Problem opening some PDF files in Adobe Reader X & XI

[Steefan]

I have several PDF files that cannot be open in neither Adobe Reader X nor XI, in Win7 64-bit as well as Windows Server 2008 R2.  I have the message as shown below:

There was an error opening this document. The file is damaged and could not be repaired.

BUT the files are NOT damaged because I can open them with another software called XChange PDF Viewer.

Where can I file a bug to Adobe so they can fix the bug?

Thanks in advance.

[Steefan]

Nobody cares about this problem?  So disappointing....

[SumitV]

Hi Steefan,

Could you please try the steps provided in the link mentioned below:

http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/pdf-error-1015-11001-update.html

[Hyena]

SumitV, the link does not really help for non-tech users like me.  What is HKLM, where do I find it, what might I see when I get there, what would happen if I make a mistake in there?  All these need to be explained by Adobe (and others who try to help) than just dropping a link and saying "Go figure this on your own."  If Steefan can do that he wouldn't be on this forum.  Please explain in a clearer form what the incompetent Adobe tech support is trying to say in that link that you've posted.  That would be really helpful.

Thanks,

HS

[Hyena]

If you need help, we want to hear from you.

Get answers from experts 24/7.

This is what the website says.  We'll wait and see how many days it will take, if at all, for Adobe to respond to this request.

HS

[Test Screen Name]

It says experts. It doesn't say Adobe.

And it says 24/7 but doesn't promise anything about responses in a particular timeframe.

We're just ordinary people who help if we can, and if we feel like it.

Reponse to your question: if you don't know what HKLM is DO NOT ATTEMPT THE FIX. Seriously. You can leave your machine utterly catastrophically broken. Get an expert to help, preferably the server administrator.

Or, perhaps someone would share a REG file to do the job.

[Hyena]

Test Screen Name, I appreciate your response.  As you can see I was actually talking about Adobe, not SumitV per se.  Adobe's response is totally unhelpful.  The only thing I asked SumitV is that if he/she thinks that the link is helpful, he/she should try to explain it in a term that is helpful to a end user.  Otherwise Adobe should have just stated clearly that the response is for IT experts and not a lay person like I am.  I am knowledgable enough to be dangerous but I am testing this on a computer that can be junked if need be.

Even so Test Screen Name, what would the solution be?  I did a reg edit, and see HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>>SOFTWARE>>ADOBE>>ADOBE READER>>11.0 but beyond that I only see Installer, Language and InstallPath.

I've backed up my Registry file.

How can I edit the registry to reflect the changes that Adobe wants me to make on that link?  You help will  be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,

HS

[Steefan]

Hyena wrote:

[deleted]
Even so Test Screen Name, what would the solution be?  I did a reg edit, and see HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>>SOFTWARE>>ADOBE>>ADOBE READER>>11.0 but beyond that I only see Installer, Language and InstallPath.

Hi Hyena,

I think you're not alone if in your case.  In several computers of mine, I have NO "Adobe" under

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE

You could go to

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\.........

and create that "bValidateBytesBeforeHeader" value.

[Test Screen Name]

Steefan,  I agree with your diagnosis. That file does not meet the suggested criterion. Also PDF version is not an issue, PDF 1.0 is still entirely valid in the latest Reader. Thank you for the diagnosis. We hear from people with this problem but they never seem to get to the point of sharing a file for us to look at. Perhaps you can? You can't email it but you can put it on acrobat.com, your own web site, or another file sharing site. Or if the file came from the web, just post its URL.

There are issues with files which did not meet the rules of PDF in the first place. Some older versions of Acrobat accepted them, sometimes by accident. It's questionable whether rejecting these broken files is a bug or an improvement - depends on your perspective. There are also damaged files that need to be repaired; there are no standard rules for repairing, so some apps may and others may not repair. Still, we won't know unless we can see a file.

Very odd if that HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE doesn't appear on a Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 or later machine, but registry reflection could do it, I think, in 64-bit Vista/Server 2008.

[Steefan]

Test Screen Name wrote:

Steefan,  I agree with your diagnosis. That file does not meet the suggested criterion. Also PDF version is not an issue, PDF 1.0 is still entirely valid in the latest Reader. Thank you for the diagnosis. We hear from people with this problem but they never seem to get to the point of sharing a file for us to look at. Perhaps you can? You can't email it but you can put it on acrobat.com, your own web site, or another file sharing site. Or if the file came from the web, just post its URL.

The only files I remember which can't be opened are invoices which contain sensitive/important information.  So I'm not willing to upload them like this.

Let me see if I could change its content to replace sensitive strings to something like "XXXXXXX" without breaking the file's integrity.  Does PDF contain checksum which prevent it from being tampered with?

[Test Screen Name]

PDFs will be broken and you won't find the plain text anyway... Please let us know if you find a nonsensitive file.

If the problem PDFs are all from a single source (person, company, software) that itself is useful info and may be worth pursuing with the creator.

[Steefan]

Sorry, I cannot find any non-sensitive file for the moment.  I will get into trouble if I upload any of them.

And you're correct: I can't find those strings when I open it in a hex editor.  Is there any utility to let me remove some texts without changing file headers and other properties?

For all my invoice files, they are all generated by the same company.  It's "Free Telecom", an ISP and mobile phone company in France.  But not all invoice files have this issue.  This issue only happens recently, and only happens to invoice generated for ISP, but not for mobile phone.

Here are some more technical info:

If I open the files in PDF-XChange Viewer, I can view some properties.

I have

PDF Producer:  PDF::API2 0.73 [linux]

The following image shows some remaining properties which are too much to type:

Hope this helps

[Steefan]

So, how can we advance in this problem?

[Test Screen Name]

I can see no way to advance without files that can be publicly shared. Sorry.

[Steefan]

Test Screen Name wrote:

I can see no way to advance without files that can be publicly shared. Sorry.

That's really too bad.  Maybe we could do something in between....?  Instead of putting the file to public area, that I most definitely cannot do, what about if I send the file to some software engineers of Adobe and nobody else?  And of course, they have to make sure that once they've found the cause of the problem, they have to promise that the file (and every possible copy of it) will be definitely deleted.  Does this sound good?

By the way, I have just tested with Adobe Reader 9.5.0 and 9.5.5 and I still get the same error.

[Test Screen Name]

That sounds a good plan...but... let us know if you find a way to contact them.

[Steefan]

I saw "MVP" next to your name.  I thought you're able to help!

That means all this time, nobody from Adobe has ever been in this forum??

[Test Screen Name]

Look for people with a staff logo. But they won't be engineers. In 15 years I don't recall ever conversing (in a forum) with someone (that I knew to be) on the programming team.

[Steefan]

I have just found someone having Adobe Acrobat Pro and tried to open the files on his computer.  The same error!

OK, I'm going to write in Acrobat forum in the hope that the case could progress.

[Steefan]

Anyone knows if there is a PDF 1.3 on-line validator?

[pwillener]

I have made a little registry script that will add these entries (both HKLM & HKCU) to the registry.

Would you like to try it and see if it fixes the problem you are seeing?  The script is for Adobe Reader XI; download, unzip, then run the attached file.

[pwillener]

P.S. how to share a file on files.acrobat.com, see http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1408375

[Steefan]

I wouldn't call "go to HKLM blah blah blah" a fix for everybody either.  But the point is: if a user *does not attempt the fix* and *the software is not working correctly*, what do you think users would do?  If I were they, I would just turn away!  Don't expect me to get an expert and pay him to fix problem like this.  I mean, if I were to pay an "expert" to fix every small problem like this, I'd better buy another software

I mean, this bug definitely comes from Adobe Reader.  If the problem were indeed a registry setting, Adobe could have provides a .reg file for basic users or even better, a little .exe file like Microsoft, instead of the pure technical article.

Anyway, NO NEED to try the solution suggested by the article.

By the way, the same problem PDF file can be opened in Adobe Reader for Android and Quickoffice for Android without problem.

[Steefan]

Hi SumitV, thanks for your reply.

I'm quite an IT/tech guy but I still agree with Hyena: the reply provided by SumitV isn't very helpful for other users, besides the fact that the suggested article does not solve my problem.

I have opened the problem PDF file in a text file editor but the %PDF header is at byte zero of the file.  Below is a screenshot of the same file open inside a hex editor and you could check that the format is correct according to what is stated in that article and the file SHOULD not have caused the problem:

In case you suspect the problem comes from the version (ie 1.3), that's not it either.  I have a lot of other PDF files whose headers are %PDF-1.3 and all of them can be opened without any problem.

So, the problem is something else....

[clisi]

We have a user who created 50+ files from a copier/scanner and after he emailed them none of them can be opened.  Same issue.  Please let me know if you find a solution.  lisi@mydelraybeach.com

Thanks.

Christine