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kenk22709177
New Participant
February 5, 2016
Question

Can't open pdf on Mac

  • February 5, 2016
  • 17 replies
  • 60709 views

I am unable to view any pdfs with Adobe Acrobat Reader DC on my Mac.  The menu bar shows the file is open (file shows up when click on Windows in the menu bar).  When I right-click on the Reader icon in the Dock and select "show All Windows", my desktop is cleared of all other open programs and I see the open file name and a slice of an icon above the filename.  I can not click to open, enlarge it, etc.  This may be a Mac settings issue vs a Reader issue but either way, I can't figure it out.  I can open the file with Mac's Preview, but I lose not reader.  Thoughts to address?

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17 replies

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markm73303750
markm73303750
New Participant
August 29, 2016

I am having the same issue. I work with a bunch of developers and they cannot even figure out what the issue is. It started when I upgraded to el Capitan.

Ayush__Jain
Adobe Employee
Ayush__Jain
Adobe Employee
September 5, 2016

Hi  markm73303750  and briananas,

Can you please let me know if you are still facing this issue at your end?

Alternatively , Can you please try this:

Open a few files with Acrobat, go to Window -> Cascade -> Tile and see if that brings up the PDFs.

Also let us know if you are on a dual monitor system?

Thanks,

    markm73303750
    markm73303750
    New Participant
    September 6, 2016

    I'm still having the issue. Yes I am using a dual monitor system. Also, the Window -> Cascade -> Tile thing worked. However, if there is a better solution I'd love to hear it.

      T
      Test Screen Name
      Brainiac
      July 19, 2016

      You're the first to suggest this here. Exactly what is your operating system?

      J
      joelr93872432
      New Participant
      May 27, 2016

      I had the same issue. Opening a pdf file and choosing the option "tile >> vertically" on the window menu seems to have done the trick. So annoying. I also wasted hours on this one...

        V
        Adobe Employee
        varun_vinayak1
        Adobe Employee
        March 10, 2016

        Hi Kenk,

        Can you please follow the following steps so that we can get the logs which would help us in debugging the issue:-

        1. Make sure Reader is closed
        2. Launch Terminal and type the command:  “sudo sample Reader 30  –wait”  .  Enter the password if prompted to. A message will now be shown on terminal “Waiting for Reader to appear”
        3. Double click a pdf and wait for 1 minute
        4. Quit Reader

            5. Now data for Reader will be shown in the terminal window. Please copy this entire data into a text file and send it to me at [Moderator: Personal information removed: Switch to private messaging: How Do I Send Private Message ]

        Regards,

        Varun

        briananas
        briananas
        New Participant
        July 29, 2016

        I am experiencing the exact same issue. I was wondering if this issue was resolved?

        M
        michaelh69910611
        New Participant
        February 9, 2016

        I am having the exact same issue!

        joannem53884488
        joannem53884488
        New Participant
        February 9, 2016

        I have the same problem.  So frustrating. Wasted hours on this already. Any help is written in such a way its inaccessible to the average computer user. I'm just going to move away from Adobe and get another free PDF viewer.

          T
          Test Screen Name
          Brainiac
          February 9, 2016

          ‌I'm guessing it might be off screen. If you have Tile in the Window menu try that.

            joannem53884488
            joannem53884488
            New Participant
            February 9, 2016

            uninstalled and reinstalled.  Found tile menu - now working but is there a way to prevent having to go to tile menu every time? Thank you

            AadeshSingh
            Community Manager
            AadeshSinghCommunity Manager
            Community Manager
            February 5, 2016

            Hikenk22709177,

            Please let me know the exact dot version of Acrobat Reader DC & OS installed on your Mac?

            Try uninstalling & reinstalling Acrobat Reader DC Adobe - Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Distribution.

            Regards,
            Aadesh

            K
            kenk22709177Author
            New Participant
            February 5, 2016

            Aedesh,

            Adobe Acrobat Version 2015.010.20056

            Mac is El Capitan Version 10.11.3

            I have tried uninstalling & reinstalling Acrobat Reader DC but that did not help.

            Thanks,

            Ken

            K
            kenk22709177Author
            New Participant
            February 5, 2016

            Aedesh,

            I just uninstalled Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Version 2015.010.20056 and installed the older version of Acrobat Reader XI version 11.0.10 and everything is working fine.  I would still like to understand why the newer version won't work.

            Thanks,

            Ken

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