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davidfmichael
New Participant
March 13, 2020
Answered

Error Message

  • March 13, 2020
  • 6 replies
  • 11396 views

Everytime I download a file to Adobe Acrobat, I get the following message, "There was an error opening this document.  This file is already open or in use by another application."  Neither of these are true.  I've tried on many files.  I've also uninstalled and re-installed Adobe Acrobat, but got the same message.  Any suggestions?

 

      Correct answer davidfmichael

      This did not help.  However, I can get the PDF file to open by clicking on the download arrow at the top right of the page. 

      6 replies

      K
      kenneth_8972
      New Participant
      July 17, 2025

      It's 2025 and I still have this problem-  not resolved!  Every single downloaded pdf and windows attempts to open it automatically and I get the same error message. Yes, I can then go back to Chrome and hit the download error up by the url bar and sure then it works but it is really annoying and stupid.

      AnandSri
      Community Manager
      AnandSriCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      August 23, 2025

      Hello @kenneth_8972

       

      I hope you are doing well, and we are sorry for the delayed response and the trouble.

       

      Are you still experiencing the issue with the latest version of Acrobat: 25.001.20630, Planned update, Aug 18, 2025. Check for any pending updates from the Menu > help > check for updates, install the updates, restart the app and the machine, and try again. 

       

      For testing purposes, disable the Protected Mode in Acrobat. Go to Menu > Preferences > Security (Enhanced). Uncheck “Enable Protected Mode at startup”. Restart Acrobat, and check.

       

      Let us know if the issue still persists with the latest version.

      Thanks,
      Anand Sri | Acrobat Community Team
      Meet Acrobat Studio

      P
      Pierre-A.
      New Participant
      October 9, 2021

      More than one year later the same problem persists. When downloading a pdf document from an internet site my browser asks me whether I want open the document with Adobe Pro DC or save the document. Of course, I could save and open the document subsequently, but this is just bypassing the problem. I find it disapointing that this problem is not being fixed by Adobe; considering the high costs for the Adobe subscription, this should have been fixed a while ago....

        Amal.
        Community Manager
        Amal.Community Manager
        Community Manager
        October 11, 2021

        Hi there

         

        We are sorry to hear that. Web browsers use their own PDF mechanism to render and display the PDF content and they are not Adobe dependant. It is always recommended to download the PDF to the computer first and then open it with Acrobat /Reader DC.

         

        Regards

        Amal

        A
        aryanb64142821
        New Participant
        August 5, 2020

        I see others have asked about this issue and one of them has even been marked as "resolved" eventhough it wasn't resolved. When I download a pdf file, adobe software gives this error "There was an error opening this document.  This file is already open or in use by another application."

        I either have to try several times till it finally opens(most times it takes 2 tries, sometimes way more) or go to downloads and open it from there. 

        Amal.
        Community Manager
        Amal.Community Manager
        Community Manager
        August 12, 2020

        Hi Aryanb

         

        We are sorry for the delay in response and to hear that the issue still persists.

         

        A new version of Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC is now available version 20.12.20041. PLease try to update the application to the new version from the Help menu > Check for Updates and see if that makes any difference. 

        Please reboot the computer once after installing the new version.

         

        If it still doesn't work, please try to repair the installation (For Windows Only) and check.

         

        If it still doesn't work, please download the process monitor tool (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon) , run the procmon tool and recreate the issue to collect the logs and share the logd with us for further testing.

         

        Regards

        Amal

        FengShuiWizardess
        FengShuiWizardess
        Participating Frequently
        March 22, 2021

        Hi, Amal,

         

        I have the same problem as Aryanb and am using Windows 10 with both Foxfire and Chrome. Windows, browsers and Acrobat X Pro have the latest versions. Acrobat installation repair didn't work after restart and the link given above leads to 404 error.

         

        Can you supply more information on how to fix this problem? Many thanks.

         

        Julie

         

         

        Evelyntheteacher
        Evelyntheteacher
        New Participant
        July 8, 2020

        I have this issue, too. I'm using the latest version of Adobe Acrobat.

        K
        koningkv
        New Participant
        June 10, 2020

        I've got exactly the same error.  It is only on my newest laptop, and with all pdf files that I try to open from downloading.


        With other computers, after clicking on the file in chrome, it would download and open in Adobe Reader.  Now, it will still download, but give the error in Reader.  I then have to navigate to my downloads folder and open it from there.  Please help.

          W
          wdq
          New Participant
          July 2, 2020

          I also have the same issue.  Seems to be an issue with Chrome only.  Still something they need to fix because Chrome is the most commonly used browser.

          D
          dnewcomb@vcccd.edu
          New Participant
          August 3, 2020

          I have this problem and I use Firefox so it is not a Chrome issue.

           

            Amal.
            Community Manager
            Amal.Community Manager
            Community Manager
            March 13, 2020

            Hi David,

             

            We are sorry for the trouble. Is this a behavior with a particular PDF file or with all the PDFs you try to open? Please try to open a different PDF file and check. 

            Are you trying to open the PDF from a shared network drive or from your computer? Please try to download the file to your computer locally and then try to open it with Acrobat / Reader DC.

            What is the version of the Acrobat / Reader DC you are using? To check the version of the application please use the link (https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/identify-product-version.html)
            Make sure you have the latest version 20.006.20034 installed. Go to Help > Check for updates.

            Also, please try to whitelist the folder and the PDF in Acrobat. Go to  Edit  (Windows), Adobe Acrobat / Reader DC (Mac) >  Preferences > Enhanced security > Add File and Add Folder path. 

            also for testing please try to turn off the security. Go to  Edit  (Windows), Adobe Acrobat / Reader DC (Mac) >  Preferences > Enhanced security > Turn off the Protected mode and uncheck the enhanced security > Click OK and reboot the computer and check.
            Note: Please turn on the security after testing.

             

            Let us know how it goes.

             

            Regards

            Amal

            D
            davidfmichaelAuthorCorrect answer
            New Participant
            March 20, 2020

            This did not help.  However, I can get the PDF file to open by clicking on the download arrow at the top right of the page. 

            Amal.
            Community Manager
            Amal.Community Manager
            Community Manager
            March 22, 2020

            Hi there 

             

            We are glad to hear that the issue got resolved.

             

            Feel free to contact us for any further assistance required in the future.

             

            Regards

            Amal

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