Adobe Acrobat Reader cannot find a DDE server

[camm24704432]

I have an account with Adobe that is supposed to offer Adobe Export. The local version I run on my Windows 10 laptop is Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. Following a recent major Windows update I cannot open the Acrobat App at all. Eventually (5min or so later) an error re cannot find a DDE server comes up. I cannot open PDF files on my computer or from cloud storage. I can view PDF files in my web browser and I can preview them in Outlook when receiving them as attachments.

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling Acrobat but during uninstall it claims there are tasks running in Acrobat, despite Acrobat not appearing as an open App in Task Manager. I have tried the Acrobat DC Cleaner tool but it runs into the same problem as if the damaged App is preventing itself from being uninstalled. I have checked other FAQS but could not find a precise solution so any suggestions you can offer would be much appreciated.  Thanks.

[AnandSri]

Hello Camm,

We apologize for the inconvinience caused, as per the description above, you are getting an  error "Adobe Reader cannot find a DDE service", Is that correct?

Please try the following steps:

• Open Task Manager and kill/end all the process related to Adobe/Acrobat/Reader.
• Restart the computer.
• Use the Adobe Cleaner tool to uninstall any previous leftover of Reader, Use Cleaner tool Download Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool - Adobe Labs  Link: https://labs.adobe.com/downloads/acrobatcleaner.html Restart the machine again.
• Download and install the Reader from Adobe - Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Distribution  Link: https://get.adobe.com/reader/enterprise/

Check for any pending updates of Windows, download and install them and reboot the machine.

Hope this helps, and let us know how it goes.

Regards,

Anand Sri.

[camm24704432]

Thank you kindly. That solved the problem and along the way I discovered the Creative Cloud as well.

[AnandSri]

That's so awesome to hear. Give us a shout if you need any assistance with Acrobat/Reader in future.

Regards,

Anand Sri.

[Yatin · Accepted solution]

Hi all,

Adobe Acrobat and Reader official update containing the fix for this issue is now available. This update will be automatically pushed to all existing installations of Acrobat and Reader. If you want, you may also manually trigger the update by opening the application and going to Help > Check for Updates.

More information about this release is here: Acrobat Help | Release notes | Acrobat DC and Acrobat Reader DC | Update

Please try it out and let us know your feedback.

Regards,

Yatin