Unable to open PDFs in SharePoint Online

[laurah14081032]

We have run into issues opening some PDF files from SharePoint Online when using Chrome (see screenshot).  We have the Adobe Document Cloud add in installed in our tenant.  The PDFs in question can be opened in the browser without Adobe Document Cloud in Edge and by clicking Open > Open in browser while in the document library using Chrome.  The PDFs in question can also be opened by Adobe Reader after downloading the PDF from the document library.  Is this a known issue?  Is there something we can do to the PDFs to fix the issue?  Or is the only work around to open the PDF in the browser or download it and open in Adobe Reader?

[Carla Hobson]

Hi @Joshua5CD9 . I am having the same problem. Did the above solution work for you? Thanks for sharing any insights or experience you have!

[Joshua5CD9]

Sadly, no ─ I uninstalled & then reinstalled over the weekend (or next) from the date of my reply post. After learning that my reset didn't work, I then set my user with explicit (default access) permissions in Azure / Enterprise applications. When we learned that this change didn't work, I reset it again over that weekend, and it hasn't worked for all that time for my 1 user out of many. Just the other day, I had another user tell me that it stopped working, where it once had.

I don't know what else to do but wait until Adobe and Microsoft agree that something is broken and come to an agreement to fix it together. Until then, my now two users will just download the files they need to see/print, or choose to open the files in-browser for viewing. The whole reason we chose this route is because our complex drawings don't print correctly if we're just using the browser, and it can be quite an inefficient process to visit our SharePoint online, download the PDF file, open it in Adobe, print, retrieve the document(s) from the machine, and then remove the downloaded file back at our desk.

So to conclude, my issue is not fixed. Two people have gone overboard, but we will continue sailing this broken ship until enough of us have problems or get tired of them altogether. If/when that time comes, we will probably scrap the idea and go back to the inefficient method, unless it suddenly starts working again or the resolution is communicated. At this point, we still have enough users who are able to use Document Cloud and print our necessary files, so I'm not too worried about it right now.

That's my story. Thanks for reaching out, sorry I don't have any suggestions.

[Carla Hobson]

@Joshua5CD9 Thank you for taking the time to share this. I'm sorry to hear there isn't a solution yet, but the information you provided is very helpful and it's much appreciated.

[BrevAll_Techs]

Hello, we are having very similar issue, The apps are deployed for teh entire organization adn from a group of about 80-90 users at the moment 10 to 15 (that we know) are having this problem. 60 of the users are current DC Pro paying licenses. 

We've tried adding and removing the users and nothing changes. Opened a ticket with Microsof Premier and Microsoft pointed us to this thread adn Adobe Support. 

We can open the a file on the Same computer in a different browser session with one user but not with one of the users affected. Always tryign the same exact files, Once this error occurs no PDF files will open in the Adobe Cloud, as soon as this error shows up once in one file ti is broken for all the user PDF files in SharePoint.

[Rahul5E6F]

Hi @BrevAll_Techs 

Apologies for the inconvenience caused.

If I am correct, Adobe Document Cloud has been deployed at org level, While its visible to most of the users but not visible to few users.I am assuming you have waited for more than 48hrs for installation changes to reflect across the org. 
Also assuming, for impacted users its neither visible in Personal OneDrive nor Sharepoint PDFs.
Please, correct me if am missing anything.

Could you share the date timestamp when the installation was done.?

Could you elaborate the statements, that say the error impacts other users as well.
Appreciate if you could share screenshot/recording and fiddler logs for the same.(last 3 lines in your issue.)

Please share the screenshot/recording/fiddler logs to me ("Rahul Chauhan") via private message.

[BrevAll_Techs]

One of teh Error pages is in here. https://community.adobe.com/t5/adobe-acrobat-online-discussions/unable-to-open-pdf-in-cloud-docs-fro...

Now some users are sayign that it started to work but not for all of them.

This was setup around April or May this year.

I'm not sure how to send you a Private Message couldn't find your name.

[Rahul5E6F]

Hi @BrevAll_Techs ,

Thanks for shaing info via private chat.
Have provided my findings via private message to you .Kindly check and revert back.

Regards,
Rahul

[hstamps814]

Our company is having this same issue.  Me and a co-worker work off the same SharePoint page where we save, edit, and share access to the same files.  Our page is where we do and store all our day-to-day work files. We have it set up to handle all our purchaing and invoice processing, which worked great up until a week ago but only for my co-worker.  She began to receive the same exact error message as below ONLY after she was selected by our company to be one of the first ones to participate in the Microsof Multifunction Authenticity(MFA) sign in.  Ever since she signed in the first time with the MFA, she has not been able to open any of our SharePoint documents via the Adobe Document Cloud.  She can open them using the "Open in Browser" option but that does not give her the ability to "edit" , add text,  or orginze pages. (which is what we need to do to all our documents so that our AP deparment knows how to code each invoice and add packing lists)  She now has to check in/out each document to be able to add pages or edit/add text. I'm not sure if the MFA sign in has anything to do with it but thats when all the issues started.  I have not participated in the MFA sign in YET,  (but I will)   and I can still access the documents through the Adobe Document Cloud and edit.  I agree with Joshua5CD9, utill Adobe and Microsoft realize that there is an real issue here and fix it, instead of telling people to keep doing the same things over and over, that is not fixing the issue, we will be going back to doing our work the way we did before. (NOT USING ADOBE OR SHAREPOINT)  And YES, I have been through AZURE directory, the Enterprise Apps, added her, uninstalled, reinstalled, waited over 48 hours, still nothing!  There is a problem, something is broke and needs to be fixed.  It can't be a single issue when you have a forum full of people stating they are having the same issue and none of the solutions that are being given work.  There is probably hundreds more people and companies with this same issue but have not come to forums for anwsers.  This has been going on since the middle of last year and there is no real solutions YET?  

If there is ever a real solution, someone please let me know because I won't beleive it until I see it.

[MrsMMitchell]

I am also having this exact problem and just started happening about a week or two ago.  No one else in my organization has this issue, only me.  It has nothing to do with length of file names, all file names are very short.  And if I wait a little while, I can suddenly open files fine.  It just keeps happening intermittently throughout my work day.  Has any solution been discovered?

[Rahul5E6F]

Hi MrsMMitchell,

Could you please check now once again by logging out first and then trying the flow!!
Please share us the findings accrodingly.

Regards,
Rahul

[MrsMMitchell]

I have logged out and back in many many times, in fact I do that daily.  This issue is still happening.  

[hstamps814]

GUYS!!!!  I got it to work!  I had linked my sharepoint library to my one drive which I beleive is what caused the issues.  After talking through it with a co-worker, it hit me.  The files are being stored in one drive and when trying to open in sharepoint the "flow" is trying to go backwards. So I wanted to start at the source, OneDrive.  So, I opened up my OneDrive via 365 on the web and went to my sharepoint library that I had linked inside OneDrive.  The files opened right up in adobe cloud with access to edit and organize.  So I started my google searching again to try and figure out how to fix the "flow" of the documents in my sharepoint that are linked to OneDrive.  After searching for a bit,  I went back to my sharepoint to try and open the document to re-read the error message for the 1,000th time to refresh my memory on the verbage.  When I clicked to open the document, BOOM, it opened right up in adobe cloud just as it did in the beganing.  I am not totally sure how or want fixed the "flow" issue but it FREAKIN WORKS NOW!!!!  The only thing that i can rationalize in my mind is that the flow was cross wired or that it had 2 conflicting flows going on once I synced my Sharepoint documents to OneDrive and once they were opened through OneDrive on the 365 website (which I had never opened them through OneDrive that way before, only through my file explorer on my desktop) it some how corrected the flow or some how completed the sync.  I really hope this fixes everyone elses problem too because I know how much more time and energy having this feature back will save me.  

[Rahul5E6F]

Hi @MrsMMitchell ,

Sorry to hear that, Please share the requested info via private chat.

Regards,
Rahul

[Carla Hobson]

I am having the exact same problem. Also, I never had this problem until a week ago.

[Rahul5E6F]

Hi @Carla Hobson ,

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Is it not able to preview the PDFs in Adobe Document Cloud or facing issues with the Adobe Document Cloud Installation.

Regards,
Rahul

[CarlaHobson]

The problem appears to be fixed now for me. Here's what seems to have fixed it: My company recently migrated all existing Creative Cloud users from Adobe ID’s to Single sign-on, which meant we no longer logged in to Adobe through individual accounts but instead through our organization account. After that migration, files stored in SharePoint began opening in the Cloud again. I'm not sure what the underlying issue was, but the process of migrating seems to have fixed it.  

[kcdc-phill]

we recently started having same issue with random PDF files and random users. Confirmed it is not license related, confirmed it is not char size related and also confirmed it is not corrupted file related (if we download the file it will open just fine)

Is there any update on this ?

In some cases we are able to see the file but with very bad quality

Started happening once we enabled Adobe Cloud for our SPO

[kcdc-phill]

This is how some of the PDFs are opening in Adobe Cloud. If we download them or open in browser is all perfectly fine

[Rahul5E6F]

Hi @kcdc-phill ,

Did you try out the PDF on our Adobe Acrobat Desktop App. What's the behaviour then..?
Also, Is this error specific to any PDF or error prompts for all the PDFs in Adobe Document Cloud.

Also, If possible Please share me this PDF via private chat.
I'd check at my end also what's the issue.

Regards,
Rahul

[Rahul5E6F]

Hi @kcdc-phill ,

Apologies for the inconvenience caused.

Please help me understand the issue correctly.

• Random PDF Files : What error exactly are you getting..? Is this user specific..? 
• Random Users :  I am assuming Adobe Document Cloud is not visible to random users in both their Personal OneDrive & Sharepoint.Is this correct..?

Please answer the above queries.

Could you please share the screenshot/screenrecordings & fiddler logs to me via private chat.
It'd help me to debug it further.

Regards
Rahul

[kcdc-phill]

Hi Rahul

Thanks for the reply

Yes, checked with the Desktop App as stated above - the PDF opens perfectly fine there

I cannot share any of the files since hold sensitive information

The issue occurs with PDFs which are not in any way different than the others which are openning fine in the Cloud

PDFs were scanned and uploaded in the same process as always with only few minutes difference

Random users - means that the issues do not relate to anything specific in the user`s settings/access rights/licensing

All users have correct licensing and access rights to be able to check the PDF and then at the end this is what they are getting (the screrenshot from my previous post)

Any idea ?

[Daniel5E7D]

In my experience when you have those random issues, the only way to fix is to reinstall. Best to kick it off on a Friday evening as it can take a day or two to reinitialise. I've had to do it a few times already.

[kcdc-phill]

Hi Daniel

Tried that - removed Adobe Cloud from the tenant, waited 48 hrs, then deployed it again for all users (waited another 48hrs)

Downloaded the 'fuzzy' PDF file (opens perfectly fine on the PC), uploaded it again in a different site (shorter name)

Still opens same via Adobe Cloud

Any other ideas ? So far it looks to me that is doing this to a random files or at least I cannot find any correlate between "good" and "bad" files. But one is 100% sure - all of the files open perfectly fine when they are downloaded on whichever workstation

Any help will be appreciated