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Vrinda5C58
New Participant
December 5, 2023
Answered

Error [18] in saving the PDF file

  • December 5, 2023
  • 6 replies
  • 9753 views

I am a lawyer and I have to often save court documents. Many times the PDF file cannot be saved, since the PDF shows the following error message "The document could not be saved. There was a problem reading this document (18)."

 

This happens only sometimes, e.g. when I want to add some more orders to a compilation. I think this may have to do with the digital certification/signatures on court orders, but that does not explain why the file cannot be saved all the time.

 

Can anyone help me with this?

    Correct answer __LAY__

    I had this problem today. For me, the files I was trying to add weren't the problem - turns out it was the big document I was trying to add files to. My client has some PDF forms that Adobe didn’t like in my big bundle. I scrolled through the bundle super fast until I got an error message, then deleted that page. There were 2 problem pages, then it let me save the bundle normally.

    6 replies

    _
    __LAY__Correct answer
    New Participant
    August 20, 2025

    I had this problem today. For me, the files I was trying to add weren't the problem - turns out it was the big document I was trying to add files to. My client has some PDF forms that Adobe didn’t like in my big bundle. I scrolled through the bundle super fast until I got an error message, then deleted that page. There were 2 problem pages, then it let me save the bundle normally.

    L
    Linde35595924dqb8
    New Participant
    February 4, 2025

    How I resolved this on Mac: 

    1. Open the PDF in Preview.
    2. In Preview: highlight some random text in the file, save the changes (press CMD + S) and close Preview.
    3. Re-open the PDF in Acrobat.
    4. Remove the highlighting previously added and save the changes (press CMD + S).
    5. The problem should be solved (according to my own experience).
    CroftonNJ
    CroftonNJ
    Participating Frequently
    August 13, 2025

    This did not work for me. I tried making edits and saving, I also tried creating a copy after making edits. I each case Acrobat would not let me save as.

    L
    Linde35595924dqb8
    New Participant
    August 14, 2025

    Did you also try first opening the PDF in another PDF reader (not Acrobat) for step 1 and 2?

    S
    shubham_9755
    New Participant
    December 3, 2024

    there was an error opening this document there was a problem reading this document 18

    Z
    Zahra37023716uvnd
    New Participant
    May 27, 2024

    Try using a PDF editor like Adobe Acrobat to flatten the document or remove the signatures before saving. Alternatively, printing the PDF as a new PDF file can sometimes bypass these issues. If the problem persists, consider checking for updates or using a different PDF viewer. 

    R
    Rachit27910363ntla
    New Participant
    May 25, 2024

    Hey Vrinda, Did you get any solution to this ? I am also a lawyer and I am also facing the same situation. Whenver the court orders are involved in the pdf file, neither it merges nor it allows you to do page numbering and pops up the same error as posted by you. Please reply. 

    Amal.
    Community Manager
    Amal.Community Manager
    Community Manager
    May 27, 2024

    Hi there 
     
    Hope you are doing well and sorry to hear that
     
    Is this an issue with a particular PDF file (Court documents in your case) or with all the PDFs? Please try with a different PDF file and check. If the file is stored on a shared network/drive please download it to your computer locally and then try again.
     
    What is the version of the OS and the Acrobat DC you are using? To check the version go to Help > About Acrobat and make sure you have the recent version 24.02.20759 installed. Go to Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once.
     
    Also try to repair the installation from the help menu (Win Only) and see if that works.
     
    Please try to reset the Acrobat preferences as described here https://adobe.ly/3KjHY8z and see if that works.

     

    ~Amal

    D
    Deepank37730253yl49
    New Participant
    July 2, 2024

    Dear Amal, 

    Even this is not helpful. 

    We are paying susbtantial sum for the premium subscription. However, this problem is persistent. Requesting you to please sort the issue. I am facing the similar issue of ERROR 18 while attaching/ merging the court orders in the pdf. 

     

      MikelKlink
      MikelKlink
      Participating Frequently
      December 5, 2023

      "There was a problem reading this document" usually means that Acrobat cannot properly read data from the original pdf. This might be due to errors in the file itself or due to errors in the file system (e.g. unstable network file systems. 

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