct 8, 2026 3:01 AM UTC
Hi, this error usually means Windows no longer has Acrobat/Reader registered as the app for PDF files, so Word cannot launch it when you double-click the embedded PDF.
Please try this:
1. Right-click any standalone .pdf file, choose Open with > Choose another app, select Adobe Acrobat (or Acrobat Reader), and enable "Always use this app to open .pdf files". You can also set this under Settings > Apps > Default apps for the .pdf file type.
2. If it is already set, uninstall and reinstall Acrobat Reader. That is what fixed the identical issue in this thread: https://community.adobe.com/questions-9/saved-a-pdf-in-a-word-document-now-won-t-open-1645464
One extra note: saving a PDF inside a Word document does not really password-protect it, because anyone with the Word file can extract the embedded PDF. To protect the PDF itself, open it in Acrobat and use the Protect tool to add a password.
Hope this helps!
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