I have been getting the "acrobat fail to send a DDE command"

[williamc98188164]

I have a Toshiba, Windows 10 and have had Acrobat Pro XI for about three years.  Several months ago, I had this problem and someone in India (with Adobe) fixed it.  Then it happened again a couple of months ago, and someone (from Adobe support) in India said he fined it and added another program to it.  THAT caused me all kinds of trouble and I got rid of it.  NOW, I cannot get ANYONE FROM ADOBE TO HELP!!!!!  I guess they do not do phone support any more.  I am not very Techy, and I do need HELP!

[Rave · Accepted solution]

Hi William,

Please try the solutions given below:-

Solution 1) (This error occurs when you have more than 1 process of Acrobat running)

• 1) Go to the task manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del
• 2) Go to the processes in Task Manager
• 3) End all processes related to Acrobat
• 4) Launch Acrobat again.

Solution 2) Open Acrobat navigate to Help menu & Repair the installation.

Solution 3) Check the file association on your system.

Solution 4) Navigating to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\acrobat\shell\open\ddeexec\application and changing the Key "AcroviewA11"  to  "AcroviewR11.

Also check what the Log On properties of the Remote Procedure Call service, on the workstation giving this error set to.

I've seen users resolving the issue by setting the 'Log on as' to 'Local System account' with the 'Allow service to interact with desktop' checked.

Regards,

Rave

[torstent96046893]

Hi

I am running Adobe Reader 11.0.19 in our Citrix XenApp environment

I have a lot of users getting this "Acrobat failed to connect to a DDE Server"

When they get the error, a lot of AcroRd32.exe processes are running for that user.

Killing the processes solves it until next time...

Adobe Reader 11.0.19 is a fresh installation in the environment.

I tried to change Acroview11 to R11 in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\acrobat\shell\open\ddeexec\application but users still gets this error.

What does this error mean exactly?

Really confusing.

/ Torsten

[LizzieDe]

Well it's Nov 2019 and I just had that same issue.  Thanks to your post I have sorted it in 5 minutes.  You do have to close ALL related processes in the Task Manager though so be careful one hasn't passed your attention.  The list refeshes when you end a task so be vigilant.  I just did that, ended all tasks associated with Acrobat and opened it again and it worked!  Happy Days.  Thanks Say-hi-2-Ravi!

[Guest]

I just started having this problem two days ago with the error message about acrobat failed to connect to DDE server.  I would click on a PDF after downloading and nothing would happen.  Just used your method in the task manager and it worked.  Thanks!

[Guest]

Está é a  primeira vez que estou tendo contato dessa forma com Adobe.com. Então essas perguntas não foram feitas por mim!!

Por favor, você pode me ajudar como exportar o PDF? Ah! Eu botei a data de hoje como 12/12/2016  , sendo que na verdade é 11/12/2016. Tem que arrumar a data ou vocês corrigem ? ? Estou vendo que o meu conteúdo foi salvo pela última vez às 10:05 am

Obrigada.

[daniel223]

Why doesn't Adobe just fix their damned system? I've had this problem for the past couple of years (+ / -), removed and reinstalled the DC reader SEVERAL times and the problems are still here. First, Adobe won't seem to open a document (won't display, so I keep trying), I can't fix the problem in windows because several Adobe windows are open (but they don't show in windows 10) and then someone (like in this forum) comes up with a work around/patch to fix what Adobe should have fixed in the first place. What kind  of company and customer service is this anyway?

[jacka20086254]

xworthless

[ChetanMistry]

All,

I have tried solution 1 and 2, neither work, im wasting my day here.

Give me a solution and make it clear: The below is utter gibberish to me. SORT IT OUT.

• 3) End all processes related to Acrobat
• 4) Launch Acrobat again.

Solution 2) Open Acrobat navigate to Help menu & Repair the installation.

Solution 3) Check the file association on your system.

Solution 4) Navigating to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\acrobat\shell\open\ddeexec\application and changing the Key "AcroviewA11"  to  "AcroviewR11.

[stevel50734354]

I have the same problem. Windows 10, using Edge

[AshuMittal]

Hi all,

Sorry for the inconvenience.

We are aware of this issue and the fix is currently undergoing internal validations. We will confirm once the patch is available for general public.

Thanks,

-ashu

[Shelby5EAC]

It's the year 2021 and this problem STILL EXISTS!!! 

This thread is from 2017, that is at least 3 years ago Adobe!

[Shelby5EAC]

Remove Adobe from you computer then reinstall it. 

You'll need to have your 16+ code to reinstall.

Good luck.

[AshuMittal]

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.

Thanks for your patience and support!

-ashu

[jaymeb40873289]

When should users actually start receiving this update automatically? Right now, or will it auto-update in a day or so? Thanks

[AshuMittal]

Hi jaymeb40873289​

Yes, update is available with immediate effect, and based on some variables (last update check on user's machine etc.), the update would get applied within next 3-4 days.

Thanks,

-ashu

[Mark-in-Va]

I had this same problem happen with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (2019), and a Brother 8150DN multi-function unit, after a new install on a Windows 10 tablet. I tried to scan but nothing happened, and Acrobat seemed to freeze up. When I used Windows Task Manager to stop Acrobat, I saw the failed to send a DDE command message.  The Acrobat navigate to Help menu & Repair the installation seemed to resolve it.

[stevel50734354]

Thanks Ashu

Manually updated Acrobat DC and it's working for me now

[AshuMittal]

Thanks for confirming stevel50734354​! Very glad to hear that.

-ashu

[Andreas Jansson]

This error – Acrobat failed to send a DDE command – has been showing for the last few days, when running a C# program that calls the Acrobat engine. We've got the Acrobat 10.0 Type LIbrary as a reference in the C# project.

This has never been an issue before (several years).

I updated the Creative Cloud app, I believe from ver. 4.8.2.435 to 4.8.2.476, then uninstalled Acrobat DC, and I also ran the Acrobat Cleaner Tool, that removed some Acrobat related things from the registry and files on disk that the uninstaller had left or that were from an older Acrobat installation.

After installing Acrobat the error dialogue window still shows up.

My current Acrobat.exe file version is 19.12.20034.1161 with a date modified of May 3rd 2019 4:33 AM.

Could it be that this error somehow has been reintroduced?

Or is it just on my computer..?

[cladoselache]

I have identical error! Windows 10 'patch' problem?

[Andreas Jansson]

For me, these errors were caued by droplets from an older version of Acrobat, and my guess is that they were making use of actions that are no longer available, or that have been changed, in the latest version of Acrobat. I had to find the original description of what the droplets were supposed to do (all steps) and then make new droplets from scratch, using the latest Acrobat software. Then there have been no errors. So it seems this was due to backward compatibility issues with version of Acrobat that was made available in spring or early summer 2019. If you get this when using droplets that are a few years old, it may be the same case for you.

[SaurabhRaj]

Yeah, it could be windows patch problem, i have also come across with same error while opening the PDF document, SOLUTION for this problem is to CANCLE all the adobe or Acrobat related process from task bar once done, try to open pdf doc, it helped me to fix DDE Server error

[James22628163fvml]

Well now its 2024 and i have the latest 64 bit Adobe which i pay thorugh the nose for and this problem is still happening...not to mention the crappy new UI they keep trying to force on me and the myriad of freezes and crashes and weird functionality losses.... if there were an adequate repacement...