Research Guides: Electronic Resources: Troubleshooting ... and Beyond: PDF Help

PDF Troubleshooting: Introduction

PDF display issues are rather common when trying to open these files. The problem could result from any of the following:

Corrupted PDF
Version of Adobe Acrobat
Web browser (in general)
Web browser security
Web browser settings
Web browser cookies
Server hosting the PDF
Website from where the PDF is accessed
Internet connection

Keeping this in mind, let's start with troubleshooting the Reader or Adobe Acrobat.

Problem Index

First Troubleshooting Steps: Adobe Acrobat

Please try these preliminary troubleshooting steps in the order presented here in this guide.

Open PDF directly

Right click (Windows) or Control click (Mac) on the link to the PDF.
Choose the appropriate save option:

IE - Save Target As
Firefox - Save Link As
Safari - Download Linked File

3. Save as the file type: "Adobe Acrobat Document" and save the file. Save to a location that the file is easily retrievable.

4. Locate the saved file and double-click the PDF to open it

Update Acrobat

Open Acrobat
Help -> Check for Updates

Repair Acrobat

Choose Help -> Repair Acrobat Installation

If none of these steps resolve the problem, then proceed to to the web browser troubleshooting steps below.

First Troubleshooting Steps: Web Browser

Make sure your Adobe PDF plug-in is enabled in your browser.

Internet Explorer

Select Tools -> Manage Add-ons
Select All Add-ons
Scroll to Adobe System and select Adobe PDF Reader
Click the Enable button

Firefox

Select Tools -> Options
Click the General tab, then click Manage Add-ons
Click the Plug-ins tab
Find and select Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader
If the Enable button is displayed, then click Enabled (Do not select Disable--this means that Acrobat is Enabled!)

Safari (Mac)

Troubleshooting PDFs in Safari is a bit more complicated. Please refer to this article about PDFs and Safari

For even more information please refer Adobe's documentation.

Google Chrome

By default, Chrome uses a built-in PDF viewer to open PDFs. If you've disabled the built-in PDF viewer, Chrome will use Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader to display PDFs. Follow the suggestions below if you're having trouble viewing PDFs within Chrome, using Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.

First check if the issue is specific to Chrome. Try opening PDFs in another browser on your computer, such as Firefox. If you experience similar problems viewing PDFs in another browser, the issue is likely not related to Chrome.

If the problem resides with Chrome, then try the following:

Check for Chrome updates
Search and/or post in the Chrome forum

PDF Files Troubleshooting Matrix

Problem	Possible Remedies
There is an error message during the PDF download stating that it could not open the PDF and that it was not a supported file type.	Close the browser Try to open the file in a different browser If does not work, then try the next remedy option below.
	Close the browser Open Adobe Reader Go to Edit->Select Preferences Select “Internet” and uncheck “Display PDF in browser Click OK Next time you open the PDF save it to your computer.
The browser seems stuck during the PDF download and the PDF does not open.	Close the browser Open Adobe Reader Go to Edit->Select Preferences Select “Internet” and uncheck “Display PDF in browser Click OK Retry
Browser displays a white screen while trying to open the PDF.	Close the browser Open Adobe Reader Go to Edit->Select Preferences Select “Internet” and uncheck “Display PDF in browser Click OK Retry
PDF download is slow	You can wait (go grab a drink, etc.) OR Close the browser Open Adobe Reader Go to Edit->Select Preferences Select “Update” and uncheck “Display PDF in browser Check “Do not automatically check for critical updates” Click OK Retry
Unable to print PDF	Acrobat Printing

Common Mac PDF Problems

Tutorial courtesy of MacMost.