Adobe Acrobat 3D pdfs will no longer display

[vissense]

Adobe Acrobat Pro 2025 will open a 3D pdf but the screen displays blank and the model tree is blank.  This applies to 3D pdfs that have been previously opened and those that are new files. The previously opened files do not display previously saved views or the default view.

Running on a Macbook M4 Pro, MacOS Sequoia 15.4

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling Acrobat two times. And yes, restarting the computer.

[Tariq Ahmad]

Hi @vissense, 

Sorry for the troubled experience and thanks for reaching out. 

Please ensure your copy of Acrobat is updated, to check for pending updates, launch Acrobat > Help > Check For Updates. 

Assuming those files were rending normally previously, are aware of what has changed recently? When was the last time the files were rendering fine?

Could you share with us the Acrobat version number: https://adobe.ly/4iTCssK;

Check 3D Preferences in Acrobat

• Open Acrobat and go to Preferences (Cmd + , shortcut).

• Navigate to 3D & Multimedia and ensure Enable playing of 3D content is checked.

• Try adjusting the Renderer settings (switch between DirectX and OpenGL, if available).

Let us know how it works. Please do share a file with us if possible. 

~Tariq

[vissense]

Hi Tariq

I have Creative Cloud and my software is up to date. I uninstalled and re-installed through Creative Cloud.

The only change would be regular macOS system updates.

I noticed about 6 months ago that Acrobat would not turn and spin items as easily and some directions it was unresponsive.  I have continued to have troubles since.

2 weeks ago the views saved in 3D would be in the list but when you opened them they would not be the view that was saved and be zoomed way out and hard to find.

And now  the display looks like the screen shot I attached below. it is a 56 MB size file and that is the blank screen I see.

Do to client confidentialy I can not share the 3D pdf I work with.

Acrobat Version 25.1  (2025.001.20438/Unified App)

I had previously tried your recommendations for 3D multimedia and rendering settings. Program crashes when closing if on OpenGL.  Report sent to Adobe and says "no fix"

Thx

Margo

[Shruti38082344fh18]

Hi @vissense  , 

Thank you for reaching out!

Could you kindly confirm whether these 3D files were functioning properly for you prior to the recent Mac update to version 2025.001.20438?

Additionally, could you provide the details of your current Mac OS version?

Thanks,

Shruti

[Paul2520648021fk]

I'm currently having this same issue and it is affecting an entire fleet of macOS devices with multiple 3D files. No matter how I change the settings around, the object will not display if I click to activate it. 

[Nymbol]

Same Issue here. I have never had this problem in past additions. I can see the file but as soon as I click to allow file to be viewed my screen goes blank. I have tried settings with no resolution and have the most up to date version. 

[norman_7122]

Same issue. I open to see the 3D render, but the object will not display after I click to activate it.

[vissense]

Update- June 2, 2025.

Not long after I posted this question, Adobe Customer support helped me by linking to my computer and made some adjustments in the Abobe acrobat preferences. This helped some small issues I had with Acrobat but not the blank page when viewing some 3D pdf files.  The conclusion when working with my client, who supplied the 3D pdf files, was " As far as we can tell, the blank document opening is caused by a glitch on the Mac version of Acrobat Reader when opening Solidworks 3D PDFs— We tested the same with a couple of colleagues and the only common factor for the error was between PC and Mac software users. Unfortunately, we tried everything that can be adjusted on our end so the hope is that this is something that's fixed in subsequent updates...here's to hoping they're working on a fix." 

I can open these "blank" 3D pdf files on a PC with Adobe Acrobat Reader and can rotate and hide parts.  Athought, I would have to get Acrobat pro if I wanted to save views etc. For now, they do not work on the Mac with Creative Cloud Acrobat.

[norman_7122]

Thanks for the comments. Yes, seems to be an Acrobat on Mac issue (Sequoia 15.5). Same file works fine with Acrobat on a PC.

[chek_seng_5786 · Accepted solution]

i faced the same problem, and i solved it by forcing acrobat reader to run under Rosetta.

1. Close Adobe Acrobat Reader if it's open.

2. Open Finder > go to Applications > right-click on Adobe Acrobat Reader > click “Get Info”

3. Check the box: “Open using Rosetta”

4. Reopen Adobe Acrobat Reader

5. Open your 3D PDF again — it should now work.

[norman_7122]

thanks! can't get the render as clear as I could before, but I can see and rotate well enough