New Participant

Answered

Can't add image to pdf

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
June 19, 2019
17 replies
55932 views

I have recently switched from NitroPDF to Adobe Acrobat DC and I'm starting to question why. So much more difficult than Nitro and Soda PDF, and more expensive!

I am trying to add an image to pdf, using the Add Image>Select>open method, to which Adobe responds with a box that says "opening image file as Adobe pdf" (God only knows why !)

I then get an error box - "Unknown error" and it then says "the selected image could not be converted and placed in the document"

I have tried this with .jpg and .png images

Why is this not working?

Edit and convert PDFs

Correct answer ajkirkcaldie

So after more than 6 hours and 3 different people at Adobe tech support taking over my computer and trying everything - it turns out the only answer they can give me is that I have to "run as administrator" every time I want to edit a document

Everything else they tried didn't work. So, it's painful and tedious, but at least it works

Nowhere near as simple as other programs. I can't just double click to open a doc when in administrator mode, it has to be opened from within Adobe. But it works at least

C

Calvin377726148wlv

New Participant

Indeed. Other app works well but not acrobat.

S_S

Community Manager

Hi @Calvin377726148wlv,

Hope you are doing well. Thanks for writing in!

Do you still experience the issue? If yes, please brief us more on what happens when you try to add an image so we can get this investigated.

-Souvik

V

volkan_0372

New Participant

Hello, I still get the error message "The selected image could not be converted and placed in the document". How can I solve it? JPG cannot be added to the PDF.

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PositiveEnergy

Inspiring

Add Image To PDF in Adobe Reader
https://youtu.be/JohNyc_nyL8

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pauld94431358

New Participant

I had the same problems for years. I kept getting an error whenever I tried to insert an image or convert an image to pdf. However, yesterday I decided to install Acrobat Pro on a virtual computer with the same version of W10 but with no other programs installed. And lo and behold, these two features work fine. So there must be a conflict somewhere with another program....

Update:

I disinstalled Nuance pdf converter, and the features in Acrobat Pro are now working on my PC. So I suggest you remove all other pdf-related software on your computer. Version 2021.007.20102 now works fine on my PC.

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pauld94431358

New Participant

I had the same problems for years. I kept getting an error whenever I tried to insert an image or convert an image to pdf. However, yesterday I decided to install Acrobat Pro on a virtual computer with the same version of W10 but with no other programs installed. And lo and behold, these two features work fine. So there must be a conflict somewhere with another program. I will try to track it down.

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Elnara5FB3

New Participant

Hi, i encountered the same problem - solved it by simply copy pasting . No admin rights required

B

Bibbitybaps

New Participant

You're a god.

C

CM Kapur Professional5FF7

Participating Frequently

as of March 14 both "add an image"

and Adobe Sign are working, have been for ~4 days.

Seems that an automatic update around 5 days ago fixed the issue.

Whatever was happening, some "fix" or other would make the software

"work" for a couple of hours and then the same issues re-asserted themselves.

ls_rbls

Community Expert

If you suspect this could be a bug please use this form to route this concern through the appropriate Adobe support channel:

https://www.adobe.com/products/wishform.html

I would also suggest to go online and sign in with your AdobeID account at:

https://account.adobe.com/support

and open a support ticket directly with Adobe.

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CM Kapur Professional5FF7

Participating Frequently

I am having this issue now.

Tried the folder permissions thing,

tried the synchronize thing

My twist to this problem:

I uninstalled all the Adobe desktop apps

reinstalled

IT WORKS !!!!!!! - into my test PDF, inserted one JPEG and one PNG

2nd try - oh ... it stopped working. After one single use.

Thiis has happened 2 times now (

1. uninstall, install, WORKS !!! .... oh, wait ... 2nd attempt, 3rd attempt ... no, not working

2. uninstall, install, WORKS !!! .... oh, wait ...

ls_rbls

Community Expert

Is this happening even after applying the last optional uodate that was released around the 25th February?

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CM Kapur Professional5FF7

Participating Frequently

I don't know when this started but this sounds around the right time frame.

Mine and one other machine at the same location stopped being able to upload documents to the adobe sign app around 25th

and I just noticed this add an image failure 2 days ago.

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Slurm5E36

New Participant

i have encountered this bug "Unknown error, the selected image could not be converted and placed in the document" myself in Acrobat versions 19 and 20 on windows 10.

i was using an older version 15 before without any problems and kept using it, since i constantly need to add images to PDF files.

but today i narrowed it down since i want to use the newer version on my brand new PC. and since this pc is cleand and freshly setup i can rule out any problem with the installation or OS.

long story short, the problem is in the "ImageConversion.api" file.

just for the fun of it, i copied the old "ImageConversion.api" file from acrobat dc 2015 into the installation folder of the new acrobat dc 20. replacing the file. (make a backup of the DC 20 file first.)

now i can just open DC 20 and "add image" without any problems, works like it should. tested with PNG and JPG, but i assume it works with everything that DC15 supported.

file size of "ImageConversion.api" is 2.14 MB in DC20 and 2.01 MB in DC 15

hope this will help some of you until adobe fixes the "ImageConversion.api" file

GBarnes_DPS

New Participant

Confirmed fix. Adobe best pay attention to this and resolve ASAP.

We're using this in an enterprise environment and encountered the issue after having to force our users to upgrade from Acrobat 2015 to Acrobat DC Subscription due to licensing limitations.

They were not best pleased that their new purchase was faulty.

I took the API file from the 2017 release, seems to be the same size.

ls_rbls

Community Expert

Thank you for sharing that. I remember a similar issue like this was fixed last year. It was related to the weblink plugin.

In the older version of 2015 users were able to use this tool to generate a weblink in the document but users that were upgrading to DC had issues.

It was later addressed via updates for MS Windows. I am not sure if it was later addressed in MacOS though.

ls_rbls

Community Expert

Hello to everyone who reported issues in this thread,

I am just following up to see if anyone was able to resolve this issue by applying the latest updates that Adobe published last month.

Here is a link to manually apply the updates:

https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/ReleaseNotesDC/index.html

If after applying the updates the problem still manifests, here are other suggestions that seem to work:

Just for troubleshooting purposes, disable the Creative Cloud Desktop App, or remove completely. Then download and install your Acrobat using the full offline installer from here: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/acrobat-dc-downloads.html

Tip: do not install using the method described in the document cloud nor the CC desktop app. These installtion methods seems to hog your CPU specially in older computers, and you have to be connected to the Internet. Once the offline installer succeds then reinstall the CC app and update it accordingly

Direct Patient Care StL

New Participant

Unfortunately, I was not able to resolve this issue by applying the latest updates that Adobe published last month, specifically version 19.021.20056. The update installer at the link you kindly provided is for those whose "organization has purchased an Acrobat DC license via an ETLA (Enterprise Term License Agreement) or VIP program," but not us normal people who still struggle with this problem. So I did not uninstall and reinstall Acrobat DC. I did run the repair option, if that ever helps.

I followed each of the above steps in the order you provided unless I encountered a problem, as noted here.

1. I checked the image files and unchecked the "read-only" attributes.

2. Next, I logged into my Adobe Creative Cloud account. I only have the free starter plan, and I couldn't find settings or an opportunity to uncheck synchronization there.

3. I uninstalled the CC Desktop App.

4. I disabled adobe collaboration synchronizer 19.21

5. Under Adobe preferences I unchecked adobe online services 'sync preferences across devices . . .'

6. I scrolled down preferences to security (enhanced), confirmed sandbox protected view off and added a folder path to my desktop.

I then rebooted the machine and . . .

nothing.

Tried adding a .png image and it was added as a pdf file, as before.

Any other thoughts?

ls_rbls

Community Expert

Yes that link is also used as workaround since it is the only way to get a full offline installer that doesn't require to be hooked up to the Internet while performing the instalation.

You just download the installation program and run it. Upon a successful installation, you then open your Acrobat and log in to the document cloud with your AdobeID and it will activate with the subscription plan associated with that AdobeID (this is the email address you used to register your subscription with)

To avoid further complications after the installation, make sure that if you have more than one

email account in your user account, that the primary email used is associated correctly with your subscription plan (you can manage your account by going online and logging in to adobe.com).

If the suggested installtion method above works successfully but you're still not able to load ANY image file into ANY PDF document that you have, then it is worth trying a new user profile in that computer (not a new AdobeID) and check if the problem is related to the current operating system settings associated with that particular user profile.

Another idea I can think of is to try and run your Acrobat as Administrator.

Last, it is important to know comparissons between plans and products. See here: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/faq.html

There is no starter plan for Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. That applies in a Creative Cloud planns, like the free starter plan of AdobeXD product for example.

Adobe Acrobat Pro do have a 7-day free trial. So document cloud subscription and Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (which is included through a Document Cloud subscription) are two separate things. See details here https://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/acrobat/pricing.html

https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html

more details about Acrobat Pro DC here: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/faq.html

It is very important, that when troubleshooting installations you narrow down the problem to just one product at a time. If you use the Creative Cloud to install a product via Internet connection you will have no way to really tell what could be wrong because so much is involved in the background. So preferably, a user that is experiencing issues in their computer should begin with installing Adobe Acrobat Pro by itself first, then add up programs like the CC Desktop app for example.

ls_rbls

Community Expert

That is so weird, so far I haven't experienced that in my PC (yet... and knock on wood).

Do you think it might have to do with some registry settings?

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