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Angela5C1B
New Participant
January 21, 2021
Answered

PDF saved on macOS opens blank in Windows 10

  • January 21, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 2160 views

Hi,

I'm experiencing an issue with a filled in pdf form that was saved in macOS opening blank in Windows 10. I've adjusted security settigns in Adobe DC Reader and tried opening in a web browser and printing to pdf but still only half of the information saves with that workaround. I know it's not a corrupt file because I can view the information in Outlook preview and on various web browsers with all the information displayed. Any thoughts on a workaround or solution?

Thanks!

Correct answer AnandSri

Hello @iD3Z1GN!

 

I hope you are doing well, and thanks for reaching out.

 

Could you please share more details about the issue? The previous issue was related to Windows. Are you experiencing the same issue on the Mac? What is the operating system version installed? Assuming you are on the latest version of Adobe Acrobat 25.001.20476 (Mac), Apr 28, 2025. Instead of using macOS’s Print to PDF or Preview, use Acrobat’s native PDF creation function. 

 

  • Open Acrobat

  • Go to File → Create → PDF from File

  • Select your PNGs.

  • This ensures better cross-platform compatibility with Adobe’s PDF renderer. Adobe article for reference: https://adobe.ly/3GU2u13

Flatten or convert PNGs to PDF before combining. Some PNGs (especially those with transparency) may cause display issues. Adobe recommends converting images to PDF before merging. 

 

  • Open each PNG in Preview (macOS)

  • Export as PDF (File → Export as PDF)

  • Then combine those PDFs in Acrobat. Adobe article for reference: https://adobe.ly/3FiK75n

Optimize or Preflight the PDF before sharing across OS. PDFs created on macOS can include macOS-native fonts or metadata that don’t render on Windows. 

 

  • Go to File → Save As Other → Optimized PDF

  • Enable image downsampling and transparency flattening

  • Save and reopen the file. Adobe article for reference: https://adobe.ly/44XUC8X

If the issue persists, please follow these steps for further investigation:

 

1. Collect the logs from the affected machine.

2. Capture a screen recording of the problem.

3. Share the details of your operating system (OS) version, Acrobat version, and any sample files that are relevant.

 

To gather the logs, download and run the Log Collector tool. Make sure all the logs are selected, then try to reproduce the issue. Afterwards, close the Log Collector tool and save the logs. This will generate the necessary log files, which you can then share with us. Thank you!

 

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

 

 

 

2 replies

Dov Isaacs
Dov Isaacs
Brainiac
January 22, 2021

Most likely the PDF form was actually an XFA PDF form created by Adobe LiveCycle Designer. Such PDF forms are corrupted by Preview, the biggest (but not the least) problem of which is that Preview knows nothing about the XFA aspect of the PDF file and only fills in the PDF Acroforms compatibility portion of the form.

 

If that is indeed the case, the PDF file is effectively FUBAR. Try to have person filling out the form take a new blank form and fill it out with Adobe Acrobat Reader DC on MacOS and then send it to you.

 

Note that even for regular PDF forms (i.e., not the XFA variety), Preview is known to corrupt the PDF file when filling out the form.

 

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
iD3Z1GN
iD3Z1GN
Inspiring
May 15, 2025

This problem is now also evident when x2 PNG files are opened in Adobe Acrobat (full latest version on the latest MAC OS version) for the purpose of creating one PDF file containing x2 pages. 
The screeen returned by Adobe Acrobat is 100% blank

AnandSri
Community Manager
AnandSriCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
Community Manager
May 15, 2025

Hello @iD3Z1GN!

 

I hope you are doing well, and thanks for reaching out.

 

Could you please share more details about the issue? The previous issue was related to Windows. Are you experiencing the same issue on the Mac? What is the operating system version installed? Assuming you are on the latest version of Adobe Acrobat 25.001.20476 (Mac), Apr 28, 2025. Instead of using macOS’s Print to PDF or Preview, use Acrobat’s native PDF creation function. 

 

  • Open Acrobat

  • Go to File → Create → PDF from File

  • Select your PNGs.

  • This ensures better cross-platform compatibility with Adobe’s PDF renderer. Adobe article for reference: https://adobe.ly/3GU2u13

Flatten or convert PNGs to PDF before combining. Some PNGs (especially those with transparency) may cause display issues. Adobe recommends converting images to PDF before merging. 

 

  • Open each PNG in Preview (macOS)

  • Export as PDF (File → Export as PDF)

  • Then combine those PDFs in Acrobat. Adobe article for reference: https://adobe.ly/3FiK75n

Optimize or Preflight the PDF before sharing across OS. PDFs created on macOS can include macOS-native fonts or metadata that don’t render on Windows. 

 

  • Go to File → Save As Other → Optimized PDF

  • Enable image downsampling and transparency flattening

  • Save and reopen the file. Adobe article for reference: https://adobe.ly/44XUC8X

If the issue persists, please follow these steps for further investigation:

 

1. Collect the logs from the affected machine.

2. Capture a screen recording of the problem.

3. Share the details of your operating system (OS) version, Acrobat version, and any sample files that are relevant.

 

To gather the logs, download and run the Log Collector tool. Make sure all the logs are selected, then try to reproduce the issue. Afterwards, close the Log Collector tool and save the logs. This will generate the necessary log files, which you can then share with us. Thank you!

 

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

 

 

 

Dov Isaacs
Dov Isaacs
Brainiac
January 22, 2021

How did you “fill in” the PDF form on MacOS? If you used the MacOS Preview application, you may have a corrupted PDF form file.

 

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
A
Angela5C1BAuthor
New Participant
January 22, 2021

Sorry for the confusion. This was a form that I recieved. I could see it was filled in by the client via the preview in outlook and when opening in Firefox but Adobe DC Reader just showed the blank fillable pdf.

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