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A
Anonymous
October 8, 2019
Question

Error messages when loading PDFs from embedded Excel document

  • October 8, 2019
  • 1 reply
  • 12498 views

Hello,

 

I am currently looking into two error messages that seem to occur when trying to open up embedded PDF documents from an Excel document. These error messages do not seem to occur when opening the PDF files directly from file explorer.

 

Any advice on how to resolve these error messages would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Kind Regards,

 

Ryan 

    1 reply

    Amal.
    Community Manager
    Amal.Community Manager
    Community Manager
    October 9, 2019

    Hi Ryan,

     

    Thanks for reaching out. As described above, you are getting error messages when loading PDFs from embedded Excel document, correct?

     

    As the documents are opening fine when opened directly from the file explorer, there seen to be an issue with the excel file.

     

    Is the file located locally on your computer or is it on a shared network? Please try to download the file to your computer and check.

     

    Please try to add the location of the file in Adobe Acrobat/Reader. Go to Edit (Windows), Adobe Acrobat/Reader (Mac) > Preferences > Enhanced Security > Add File And Add Folder Path > Click OK and check.

     

    For testing purpose, please try to turn off the protected view. Go to Edit (Windows), Adobe Acrobat/Reader (Mac) > Preferences > Enhanced Security > Turn off the Protected view and uncheck the Enhanced security > click OK > Restart the computer and check.

    Note: Please turn on the security after testing, irrespective of the result.

     

    If turning off the security works for you, please refer to the steps in the help article - https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/protected-mode-troubleshooting-reader.html

     

    Additional information: Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat/Reader installed. Go to Help > Check for Updates. For detailed information please use the help link  https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/ReleaseNotesDC/index.html

     

     

    Let us know how it goes

     

    Regards

    Amal

    B
    Bill.R
    Participating Frequently
    April 20, 2022

    I have the same problem.  I've embedded a PDF file (not a link) in an Excel spreadsheet,  The source file opens fine if I open it in Windows, but I get the following error if I try to open it from within Excel:

    I followed all the suggestions in the previous post and nothing works.  I'm running the ltest version of Acrobat.  I tried disabling all of the advanced security features.  I added the folder and file name to trused sources (not sure why that would matter since the embedded file isn't a link).  Nothing works.

     

    How do I fix this?

    B
    Bill.R
    Participating Frequently
    April 22, 2022

    Hi there

     

    Thanks for sharing the video recording and the PDF file in question.

     

    I have checked the video and the PDF file that you have shared and found that the PDF file is created using Microsoft print to PDF (MS Process), please try to create the PDF using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC application and then try again.

     

    I have tried the steps below and it's now working for me:

    1. Open the PDF file in the Adobe Acrobat Pro DC application.
    2. Go to File menu > Print
    3. Select Adobe PDF from the Printer dropdown menu and save the PDF with a different name on your computer

    Then try to add the PDF as an object to the Excel sheet.

     

    Hope this information will help

     

    Regards

    Amal


    Thanks, Amal, but that's a workaround, not a fix.  If Acrobat can open the file directly from Windows File Explorer, it should be able to open the same file embedded in Excel.  This appears to be a bug that is somehow unique to the contents of this file.

     

    This is part of an automated production system.  Once labels are printed for a given work order, the label printing software generates a PDF file containing images of all the labels that were printed.  An Excel macro imports all the production data into a spreadsheet and embeds the PDF file into the spreadsheet.  It's all done automatically and there is no acceptable way to manually open the file in Acrobat and save it again before the macro imports the file.

     

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