Tag: adobe reader

Adobe Reader Doesn’t Open in Windows 8

Adobe Reader doesn’t open in Windows 8 at least not on every attempt.  I have uninstalled and reinstalled Reader and have yet to see a difference.  I also am not sure what causes it.

What I do know is that Reader is opening in the background but is not being displayed on the screen.  Acrobat does not have these issues.  In this particular instances the Windows 8 copy is sitting in VMware Vsphere and being accessed via remote desktop.

Here is what you do.  You hit ctrl-alt-delete if you are in windows 8 but if you are accessing it from a remote desktop you hit ctrl-alt-delete to get to the  task manager.  In the task manager you may have to click “More Details” in order to see the entire list.  Once you do that you need to END TASK one each and every Reader in the list.

Like I mentioned earlier, Acrobat doesn’t have this issue.  With Reader becoming so large and bloated maybe it’s time to start looking for something else.  The built-in Reader for pdfs in Windows is just awful.  I won’t consider that an option.

There was an error opening this document. Access is denied. Adobe Reader and Outlook

I got this message recently while opening a PDF from Outlook.  It has been a very long time since I ran across this but it may be because most of my clients are migrating away from Outlook.

It would be nice if Adobe give us a more descriptive message since it really is not an error but a “feature.”  I believe this little nuance was introduced with Adobe Reader 9.  I received this message in Adobe Reader XI.  It is called protective mode.  In order to fix it just follow these simple steps.

  1. Open Adobe Reader
  2. Go to Edit in the menu bar and select Preferences
  3. Depending on your version of Adobe we will need to go to “General” or “Advanced Security” on the left.  Adobe Reader 9 and X are both General.  Adobe Reader XI is Advanced Security.
  4. In Advanced Security (or General for your version) uncheck the box that says “Enable Protected Mode at Startup”
  5. It should ask you if you are sure you want to continue.  Select Yes.
  6. Close Reader and then try opening a PDF in Outlook or wherever you got the error last time.

That’s it!  Please be reminded that your security will be reduced when doing this but your stress will also be reduced!