Some PDFs causing an error when opened with droplets run with Photoshop v25.9 or later

[Aaron Tipton]

I use Photoshop droplets to convert print PDFs exported from InDesign to JPGs for proofing. I'm getting an error on a handful of PDFs since updating to version 25.9.

"Could not open "filename.pdf" because this is not an Adobe Photoshop PDF image"

I reverted back to v25.7 and they process just fine. I don't see anything obviously different with these PDFs vs the others that don't cause an error.

I'm exporting as PDF v1.4, and I've tried exporting as v1.5, 1.6 and 1.7 but still getting the same error. If I export as v1.3 they process fine, but that involves flattening which is not an option for my workflow. 

I've isolated objects in the InDesign file that cause the issues, but there's no consistency. One file was using a placed PDF and the file processed fine when I left that out. Another file had a group of objects, specifically two circles, one on top of another with an image in one of them. When I simply nudged the top circle without the image up 1pt within the group, it ran fine. Another file had a group of objects for the logo that someone pasted multiple times in the same place. When I deleted the extra groups, it ran fine.

The droplet begins with an open command with "Open as smart object". I've been using droplets with these same commands for years with no issues. I've tested more recent versions of Photoshop including the most recent beta and they all still give that same error. 25.7 is the most recent version that doesn't have this issue.

Out of about 200 different PDFs, I've only gotten this error on 3 of them, so it's not a massive issue, but it's enough to keep me from running the latest update. I'm using the beta version to take advantage of other features when needed.

I'm attaching the 3 PDFs that don't process as well as 2nd versions of each one that do process after making the changes described above.

Any help or ideas would be appreciated, but this appears to be a problem in the more recent Photoshop versions vs changing how I build or export the ads from InDesign. Hoping ADOBE can investigate and fix this so I can update to the current version again.