Missing Adobe PDF Printer after update

[defaultc6uqpeei5h04]

Hi everybody,

I hope someone can help me. We have some problems in my company after we installed the update (Version 2017.011.30197, same result with 30199, the 30196 works fine) for Adobe Acrobat 2017 (Classic) on our Windows 2012 R2 Terminalserver. After the update the "Adobe PDF" printer is missing and even the guide for the manually installation of the printer doesn't work.

I hope the facts was enough and someone have an idea for my problem.

[kglad]

<moved from download&install>

[brownek12]

Did the exact same steps with same symptom as you?  Did you get further progress?

[defaultc6uqpeei5h04]

No positive results, and the Adobe Support told me that my Software is out of support. It is very frustating.

At the moment we plan to update to a newer version of Acrobat.

[brownek12]

Same issue with latest version i.e. 17.011.30204 which is weird.

So, ended up looking at using powershell to install Adobe PDF following this URL as reference until one of Adobe future release version fixes the missing Adobe PDF print queue then I'll revert this temporary change:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/add-adobe-pdf-printer-via-cmd/m-p/11333448

So, with URL above had to do additional changes because our environment is restricted:

-In Registry, set the Administrators group permissions to full Control (Should be set to read by default) on the following Key.

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows x64\Drivers"

-In Powershell, ran the following:
Add-PrinterDriver "Adobe PDF Converter"
Add-Printer -Name "Adobe PDF" -DriverName "Adobe PDF Converter" -PortName "Documents\*.pdf"

[defaultc6uqpeei5h04]

It was a good idea to create the printer, but it hadn't the funktion to create a pdf. He asked for the saving location, but did'nt create the file. Very sad.

[brownek12]

Hmm... spoke too soon!!! Went back to my test desktop environment and did further testing:

under admin:

e.g.
Using Word 365, can see Save as Adobe PDF and did following tests successfully:

Open existing Word doc > File Menu > Print > Choose Adobe PDF
Open existing Word doc > File Menu > Save as Adobe PDF

under standard test user:

e.g.
Using Word 365, cannot see File Menu > Save as Adobe PDF and following test did not work. It showed job stuck in Adobe PDF print queue:

Open existing Word doc > File Menu > Print > Choose Adobe PDF

I found an old Adobe forum as guidance:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/can-no-longer-quot-save-as-adobe-pdf-quot-from-wo...

...but needed to find registry key to test and found URL below:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/missing-adobe-acrobat-tab-even-when-add-in-is-enabled-in-...

So, in my test desktop environment added following on test user below:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\Word\Addins\PDFMaker.OfficeAddin\Loadbehavior = 3 (DWORD)

under standard test user:

e.g.
Using Word 365, can now see Save as Adobe PDF and did following tests:

Open existing Word doc > File Menu > Print > Choose Adobe PDF < -- Did not work, job stuck in Adobe PDF print queue!!!!
Open existing Word doc > File Menu > Choose Save as Adobe PDF < -- Works

These findings are not cool but I'm still testing...

[brownek12]

Ended up following @Testing5EFE suggestion below that resolved the print option issue.  Looks like something in the AdobePDF folder messed up with Adobe PDF printer.. cheers!

[swapnilsrivastava · Accepted solution]

Hi There,

Thanks for reporting the issue here.

Please go ahead and try the steps from KB article to cleanly remove the printer driver and re-add the same back.

This might fix the issue at your end as well. Please make sure to download the Adobe PDF Printer driver from the KB article or from here.

Please feel free to reply in-case of any help required from our end.

Regards,
Swapnil Srivastava

[defaultc6uqpeei5h04]

Sadly it doesn't help. Maybe the "Create PDF Printer utility" doesn't work fine because the installation path is not default. It doesn't create a install log too.

[defaultc6uqpeei5h04]

Sorry for my late reply, but I made many tests and I waited for the first deployment installtion in our test domain.

At last, your solution with the kb article was the only one solution that works, but only the steps 2 & 3.

[Testing5EFE]

We're seeing the same issue in our environment on Server 2012, Server 2016, and Server 2019. It doesn't appear to be OS-related but all updates after 17.011.30196 remove the Adobe PDF printer. As you've stated, adding the printer manually as the "Adobe PDF Converter" does not provide the same functionality as the PDF printer. We're re-installing the base version, applying the 30196 update, and then disabling updates for now.

[defaultc6uqpeei5h04]

We have the same proceed. It's very sad. Do you install the Acrobat in the default path?

[Testing5EFE]

Yes, Acrobat 2017 is installed to its default location at C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat 2017\Acrobat.

I tested the KB solution from swapnilsrivastava's post above and found that I'm able to manually add the printer to version 17.011.30204 using just Steps 2 & 3 if I disable the Print Spooler service before running the CreatePDFPrinterUtility. Give that a try and see if you're also able to add the printer manually after updating.

I also tested updating from 30196 to 30197, which removes the printer, manually adding the printer back, then updating to 30199. Unfortunately, applying the update removed the printer once again; so, it seems this is a temporary solution that will need to be performed after the next update as well.

[ErinKW]

This is what has worked for me after 3 instances of Adobe PDF DISAPPEARING. I had to uninstall and reinstall the Adobe Acrobat Pro. After completing the install, open Adobe Acrobat and under "HELP" select repair. This has worked 3 times. 

I work for a large company, so I have to contact our IT department as I do not have permissions to remove and load software. I'm typically down about 24 hours every time this happens. 

I believe this issue appeared with the last software update release. This has been an issue for 3 of my co-workers, as well. 

[Amal.]

Hi there,

Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out.

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 24.02.20857 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/3XO0oGz)

Also try to install the PDF printer manually as described here (https://adobe.ly/3XO0pdB)

Let us know how it goes.

~Amal