I've been dealing with a frustrating issue where Adobe Acrobat suddenly refuses to open PDFs after a while. Typically, users can open PDF files without any problem, especially when opening attachments from Outlook or using Quick Print, but eventually, I get calls saying they can no longer access PDFs. A quick look at the processes reveals numerous Acrobat processes running in the background but nothing displays on the screen. Stopping these processes resets the cycle, but this problem has persisted for almost two weeks now and affects various users. While I'm suspicious that Outlook might be connected, some users who weren't using Outlook still encounter this issue. Has anyone else experienced a similar problem recently?
5 Answers
I've noticed this issue too, and while it's been sporadic for over a year, it happens often enough. Usually, just using the 'Repair Install' option under the help menu and rebooting tends to alleviate the problem for a good while. I'm starting to think it might be an internal data issue after printing that causes it to get stuck.
I faced this issue frequently on my home PC, and it drove me to switch to using Foxit PDF Reader. It was ridiculously annoying not to see any windows even though Acrobat processes would be running. I had to kill the process every time before I could view my files. After experiencing this about 60% of the time and not finding a solution, I decided to make the switch.
It sounds like users might be experiencing what's sometimes called 'clicker's syndrome.' They could be getting impatient after waiting a few seconds and keep double-clicking to open the PDF, which creates more processes. A good workaround for them is to save the PDF attachment to their Downloads folder first and then open it from there.
I only run into this problem on a single device that recently updated to Windows 11. On that machine, PDFs wouldn't even open; they just kept generating more Acrobat processes. I found that reinstalling the software fixed it.
Have you considered that maybe it's opening off-screen? If it seems to minimize in the taskbar, clicking it there might not work. Try pressing the Windows key along with the arrow keys to see if it can snap back into view.
Not a bad idea! I’ll give that a shot tomorrow.