5 Replies Latest reply: Nov 12, 2009 9:55 AM by KItz RSS

    Acrobat PDF FIle Format is having difficulties...

    RodneyA Community Member
      I've got an error that appears pretty reliably. I open a multi-page PDF file in Illustrator, choosing one page to edit. I save that page with a new name as a PDF file, and that works fine. Now, if I edit the file at all and save it again, I get "Acrobat PDF File Format is having difficulties. Bad parameter." And there's no way to save the file.

      If I close without saving and open the single-page PDF file again, it usually behaves well. But any time I get that message I lose all of the unsaved changes and have to repeat them.

      I'm using CS3, version 13.0.2. OS 10.4.10. Any assistance is appreciated...

      Rodney
        • 1. Re: Acrobat PDF FIle Format is having difficulties...
          Mario Arizmendi Community Member
          Rodney
          I'm using CS2 and OS 10.4.10, and I have the same problem on some files, I finally discover that privileges of the folder where I'm trying to save the file was the problem.

          Solution: Select the folder and command+I (get info) and activate the read and write permissions to all the instances and all the enclose folders, that works for me.

          I'm not telling that this is exactly the solution for you but may be, just give it a try.
          • 2. Re: Acrobat PDF FIle Format is having difficulties...
            Tim Murray Community Member
            There is something else at work. I can force this to happen about 100% of the time, and it's not a permissions issue:
            1. Use Illustrator to open a PDF. Pick some page number.
            2. Save As a new name, in .ai format.
            3. Make some change to illustration.
            4. Try to save. I can't. (Difficulties; bad parameter)
            5. Save, but to a new name. It works fine. Once I've made that new save in step 5, I can do what I want to the file after that with no problems.

            A quick Google on this finds references to version 9, so it's been around a while. Further, I've had it on all three of my PowerBooks over the years.
            • 3. Re: Acrobat PDF FIle Format is having difficulties...
              Tim Murray Community Member
              Thought I'd revive this. Is it still around in CS4?
              • 4. Re: Acrobat PDF FIle Format is having difficulties...
                mfripp Community Member

                I've had the same problem in various versions of Illustrator on the Mac, up to and including CS3. Based on the previous comment, this appears to happen only if your Illustrator document starts life as a generic PDF file. So this is my solution (which worked today for me).

                 

                1. Make sure all layers are visible and unlocked.
                2. Copy all your artwork to the clipboard (Select -> All then Edit -> Copy, or cmd-A then cmd-C)
                3. Create a new document with the same dimensions as your original one.
                4. Show the layers palette, and choose "Paste Remembers Layers" from the popup menu.
                5. Paste your artwork into the new document (Edit -> Paste or cmd-V)
                6. Save the new document.

                 

                You should be able to edit and re-save the new document whenever needed after that, although you may find that the file is larger than the original one.

                • 5. Re: Acrobat PDF FIle Format is having difficulties...
                  KItz Community Member

                  I followed mfripp's directions and it worked! I copied all the elements into a new document. Then I was able to save it with a new name.