Why can't I open this PDF?
I/my patron is trying to open a government PDF, but it won't open to print. The error message says "The document you are trying to load requires Adobe Reader 8 or higher". I definitely have Adobe Reader on my computer, so why can I still not open it?
Answer
Even though you have Adobe Reader on your computer, it's still trying to open the PDF using your internet browser - Firefox or Chrome. This is a default that Microsoft tries to revert to every time there's a big update, so even if you've changed this default before, it's possible Microsoft put it back on you while your back was turned. To get the PDF to open properly, you'll need to download the file and open it using Adobe Reader. To solve the problem more permanently, you'll need to change the default app for PDFs to Adobe Reader.
If this is a common issue on your public computers, scroll down for instructions to change your settings in Firefox or Chrome to use Adobe Reader for PDFs.
Setting Adobe as your Default PDF Reader in Windows
- Find a PDF file, on your desktop or in Windows Explorer.
- Select and right-click the PDF file to open the menu.
- Click on the arrow beside ‘Open with’.
- On the menu that pops up, click ‘Choose another app’.
- In the window that pops up, select ‘Adobe Acrobat DC’.
- Check the box beside ‘Always use this app to open .pdf files’
- Click ‘OK’.
Setting Adobe as your Default PDF Reader in Firefox
- Ensure you've set your default PDF reader in Windows (above)
- At the top right-hand corner, click on the 3-line menu icon.
- From the menu that pops up, click ‘Settings’.
- Scroll down to find the section called ‘Applications’.
- Search ‘pdf’.
- Click the dropdown menu beside the entry for PDF.
- Click ‘Use Windows default application’.
Setting Adobe as your Default PDF Reader in Chrome
We generally recommend trying to push your patrons towards using Firefox as much as possible on your public computers, since Firefox can be set up to delete browsing history, including any personal information, as soon as it's closed. Still, if you have patrons who insist on using Chrome, follow this link for Adobe's help to set Chrome to download PDFs rather than try to open them in the browser: https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/acrobat/kb/open-in-acrobat-reader-from-chrome.html