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Ben29470118hjg8
Participating Frequently
April 18, 2023
Question

"Can't edit PDF. This document has been signed and cannot be edited."

  • April 18, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 4302 views

Currently getting this error for 3 PC users that have upgrade Acrobat Pro to version 2023.001.20093. This happens with every .pdf - whether it's local or stored online in Box/Google Drive. The error occurs when clicking on an area to edit with the text-edit tool, so can't do any text edits. We've tried a couple workarounds I've found in other posts - opening the .pdf in Powerpoint, then saving it as .pdf; opening it in Chrome, then printing as .pdf - and the formatting usually changes so that's not really a solution, but it does allow us to edit in Adobe afterwards...until the file is closed and reopened, and then the error returns and the workarounds have to be applied again. I've uninstalled/reinstalled multiple times. I ran sfc /scannow to check for any corruption in Windows files. For one user, I created a new profile but the problem is still present. All users had no issues prior to the upgrade. I collected the logs via Adobe's Log Collection Tool for one of the users and uploaded them to Adobe but it's been a week now and no response.

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    2 replies

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    Ben29470118hjg8Author
    Participating Frequently
    April 19, 2023

    Hi, the documents aren't signed. Every .pdf is having the issue. My company pays for Adobe subscriptions so it is incumbent upon Adobe to get this sorted out. Since the original post from Amal didn't have much to recommend beyond what I already tried and seemed to be just some standard template they give to everybody, I'll look into opening a case with their support. 

      Amal.
      Community Manager
      Amal.Community Manager
      Community Manager
      May 11, 2023

      Hi there

       

      Sorry to keep you waiting, would you mind collecting the Adobe CC logs https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-log-collector.html , Procmon logs (Win Only) https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/acromonitor.html  and share them via any cloud storage. Just upload the log file to the cloud, generate the link, and share that link with us for further investigation.

      Regards
      Amal

       

      Amal.
      Community Manager
      Amal.Community Manager
      Community Manager
      April 18, 2023

      Hi @Ben29470118hjg8 

      Hope you are doing well and sorry to hear that

      Is this an issue with a particular PDF file or with all the PDFs? Please try with a different PDF file and check. If the file is stored on a shared network/drive please download it to your computer locally and then try again.

      Please update the application to the new version 23.01.20143 Go to Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once.

      Also, try to repair the installation from the help menu (Win Only) and see if that works.

      Please try to reset the Acrobat preferences as described here https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/how-to-reset-acrobat-preference-settings-to-default/td-p/4792082

      You may also try to create a new test user profile with full admin rights in Win or enable the root account in MAC and try using the application there and check.

       

      If it still doesn't work, please remove the application using the Acrobat cleaner tool https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/cleaner.html , reboot the computer once and reinstall the application using the direct link
      https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/acrobat-dc-downloads.html

       

      Let us know how it goes.

       

      Regards

      Amal

       

      B
      Ben29470118hjg8Author
      Participating Frequently
      April 18, 2023

      Hi Amal, 

      As mentioned in my original post, I had already addressed most of your suggestions. I tried the other 3 you listed.

      Check for updates...had already tried that as well but when we checked again today Adobe still says no updates available.
      Reset Acrobat preferences....still having the error
      Uninstall using the cleaner tool and reinstall via the direct link...still having the error

      Please advise on next steps as my users are severely hampered and are either forced to do workarounds or unable to edit .pdf's at all. I can provide you the email of one of the affected users and perhaps you can work with her directly?

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