Acrobat Reader DC will not open excel files

[williamsh26993436]

I have always been able to open these files. I get an error message that says files are not supported file type or damaged or email attachment wasn't correctly decode?

I have re-installed the software. Still no change.

[try67]

Reader never could, and can't now, open files that are not PDFs. If you were able to do it you probably had the paid-for Acrobat, not the free Reader.

[Karl Heinz Kremer]

Adobe Reader (which is free) has never been able to open Excel files. Only Adobe Acrobat Standard or Pro can do that. What software do you have exactly? You can find out on the About dialog (if you are on Windows, it's under the Help menu).

If you have both the free Reader and Acrobat installed on your system, make sure you are using the correct application.

[williamsh26993436]

Thanks for the info. I had reader 11.0 on my other computer that open these files before. Did they change something. Do I have to buy this now?

[try67]

Impossible. Either you didn't have Adobe Reader, or they were not Excel files. NO VERSION OF READER WILL DO IT!

[williamsh26993436]

Your right the program is Adobe XI that was on my old computer. Do I have to buy a new program to make this work now? Or can I download the old program to my new computer. I have windows 10 home.

[try67]

That makes more sense, assuming you mean Adobe Acrobat XI. And yes, you can try to install Acrobat XI on your new computer. If you're not using it on the old one you should deactivate it first, though.

[williamsh26993436]

By deactivate do you mean un-installing them

[try67]

No, I mean deactivate. You can do it via the Help menu.

[williamsh26993436]

the deactivate button is greyed out i cannot click on it

[williamsh26993436]

I used your download link, it downloaded and the same error message pops up like it did in the other versions

[try67]

Then you can't deactivate it. Just install it on the new computer and hope for the best.

If you get an activation error contact Adobe Customer Service and ask for an activation counter reset.

[try67]

Did you uninstall Reader?

[williamsh26993436]

yes i installed dc and xi and they both give me the same error

[try67]

Acrobat or Reader?

On Aug 29, 2017 11:59 PM, "williamsh26993436" <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

[williamsh26993436]

we tryied both

[try67]

Only try it in Acrobat.

Do you have Office installed as well?

On Aug 30, 2017 12:10 AM, "williamsh26993436" <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

[williamsh26993436]

I only have acrobat xi pro installed and the error message pops up

[try67]

You must have Office to be able to convert an Excel file (or a Word file, or a PowerPoint file, etc.) to PDF using Acrobat.

[williamsh26993436]

I have Office installed on the computer

[try67]

Describe the exact steps you're taking, and what the results are.

On Aug 31, 2017 5:56 AM, "williamsh26993436" <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

[Test Screen Name]

By the way though, Acrobat can't OPEN an Excel file. It can CONVERT an Excel file to PDF though (using Excel). So something has changed so I agree: please describe exactly what you are doing, what you want to happen, and what happens instead.

[Karl Heinz Kremer]

You can re-download the software from here: Download Pro or Standard versions of Acrobat DC, 2017, XI, or X

[lickwidsnake · Accepted solution]

The issue if I understand it is that Excel is not listed as a Supported Format Type in Acrobat Pro. When you are combining files, you should be able to combine any of the Supported File Types, such as PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

This is what it should look like when you go to Tools > Combine Files > Add Files

But in a recent update to either Acrobat DC Pro or Office 2016, Excel is no longer listed as a Supported File Type and attempting to combine them will result in an error.

I was running into the same exact issue. Microsoft says it's an Adobe issue. Adobe says it's a Microsoft issue. Neither were of any help. I have tried to un-install and re-install both, and for some machines, rolling back to an earlier version of Office worked. But not in all instances. How I fixed it was copying the registry key from a machine that worked to a non-working machine.

To have .xls files show as a Supported File Type in Acrobat DC this is the registry key that I copied and replaced:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xls]

@="Excel.Sheet.8"

"Content Type"="application/vnd.ms-excel"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xls\PersistentHandler]

@="{98DE59A0-D175-11CD-A7BD-00006B827D94}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xls\ShellEx]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xls\ShellEx\{8895b1c6-b41f-4c1c-a562-0d564250836f}]

@="{00020827-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"

For .xlsx files:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx]

"PerceivedType"="document"

@="Excel.Sheet.12"

"Content Type"="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx\Excel.Sheet.12]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx\Excel.Sheet.12\ShellNew]

"FileName"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Office\\Root\\VFS\\Windows\\ShellNew\\excel12.xlsx"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx\PersistentHandler]

@="{4887767F-7ADC-4983-B576-88FB643D6F79}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx\ShellEx]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx\ShellEx\PropertyHandler]

@="{33154C99-BF49-443D-A73C-303A23ABBE97}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx\ShellEx\{8895b1c6-b41f-4c1c-a562-0d564250836f}]

@="{00020827-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]

@="{72B66649-3DBF-429F-BD6F-7774A9784B78}"

[AnandSri]

Hello Lickwidsnake,

Thank you for sharing the fix/workaround which will be helpful for the users facing a similar issue.

Regards,

Anand Sri.