Adobe PDF Reader Add-on - IE11

[test677]

Hello,

I work in a government organization and we are about the deploy IE11 to all of our machines. We've encountered an issue with how IE11 opens PDF. We want the PDF to open in IE11, and not open a separate Adobe Reader application. The fix we found so far was to disable the Adobe PDF Reader add-on, then re-enable. I also want to mention that we are pushing a group policy that does tweak a few settings. Here's what we are doing,

Pop-up allow list (several websites)

Prevent participation in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (enabled)

Turn off pop-up management (disabled)

Compatibility view

Use Policy List of Internet Explorer 7 sites - Enabled

Site to Zone Assignment List - Enabled

Automatic prompting for ActiveX controls - Enabled

Automatic prompting for file downloads - Enabled

Logon option - Enabled

Access data sources across domains - Enabled

Would any of these cause an issue with the Adobe PDF reader add-on? (We are using Adobe Reader 11.0.09

Thanks

[Kamekazi]

Hello,

We are experiencing the exact same issues you are having where the only fix is to disable and enable the Adobe PDF Reader Add-On in the browser.  We are using IE 11 on Windows 8.1 with Group Policy settings in place as well.  It doesn't happen all the time and after the Add-On is disabled and enabled, it can work for a day or for several weeks before having to disable and enable it again.  I do have several sites listed in the pop up allow list as well as other group policy options defined.  I will have to go through mine and compare what you have listed above against what I have.  When I do that, I will report back.

[Kamekazi]

I am still working with this issue and it hasn't gotten any better.  The disable/enable appears to be the only work around but that only works for a period of time.  I did check our Group Policy settings and yes, we are using some of the same ones that Test667 is using, but even when no group policy is applied we still experience the issues.  If anyone knows anything about this, any information you can provide would be extremely helpful.  It is an issue for us to have to disable and enable the add-on when the problem occurs.

[marcelp35570599]

I am still experiencing the same problem but wanted to add a few more things I've tried. Acrobat Reader DC has been released, I've tried it and it does upgrade the add-on as well but unfortunately doesn't fix the PDF issue. I've also tried running Adobe's "Download Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool - Adobe Labs" and then re-installed Adobe Reader without any luck. I was hoping it would clean out some possible registry entries that could be playing a part in this issue. We also opened up a ticket with Microsoft's premier support, they told us it was an Adobe issue and not an IE issue. Not surprised but wanted to explore every option possible.

One thing we did notice is that if we re-image a machine and install Adobe 11.0.10, PDF's open fine in IE11 for seem to stick. The problem is only happening on machines which have been receiving multiple Adobe Reader updates over time. So my guess is that there an update along the way that messed the PDF settings up. Maybe something in the registry? Obviously we can't re-image all of our machines to fix this but I'm quite confident it has to do with a bad registry entry relating to the add-on. Which entry is it, I can't seem to find. I've been searching for a very thorough un-install script for Adobe Reader, but I can't seem to find anything beyond just using the built in un-installer.

Any updates from anyone else?

Also not sure why my screen name changed but I am the original poster (test677)

[Kamekazi]

Still the same problem here but you have an interesting point...  We use SCCM to image computers and deploy applications and application updates.  A lot of computers have had multiple Adobe updates over time...  I am guessing you are correct and there is a registry entry that is causing this issue.  I have even gone as far as to download the Adobe Reader ADM files and deploy settings via Group Policy - one of those settings being Display PDFs in browser = ENABLE but the issue still remains.

I am going to try the Adobe cleaner you mention above and do a reinstall just to see if there is any change for my environment.  If that doesn't work, I will create my own uninstaller and if I can get that to fix the problem I will share it with you.

[marcelp35570599]

Thanks Kamekazi! We also use SCCM so we're in similar environments. If anything changes on my end I'll let you know as well.

[Kamekazi]

I am starting to believe this issue may be a registry entry in HKCU as I can get the add-on to work for longer periods of time if I remove the user's profile from the local PC and then have them log in to build a new profile...  the problem is that the add-on doesn't always continue to work, it just appears to work for a longer period of time before having to disable and enable the add-on again.

As far as my install package goes, I created a transform file using the Adobe Customization Wizard with the following options:

Personalization Options:

     Suppress display of EULA

Installation Options:

     Make Reader the default PDF viewer

     Remove all versions

     Enable Optimization

     Enable Caching of installer files on local hard drive

     Run silently

     Prompt for reboot

Files and Folders:

     Left default values

Registry:

     Left default values

Shortcuts:

     Removed the Desktop shortcut

Server Locations:

     Left default values

Security:

     Protected View Off

     Enhanced Security Disabled for both Standalone and Browser

     Added our SAN, intranet and domain name to the privileged locations

     Prevented users from adding trusted files/folders and trusted hosts

Digital Signature:

     Left default values

Webmail Profiles

     Prevent end users from configuring Webmail profile

Online Services and Features

     Disable Product Updates

     Load trusted root certs from Adobe - Enable & Install silently

     Disable Help > Purchase Adobe Acrobat

     Disable Help > Digital Editions

     Disable Product Improvement Program

     Disable all Adobe online services based workflows and entry points

File Attachments:

     Left default values

Launch Other Applications:

     Left default values

I then created a VB Script to run the msiexec and reference the .msi and .mst files.  I created the SCCM package and program and reference the VB Script.  The installation works and the modified settings are there, so I know the .mst file is being referenced as well.  I'm still working on finding a resolution and hopefully one of us comes up with something solid soon.

[leeb16532487]

Hi,

We're experiencing the same issue and have spent many hours on the phone with Adobe trying to resolve. Our users currently use the Disable/Enable to briefly resolve the issue but like you've mentioned it can return within hours/days/weeks. We did find that setting the IE option "Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe for scripting" to enable resolved the issue for a period of months but it has now returned. We did manage to find a website that caused the issue so were able to recreate the problem but this is no longer the case.

Thanks

[fliegenderfux]

hello,

We are experiencing the exact same issues you are having where the only fix is to disable and enable the Adobe PDF Reader Add-On in the browser.

Whats the Answer from Adobe? No Answer, No Problem!!?!!

Thanks for Infos.

[eunitron]

Just wanted to throw my hat in the mix.  Same group policies applied as above, sccm deployments, upgraded all machines to dc and the problem remains.  The only fix for us is to disable and re-enable, but since our users dont have access to the manage add-ons menu through group policy it becomes a real problem.  If I find anything out Ill let you guys know.

[Thwaite35]

Hi guys,

this is for adobe reader 10-11 not tested on DC.

don't know if this helps and it stills needs some testing, but I've been looking at this issue and found that machines which its occured on have the adobe reader addon sit in manage add-ons in "all Add-ons" but machines its not affected on, as yet are ones that have the adobe reader in "Run without permission".

The registry entry that i found when its in "All add-ons" is

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\{CA8A9780-280D-11CF-A24D-444553540000}\iexplore] - (NOTE - check your class ID as it might be different to this one, you can check this by double clicking on the addon)

"Type"=dword:00000001

"Flags"=dword:00000004

"Count"=dword:00000060

"Time"=hex:df,07,04,00,02,00,1c,00,0b,00,1d,00,1e,00,a8,03

"Blocked"=dword:0000002c

To Change it to "Run without permission" Remove This entry.

Also check this entry is not in the registry as this is the disable command.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings\{CA8A9780-280D-11CF-A24D-444553540000}]

"Flags"=dword:00000001

"Version"="*"

However if there's an entry in [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings\{CA8A9780-280D-11CF-A24D-444553540000}] which does not have the above entries (disable commands) then this is the cause of the the problem.

the only thing i can't work out is why its reaccuring, because when you disable the add-on it puts the entry above in which adds the entries in the bad entry, then when you enable the addon its removes the entry completely.

As i said still testing but hope this info helps .

[Kamekazi]

Hi Thwaite35,

I know exactly what registry settings you are talking about in your post...  I have watched them get put in and get taken out while testing this over and over.  Unfortunately the problem is deeper than that as I have gone as far as to manually enter the registry settings and manually remove them but the problem remains.

By the way, the Class ID that you posted hasn't changed in DC...

I have even tried uninstalling Reader 11 and installing Reader DC but the problem remains.  It is hard to troubleshoot because the issue is sporadic and is not easily duplicated, especially when I WANT it to be duplicated.

eunitron, I initially blocked our end users from being able to Enable or Disable the add-on as well.  What I ended up doing is changing the Add-On List group policy value to "2" so that option is available to them.  This helped with the enable/disable issue although it's still a pain to have them go into the Add-On Management, find the add-on and then disable and enable.

[Kamekazi]

Here's another update - I had a handful of users that experienced the issue on a regular basis.  As a test, I downloaded Adobe Reader DC and used the new Customization Wizard to configure it similar to my config above and I also under Online Services and Features, I checked the box in front of Disable All Services.  I then deployed the Adobe Reader DC package via SCCM.  It uninstalled Adobe Reader 11.0.10 prior to installing the newest version of Reader.

My end users still had the issue - and what is worse is that disabling and enabling the add-on did not fix the issue as it did in the past - I even went into the Internet Options and under Advanced, I clicked on Restore Advanced Settings and Reset.  I deleted all personal data and rebooted...  the add-on did not work.  After troubleshooting on one of the computers for about an hour, I uninstalled Adobe Reader DC and reinstalled Adobe Reader 11.0.10 and tested.  The first time I tried to open a .pdf document in IE11, it did not open in the browser.  I checked the Manage Add-Ons and found that the add-on was disabled on install.  I enabled it and now it works but for how long is unknown.  This is really becoming tiresome and I feel like a dog chasing its tail.  Nobody from Adobe's tech support has even commented on this thread...  they are too busy pointing their finger at Microsoft and Microsoft is too busy pointing their finger at Adobe.  I don't care who's fault it is - just get it fixed!

[kyleben]

Does anyone have any update on this issue?  We are seeing this exact scenario at our organization and went through basically the exact steps mentioned above, prior to finding this post.  Since the last post was in April I am not sure if there is any update or not.  DC is still the newest reader so it seems that there may not be anything new but I just thought I'd ask.

[melindab62540574]

We are also experiencing this issue and I have spent hours looking for a resolution.  When you reset IE11 it appears to fix if for a little while and then it breaks again.  I would think that Adobe support would at minimum make a comment on this problem since it's all over the internet.

[bburstein]

Folks, wanted to point you towards a possible solution I found since this thread helped point me in the right direction. I stumbled upon this post: (Acrobat Reader XI addon gets disabled periodically in Internet Explorer within Windows domain - Serv...) Turns out it may be an issue with SCEP. You may need to look at a policy that deletes the HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings\{CA8A9780-280D-11CF-A24D-444553540000} key from the registry for people already affected as well as sets "Don't run antimalware programs against ActiveX controls" to Enabled in Computer Configuration/Policies/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Internet Explorer/Internet Control Panel/Security Page/Trusted Sites Zone (or any zone you really need it for). If you only set it for Trusted Sites, it wont fix it everywhere obviously but it would at least fix it for sites you push out as Trusted Sites. Certainly hope this helps those affected. I killed way too much time trying to figure this out.

[phsnetadmin]

Ran into the same problem while deploying IE11 through SCCM. Even freshly imaged machines with no Adobe updates experience this issue. We implemented a band-aid fix: GPO deletes the problematic reg key every 90 minutes. Opened a ticket with Microsoft support and they're stumped so far. It's definitely user-based as it works for some users but not all when they use the same machine to go to the same website. Has anyone contacted Adobe Support directly for their input?

[pdschoening]

Our organization is experiencing the same thing. I've opened a case with Adobe (0187127610) but they seem less than interested in helping to find a resolution. The case was opened on 10/13 and after being escalated once through the chat session I was told they would escalate and call back in 48-72 hours. I left a note after 4 days because they had not contacted me yet and then I was told to expect a response to my note in 24-48 hours. On 10/23 I missed their call and got a voicemail and email instructing me to call them back at 1-800-833-6687. I promptly called them back and there are no choices in their phone tree to reference an open case and any support choices direct you to visit their online forums. I opened my case notes and explained that I could not contact them back at the number they provided, that is the last exchange I've had with them.

TL;DR

Opened case with Adobe Support...they don't care

[GeruGersten]

Same problem here..

pdschoening‌

Have you already received an answer from Adobe?

[ericcaS84]

We are experiencing this as well, multiple users and it is very frustrating for them to constantly "disable and re-enable" this add-on. Also since moving to IE 11, we are getting an error stating "There is a problem with Adobe Acrobat/ Reader. If it is running, please exit and try again. (1014:1014). The people getting this error only have Reader DC installed, not Acrobat or a combination.

From a security stand point, It isn't plausible to "disable malware scanning on active X controls" as some have suggested to correct this. We use many internal applications that do not work with other browsers, so that isn't an option either.