Issues with PDF / InDesign?

So, here’s the deal... I’ll whip up a PDF in InDesign and then try to pull it up using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, but it just won't work. Not once, not twice, but like ten or twenty times in a row before it finally decides to cooperate. Once it actually opens, though, it seems fine—I can open it over and over without any more drama. But the second I make even a tiny tweak and export it again? Boom. Same exact headache.
It’s a bit of a mess, honestly. It’s not just that I’m wasting my life clicking "open" fifty times just to see my own work, but I'm also getting really anxious because this file is headed to a professional printer. I’m terrified they’re going to try to load it and get hit with the same error. Imagine that nightmare!
I’ve actually got two different versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on my machine, and it doesn't matter which one I use—the result is always the same. Just... error.
The message says:
Adobe Acrobat Reader DC could not open / "book.pdf" because the file type is not supported or the file is damaged (for example, it was sent as an email attachment and was not properly decoded).

So, what am I looking at here? Is this an issue with InDesign, or is something else going sideways?

It's unfortunate... you have two options for saving as a PDF. One is "Save as" and the other is "Export".
If you haven't already, try using the remaining method (just make sure to select the Adobe PDF format)...

coppersailor28 said:So... I guess you basically have two different ways to save things as a PDF here. One option is "Save as" and the other one is "Export".
If you haven't already, maybe give that last remaining method a shot too (just make sure to pick the Adobe PDF format)...

Personally, I always just go with Export. When I look under Save as, it seems like I can only save things as InDesign files (like documents, templates, or IDML).

Robin Hernandez8 said:I'm running an export. Under Save as, I'm only getting the option to save as InDesign files (document, template, or IDML).

🤔 Same here. No clue what I was even looking at—probably nothing worth my time.

Honestly, I have no clue how to fix this.
Personally, I’d just make do with a workaround if I absolutely had to. If I created a PDF in InDesign, I’d just pull it up in some other random PDF viewer or editor. From there, I’d try to save or export it back as a PDF, then attempt to open that version in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Simple enough.
Or you could just try exporting from InDesign into a different format entirely, run that through an "X to PDF" converter, and then test the file in AR again to see if it actually opens.
... That's about it.

Robin Hernandez8 said:Piše:
Adobe Acrobat Reader DC cannot open "book.pdf." The file type isn't supported, or the file itself is corrupted—likely an issue from being sent as an email attachment that didn't decode properly.

This would look like this in English (found via Google, obviously):
Adobe Reader could not open /book.pdf/ because the file type isn't supported or the file itself is corrupted—likely a botched email attachment that failed to decode properly.

Try using some keywords when you Google it, for example: The PDF from InDesign is either unsupported or corrupted. It’s broken.... or some other combination.

Is InDesign closed while you're trying to pull up the file with Acrobat?

ironcyclist58 said:Is InDesign actually closed when you're trying to open that file with Acrobat?

I guess I've tried it both ways... you know, with InDesign running in the background and also with it completely shut down.

Does the file size of that PDF actually change while you're getting that error message?

ironcyclist58 said:Does the file size of that PDF change at all while you're getting that error message?

Yeah, it does. I mean, when it fails to open, it just shows up as 0 MB. Weird, right?

So, it sounds like the file hasn't actually finished generating yet. How can you tell when InDesign is totally done exporting? Does a little notification pop up or something? (I don't use InDesign myself, so I'm a bit out of the loop on how it works)

I don't really know, honestly. I just run the export and... well, that's it. No error messages pop up or anything, nothing at all.

But, I suppose I'll try waiting a bit after the export finishes. I won't even attempt to open the file until it seems to be working on its own—you know, once the file size shows more than 0 MB.

Well, that clears things up. It’s obvious the export isn't just going to snap its fingers and be done; it clearly takes a decent chunk of time to finish processing. You just have to sit tight and wait for the whole thing to wrap up before you even try opening that PDF. Maybe once it finally hits 100%, it'll actually give you a notification that it's ready...

ironcyclist58 said:Well, I guess that explains everything. The export clearly isn't finished instantly—it obviously takes quite a while to actually wrap up. You just have to hang tight and wait for it to finish before you try opening that PDF. Maybe it really will pop up a notification once it's finally done.

Yeah, that’s exactly it. Thanks a ton, 🙂
It doesn't give me any kind of warning message or anything, but man, it sure does take a long time. Once the file size gets up to a decent amount of MBs, though, I can open it without any issues at all.🙂