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jjorgensen
New Participant
March 12, 2020
Answered

Screen goes black when adding signature

  • March 12, 2020
  • 18 replies
  • 118105 views

I am using Adobe Reader DC and I would like to digitally sign a document. When I try to digitally sign it, the screen goes black, nothing happens and I have to press Esc to return to the document.

 

This fix didn't work

Launch Reader > Edit > Preferences > Signatures .

Under Creation & Appearance > click More > uncheck use modern user interface for signing....

Relaunch Reader and check.

    Correct answer Arnel2188450476vg

    I just ran into this issue on 2 computers. None of the edit preference settings fixed the issue. Tried repair in control panel for acrobat same issue.

     

    Actual fix that worked was to uninstall, restart computer, and reinstall Adobe Acrobat DC through creative cloud.

     

    Regards,

    Arnel

     

    18 replies

    Show previous replies
    A
    Arnel2188450476vgCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    November 22, 2021

    I just ran into this issue on 2 computers. None of the edit preference settings fixed the issue. Tried repair in control panel for acrobat same issue.

     

    Actual fix that worked was to uninstall, restart computer, and reinstall Adobe Acrobat DC through creative cloud.

     

    Regards,

    Arnel

     

      G
      GaspardPetit
      New Participant
      March 27, 2023

      Tbe year is 2023, running a MacBook Air (2018) on macOS Ventura 13.2.1 and ran into this issue. I had also encountered the issue where the "Save" dialog was blank which I resolved by disabling "Show online storage when saving files" from Preferences > General

      For the signature dialog, I tried:

      • Turning off Use modern interface for signing and Digital ID configuration from Preferences > Signatures > Creation & Appearance > More > 

      • Turning off Sync Preferences across Devices and Document Services from  Preferences > Adobe Online Services

      Neither worked.

       

      Followed Arnel's solution:

      • Uninstall; Restart; and Reinstall Adobe Acrobat DC

       

      This worked. After reinstalling, I was able to turn all the feature on ("Show online storage when saving files", "Use modern interface for signing and Digital ID configuration" and "Sync Preferences across Devices and Document Services") and I am no longer seeing blank dialogs.

       

      What I believe might have caused this issue, is that I changed subscription account on Creative Cloud. I suspect some online features are not properly updated unless the apps are fully uninstalled and reinstalled.

      D
      danielr33856272
      New Participant
      November 17, 2021

      Hey there tried all the solutions below and was not successful

       

      I am using Adobe Reader DC and I would like to digitally sign a document. but a small white window pops up and does not do anything after that, changed all the setting to the suggested below also uninstalled and installed the product any suggestions, Acrobat DC is also on the newest iteration 

       

       

       

       

        Amal.
        Community Manager
        Amal.Community Manager
        Community Manager
        November 18, 2021

        Hi there

         

        We are sorry to hear that. Would you mind sharing the logs of the affected machine as described here https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-log-collector.html and the procmon logs (Win Only) here https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/acromonitor.html and share the logs via document cloud as described here https://helpx.adobe.com/document-cloud/help/sharing-pdfs.html

         

        Regards

        Amal

        D
        defaultmw99truvgxie
        New Participant
        November 16, 2021

        I am having the same problem with Adobe Reader 2021.007.20099. When adding a signature the screen will go black and I unable to do anything else and must force the application to close.  None of the solutions here have worked.  If I uninstall and reinstall it will work for a short period then the problem will come back again. Please help find a permanent solution.

          G
          GregLec
          New Participant
          November 16, 2021

          Same problem here

          I tried all the proposed solutions to no avail.

           

          Finally I tried to remove my antivirus and everything started to work again !

           

          In my case, it was my antivirus (F-SECURE) which was blocking something in the background.

           

          Hope this helps

            B
            billzerr
            New Participant
            October 19, 2021

            If anyone is still having issues with this. Turning off "Use modern Interface" did not work for me. What worked was going to Preferences - Adobe Online Services - Turn on "Sync Preferences across Devices and Document Services". Once I had this on I no longer got the black screen and was able to add my own signatures / initials.

              J
              JoutlawPhysics
              Participating Frequently
              October 23, 2021

              I’ve tried every suggestion here, as well as unchecking "Enable Enhanced Security" in Preferences > Security (Enhanced) as indicated here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/acrobat-dc-for-mac-puts-up-a-black-screen-over-my-pdf-when-signing-or-securing/m-p/10930809#M241296

               

              Nothing helps, and this Issue has been a problem for quite some time.

               

              Please help.

              Amal.
              Community Manager
              Amal.Community Manager
              Community Manager
              November 8, 2021

              Hi, 

               

              I have exactly the same problem. I've tried all the solutions mentionned by Amal but it doesn't work.

               

              Regards, 

              Nassim


              Hi Nassim,

               

              Hope you are doing well and sorry to hear that. Would you mind sharing the version of the OS you are using.

               

              Also collect the logs of the affected machine as described here https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-log-collector.html and procmon logs (Win Only) here https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/acromonitor.html

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

               

              Regards

              Amal

              K
              Kristin Fraser
              New Participant
              May 27, 2021

              I am having this problem too - latest MacOS, latest Adobe. But the pain of changing signatures is getting unbearable. You need to make this easier. I don't just sign on behalf of me, I have to sign on behalf of an aged parent and minor children and each signature change is fraught with issues. You should make this easier - really! 


              I'm not sitting with the Black Screen and done everything you suggested and apart from an uninstall, reinstall (WHY SHOULD WE HAVE TO!!!) I am now stuck, again.


              PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE fix this!

              Amal.
              Community Manager
              Amal.Community Manager
              Community Manager
              May 27, 2021

              Hi there

               

              We are sorry to hear that. Please try following troubleshooting steps:

               

              Launch Acrobat/Reader > Edit (Win), Adobe Acrobat (Mac) > Preferences > Signatures  > Under Creation & Appearance > click More > uncheck use modern user interface for signing and relaunch the application and check.

               

              Regards

              Amal

                C
                Christofer5E46
                New Participant
                June 9, 2021

                Just FYI, I had the same problem. Trying to add a signature in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC leads to a black screen.

                 

                1. Version shows as "no updates available" (21.005.20048).
                2. I "repaired" the installation ... no improvement.
                3. I added the Adobe folder as an antivirus (Windows Defender) exception ... no improvement.
                4. I restarted the app ... no improvement.
                5. I uninstalled and reinstalled and tried it all again ... no improvement.
                6. If I turn off "use modern interface" I no longer see the option to add a signature (using touch screen or image), so I can't sign it (documents need my signature, not just me typing a digitally signed name).
                7. I gave up, signed it without digital signing in free Adobe Reader (works fine), waited a while, retried with the same document in Pro DC as a prelude to writing a bug report here ... the modern interface had turned itself back on and it all worked fine, signed.

                 

                No idea how or why, but it's working now.

                J
                jan5C8217915225
                New Participant
                March 2, 2021

                This does not work for me either. Is there any remedy? How can Adobe charge for this product?

                Amal.
                Community Manager
                Amal.Community Manager
                Community Manager
                March 4, 2021

                Hi Jan

                 

                Hope you are doing well and sorry for the trouble.

                 

                Have you tried the troubleshooting steps provided earlier?

                 

                Please try to sign out of the application > reboot the computer once and re-login to the application using the same Adobe ID and check if that helps.

                 

                Also make sure that you have the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat DC (21.01.20142) installed. Go to Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once and check.

                 

                Regards

                Amal

                Amal.
                Community Manager
                Amal.Community Manager
                Community Manager
                March 13, 2020

                Hi Jjorgensen,

                 

                we are sorry for the trouble. As described the screen goes black when you try to sign the PDF.

                 

                Please try the following steps and see if that helps:

                 

                 

                 If it still doesn't Work, launch Reader>Edit>Preferences> Security Enhanced: "Turn off of the protected " and  "Uncheck: Enable protected mode at startup". This step is only for testing purpose. If this fixes your issue enable the feature again. You may visit this: Protected Mode troubleshooting | Adobe Reader

                Also, you may try to disable your security software for temporarily for some time and check. 

                 

                If it still doesn't work, you may try to sign the documents online at document cloud (https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/home/)

                 

                Let us know how it goes.

                 

                Thanks 

                Amal

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