Acrobat's converter, PDFMOfficeAddin.dll Version 11.0.16.13, is not a valid Office 365 Add-In File

[Gordon Jacobson]

Early this morning I had no problem using the Acrobat Add-In Tab in Word 365 to convert a Word File to a PDF file. Now, only a few hours later, I find that the Acrobat Tab is gone and when I attempt to re-activate the Acrobat Add-In, as the attched screenshot shows, Word 365 says that the reports that Version 11.0.16.13 is not a valid Add-In File.

There have been no updates to Windows 10 Pro, Office 365, or Acrobat XI Pro in the last few weeks. In fact, the last Windows update was on March 6th and no Acrobat XI Pro updates have been made since Adobe transferred its software to a Cloud Based format (which I do not use for security reasons).

The Windows 64 Bit OS is:

Windows 10 Pro Version 21H2

OS Build 19044.2604

Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.4190.0

Windows and Office were last updated on March 6th and are subject to delayed updating until April 10th.

I have carefully reviewed the posts on this Community's website on this subject going back to 2018 and find that none of the suggested responses work at this point and that some of the suggested registry changes reference non-existant registry entries.

There is no problem using Word's "Save As" to save a Word File as a PDF.

I would like to know what version of PDFMOfficeAddin.dll IS VALID and where it can be downloaded.

I have tried completely deleting Acrobat XI Pro multiple times (using Revo Uninstall) and re-installing with fresh downloads from my account at Adobe in both 64 Bit and 32 Bit versions, with no effect.

Are there any updates on this problem?

Gordon Jacobson

[Gordon Jacobson]

This is the Screenshot referred to in my message above

[Dave__M]

I wonder if the fact that you've indicated you have Acrobat XI is your issue.  That is not the current version, and might be incompatible with the more modern Office 365 version. It dates back to 2012, I believe.  I have Acrobat Pro DC, Windows 11, and Office 365... and the issue doesn't appear on my system.  Maybe someone else can reproduce your issue with similar software, and offer a solution.

My best,

Dave

[Gordon Jacobson]

Thank you Dave -

If the problem was an issue of my XI vs DC, then I would ask, how is it that I have been able to use the XI version with Office 365 since 2012 with no problem and even could use it on the morning the failure occurred even though there had been no upgrades to the OS, to Office 365 since March 6th and no changes of any kind to Version XI in years!

I know what the icombatibility is any why the problem occurred (I uninstalled Acrobat XI and re-installed it for an unrelated reason and even though I initially used my original installed 32bit install copy of the software, Office 365 did not want to recognize the .dll file).

I do not want to use the DC version because that requires an ongoing monthly payment to Adobe that is unnecessary and it violates the security agreement I have in place not to use its cloud version.

I  suspect the move to be perhaps shall we be nice and say beneficial to Adobe as opposed to deliberate, but I am sure there is a workaround of some kind, just as there was in 2018 as described on this forum. There might even be a replacment file that circumvents the rejection.

Just trying to see what information is out there and if any other users of XI have experienced this issue.

Gordon

[Dave__M]

Got it.  I'm sure there are others with a similar situation that may be able to shed some light on it.  Good luck!

Dave

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

@Gordon Jacobson, the problem you're having is a tough one to diagnose.

I don't have a solution, but can give some background to what you're experiencing.

The dialogue you posted is generated by Microsoft, not Adobe, so you might need to contact MS for an explanation. For whatever reason, your version of Word is not recognizing the Adobe PDF Maker plug-in. Some possibilities:

• The PDF Maker from your XI version of Acrobat no longer meets the programming requirements of Word 365. Acrobat XI was released in 2012 (11 years ago) and Adobe stopped support for XI in 2017 (5 years ago).
• Your version of XI is corrupted. Uninstall what you have now, reboot your computer (cold reboot, not a restart). And then reinstall. When you install Acrobat, it automatically installs PDF Maker into the MS Office applications.

Some clarification about Acrobat's plans and pricing:

• "Subscription" just means that you're licensing the software by the month or year. It doesn't mean that Acrobat is a cloud-based application. It isn't, and you can keep your work secure on your computer without it ever going to Adobe's cloud.
• There are cloud-based services you have the option to use, called Document Cloud. These include document storage in Adobe's cloud, and additional features/services that are cloud-based.
• See the Q&A at the bottom of this webpage: https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing.html

Hope this helps.

[Gordon Jacobson]

Bevi -

Thank you for your reply and the incitful, if somewhat incorrect, restatement of much of what I have already written.

I know what the problem is, I know that Adobe XI is no loger supported, I know from whence came the error message.

As already noted, I have completely uninstalled Acrobat XI multiple times using my Revo Uninstall program, and re-installed it using first, my original 32Bit Install file amd its update file and subsequently, using newly downloaded copies of both the 32 Bit and 64 Bit versions of Acrobat XI Pro from the Adobe website. None of these re-installs added the Add-In file Tab to my Office 365 Word.

Adobe Acrobat XI works perfectly with Office 365 and except for the fact that the Word Add-In Tab is missing, I have no problem printing any Word Document as a .pdf file using Word's "Save As" menu line. In fact, the Add-In itself appears and works properly in all of the other Office 365 Applications I use.

Acrobat XI is neither corrupt nor in any way incompatible with Office 365.

Acrobat DC is, as you point out, a computer based offering with a cloud based component and the reason I reject it is two fold as I have already stated out - 1. It is subject to an annual payment; and 2. It's cloud based component with a security issue that makes its use a non-issue.

Please, if any readers have experienced at this time the specific problem I have described with the Acrobat XI Add-In Tab, let me know and if a workaround exists point me to it.

Thank you again,

Gordon Jacobson

[Gordon Jacobson]

Bevi -

Just a note to point out just how wrong your post was. Whilke I am sure you meant well, that post sounded like you were acting as an Adobe spokesperson shilling there product.

This morning when I turned on MS Word to edit a document I had been working on yesterday, lo and behold, the Acrobat Tab reappeared. I have no idea how or why, but there have been no visible updates to the OS or Office as all MS updates are paused until April 10th and certainly no updates to my Acrobat XI pro.

I do not know what is going on, but I will bet my bottom dollar that someone at Adobe does.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

Dear Gordon Jacobson @Gordon Jacobson,

Thanks so much for your kind words.

Given that we "Community Experts" are unpaid volunteers who donate their time to help others here in the forums, it's very reassuring that people like you appreciate our expertise.  Many of us are also beta testers, another unpaid "job."

Most of us do these unpaid tasks for many reasons, but definitely not money.  We love our professions and its tools. We also have expert level experience in the industry and want to genuinely help our fellow professional colleagues. Myself, I've worked with Adobe engineers from the 1st beta of Acrobat, and have been a systems engineer and Acrobat programmer for more than 30 years.

Wishing you well in the industry.