Acrobat crashes when trying to edit a fillable-form PDF

[Marshall356087002d3n]

I have a user that had been using Adobe Acrobat Reader on a new PC for about a year without issue. A month ago, this user's Adobe Acrobat would crash when attempting to fill in a fillable field in a given PDF. If you leave the PDF alone, it will stay open, but the moment you try to edit it, or fill in a fillable form, Adobe Acrobat crashes.

The user is on Windows 11 Pro and on Adobe Reader Version 2023.008.20533. I've tried uninstalling and re-installing Adobe Acrobat, removed all anti-virus, and run the Adobe cleaner/uninstall tool and the issue still persists. If anyone has any insight or advice it is greatly appreciated. I have protected view set to 'OFF' as well, as I noticed that suggestion in a lot of articles that dealt with Adobe Acrobat crashing. If there are log files available, let me know how to provide them or where they are typically stored on a PC. 

[moderator changed the subject for clarity: was Adobe crashes...; corrected Adobe to Acrobat in the text; sanitized the topics]

[Moderator moved the thread from Acrobat to the Acrobat Reader forum]

[Amal.]

Hi @Marshall356087002d3n 

I hope you're doing well, though I'm sorry to hear about the issue you're experiencing.

Could you please clarify if this problem occurs with a specific PDF file or if it affects all PDFs? It might be helpful to try opening a different PDF to see if the issue persists. If the file is located on a shared network or drive, try downloading it locally onto your computer and then attempting to open it again.

Since you have the latest version installed, you might want to consider repairing the installation from the help menu (applicable to Windows only) to see if that resolves the issue.

Another step to try is resetting the Acrobat preferences. You can follow the instructions outlined in this link: How to Reset Acrobat Preference Settings to Default.

Additionally, reviewing the suggestions provided in this help page Acrobat DC Crashes on Windows OS might offer further insights into resolving the issue.

Let me know if any of these steps help in resolving the problem.

~Amal

[Marshall356087002d3n]

Hello Amal, Thank you for your message. All of the PDF files are stored locally on her machine. No shared drives are involved. They reside primarily on her desktop, to be specific. We've opened about 12-15 different PDFs, and of those 12-15 there are about 5 that have fillable forms in them. If you immediately try to enter characters into one of the fillable fields then the entire Adobe program crashes. I know we've tried a repair already, but will try that as well as the reset of the preferences and will report back with what I find out. Thank you.

[Marshall356087002d3n]

We attempted the repair and no change occurred. We then attempted the Reset of Preferences by following the folder path in the article you provided, but no preferences folder was found at the location (see attachment). We then did the registry editor suggestion and that did not fix the issue either. We opened 3-5 more PDF files with fillable fields and if you wait 15 seconds, you can then edit the PDF file. However, if you attempt to edit the PDF file before waiting the 10-15 seconds, Adobe continues to crash. The user is contemplating upgrading to Adobe Acrobat Pro, but is hesitant to do so given this issue. 

[Amal.]

Hi there

We are sorry to hear that. Would you mind collecting the Crash/freeze logs https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/collect-logs-crash-freeze.html and sharing 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

[Marshall356087002d3n]

Hi Amal,

I do not get the Adoba crash dialogue box at all even after following appropriate steps. However, I was able to go through the RegEdit sequence that allows Adobe to create dump files upon crashing. I've posted 4 links below of 4 .dmp files that were produced when recreating the issue. Let me know if you have any problem accessing the .dmp file associated with each link. 

Acrobat.exe.8408.dmp

Acrobat.exe.26600.dmp

Acrobat.exe.25532.dmp

Acrobat.exe.23408.dmp

[Amal.]

Hi @Marshall356087002d3n 

Thanks for sharing the dmp files, i have shared them with our engineering team for review.

We will share the update as soon as we get any information.

Thanks for your time and cooperation

~Amal

[Marshall356087002d3n]

Hi Amal, Just checking in to see if you had any new information on this issue. -Marshall

[Amal.]

Hi there

Our engineering team is actively working on this and the fix will be available in the future updates.

Thanks for your time and patience

~Amal

[Stevet001]

Having this exact same issue! Started about a month ago. No solutions, just chiming in as another user with this happening. Often will work for a bit, then will start happening where the pdf shuts down as soon as you click a field to try and edit. After closing and reopening the files, reboots, etc, then sometimes it works again, but doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.

[John36109428hq93]

I have a user with the Exact same issue. Accessing files through a shared drive, but same issue. Shared drive works for other users with nearly identical setup.

[Amal.]

Hi there, 

Our engineering team is actively working on it. The fix will be available in the future updates.

Thanks for understanding.

~Amal

[Ariana36749579vz4s]

do we know yet when this is going to be repaired? Everytime I try to edit a form - the program shuts down 

[Amal.]

Hi there

We are sorry to hear that.

We do not have any fixed timeline as the issue is still under review. Please try the steps shared below and see if that works:

What is the version of the Acrobat DC you are using? To check the version go to Help > About Acrobat and make sure you have the recent version 24.02.20687 installed. 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-defau...

Hope it will help

~Amal

[Thorben38241278hz8t · Accepted solution]

I have the same issue but discovered something just now, that works at least as a semi-optimal fix.

If I open a file directly from the Windows Explorer, the issue occurs, Acrobat crashes as soon as I click a fillable field. If I however first open Acrobat manually and then open a document (either through the Acrobat UI or the Windows Explorer), I am able to fill the fields without problem.

Acrobat just always has to be open first for some reason

I hope this helps someone, at least until theres a fix for it

[Roger22229709jslv]

I just inistalled adobe reader and started using edge. Atleast edge will let me use the fillable pdf without crahsing.

[Jeff38500903tdd9]

Same thing happens to me today July 2024. When i try to edit the fill the document closes down automatically. No crash report. Absoultly nothing i can do. This is super annoying.

[shan38508106z6qv]

having the same issue with one of the users in our office.. she can see the file when she tries to edit it , she gets a message to view in one drive. when she clicks the one drive icon it takes her to her folder with a blank screen for the pfd. if she opens the pdf in acrobat via one drive she can view it but only has erase and highlight options and then it does nothing 

[Amal.]

Hi there

What is the version of the OS and the Acrobat DC you are using? To check the version go to Help > About Acrobat and make sure you have the recent version 24.02.2089x installed. Go to Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once.

Also, 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 Crash/freeze logs https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/collect-logs-crash-freeze.html share them via any cloud storage. Just upload the log file to the cloud and generate the link and share that link with us for further investigation.

Regards
Amal

[shan38508106z6qv]

we're running the latest on the our users systems, we run windows on hp devices 

[Amal.]

Hi there,

If you are using a work computer that is managed by your IT department, please reach out to your IT administrator. They will be able to raise a ticket on your behalf through the Admin console. This will ensure that your issue is addressed promptly by the dedicated support team.

~Amal

[wsbl3682503]

Is there a resolution yet? I have had many users with issues. They open the document from File explorer, they click on any editing tool and then try to make the change on the document. That is when Adobe freezes and then closes. I want to say they all have the standard version, which we downloaded from the website to install. 

I have been doing the following

1)  uninstalling adobe

2) deleting the adobe folders from the user files

       C:\Users\<user folder>\AppData\Local

       C:\Users\<user folder>\AppData\LocalLow

       C:\Users\<user folder>\AppData\Roaming

3) then reinstall with a new download from website. 

For most of them that has resolved the issue but I had a few that it happened again.. 

I ended up showing them this work around..

[Stephen29843303bunf]

  The above answer, wiping the Adobe files from all 3 of the Users Profile -> App Data folders is the best fast fix for now. If you have the time, a full Profile wipe and Rebuild may need to be done in extreme cases. I have used both.

  This reflects a corruption of the Adobe file folders after the User has worked on a corrupted PDF file(s) due to Long file names, email sending, ect..

[karl_2711]

I have been able to resolve this issue for multiple users where I work by doing a complete uninstall of Adobe and re-installing the latest one. 

[analytical_fireball4636]

I am having the same issues.  I used to be able to edit a fillable PDF and save and then re-edit and save as.  Now it keeps crashing if it is on our server.  I have had IT uninstall and re-install but to a 32 bit instead of 64.  Issues still persist.  IT has whiped out my computer as well and also changed computers.  Issues still persist.