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Toby36934133u7uq
Participant
April 23, 2024
Question

Acrobat Pro is slow and fails to open file almost constantly.

  • April 23, 2024
  • 8 replies
  • 21362 views

Recently ,for some reason my Acrobat Pro has become super slow and fails to open PDF's regularly. I know there are add-ins I dont tneed but am unsure which to disable. I have to try multiple times to open a file. Nothing opens. Then I have to go to Task Manager and "end task" for sometimes 5 or more Adobe's. Then just maybe it will open if I try again. This is awful and embarrassing.  Especially during a Teams or Zoom when I need to open a file. See pic.

Maybe its time to look elsewhere for PDF management. 

 

    8 replies

    M
    mtwTramar
    Participant
    September 27, 2025

    Same here.  Every week I need to sign and email 50+ reports with signatures and it used to work flawlessly.  I'd save the signed document and then go to the email, insert the file and send it.  No issues.  But a couple of months back the progam seemed to run more slowly than ever and I'd have to wait  several seconds before I'd be able to draw the signature box and then wait some more for the signature to save and then for the file to save.  Even after all the waiting, the recipients started reporting that the documents they'd received were missing the signature.  I've updataed Acrobat Pro to the most recent version and have excellent internet speed/service/connection, but the problem persists.  This is a hug drawback.  It's made what was a smooth process into a clunky, multiple step, time-consuming pain in the neck.  

    M
    Marques Purnell
    Participant
    January 21, 2025

    My company is having this same issue but worse. We are using Adobe Acrobat Pro for our PDF file and editing needs.

    Here is the issue at hand:

     - We can open a PDF file by double clicking on the file icon (whether its a saved file, within an email, or online)

     - After opening the first file, when we try to open additonal PDF files, it takes roughly 2-3 minutes for the additional PDF files to open....slowing up work progress.

     - Here is the kicker, if we try to open a file from within Adobe Acrobat Pro (Click FILE > OPEN > select PDF file)...it opens up without issue however, this workaround is not a viable solution for us.

     

    I have been working with Adobe Tech Support for sometime now and no resolution has been found. Everytime I work with them, they ask me to capture logs so that they can analyze but again, no solution.

    I have also tried the troubleshootings steps that are mentioned within this forum but again, no solution.

    My company does not use Malwarebytes but use the Microsoft Windows Defender (a beefed up version) for our anti-virus needs.

    Also, the issue is only occurring on our workstations that are on our network...if I try to replicate the issue on my home pc or laptop, the issue does not occur....mind you, I am installing and using the same version of Adobe Acrobat Pro that is installed on our company workstations.

    M
    Marques Purnell
    Participant
    January 21, 2025

    Another note...If I launch Adobe Acrobat Pro app and then try to open a PDF document by double clicking on the file icon, the delay occurs.

    U
    usermac
    Inspiring
    August 3, 2025

    Marques Purnell, all that that you report is what happens here as well with the latest Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (Continuous Release, Version 2025.001.20577, Unified App) and before on Mac.

     

    Why does Adobe take so long to fix these critical bugs for such an expensive software? Should we use alternatives like Readdle PDF Expert?

    K
    kip_8063
    Participant
    January 11, 2025

    I've tried the various solutions posted in this thread. Not working. 

     

    Since Adobe is uninterested in addressing this, is there a PDF Editor alternative that folks recommended. Waiting 20-30 seconds to open 1 to 2 page pdfs is non-functional. 

     

    This is a gamebreaking bug, or feature. 

    I
    intel777
    Participant
    December 13, 2024

    I pay a monthly subscription fee, and I use the latest of Microsoft products. Thi is rediculus that I Adobe has chosen to not fix this issue and release an update for all of us. It's real sad as Adobe is not cheap.. and there are far better and much cheaper solutions but due to the name I've been sticking with a product that does not work and causes aggravation. Not right guys yall are a 200 billion dollar company by market cap, get your Self together. 

      B
      BMR-Studio
      Participant
      January 6, 2025

      I find the solution!

      Uninstall...

        A
        acsgffgds
        Participant
        December 10, 2024

        I had this as well,. Made a wild guess and disabled "Sync preferences across devices" in Preferences / Adobe Online Services. Now my files are opening swiftly as they used to.

          S
          Sascha37048458mh8e
          Participant
          November 2, 2024

          I have the same issue - very delayed Adobe opening due to Malwarebytes !!!! 

          T
          TommyKT
          Participant
          November 2, 2024
          Change the protection mode on preferences, it's not just Malwarebytes.
          Don't change the security on the system, change the protection security
          within Adobe, it's either one or the other...
          S
          Sascha37048458mh8e
          Participant
          November 2, 2024

          Yup that fixed it but its annoying I have to forfeit security for Adobe to work. Thank you very much ! 

          J
          jeff_1070
          Participant
          October 23, 2024

          Same problem, 30 seconds for a very small size pdf to open. Just uninstalled and reinstalled Reader, to no avail. Nothing else works. Garbage!

            J
            JoceDoom
            Participant
            October 24, 2024

            I don't know about Acrobat Pro, but I had that problem with Adobe Acrobat. There seem to have been an update that changed a value. For me, the value I had to change was the "Documents in recently used list".

            It's in "Preferences" - "Documents".

            That value was up to 100, I changed it to 2 (I tested it with 5 and it works just as good) and now Acrobat opens quickly.

            Could both versions share the same update packages?

            Hope it helps.

              T
              TommyKT
              Participant
              October 28, 2024

              Same here, just started in October 2024. The user complained that PDF files opened slowly. After testing by stopping all our Malwarebytes services, the problem stopped. It resides in our situation as a scan for malicious activity. Turned services back on problem returns. So, we will review more settings without compromising the users security. 

              My solution without issues and use it myself is PDF Exchanger which is same as Acrobat but not as pretty but gets the job done with simplicity.

              User like Adobe and I see why, no one likes change but not compromising security for this. 

              Hope this helps someone. Also tried the tips offered but didn't work in our case.

              Amal.
              Community Manager
              Amal.Community Manager
              Community Manager
              April 23, 2024

              Hi @Toby36934133u7uq 

               

              Have you started experiencing this issue recently?

               

              What is the version of the Acrobat DC you are using? To check the version go to Help > About Acrobat and make sure you have the recent version 24.02.20687 installed. Go to Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once.

              Also try to repair the installation from the help menu (Win Only) and see if that works.

              Please try to reset the Acrobat preferences as described here https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/how-to-reset-acrobat-preference-settings-to-default/td-p/4792082

               

              If it still doesn't work, please remove the application using the Acrobat cleaner tool https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/cleaner.html, reboot the computer and reinstall the application using the direct link https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/acrobat-dc-downloads.html

               

              ~Amal

               

              Got your issue resolved? Please label the response as 'Correct Answer' to help your fellow community members find a solution to similar problems.

                P
                Pewtercity
                Participant
                August 14, 2024

                Also having the same issues. I have it set so that every time I save a PDF with Illustrator, it should open immediately with Acrobat. Acrobat is painfully delayed; the files won't open, or will pop open 10 minutes late. As OP identified, the only solution is to go into Task Manager and end all the Adobes in there - and even then it doesn't always work. Why is this happening, and what can I do to fix it?

                Only started happening like this with the more recent ai update. Would love if Adobe spent less time pushing half-baked concepts (no I don't want to "talk" to my .pdf) and instead made sure their products actually work..

                  carved151
                  carved151
                  Known Participant
                  October 28, 2024

                  same issue here


                  Same issue here in Acrobat Pro as part of the full CC suite.... 30 seconds to open app, 30 seconds to open a PDF.  Insane for a product I pay almost $700 annually. 

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