Invalid ColorSpace error

[Adio77]

I have a pdf file I need to send out to members via a link in an email.

This file will not open using the link. The error message I get is:

There was an error processing a page. Invalid ColorSpace

What is wrong with this file? What can I do to make if accessible?

If this is not the right forum to post this I am sorry, I am having trouble knowing the which one to get help with this from.

[badchess]

Anyone ever figure this out (PDF file with color space error message)?

If I open the .pdf in Acrobat 7 standard I get this:  "There was an error processing a page. Invalid ColorSpace."

If I open the .pdf in Photoshop CS2 the program immediatly closes with no messages.

Illustrator says "Acrobat PDF File Format is having difficulties. Invalid ColorSpace."

[MichaelKazlow]

Sounds like a corrupt file. How was the file created? How were the graphic elements in the file created? How were the graphic elements incorporated into the file you are pdfing?

[Dovla_hr]

I have a same problem with one file. File was created with open office writer 3.0.1 on linux, pdf export setting in oowriter was to create file in PDF/A mode.

File can not be opened with any of acrobat reader versions (on widnows and linux)  and applications, but  can be opened with any  of third party readers on linux and windows such as FoxIT reader on windows and Evince,Gimp on ubuntu linux, so file is not corrupted, or maybe it is but we should than define corrupted . Is it corrupted if it cant be opened with adobe reader or when ?

If file is exported from OoWriter without PDF/A option than it can be opened.

Looks to me that adobe forgot something about standard in new version of their pdf reader applications.

File is attached.

Message was edited by: Dovla_hr

[Dovla_hr]

I have read somewhere that that error usually means that one should update reader, so I did to latest 9.1.2 but still no luck with files in PDF/A mode.

[Guest]

Now let's see...

1. Early versions of Acrobat reader worked perfectly and could read all PDF files produced by free, open source PDF creators.
2. All the open source readers, Evince, kPDF et al also worked perfectly - and still do!
   
3. Adobe has largest market share for PDF readers but is concerned by the increase in popularity of free, open source PDF creators because Acrobat, its own PDF creator costs an arm and a leg and is highly profitable.
   
4. Suddenly Adobe brings out a version of its PDF reader that no longer reads PDF/a-1a, long-term-archive files, produced by free, open source PDF creators.
5. PDF files produced by free, open source PDF creators are now effectively rendered useless, especially for long-term archiving purposes.
6. Moreover the problem remains unfixed and ignored for many months.

I wonder if anyone can spot a pattern emerging here? 

Best wishes, G.

[Guest]

Would it be possible to gain access to such PDF/A-1b files. We have seen a lot of PDF/A-1b files lately that claim to be compliant to the standard but did fail our intensive PDF/A-1b check.

Regards,

Peter

[lrosenth]

While we strive to have our products read ANY PDF file - even those that are invalid and broken (according to the ISO 32000-1 standard) - sometimes we simply have to throw up our hands and give up as its just too broken.  This is the case with the files produced, under certain circumstances, by OpenOffice 3.x.   You can use any of the available PDF validators on the market (be it from Adobe or others) to see that the files themselves do not comply.

As to your comment about Adobe Reader supporting PDF/A-1 - you are quite backwards on that.  Adobe Reader 9 is the ONLY PDF viewer that is complaint with the rules for PDF/A-1 "conforming readers" (which are NOT the same as a standard PDF viewer).

Please update your blog accordingly.

Leonard Rosenthol

PDF Standards Architect

Adobe Systems
-- and Project Leader for ISO 19005-1 (PDF/A)

[Guest]

@ Irosenth:- Top marks for responding to my post rather than simply deleting it. Thank you. That is a good start.

However, you have not explained why these files work perfectly on earlier versions of Adobe Reader but fail on later versions? For example, the attached file works perfectly on Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0.0318 16:49 but fails on the much later 9.2 10/06/2009. I just tried it. This rather makes a nonsense of your "file is too broken" suggestion methinks.

Nor have you explained why it has taken Adobe almost a year to address this issue? Hardly the response of a corporation that "strives to have our product to read any PDF file", is it?

With regard to updating my blog. I believe Adobe's response to this problem has been slow and ineffective and that its customers have every reason to view it with the utmost suspicion. Moreover, there is already a link to this forum so that my readers can see your response. Therefore I see no need to update my blog, until you fix the problem!

However, I am keen to help you resolve the issue and I have attached a test file to assist you in investigating the problem further. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

Best wishes, G.

[Dovla_hr]

It just cant be to broken to not be displayable at all. The choice i made to use PDF format cost me some difficulties at college because my work wasn't accepted on time.
Probably In future I will not be so sure that everybody can display pdf document and see it as I do. The are other multiplatform formats too.

And if file is not compliant to standard as Adobe claims, than it certainly isnt problem with color space as error suggests and wastes users time checking on color space.
If it is true that files are not ok according to standard than reader should display file and warning that file does not conform to standard as it claims to, if that is the case.

Displaying the error about colorspace and not displaying file at all while other reader do that without any problem does not indicate good will even to support format adobe invented.

I really think that you should get different attitude regarding support of your own format. Because other readers do, and as I said it is your invention is it not ?

It would do much better to company image to display non conforming to standard warning and display file than this missleading colorspace error and doing nothing about it, while as I said other readers do better. I hope you see that

[Guest]

@ Dovla_hr, I feel your frustration. I thought I would wait a week to see if Adobe actually does anything about this. As you will see, I also went to the trouble of attaching a test file to help Adobe track down the problem. Yet, despite my best efforts, all Adobe has done so far is to put a post on this forum calling me "backwards" and demanding I change my blog!

Perhaps if Adobe spent more time addressing its technical problems and less time insulting its customers, then it would be abe to create more reliable and trustworthy products. Sadly, one can only draw the conclusion from this fiasco, that it is very unwise to trust Adobe products with important archive data and that one should be looking at accountable, open source alternatives instead.

Best wishes, G.

[tswaters1]

I've encountered this error on fillable PDF file that was created with Adobe PageMaker 6.5.2 back in 1999, PDF version set to 1.2.  Only some computers raise the error, and only some of the time.  My own machine has Adobe Professional 8 and I don't get any problems... Standard acrobat reader version in our enterprise is version 9, though... I have a feeling that's probably it.

[jvdias]

This is still a major problem !

How can it be that all versions of Acrobat Reader earlier than 7 will read PDFs created by OpenOffice, but not later versions, and that all other readers ( xpdf, gpdf, kpdf / okular) have no problems with these PDF/A-1a files ?

Could an Adobe PDF expert please point out exactly how the files that OpenOffice creates are not PDF/A-1a compliant ?

Has anyone followed this up with OpenOffice.Org to see why they continue to produce "bad" PDF/A-1a files ?

I have discovered that if, on the "export to PDF" dialog of OpenOffice, you do NOT check ANY of these checkboxes :

"PDF/A-1a", "Tagged PDF", "Create PDF form", "Export bookmarks", "Export notes", "Export automatically inserted blank pages", "Create hybrid file",  then the resulting files ARE viewable with Acrobat Reader 9.0 for Windows 7 .

But I need to distrbute PDFs containing bookmarks and html <a> ... </a> links to Windows users !

I am a software engineer - I volunteer to help track down exactly what is incompatible between Adobe's view of PDF/A-1a "ColorSpace"s and OpenOffice's, but I can't do so without some help from adobe as to precisely what is making these PDF/A-1a

"ColorSpace"s invalid to AcroRead.

I will also follow up this issue in the OpenOffice bug reporting forums.

[Dovla_hr]

according to wikipedia

PDF/A is a file  format for the long-term archiving of electronic documents. It is based  on the PDF Reference Version 1.4 from Adobe   Systems Inc.(implemented in Adobe Acrobat 5 and latest versions)   and is defined by ISO 19005-1:2005, an ISO Standard  that was published on October 1, 2005:

From this  information i conclude that latest adobe reader is broken, because previous versions were compliant according to available information at that time from Adobe.

Download the ISO standard for PDF for free from this link: ISO  32000-1 document

http://www.4xpdf.com/2008/10/download-iso-32000-1-document-for-free-from-adobecom/

Ivdias can you please post a link to OpenOffice bug forum about this issue.

[jvdias]

It looks like this issue is solved in OpenOffice 3.2+  - see:

http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=106523

but OpenOffice 3.2 is far from "GA" yet - Fedora 12 is still using 3.1.1 .

[Gabowman]

I am creating the file using Adobe Illustrator the same way I have for the past 16 years. Whether the file is extremely basic or elaborate I am still get the error.

[Guest]

We generate our own PDF using iText. We stumbled on this problem when we used PNG pictures. It worked when we converted them to JPEG.

As other have mentioned, the PDF could be displayed with other viewers but not Acrobat Reader, neither on Mac or Windows.

We also tested an earlier version on Ubuntu 8.10 that also had the same problem.

Just FYI.

[keyur78]

You must the .pdf file in Binary Transfer Mode and not in ASCII Mode. THe error comes due to the transfer made in ASCII Mode. Check your FTP Transfer Status.

[Guest]

@keyur78 Sorry, but this has nothing to do with FTP at all. PDF files generated and used locally also suffer the same problems - as do files read via http, sshfs and email.

Best wishes, G.

[max_cady]

THANK YOU keyur78! You have saved me a lot of headache. Transferring the file in binary mode when uploading it by ftp solved the problem!!! Many, many thanks ...

[death_by_haiku]

Hi.

I came across your thread because I was searching for a solution for same error, as I was just on a call with a user having the same problem.That error came up, and the form in question wouldn't display correctly.

I just wanted to let you know that what worked for me was to toggle the Display PDF in Browser under Edit>Preferences>Internet off, restarting Reader, then checking it off again. The form came up fine after that. I am not sure if your situation is identical to mine, but it may be worth a shot. Good luck.

[hughma]

I am not sure if this is the right way to seek help for this error.  If not, please re-direct me so I can join this thread.

I have the same problem having received the Invalid Color Space error.  It only happens intermittenly and usually goes away if I try again a few times to get the document to load.

I am running Adobe Reader 9.3.3 and Vista.  I have two PDF files that occasionally give me the Invalid ColorSpace error message when bringing up a document on a weba  site I maintain.  One of our members had the same issue.

I un-installed and re-installed Adobe Reader and that seemed to diminish the frequency of error messages, changing them from all the time to about 1 in every 4 tries to open a pdf file.

Any ideas ?  I see this problem is not new.  Wonder why Adobe has not published a fix instead of saying-try this, try that  ?

[simrick405]

I had the same problem with a PDF I had up on a web site. Turned out that the action I had in there (open at 75%) was the culprit. I removed that action and the error disappeared.

[Guest]

something that works for me all the time, and this is using snow leopard, If i see an icon preview of the file but I still get the error, I open any good pdf files and I insert the pages from the corrupted file, it work perfect just update your file and that would fix it