PDFmaker was unable to produce the Adobe PDF

[bertramchan]

We have a number of machines here that cannot use PDFMaker to convert Word files to PDF.

From Windows Explorer, we locate the Word file, right click on it and choose "Convert to Adobe PDF." An Adobe PDF Status window opens and we are prompted for where to "Save Adobe PDF File As." Leaving the default filename and location we click Save and the progress bar in the Adobe PDF Status window almost moves to the end but then we get this error:

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Acrobat PDFMaker

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An unexpected error occurred. PDFMaker was unable to produce the Adobe PDF.

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OK  

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Alternatively, we open Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, click on File, Create, PDF from File... and choose the Word document. A status window shows in the bottom right corner saying "Starting the application which created the selected document. Please wait..." and then it's followed by the same error:

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Acrobat PDFMaker

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An unexpected error occurred. PDFMaker was unable to produce the Adobe PDF.

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OK  

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We are using 2015 Release (Classic) Version 2015.006.30306 and Microsoft Office 365 Business version 1703 (Build 7967.2161 Click-to-Run)

[BillerDude]

I'm having the exact same issue, different configuration though.  I have multiple users using Acrobat 2017 Pro 2017.011.30070 with Office 2013 running on Windows 10.  We are unable to use the "Create PDF from file..." function or the right-click context options.  When trying to do either of these tasks, I get the same error message and behavior "An unexpected error occurred.  PDFMaker was unable to produce the Adobe PDF." and the Word document is then left open.

The workaround I have my users doing is to simply use the native Office 'save as...' option and selecting PDF as the file type.  This works for the most part, but then, what's the point of purchasing Acrobat?

[AnandSri · Accepted solution]

Hello Bertramchan,

Sorry for the delayed response and inconvenience caused. Please refer and try the suggestions from the following KB article Troubleshoot Acrobat PDFMaker issues in Microsoft Office on Windows

Please check for the latest update of Acrobat from help>check for updates, restart the machine after installing the updates. You can also install the updates manually from DC Release Notes — Release Notes for Acrobat DC Products

See if this brings any difference. If the issue persists, please create a test user profile with full admin rights and check with Acrobat.

Let us know how it goes and share your findings.

Regards,

Anand Sri.

[Andy_DP]

Hi,

I'm having the same problem, but can't help noticing your replies don't address the stated problem.

You link to a page regarding problems in word and accessing PDFmaker through word.

However, the problem is that opening Acrobat DC and going to the create option gives the following error.

An unexpected error occurred. PDFMaker was unable to produce the Adobe PDF.

Whilst I have updated office as you suggest the issue does appear to be an acrobat problem and not a word one.

Regards,

Andy

[Joy0D4D]

I un-installed - rebooted - re-installed - rebotted and it still crashes and cannot make a form.

[Anirudh26388766ygeh]

these adobe engineers who cant even build a stable product i cant even convert a simple document wihtout this messsage showing up?!!!!!!!!!!!

(abusive remarks removed by moderator)

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

The PDF Maker plug-in is installed when Acrobat Pro or Standard is installed on the computer.

Make sure you're using the latest version of Acrobat in order to get the latest version of PDF Maker. It was updated substantially within the past year.

Within Acrobat, go to Help menu / Check for Updates. You can view a complete list of released versions at https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/ReleaseNotesDC/index.html 

Another option is to use Microsoft's built-in utility to export to PDF, and by-pass Adobe's products entirely.

File / Save As / and select PDF. Be sure to drill down and check the options you want in the PDF.

[Charles26413214ky0f]

Have you considered the latest version might be the issue? Didn't have problems until I updated...

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

Yes, I have and did check before posting my comment. My firm is professional beta testers.

My office's workstations run the current updated versions of Acrobat and everything worked fine. No problems on several files that were tested.

We also run the latest updated versions of Office 365 and static desktop version.

I'm also a beta tester for Acrobat and tested the forthcoming version, still no problem.

There always is the possibility of a mismatch between recently upgraded programs by Adobe and Microsoft. A change in MS Office could affect Adobe's PDF Maker plugin. In fact, the companies tend to leapfrog each other with their updates.

[Charles26413214ky0f]

Glad the beta works for you. Production version isn't working for a wide arrange of us. The issue being PowerPoint to PDF.

While I understand this "leapfrogging" in concept, why isn't there anyone working with MSFT to understand what changes will be made and how to have adobe work with those changes?

Thus, these issues shouldn't occur.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

...why isn't there anyone working with MSFT to understand what changes will be made and how to have adobe work with those changes?

Thus, these issues shouldn't occur.

By @Charles26413214ky0f

Software is proprietary intellectual property that is copyrighted and often patented.

When Microsoft (or Apple, or Adobe, or anyone) releases a new version of their software, the other companies that make plug-ins, add-ons, and external utilities for it often don't know about the upcoming release until a short time before we customers do.

Example: when Apple released its new operating system and M1 processor chips a couple of years ago, Adobe and other software companies didn't get a beta version to work with until a couple of months before the release. That's not enough time to retool a plug-in or software program, test it, and have it ready for the new OS. Consequently, few users were able to use their software programs on the new Macs until quite a few months later. The more complex the software, the longer it took companies to retool.

In this case, unless Microsoft releases its beta to Adobe soon enough, there's not much Adobe can do but wait until the forums light up with bugs and then hurriedly get a fix out as soon as they can. Sometimes the fix can be done in a few days, but most times it's 6-8 weeks. Depends upon the bug.

I agree that everyone should play nicely together in the sandbox.

But they're all billion dollar companies run and controlled by huge investment companies that don't give a rat's patootie about ethics. Their software is now mostly on subscription, so they'll continue to tap into our wallets each month, regardless of whether their software worked that month or not.

It's a horrible situation for us customers. There were federal laws and lawsuits in the 1990s to prevent this type of monopolization, but our agencies are no longer enforcing them.

If you are a US citizen and don't like this, then file a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftc.gov/  Scroll to the section titled Take Action. Not sure which type to select: either fraud, anti-trust, or public comment. There are good people still at the FTC who do notice these reports.

Or vote with your wallet and don't buy products from these companies. For some, that's not possible, but it is an option for others. Example, the province of Ontario Canada, fed up with Adobe and Acrobat, switched their government computers to a competitor's PDF software.

[Charles26413214ky0f]

NDAs exist to stop theft of IP. This is a business failure of Adobe and MSFT.

There are ways to mitigate the risk without going full stop.

[aldo25596118bux7]

Same problem, I'm on 2020 versio of office 365 update this morning. now from Word it seems to work well, Powerpoin still not working

[carlos78059792]

I'm having the same problem. Bevi Chagnon's fix worked for me. Here it is: 

Another option is to use Microsoft's built-in utility to export to PDF, and by-pass Adobe's products entirely.

File / Save As / and select PDF. Be sure to drill down and check the options you want in the PDF.

[aldo25596118bux7]

many thanks

File Save as and/or export function works well als for me because don't use Acrobat extension

I'll try to find Bevi Chagnon's fix you mentioned

[AkanchhaS]

Hi Everyone,

We apologize for not being able to follow up on this.

We see some users have trouble generating PDFs using Acrobat PDF maker in MS Office. To understand the issue better, please help us with the following details. 

1- Your current version of Acrobat and MS Office.

2- Check for update Office updates.

3- If you have both Acrobat and MS Office up-to-date and running on the latest version, then

Run this cleaner tool to remove the existing installer and application’s files traces:

https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/cleaner.html

Download the Acrobat installer from here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/acrobat-dc-downloads.html

If that doesn't work, then try resetting the registry settings as explained here: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/pdfmaker-unavailable-office-2007-office.html 

When nothing works, 

Please collect the Adobe CC logs https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-log-collector.html  share them by uploading to cloud storage (any)

Procmon Logs:

https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/acromonitor.html

Thanks,

Akanchha

[Serene_nature15C3]

Hi @Charles26413214ky0f @aldo25596118bux7 @carlos78059792

Could you please update the application to the latest version 22.3.20282 (Win)  and collect the logs using the steps mentioned below.

1. Create Registry to generate logs

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat\PDFMaker\<Track>\Global\Settings]
"PDFMLogLevel"=dword:00000003

2. Perform steps to reproduce the issue.

3. Collect logs from the temp folder. Log files would be generated in %temp% location as PDFMWord.log, PDFMExcel.log, PDFMPowerPoint.log and PDFMEngine.log

4. Disable logging by setting "PDFMLogLevel"=dword:00000000 

Please share the collected logs via the document cloud link as described here https://helpx.adobe.com/document-cloud/help/sharing-pdfs.html for further investigation of the issue.

Regards

Amal

[Serene_nature15C3]

Hi @Charles26413214ky0f @aldo25596118bux7 @carlos78059792

Please share requested log files as described above, our engineering team is waiting for your inputs to proceed further on this issue.

Waiting for your reply

Regards

Amal

[4Sahlibah]

I have the same problem on Actobat XI

[Serene_nature15C3]

Hi @4Sahlibah 

Adobe Acrobat XI is an old and EOL application. For more information, please go through the help page https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/end-of-support-acrobat-xi-reader-xi.html

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

Regards

Amal

[typesetter2007]

Hello, Amal,
I started to have the same issue after updating to Windows 11 Enterprise. Updated Acrobat 64bit to the latest version with no success. Here' s my PDFMaker log file:

Wed Jan 10 13:47:05 2024 [INFO]: Starter::PDFMakerConvertUsingSettings: PDFMPowerPoint to PDF conversion workflow has started...
Wed Jan 10 13:47:05 2024 [INFO]: Starter::Init: Initialization of PDFMPowerPoint has Completed with return value 0 .
Wed Jan 10 13:47:05 2024 [INFO]: PDFMaker::DoConversion: Power Point to PDF conversion workflow has started.
Wed Jan 10 13:47:06 2024 [INFO]: PDFMaker::VerifyStartConversion: Verify Start Conversion workflow has Completed with return value 1 .
Wed Jan 10 13:47:09 2024 [INFO]: PDFMaker::DoConversion: Total number of slides in Power Point Presentation 16 .
Wed Jan 10 13:47:09 2024 [INFO]: PDFMaker::ConvertToPDF: PowerPoint to PDF Conversion workflow has started.
Wed Jan 10 13:47:09 2024 [INFO]: PDFMaker::CreatePDFByEMF: Create PDF from EMF workflow has started.
Wed Jan 10 13:47:09 2024 [INFO]: PDFMaker::CreatePDFByEMF: PDFMEngine workflow has started to create PDF from EMF.
Wed Jan 10 13:47:21 2024 [INFO]: PDFMaker::CreatePDFByEMF: Create PDF from EMF workflow has Completed with return value -11 .
Wed Jan 10 13:47:21 2024 [INFO]: PDFMaker::ConvertToPDF: Convert to PDF workflow has failed with return value -11 .
Wed Jan 10 13:47:25 2024 [INFO]: Starter::PDFMakerConvertUsingSettings: PDFMPowerPoint to PDF conversion workflow has Completed with return value -11 .

[Serene_nature15C3]

Hi there

Hope you are doing well.

Have you tried the troubleshooting steps provided in the help page https://adobe.ly/41TtLan

Let us know how it goes.

~Amal

[Jeanne293703363j7p]

I am experiencing the same issue, and have been for over two months. I have reached out to Adobe, worked with them on the issue and then was told it was a file issue and to check with Microsoft. Microsoft tells me it is an Adobe issue. All of my systems have been updated with thelatest versions, I have booted my computer, done repairs. I am tired of dealing with the excuses and need answers.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

(Please note: I am not an Adobe employee nor a Microsoftie...just an unpaid volunteer expert here in the forums. Be kind!)

Shut down any unneeded programs that are running in the background. Conversions need a fair amount of RAM and drive space, and can fail when your hard drive is getting filled up or your computer is running out of RAM.

There is always the chance that the original Word or PowerPoint file has a glitch or something in the code that causes Adobe PDF Maker to fail. We recommend these steps:

1. Open the original MS Office file (Word, PowerPoint, etc.) in a current version of Word/PowerPoint. This step often brings the file more up-to-date with Adobe PDF Maker so that there is less chance the conversion will fail.
    
2. Save the Office file with a new file name. This forces a new file to be built by Microsoft, which not only brings the file up to date (code-wise), but also corrects some of the glitches in the file that could be failing the conversion to PDF.
    
3. Convert the new file to  PDF via any of these methods:
   • Adobe PDF Maker by using the Acrobat Ribbon tab. Set your preferences first, then select convert to PDF.
   • Adobe PDF Maker by using File / Save As Adobe PDF. It's using the same "engine" as the ribbon tab version, but doesn't have as many controls or preferences.
   • Microsoft's conversion to PDF. File /Save As and choose PDF from the File Type drop-down menu. Control your setting via the Options button. This method bypasses Adobe entirely, and uses a Microsoft conversion utility.
   • Select the new file in your Windows explorer folder, right-click, and select Convert to Adobe PDF. This method usually doesn't give you any options/preferences to control what type of PDF you're making, but we find that it mostly picks up the settings in Preferences from the Ribbon tab (above).
   • Open Adobe Acrobat. Select File / Create / PDF from File and choose the new version of the file, not the original one.

But keep in mind one key strategy of these suggestions: Open the original Word/PowerPoint file in a current version of MS Word/PowerPoint, and save it with a new name. This step helps correct any irregularities in the Office file. Your content shouldn't change, only how the file is coded.

How to check your software versions: you can visit Adobe and Microsoft's websites. We give directions in this blog: https://www.pubcom.com/blog/software-versions/index.shtml

[TallyITGuy3]

Has anyone found a fix for this??  I havver several users having this same issue and we all have updated Office 365 as well as the latest Adobe Acrobat.  Saving as a pdf works fine in Word but Excel is the issue on all that are not working.  And another things I have noticed.  One the PC's that cannt save as pdf, under the Export tab in Excel the Create PDF/XPS Document option is missing.  This is missing on all that cannot save to PDF.