PDFMaker not working in Office 365 apps

[BSD24584889qms6]

PDFMaker option is available in Office 365 apps.  When selected, it will bring up the dialog box for creating a file.  When you continue, the dialog box goes away and no file is created.  If using the AdobePDF print driver, it works fine.

Problems started after uninstalling Adobe Acrobat XI Standard and installing Acrobat DC Pro from Business Cloud account.

Office 365 (64bit) is at the latest version.  Acrobat DC Pro (32bit) is latest version.  Running Windows 10 21H2.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled Acrobat DC Pro.  I have run the "Full Repair" of Office 365.  No reinstalls have changed the outcome.

Current versions of Office 365 and Acrobat DC Pro are:

 - Office 365: 16.0.15128.20240 (64 bit)

 - Acrobat DC Pro: 22.001.20117 (32 bit)

I have run through several of the posted suggestions as well and they have not resolved the issue.

[Dave__M]

I'd be curious to know if it behaves any better if you have Acrobat Pro running already when trying the PDF Maker (if you didn't).  In the past, I have tried to do the same, and the Adobe software wanted to 'phone home' to ensure I was a subscriber, and that seemed to cause a similar issue.  Running Acrobat first allowed for the confirmation to happen, and the PDF creation then went smoothly.

Dave

[BSD24584889qms6]

I tested it with Acrobat DC Pro launched and there was no change.  No PDF was created.

[Amal.]

Hi there

Hope you are doing well and sorry to hear that.

Please go through the help page https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/troubleshoot-acrobat-pdfmaker-problems-office.html and see if that works for you.

Regards

Amal

[BSD24584889qms6]

I have worked through all the options on this document already, to no effect.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

During your trys to get this running, did you ever shut down your computer and restart it?

Acrobat has a lot of tentacles across your computer, like the PDF Maker plug in for Office. So when you uninstall an old version, it's best to shut down your computer (to turn off any currently running Acrobat-related modules) and reboot before installing the new version.

Our recommended steps:

• Uninstall the old version (in your case, the attempted installation of 2022).
• Shut down the computer.
• Reboot the computer.
• Install the current version of Acrobat.

Before attempting to use the PDF Maker plug in in Word, first launch Acrobat so that you can complete the registration of your software, verify the account, and any other stuff Adobe wants you to do.

Then, launch Word and try to export a PDF using PDF Maker (the Acrobat Ribbon tab in Word).

[BSD24584889qms6]

Yes, the PC was restarted after every uninstall (Acrobat or Office).  Everything else seems to be working fine including using AdobePDF print driver to create PDF files.  Acrobat DC Pro is from a Business License and the PC is logged in and has a valid connection to Adobe Cloud.  The Acrobat DC Pro installs have all been launched from within the Adobe Cloud console from that PC.

I will have the opportunity to try this install again first thing tomorrow morning.

[BSD24584889qms6]

This morning I ran through the process of 

• Uninstalling Acrobat DC Pro
• Restart the PC
• Go into Word and Excel "As Administrator" and remove the COM Add-ins for Acrobat that were still listed there but unchecked
• Restart PC
• Reinstall Acrobat DC Pro
• Run Acrobat DC Pro, set PDF default to Acrobat, check for updates (none available)
• Restart PC
• Launch Word - the add-in for PDFMaker was not installed
• Launch Word "As Administrator" and add the COM add-in for Acrobat
• Launch Word normally, now the PDFMaker option is there, however, it still doesn't work
• Launch Excel, the PDFMaker COM add-in was installed there, however, it still doesn't work either

Any more thoughts on this?

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

• Launch Word normally, now the PDFMaker option is there, however, it still doesn't work
• Launch Excel, the PDFMaker COM add-in was installed there, however, it still doesn't work either

By @BSD24584889qms6

Since we can't see your screen, can you describe what you see on your screen when you say "it still doesn't work"?

Just to make sure we're talking about the same thing, PDF Maker is the Acrobat Ribbon/Tab at the top of your Word window. Looks like this:

Acrobat PDF Maker ribbon / tab.

Below, PDF Maker's Preferences dialogue box is open to set the conversion settings.

PDF Maker's dialogue box for Preferences and settings.

A trimmed-down version of PDF Maker is also available from the File menu, but it won't have as many controls as the Ribbon's version above.

File / Save As Adobe PDF (note the word "Adobe" in the utility's name):

Alternate way to use PDF Maker: File / Save As Adobe PDF.

Does your Word look anything like the screen caps above?

[BSD24584889qms6]

The user wants to use the "Save as Adobe PDF" option in the File submenu.  I have tested that as well as the Create PDF option in the ribbon.  Both operate the same.  They will bring up the dialog box and allow you to select a location and give it a filename.  Once you click the button to create the file, that dialog box goes away, nothing else pops up and the file is not created.  No errors or alerts come up.

I have also gone in to the Preferences section and stripped the options down to the bare minimum.  No change in what happens when you try to create a PDF.\

If we use the "Adobe PDF" print driver, it works fine.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

Hi @BSD24584889qms6.

The user wants to use the "Save as Adobe PDF" option in the File submenu.  I have tested that as well as the Create PDF option in the ribbon.  Both operate the same. 

No, they don't operate the same. Your comment has me wondering.

They both let you designate the name and location for the PDF file, but other than that, the utilities differ as to how much control you have over HOW the PDF is made.

What are the settings in Save As Adobe PDF (what's checked in the Options button), and also in Preferences from the Acrobat ribbon?  Maybe there is a setting that is preventing the PDF from being generated.

And what operating system are you on?

[BSD24584889qms6]

The PC is running Windows 10 build 21H2. 

Note that I had upgraded two identical PC's, previously running Acrobat XI Standard.  Both PC's had XI removed and Acrobat DC Pro installed as part of a Business License.  With both PC's, this PDFMaker option worked when XI Std was installed.  After the DC Pro upgrade, one PC works fine, but this one does not.

Here is a view of the options listed in the File menu "Save as Adobe PDF":

The options under Preferences in the toolbar show similar defaults.  

I have cleared out all the settings and tested it from the File menu option - no change.

I have cleared out all the settings in the Preferences option for the tabs - Security, Word and Bookmark.  No change.

I have also gone into the Advanced option in Preferences and changed the compatibility option from version 7.0 to 5.0 (suggested by a different post) - No change.

Does Acrobat write information to any log file that may provide some clues why this is not working on this PC?

[Amal.]

Hi there

We are sorry to hear that.

Please collect the Adobe CC logs https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-log-collector.html  and Procmon logs https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/acromonitor.html  and share them with us as described here https://helpx.adobe.com/document-cloud/help/sharing-pdfs.html

Regards

Amal

[BSD24584889qms6]

I have pulled the logs from the users PC as described above.  What is the best way for me to get them to you for review without having to post a public link to the shared files?

[Amal.]

Hi there

You may share the logs via the document cloud link as described here https://helpx.adobe.com/document-cloud/help/sharing-pdfs.html

Regards

Amal

[BSD24584889qms6]

Here are the links to the two different log collections, packaged as zip files:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:6fca25d9-6da6-44cb-8846-180a7cb21452

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:d93b61df-ad04-47b5-a9c9-6d313c3bd297

[Amal.]

Hi There

Thanks for sharing the logs, please give us some time to get them checked. We will share the update soon.

Regards

Amal

[BSD24584889qms6 · Accepted solution]

I found a way to resolve this issue!

Since Adobe Cloud only installs Acrobat DC Pro 32 bit, I wondered what would happen if the 64 bit version of Acrobat DC Pro was installed instead.  I downloaded the 64 bit version from Adobe, uninstalled the 32 bit version and installed the 64 bit version.  When I tested the Print to PDF option in the bar on the left in the [File] menu of Word, it now works!