One or more pages are in use and could not be deleted

[Wendy245278724vii]

I'm using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, running Windows 10. I've taken multiple documents and combined those documents into one document. I need to "extract" and "delete" certain pages. I've been working through this document for several days and have been utilizing this function. Today, I keep reeiving "One or more pages are in use and could not be deleted" when I try. I've tried to just delete the pages. The same error pops up. I've saved a new copy of the document to my desktop (which sometimes helps the problem) and I'm still receivng the error. Looking back through the Adobe community, it appears this is an issue since 2012. I just need to finish this document. I was using the redact feature throughout this document as well. 

[Peru Bob]

I've moved this from the Using the Community forum (which is the forum for issues using the forums) to the Acrobat forum so that proper help can be offered.

[Andrew25717002g4kt]

Clearly this is issue is not going to be fixed by Adobe I am running W10 and Creative Cloud and it is still a frustrating issue - I have tried all the 'fixes' none work - repeteadely closing the application and opening it seems to be the only way to 'unstick' the one ( and it only ever seems to be one) stuck page. I am processing scanned documentes and often there are blank pages - selecting them all and hitting delete is like russian roulette - I then have to individually select and delete as I canot tell which one is the duffer. What is concening is this an ongoing issue for a decade and I am do not understand why it has not been resolved? Is there an underlying core vulnerability in the application?

[Charlene5EC4]

I have been dealing with the same issue daily with scans since changing to Acrobat DC 😞

I removed the creative cloud and now it happens less often - still at least  2-3 times a week 

- SO FRUSTRATING

Most of the time it will let me delete the page if I close Acrobat and ALL open File Explorer windows not just the ones with the Acrobat pdf file -grrr- and then open File Explorer and select the file from its folder ( NOT from the Quick access ). 

- grrr again

Once I get the "cannot delete one or more pages" - a computer restart is inevitably required before it works while multiple File Explorer instances are open. 

I am currently looking for other pdf editing software options 

[S. S]

Hi @Charlene5EC4,

Hope you are doing well. Sorry for the trouble, and the delayed response.

If you are still looking for a solution, try the steps below:

Go to Menu-> Preferences-> Documents-> PDF/A View Mode. Change it to Never, then try to delete pages.

-Souvik

[ned_4874]

This did not work for me.

[Amal.]

Hi there

Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out and sharing the details of what you’ve tried so far.

The error “One or more pages are in use and could not be deleted” usually appears when Acrobat still considers certain pages as being referenced or locked due to recent actions.

Here are a few steps you can try to get around this:

1. Save As a Reduced/Optimized PDF:

• Go to File > Save As Other > Reduced Size PDF (or Optimized PDF).

           This often clears hidden references or background processes that lock pages.

2. Check for Pending document actions (Redactions or Comments etc)

• If you’ve used the redact tool, make sure all redactions are applied (not just marked).

          Try removing any annotations or comments on the page before deleting.

3. Restart Acrobat / System

• Sometimes Acrobat continues to hold a lock in memory—closing the program or restarting Windows may release it.

Let us know how it goes.

~Amal