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S
Shane247138630v0k
Participant
June 3, 2022
Answered

PDFs won't open on my iMac

  • June 3, 2022
  • 4 replies
  • 28762 views

The operation could not be completed as Acrobat Reader doesn't have permission to access: ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/169EFC63-1A72-43ED-817D-B303FE40ED68/.

Launch privacy settings to grant access?

Correct answer S_S

Hi; thanks for the reply. What folder would I do this to? Like my Mac HD? It is not happening within a particular folder. 

 

My Mac HD, this is the screenshot. It won't allow to add my 'user', probably a safety thing. I work off my HD which syncs to a OneDrive folder. But these PDFs that I am having issues are being saved into the Downloads folder, to which I have Read & Write access. 

 

I don't think this is limited to a folder. And why would the permissions to my Mac folders change suddenly? 

 


It will have to be within Mac HD-> Users-> [your user name]-> Library.

[ Or an alternative method would be to click on any open space on the desktop-> Click on "Go" on the top menu bar-> press down the "Option key"-> Library]

 

The user account library is the location where you are experiencing the issue and it will be the folder you would need to provide permissions to.

 

Once there on the get info window, unlock the lock icon first and then change the permissions not for your user name but everyone.

[Unlocking the golden lock icon/Padlock requires you to put in your MAC password once]

Once you are done with it, click on the circle with the three dots beside the lock-> click on Apply to enclosed items.

 

Once this is done, try working with the files.

4 replies

J
jimb81068532
Participant
February 26, 2025

I am having this issue in 2025 and nothing I do is helping ... any advice? Please!?

T
Community Manager
Tariq AhmadCommunity Manager
Community Manager
February 27, 2025

Hi @jimb81068532, 

 

Sorry for the troubled experience. 

Could you be more specific about what exactly is happening at your end? Are you trying to open a PDF File in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader? Is that file located locally on the machine? What is the version of Acrobat or Reader? 

 

If there is an error, please help us with a screenshot of the error message or a video. 

Please ensure your copy of Acrobat is updated, to check for updates, launch Acrobat > Help > Check for Updates


~Tariq

Juan Cano
Juan Cano
Inspiring
June 9, 2022

OK; unclicking the Enhanced Security in Preferences didn't fix it. I did go into my "Downloads" folder, Get Info, and noticed the "Sharing & Permissions" for Everyone was set to "No Access". I have now changed it to Read & Write and so far so good. Hope this helps.

 

I think this is mostly happening with PDFs I try to open via a Browser, Chrome, and they default to save in Downloads before they open.

    S_S
    Community Manager
    S_SCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    June 9, 2022

    Thank you, Juan, for taking the time and letting us know it helped. The error meant that the application could not access the files due to permissions not being granted.

     

    You may also change the location of your downloads in the future if you think the location could be an issue.

      T
      Thomas247726395ahu
      Participant
      June 7, 2022

      Hello.  I have the same new problem.  Someone sends a pdf file I try to open it and I get the "no permission... library..." message.  I close Acrobat and while it is closed I click on the pdf file and it opens fine.  But in order to open any pdf I need to close Acrobat and start clean.  So far, nothing in the responses to this problem have helped at all.  This is very annoying.

        Juan Cano
        Juan Cano
        Inspiring
        June 8, 2022

        Thanks for the reply. Did this start recently? Acrobat upgrade? I wonder what is causing it now. No updates for Acrobat on the Cloud. 

         

        I added Acrobat to have full disk access. And now it has full Files and Folder access. But that didn't fix it.

         

        Thank you for the tip, better than nothing!!  😉

          S_S
          Community Manager
          S_SCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
          Community Manager
          June 8, 2022

          Hi; thanks for the reply. What folder would I do this to? Like my Mac HD? It is not happening within a particular folder. 

           

          My Mac HD, this is the screenshot. It won't allow to add my 'user', probably a safety thing. I work off my HD which syncs to a OneDrive folder. But these PDFs that I am having issues are being saved into the Downloads folder, to which I have Read & Write access. 

           

          I don't think this is limited to a folder. And why would the permissions to my Mac folders change suddenly? 

           


          It will have to be within Mac HD-> Users-> [your user name]-> Library.

          [ Or an alternative method would be to click on any open space on the desktop-> Click on "Go" on the top menu bar-> press down the "Option key"-> Library]

           

          The user account library is the location where you are experiencing the issue and it will be the folder you would need to provide permissions to.

           

          Once there on the get info window, unlock the lock icon first and then change the permissions not for your user name but everyone.

          [Unlocking the golden lock icon/Padlock requires you to put in your MAC password once]

          Once you are done with it, click on the circle with the three dots beside the lock-> click on Apply to enclosed items.

           

          Once this is done, try working with the files.

          Meenakshi Negi
          Community Manager
          Meenakshi NegiCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          June 3, 2022

          Hi Shane,

           

          Thank you for reaching out.

           

          It seems that you are trying to open a PDF from a secured folder. As per the message, it is a permission-related issue.

          Are you using your personal machine or the work machine? 

          Check if the issue occurs with files saved in another location on the machine. If not, please check the privacy settings as mentioned in the message for that folder.

           

          Thanks,

          Meenakshi

            S
            Shane247138630v0kAuthor
            Participant
            June 5, 2022

            Hi Meenakshi,

            I opened the privacy settings on my personal mac (which has always worked for opening PDFs so this is a random new development) and tried checking and unchecking the box for PDF security.  No change to the message when I attempt to open a PDF.  Any further suggestions would be appreciated.  Thank you

              Juan Cano
              Juan Cano
              Inspiring
              June 7, 2022

              I have just started having the exact same issue. A week ago I had never experienced this. Extra annoying. I am unable to 'add' Acrobat in The OSX Privacy Settings for Files and Folders. All buttons are greyed out.

               

              As a side note, my IT team just installed SentineOne security software and FortiClient VPN. I don't know if those can be interfering. 

               

              It happens mostly with PDFs from Chrome, like an attachment or a PDF egnerated on the page. But I think is happening with PDFs on my drive as well. This is a work Mac but I have Admin rights. 

               

              Also, I found that the PDFs that are refusing to open, do go into my Downloads folder (I have so many copies of the same thing!). Once in a while they open.

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