Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat Pro: Printing issue

Report · Dec 17, 2024

Hello,

We are having an issue with Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat Pro when you click print in the print dialog box it brings up the printer selection to pick a printer. We are seeing this on most of our computers and some work fine others don't.

If you right click and pick quick print on a email attachment it prints fine.

To print you have to save it and print it using Edge or such or change default PDF to Edge.

All started first or second week of December. Not seeing any Adobe or Microsoft updates installed at that time.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Report · Dec 18, 2024

Hi @Philip22351230wf0m,

Sorry for the troubled experience. And thanks for reaching out.

If you intended to share a screenshot, we don't see an attachment with this post, and it is hard to guess what you are referring to.

There is a similar known issue with printing, and that issue is fixed by reinstalling Acrobat. You may want to give it a try. Uninstall Acrobat using the cleaner tool: https://adobe.ly/3ZGB3xt, and then reinstall.

If the issue occurs, help us with the screenshot and the version of Acrobat installed on the machine: https://adobe.ly/4fiUNNq;

Let us know how it works; we will gladly assist you further.

^TD

Report · Dec 18, 2024

When in Adobe Reader and you click print, it opens the print section box each time. Picture attached. It happens on a lot of people.

Report · Dec 18, 2024

Here is a recording from when I first noticed this issue as well.

[personal information removed by moderator]

Report · Dec 18, 2024

We're experiencing the same behavior. The print dialog box opens without issue and the default printer is selected. Clicking the "print" button does not print - it expands the dropdown box of printer options.

We have tried repairing the installation, checking for updates, uninstalling and reinstalling, and using the cleaner tool. Nothing fixes it. As a workaround, we are opening PDFs with Edge and printing from there.

Report · Dec 18, 2024

My workplace has also been experiencing this. We only noticed last week and have since failed to resolve it.
Running a repair was a temporary fix for some of our users. But the issue would return within a day.

We already tried reparing, reinstalling, signing in/out, checking updates and running the cleaner tool. We are currently advising our users to use our alternative PDF application for printing.

Report · Dec 23, 2024

Seeing the same thing in our office. No mention of this issue outside of this thread even though multiple people are experiencing the same exact issue. Re-installing provided a temporary fix that lasted an hour at best.

Report · Dec 23, 2024

Our organization has also had this happening for about a week now to various machines in the office... Nothing that we do works for longer than an hour or so to correct the issue.

Report · Dec 23, 2024

Glad to hear my office isn't the only one affected. We've been advising our users to use an alternative pdf editor for the time being.. This pretty much started the past 2 weeks now.

Report · Dec 23, 2024

It would be greatly appreciated if an Adobe rep could at least respond to one of us and acknowledge that this may be a bigger problem. The only comment here so far is suggesting to re-install which is not a long term fix as the problem returns within the day.

Report · Dec 23, 2024

yeah... I guess we wait silently until this issue gets big enough for Adobe to care.

Report · Dec 24, 2024

It sounds like the issue might be related to a recent update or configuration change that’s affecting how Adobe Reader/Acrobat interacts with the print dialog. Since some systems work fine while others don't, it's likely a problem with specific settings or a conflict between Adobe and your system's print spooler.

A few potential causes and solutions to try:

Printer Driver Issues: Check if the printer drivers are up to date, especially since some machines work fine. Reinstalling or updating the printer drivers on the affected systems might help.
Adobe Preferences: Try resetting Adobe Acrobat's preferences. Go to Edit > Preferences > General, and click "Reset All Preferences" to default settings.
Print Spooler Service: Sometimes, issues with the Windows print spooler can cause printing problems. Restarting the spooler or clearing the spooler queue may help.
Check PDF Default: If changing the default PDF reader to Edge works, it suggests there could be a conflict with Adobe Acrobat Reader settings. Ensure that Adobe Reader is set as the default PDF viewer in both Windows settings and Adobe preferences.
Reinstall Adobe: If all else fails, consider reinstalling Adobe Reader/Acrobat to resolve any corrupted installation files or settings.

Since this started in early December, consider reviewing any indirect updates (such as printer drivers or third-party software) that may have affected the printing functionality.

Hope this helps!

Report · May 02, 2025

Please fix this bug!!! It's been going on for over 4 months and it's affecting HUNDREDS of employees at my company. Where is the sense of urgency?!!

Report · Jan 17, 2025

I had meetings with two Adobe techs, they said Devs are working on this issue and logged as a bug (Bug ID: ADC-4492909).

Here is a work around for either changing PDF default to Edge or when in adobe printing and you click print to bring up the dialog box and you see the print button is selected with an outline. Press tab button and print button won't be selected. Then click the printer selection drop down, pick your printer and press enter and it should print your file.

Hope this helps.

Report · Jan 22, 2025

Could you let me know what antivirus or any DLP tools you use on the affected machines. I have noticed after uninstalling Proofpoint from a couple of machines that the adobe printing issues seems to cooperate.

It has been at leats 24 hours with no issues on IT test group so I am wondering if this could be a PP adobe intergation issue.

Report · Jan 29, 2025

We had the same issue, once we disabled the Printing Advanced Feature in Proofpoint ITM, the issue was resolved.

Report · Feb 24, 2025

Still experiencing this issue. Has anyone found a way to get to work as expected?

Report · Mar 06, 2025

I also experience the same problems. All suggestions I have checked or changed, but no result.

Report · Mar 14, 2025

The only work around to print an Adobe file is to right click on the Adobe attachement and Quick Print it.

Report · Aug 01, 2025

This is truly incredibly frustrating to see the amount of complaints about this and no reply. The default "check your printer settings" is an asinine reply. It's clear there is an issue here. Why does a free version of FoxIt work better than paid Adobe Acrobat pro? Get your stuff together.