Adobe Community: "Compile Error in Hidden Module: Distmon"

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1. (MarkATS),

Jan 30, 2007 1:40 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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Remove all instances of the PDFMaker.dot and PDFMaker.xla files from \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office version/Startup folder and reinstall PDFMaker using the Help > Detect and Repair menu option in Acrobat.

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2. (dork_92618),

Feb 1, 2007 11:03 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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That didn't work for me.

The first part, remove the PDFMaker.* files, was on the MS support site. My Office Startup Folder didn't contain either of those files to begin with.

I did the Repair option under the help menu but, that wasn't the cure.

I wonder if it had something to do with my uninstall of v7 before my install of v8?

I'm going to uninstall and reinstall v8.

Thanks

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3. (dork_92618),

Feb 1, 2007 3:09 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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The reinstall didn't stop the error.

Guess I have a goblin!

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4. (joshmon19),

Feb 22, 2007 8:23 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I have this same problem after installing Adobe pro. 8. Are there any solutions out there?

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5. (Nat_Strickland),

Mar 5, 2007 12:36 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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So, apparently Adobe isn't talking on this at all..... I have three computers with the same issue, I am about two steps from stopping all updates to Adobe and using some other form of similar software. I can get fine PDFCreators from several sites around the world, and they all work fine. Acrobat 8 Pro cost us some money, and has some great features, but if we can't get this resolved, we will downgrade and begin looking elsewhere.

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6. (B._Carey),

Mar 6, 2007 11:53 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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Remember when you search for the files to enable the search tool to show hidden and system files or you may not find what you are looking for... fix worked for me just fine

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7. (nick_ca),

Mar 27, 2007 9:51 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I am also having the same problem. I completely un-installed the PDFmaker addin and I am still getting the same error message. If anyone ever finds a solution to this, please post in the thread!

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8. (Robert_Caspe),

Apr 5, 2007 3:37 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I got the same error (..Compile error.. DISTMON) when launching XL. I'm running Office 2007 and recently upgraded Acrobat 6.0 to 8.0, which I believe caused the error.

I then did two things:

First, under the control panel, Add/Remove Programs, I removed "acrobat 6.0 upgrade" which did not seem to be removed automatically by the 8.0 installer.

Then, I found the "pdfmaker.xla" file in C:/program files/microsoft office/office11/xlstart and deleted it (also deleted one in ../recent but I don't know if it matters. (I may have an error in my recollection here, it might have been in the folder OFFICE12 instead of OFFICE11 but neither any longer has an .XLA file in it (they are completely empty).)

Then, I reinstalled the 8.0 DVD and selected "INSTALL" and "REPAIR". I then waited patiently about 15 minutes for the install and...

Voila.. it worked and removed the error. Thanks.

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9. (David_A_Smith_PE),

Apr 12, 2007 7:50 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I had the same problem and could not find the PDFMaker.xla until I checked the search box under advanced to look for hidden files and folders as B. Casey noted above. I found two of the files under documents and settings. After I deleted them the problem with XL went away. I then did detect and repair and it is still ok.

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10. (David_P._Hahn),

Apr 25, 2007 9:01 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I called Adobe first for support... Actually I opened a web case first with the Customer Service section and they replied and said to contact Tesh Support. I opened a web case with Tech Support and they replied and said to contact Customer Service so that's when I called.

Long story short the tech dept did not have the answer and after an hour of troublshooting he said it was an issue with MS. I didn't buy that answer.

The above worked and it seems to be an Adobe issue not MS - maybe the Adobe tech team should have someone checking the forums so they can update their knowledge tree.

dph

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11. (Nod-e),

Apr 26, 2007 2:14 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I also upgraded to Adobe Acrobat 8 over Microsoft Office 2007. I just removed the file:Program Files/Microsoft Office/Office12\XLSTART and that completely resolved the problem - no need for any other action.
I remember this happening a few years ago upgrading to Acrobat 5? would think Adobe would have their act together by now and done some decent testing before release so their tech support people were prepared for the inevitable...

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12. (Summer_Folsom),

May 3, 2007 11:31 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I am having the same problem today. Not having any luck though trying the suggestions here. I first did a search for the two files PDFMaker.dot and PDFMaker.xla They do not exist, have hidden files to show.

I've tried both Adobe 8.0 and Office XP repair. That didn't make any difference. Uninstalled then reinstalled 8.0. No difference.

The odd thing is it's only doing this with one profile on the computer. Tried all of these with the different profiles, still didn't help.

Any thoughts?

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13. (Ronnie_Pincus),

May 7, 2007 12:00 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I followed Nod-e's suggestion. My XLStart folder was empty (didn't contain any pdfmaker files). I just renamed it to _XLStart and problem disappeared.

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14. (Ronnie_Pincus),

May 7, 2007 12:24 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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Well, on next boot the same error message appeared. I tried deleting the empty XLStart folder (instead of renaming), but it didn't help.
Sorry for any false hope. I did send an email to Adobe Tech Support, but I'm not very hopeful.

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15. (BobS),

May 7, 2007 10:01 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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YAY! I followed Robert Caspe's instructions (with the following exceptions) and it worked. THANKS, my brain won't explode now!

1. Didn't remove "acrobat 6 upgrade" (don't even know if it's there)
2. Deleted PDFMaker.dot and PDFMaker.xla files from both OFFICE11 and XLStart folders
3. Didn't reinstall 8.0, just opened it and went to Help/Repair Adobe Reader Installation. It took about 45 seconds.

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16. (Trent_Ridder),

May 23, 2007 7:21 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I also had a similar problem, but found that my pdfmaker.dot and pdfmaker.xla files were not in the program files tree. Instead they resided in the documents and settings tree, with one instance in every user account on the computer.

Removing them all and performing the repair option as above cured the error.

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17. (jhooda),

Jun 13, 2007 12:16 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I deleted these two files and it worked: C:Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART\PDFMaker.xla C:Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Recent\PDFMaker.xla.LNK --jsh

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18. (C_Bolger),

Jun 29, 2007 4:04 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I recently upgraded to Acrobat 8 from Ac 6 and started getting "compile error...distmon" everytime I launched or closed Excel(MS Office 2003). Google pointers to MS, Symantec, and Adobe support pages were useless. Then I landed on this page, did a search on C: for pdfmaker.xla, found 2 copies, and deleted both. Error message is now gone and the convert xls file to pdf button in Excel still works. No need to reinstall or repair Adobe 8. Thanks everyone for your posts!

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19. (Lisa_Girard),

Jul 20, 2007 7:00 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I deleted c:\program files\adobe\acrobat 8.0\pdfmaker\office\PDFMExcel.dll and c:\documents and settings\user\application data\microsoft\office\recent then restarted Excel and it ran through a self installer and worked fine with no error. I closed it and reopened to make sure it was fixed and there was no further error. Thanks for all the input everyone.

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20. (Anatoly_Tkach),

Aug 5, 2007 11:22 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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For those unsuccessful with the above solutions, pls try to locate and delete the following files:
C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\pdfmaker.xla, and/or
C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\pdfmaker.dot

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21. (Anatoly_Tkach),

Aug 5, 2007 11:25 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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Correction - the correct passes are as follows:
C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART\pdfmaker.xla, and/or
C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP\pdfmaker.dot

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22. (Robert_H_Marshall),

Sep 9, 2007 1:29 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I tried all the fixes without success until I realised that there were two instances of the file pdfmaker.xla
1. under C:\Program Files\etc\
2. under C:\Documents and Settings\...\Excel\etc\
as hinted in the above posts. I deleted both and the hash of distmon has been settled once and for all.
The main question is: "Why do I find this error so annoying and spend stupid time trying to fix it?" Zeigarnik?

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23. (Jaime_Wolf),

Oct 29, 2007 3:39 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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dumb question: if I remove those pdfmaker files, will I still be able to render pdfs from Office programs??? thx

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24. (Hugo_E_Lopez_P),

Nov 7, 2007 7:26 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I deleted
\\machine\c$\Documents and Settings\kristo marinoff\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Recent\pdfmaker.xla.lnk and
\\kmachine\c$\Documents and Settings\kristo marinoff\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\pdfmaker.xla

... just as jhooda mentioned, and voila!

Also removed the acrobat 6 update but just to keep the workstation clean.
Regards!

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25. (Jaime_Wolf),

Nov 7, 2007 11:24 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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Hey Hugo- Do you know if it messed up anything in your Acrobat program or not- see my question above?

thanks,
Jaime

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26. (Rick_Gohn),

Nov 18, 2007 11:28 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I recently purchased a new lap top and transferred some files from my old one - I began getting the "Compile Error: DISTMON" whenever I tried to access any .xls files. Thanks to my Brother (who suggested I check this site) and the advice posted above I solved the problem. I deleted the pdfmaker.xla file and Adobe 6.0. The new laptop already had Adobe 8.0 installed. Many thanks on solving this extremely aggravating problem.

Rick G.

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27. (ssouda1),

Dec 25, 2007 8:54 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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IT WORKED. I Deleted "PDFMaker.xla" and "PDFMaker.dot" from all the instances as mentioned by jhooda and Robert Caspe.

The only thing for a layman like me is to know that these were in the hidden mode. Go to Tools/Folder Options/ View and click the video button to show the hidden folders and files.

I also deleted previous versions of Adobe on my systems, don't think that made a difference.

It finally worked,I am not going to pull my hair out now.....

Adobe WAKE UP ! It is your problem and not MS.

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28. (T_Constable),

Jan 9, 2008 2:17 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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Very nervous computer-user here - sorry if I'm in the wrong place but the problems seem to be related. I tried to speed up my computer by removing some programs. I took out Adobe 5.0, I think it was, because I've got Adobe Acrobat 6.0 and Adobe Reader 7.0. But now when I open or close a Word file, i get this message: "Compile error in hidden module: AutoExec." I've searched for the .dot and .xla files but can't find any. When I click 'help' it says "A protected module can't be displayed. This error has the following cause and solution: There is a compilation error in the code of the specified module, but it can't be displayed because the project is protected. Unprotect the project, and then run the code again to view the error." This means nothing to me...
I don't know what to do - this is beyond my usual simple computer use, plus I work writing from home so don't have any tech support. This stuff makes me fear my own computer! Thanks in advance

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29. (Aandi_Inston),

Jan 10, 2008 11:56 AM in reply to (T_Constable)

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If you uninstall Acrobat or Reader it will damage whatever is left -
so don't do that! Since you did do that, reinstall the other ones.
Note that Adobe do not recommend having both Acrobat and Reader
installed.

Aandi Inston

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30. (T_Constable),

Jan 11, 2008 12:40 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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Thanks so much for your answer, Aandi. I'm still confused though. What should I reinstall? I've still got Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Professional and Adobe Shockwave Player. And should I remove Reader 7.0.9 altogether if it's not a good idea to have both Acrobat and Reader? Whatever is on here came with the computer when I got it last year. Thanks, Tamsin

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31. (Aandi_Inston),

Jan 14, 2008 12:48 AM in reply to (T_Constable)

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Essentially: if it works, don't mess with it!

If it stops working, uninstall all Adobe Reader and Acrobat products
and reinstall what you need. (Of course, make sure you have all the
disks and serial numbers you need to do that before uninstalling! Note
that you will need the original Acrobat serial number printed on the
CD case).

Aandi Inston

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32. (Jenny_Kim),

Jan 17, 2008 3:58 PM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I had this same issue and instead of the STARTUP directory I went into the XLSTART found in my C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\XLSTART (this may vary depending on where you installed Office. The was a Adobe Template file in this directory. I removed it and it fixed the issue.

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33. (T_Constable),

Jan 18, 2008 11:44 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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To Jenny Kim
From me in Yorkshire in the UK to wherever you are, it worked, thank you! TC

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34. (Steve_Oglesby),

Jan 23, 2008 9:32 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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My environment is Office Pro 2007 and Adobe Acrobat 8 Standard under XP Pro SP2.

I tried all the above methods, to no avail. For some reason it kept finding the module and posting the error - both at startup and again at shutdown. I did not delete the module, but rather renamed it, once with a .rmv extension, then another time with rmv as the prefix for the name. I've been bit removing things before, and have learned to rename instead of delete.

Here's what worked for me:

Starting at C:, I searched for "pdfmaker" - without the xla extension. It not only found the module location itself - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\XLSTART - but found several shortcuts to it in various places.
I moved the module from it's location out to my desktop, then deleted all the shortcuts I found.
I went through the installed repair procedure with Adobe 8 Standard and the error finally disappeared.

Thanks to the forum for identifying the module.
Hope this helps someone else.

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35. (B._Rosati),

Feb 29, 2008 5:26 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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Deleted the folder:

\\Computername\c$\Documents and Settings\UserFolder\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART

and it works!!

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36. (Andrey-1),

Mar 18, 2008 1:39 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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I deleted these two files and it worked:

C:Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART\PDFMaker.xla

C:Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Recent\PDFMaker.xla.LNK

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37. (ebeb),

Apr 6, 2008 7:58 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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re: Install error PDFX1aSet_PSR_ gravure

Greetings,

My installation of Acrobat Pro 6.0 hangs when it can't find the file PDFX1aSet_PSR_ gravure.pdf. Any ideas about how to fix?

Context clues:
- Acrobat was running fine (as would have the install CD, I believe) until I removed Acrobat due to an unrelated issue using the Windows Install Cleanup program.
- I've uninstalled and reinstalled Reader 8.0; no effect
- The error is also temporally related to getting the following error when opening and closing Excel: "..compile error.. autoexecnew," then "distmon," respectively. I attempted this solution, but failed:
http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx/.3bc307c7
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=307410
- I've uninstalled and reinstalled Office 2003; run repair w/in Excel; no effect
- In Internet Explorer, I can open a PDF successfully, but the following error also appears: "One or more Adobe PDF extensions are disabled. This may impact how PDFs are displayed... enable add-ons [in IE]." However, all the Adobe add-ons are already enabled in IE.

Thanks very much for your ideas.

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38. (NLambert),

Apr 8, 2008 9:26 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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If you're on a network (at work especially) check with your Administrator to see if you are using a roaming profile or have your desktop re-directed.

I have had this issue with some users in my network running Acrobat 8.1 and Office 2003 on brand new machines.

The solution was to remove the following:

\\ \\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART\PDFMaker.xla

\\ \\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Recent\PDFMaker.xla.LNK

\\ \\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Recent\PDFMaker.dot

No detect/repair in Adobe, or reboot necessary. Just opened up Excell and it worked. And yes, I was still able to create PDF files from Office documents after the removal.

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39. (NLambert),

Apr 8, 2008 9:29 AM in reply to (dork_92618)

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ebeb - try removing Reader 8.0 from your machine. If you have Pro 6.0 these sometimes conflict with each other.

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"Compile Error in Hidden Module: Distmon"

Jan 30, 2007 10:58 AM

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