Skip to main content
D
ddewire
Participant
June 24, 2009
Answered

Word pdf object problem

  • June 24, 2009
  • 7 replies
  • 242358 views

Acrobat Pro 9.1/Word 2007/WXP

I have multiple users who are unable to open embeded PDF objects in a word document.  When they click the icon, they get "The program used to create this object is AcroExch.  That program is not installed on your computer...".  This problem didnt appear until we upgraded everyone to v9 but I cant say for sure they were embedding pdfs prior to that.

I have repaired Office 2007, reinstalled Acrobat Pro, confirmed that HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AcroExch.Document.7\shell\Open\command really is pointing to "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 9.0\Acrobat\Acrobat.exe" "%1" and that that app does run.  The users are able to open the actual PDF files.  Other PDFs embeded on the same document work.  This is not limited to just one PDF either, there are multiple embeded PDFs that are not working.  I have also noticed that sometimes the embeded PDF will open once, then if you close it and reopen it, Word gives you the same error.  How it can work one time and then tell me the it can find AcroExch the next I dont understand.  Ive also tried to open some of these documents with Reader 9 installed on a clean test PC and they do the same thing.

I considered the possibility that the doc was somehow corrupt but inserting the PDF into a new document has the same result.  Any ideas why it would tell me AcroExch is not installed regardless of whether Acrobat Pro or Reader is actually installed and why some embeded PDFs would work and some wouldnt?  If a reinstall of both Office and Acrobat doesnt fix this and it occurs on a clean install, how do I fix it?

Any help is appreciated. 

*** Update***

It would appear that if I open those specific PDFs in Pro, resave them, then reembed them in Word, this problem does not occur.  After inquiring further, those specific PDFs where created via a Sharpdesk scan from copier to PDF feature.  Why they can be opened with Reader/Pro directly but cant be opened as embeded PDFs in word without being resaved I dont know.      

      This topic has been closed for replies.
      Correct answer dbpage1

      This resolved this problem for me:

      1. Click Edit > Preferences...

      2. Click General

      3. Click Select Default PDF Handler

      4. Select Adobe Product: Adobe Reader X (10.0.1)

      5. Click Apply

      7 replies

      M
      Matt5C58
      Participant
      September 18, 2020

      Hi all,

               This has been driving me crazy as well but I've come across a slightly different solution that seems to fix it.

      Initially I was having issues with dropping .pdf's into Word as Word was opening them rather than adding them as an embedded icon, so I fixed them with a pretty simple registry tweak (below). This also seems to fix this above inability to open .pdf's embedded in Word on a recipient's computer as it changes the way the .pdf's are embedded (they now go in as a "Packager Shell Object" rather than an "Acrobat Document", which I understand means that it opens it on the recipient's computer with any .pdf viewer rather than having to be the same/similar? version of .pdf viewer to the one you have installed on your machine)

       

      Firstly open Regedit and with F3 search your registry for "AcroExch.Document."

      It'll come up with a few results but look at the version number that's on the end.  In my case it was AcroExch.Document.2017.

      Now create a new text file and insert the following into it

      Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

      [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\AcroExch.Document.2017]

      [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\AcroExch.Document.2017\PackageOnFileDrop]

      But change the 2017 to whatever you found in your search.

      Change your text file from .txt to .reg and click on it to add it in to the registry.

      Afterwards it should mean you can add/embed any .pdf in to a Word .docx by just drag and drop (it'll appear just as an icon) and also hopefully be openable by any recipient so long as they have a .pdf viewer of some variety installed on their machine.

       

      C
      CLehan
      Participating Frequently
      August 11, 2011

      I'm still having this problem.

      I've updated to 10.1.0, I've tried unchecking the "Enable Startup" option, I've tried the advanced option one where I select Adobe 10.1.0 as my default.

      I still can't embed a PDF in a word document and receive the same error as when we had Adobe 9.

      Anyone have any other ideas?

      Thanks in advance,

      Cheryl

      D
      dbpage1Correct answer
      Participant
      June 28, 2011

      This resolved this problem for me:

      1. Click Edit > Preferences...

      2. Click General

      3. Click Select Default PDF Handler

      4. Select Adobe Product: Adobe Reader X (10.0.1)

      5. Click Apply

      A
      Anonymous
      February 25, 2011

      We have experienced a similar problem recently and while the answers provided seem to address the issue, a much simpler solution can be found on http://community.spiceworks.com/topic/119912.

      We have tested this within our environment and it worked perfectly first time...

      Disabling Protected Mode in Adobe Reader X

      1. Open Adobe Reader X.
      2. From Edit menu select Preferences, Preferences dialog box appears.
      3. Select General category on the list, uncheck or remove tick mark for “Enable protected mode at startup”
      4. Simply Close and reopen the application and the embedded object should now open perfectly
      S
      Stephan Gee
      Participant
      March 4, 2011

      Hello,

      we already deployed Adobe Reader X and getting phone calls about this problem.

      Is Adobe aware of this problem and will there be a fix ? Would be nice if someone of the Adobe support team could reply to this thread.

      Greets

      Stephan

      V
      Viqua
      Participant
      January 6, 2011

      We've got thousands of documents that don't work as of Reader 9.x because of this bug.  Has anyone found an easy fix for Windows 7?  I tried the registry keys mentioned previously, but they did not help.  I'd prefer not to have our standard install procedure to be "install Reader 8 and then upgrade to reader X"...

      R
      rdouch
      Participant
      May 18, 2010

      I know this is an old post but we have been experiencing the same problem since rolling out reader 9.3 on PCs that did not have a previous version of the Adobe Reader.

      Found the solution was some missing registry entries (below)...  Hope it may help someone.

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AcroExch.Document\CurVer]
      @="AcroExch.Document.7"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}]
      "AppID"="{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}"
      @="Adobe Acrobat Document"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\AuxUserType]

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\AuxUserType\2]
      @="Acrobat Document"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\AuxUserType\3]
      @="Adobe Acrobat 8.0"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DataFormats]
      @=""

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DataFormats\GetS et]

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DataFormats\GetS et\0]
      @="Embed Source,1,8,1"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DataFormats\GetS et\1]
      @="14,1,64,1"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DataFormats\GetS et\2]
      @="8,1,1,1"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DataFormats\GetS et\3]
      @="Link Source,1,4,1"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DataFormats\GetS et\4]
      @="NotesDocInfo, 1, 1, 2"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DataFormats\GetS et\5]
      @="NoteshNote, 1, 1, 1"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DataFormats\GetS et\6]
      @="3, 1, 32, 1"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DataFormats\GetS et\7]
      @="2, 1, 16, 1"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DataFormats\GetS et\8]
      @="Rich Text Format, 1, 1, 1"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DefaultExtension ]
      @=".pdf, PDF Files (*.pdf)"

      [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\DefaultIcon]
      @="C:\\WINDOWS\\Installer\\{AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A93000000001}\\PDFFile_8.ico ,0"

      ..ooOOoo..

      G
      galaxy2002
      Participant
      July 13, 2010

      I have this exact same issue on a couple systems.  Both are XP Pro SP3 running Office 2007.

      I haven't been able to find a permenant fix, however, a workaround that I found is to leave Adobe Reader running empty and then try opening the PDFs and they work perfectly fine.  If Adobe Reader is not running in the background I get the error again.

      "The server application, source file, or item cannot be found. Make sure the application is properly installed, and that it has not been deleted, moved, or renamed."

      I cannot reproduce this issue on my own system running the same software.

      Has anyone else found a fix?

      G
      galaxy2002
      Participant
      July 15, 2010

      I was able to resolve this on my own.

      The fix:

      -uninstall Adobe Reader 9.3.3

      -install Adobe Reader 8.x (I used 8.1.1)

      -issue is gone

      -upgrade back to Adobe Reader 9.3.3

      -issue is still gone

      Seems that the newer Adobe Reader installer may be missing some registry keys.

      E
      Ef_RevolutionIT
      Participant
      November 10, 2009

      Hi,

      I've just read your issue since I was experiencing the same problem. What I've done is removing the old key (AcroExch.Document) leaving the AcroExch.Document.7 alone.

      I've also removed AcroExch, and AcroExch.pdfxml to be sure and somehow I was able to attach and open files from MS word.

      I wish I have read your issue before, but I've just found the problem yesterday and solve it today starting with your hints.

      Thanks!

      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
      Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices