Error while opening pdf in reader in windows 8:Can't open this file. There's a problem with file format

I have a problem with a pdf file which does not open with reader in windows 8 but it opens properly with adobe pdf reader. All other pdf can be opened in reader.But when i open a pdf(see this link for pdf for which i got error http://incometaxsoft.com/temp/Form.pdf) it gives error as "Can't open this file. There's a problem with file format".

The same file opens properly in adobe pdf reader.You can check the pdf file which i have mentioned in the link above.But the reader which comes with windows 8 can open some other pdf in the same PC.What may be the error causing this??

October 18th, 2012 6:46am

The PDF reader should be fine beacuse all other PDF files can be opened. I suspect that that PDF was made by an old version program, so the reader does not support that format.

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October 19th, 2012 8:23am

No..the pdf is opening in adobe reader but its not opening in windows 8 reader.
October 27th, 2012 12:47pm

I am also having this problem. Works great with Adobe Reader, but doesn't work with Microsoft Reader. It's a big issue because I'm on the surface and cannot install Adobe Reader. Has anyone found a solution yet?
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October 27th, 2012 9:02pm

Found a solution. Reader probably wasn't able to handle the PDF file, so I used Acrobat Professional and EXTRACTED ALL THE PAGES to a new PDF, saved it, and then opened the new file with reader. Works great.
October 27th, 2012 10:16pm

Hi,

I think this behaviour is not correct from user point of view (The default reader, Windows Reader not opeing the files which is created by older version program). Whether Microsoft going to give fix on this?.

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November 15th, 2012 12:32pm

I have the same problem on most files with the app on Win Phone 8.  This always occurs whenever a website generates a PDF file for me.  I used Adobe Acrobat X Pro from my Win 7 computer to view the files' security settings.  If you go to File>Properties>Security tab, it may show some restrictions in the "Document Restrictions Summary."  I tested 5 files and found that security settings were enabled for "Page Extraction"; it shows Not Allowed instead of Allow.  Therefore, I was unable to create a new PDF from one of these files. 

Workaround if you have Adobe PDF software on your computer: Use the XPS printer that is built into Windows 7.  Print the original PDF to XPS format.  Then open the XPS file in IE and print to a new Adobe PDF file.

I totally agree that something is wrong with Microsoft's PDF app for Windows Phone.  It appears that if any of the security options are enabled, then the file won't open.  There could also be other settings causing the problem.

December 6th, 2012 6:16am

I have a little bit other problem with PDF reader. It looks like it opens, but when I scroll to the another page it close the app and says tap to open.
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January 26th, 2013 3:11pm

Yes.   I'm having terrible problems with the embedded pdf viewer that comes with tile based search.  Brand new Windows 8 touch screen machines from Dell, two of them have this problem.

You can't open PDFs when using the tile search engine thing.  I constantly get "Adobe PDF viewer not available".  Really....can't view PDFs using Windows 8?  You have to be kidding.

The only way to view a PDF is to open the desktop, then open IE, then download a PDF.

I've installed Adobe PDF like 3 times.   I suggest a Microsoft executive actually try to use the product before allowing shipment, I would die of shame if this were my product.


  • Edited by xj7vb3 Saturday, November 02, 2013 10:51 PM
November 2nd, 2013 10:48pm

Hi, I've the same issue.  PDF documents cannot be opened with the W8 on my new desktop, while the other W7 PC's do not have an issue.  It is a W8-microsoft related problem, and this they should be alert to fix it asap

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November 21st, 2013 7:07am

I had the same problem.  I am not an expert but I solved my problem. I assumed I had Adobe Reader.  I did not.  I had Microsoft's reader and it never prompted me to go install Adobe.  I went to Adobe.com and installed the free reader and now it seems to work fine. 

January 10th, 2014 4:09pm

Hi not sure if anyone else has this problem but I can open some PDFs with my windows 8 but as soon as it is an interactive form PDF my adobe reader does not recognize the PDF. Any ideas on how to fix?
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January 28th, 2014 3:44pm

This happens to one of our laptops here at work everyday. There are 2 ways to "fix" the issue:

  1. Reboot and waste 5 minutes of your time.
  2. Use Adobe Acrobat and lose the ability to save fillable PDF's.
September 15th, 2014 4:08pm

I think, a much easier solution to this, is to open such pdf file with Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. It works! The other normal pdf files can also be viewed using these browsers.
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September 18th, 2014 8:09am

I have more terrible problem! I opened file in portable document format in Windows 8 ver. Reader. I studied file than made back-up on CD. After a while when I wanted to return to back-up library the pdf file (64mb) wont open. 
October 27th, 2014 6:29am

This is what my app reported on pages 337-341: Cannot open the image file. The file may be corrupted

C:\Users\Arthur\AppData\Local\Temp\TransO\{A83790BO-ED3B-4136-B7CF-255534F28469J.pdf.

 
  • Edited by Arth' Monday, October 27, 2014 6:37 AM
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October 27th, 2014 6:36am

; Q Page 337: Cannot open the image file. The file may be corrupted. C \Users\Arthur\AppData\Local\Temp\Trans0\{A83790B0-ED3B-4136-B7CF-255534F28469}.pdf

! Q Page 338: Cannot open the image file. The file may be corrupted. C \Users\Arthur\AppData\Local\Temp\Trans0\^A83790B0-ED

B-4136-B7CF-255534F28469>.pdf

! Q Page 339: Cannot open the image file. The file may be corrupted. C \Users\Arthur\AppData\Local\Temp\Trans0\^A83790B0-ED
B-4136-B7CF-255534F28469>.pdf

! Q Page 340: Cannot open the image file. The file may be corrupted. C \Users\Arthur\AppData\Local\Temp\Trans0\^A83790B0-ED
B-4136-B7CF-255534F28469>.pdf

Q Page 341: Cannot open the image file. The file may be corrupted. C \Users\Arthur\AppData\Local\Temp\Trans0\^A83790B0-ED
B-4136-B7CF-255534F28469>.pdf

Saved to: D:\Guide_on_Windows_8.html

October 27th, 2014 6:45am

I am having the same problem here. The Windows 8.1 PDF Reader app can open some files but cannot open others in the same directory. The same files are opened normally with Foxit Reader or Acrobat Reader, so this is an indication that the problem resides in the Windows app, not in the files.

Is there a fix proposed by Microsoft or should we get rid of the Windows PDF Reader and install Acrobat or Foxit readers as default PDF files reader?

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January 3rd, 2015 6:05pm

This has turned out to be an enormous issue for me as I sell PDF files as ebooks. I have done a fair amount of investigating this for my system.

My files have to be compatible not just across readers but across operating systems.

To date, I have over 200 PDFs that have functioned flawlessly across Mac, PC (Windows 7 and below), Android, iPhone/iPad, Linux.

I personally test my PDFs using a variety of readers and PDF editors including

  • PDF XChange (my favorite)
  • Foxit (runner up for me and I recommend for most people)
  • Adobe (the bloated monster)
  • Nitro 9 (great for moving graphical elements around)
  • ABBYY
  • And the Nuance PDF Create toolsets

Those are off the top of my head. There are a bunch on Android that I test with too.

I am running the Windows 10 Pro Tech Preview and I have this same problem so I know it isn't fixed yet in any kind of pre-release way (-sigh-)

Here is what I've learned for my situation

The PDFs I created using NUANCE'S PDF CREATE PROFESSIONAL VERSION 8 all fail using the built-in Windows 8/10 PDF reader.

When I look at the PDF properties for these Nuance created files, the underlying engine used to write them is called "ImageToPDF". Using ABBYY it indicates their own engine as does everyone else that I've tried. It is easy for you to check to see what created your PDF by doing a "Control D" (look at the document properties). Perhaps there's a common engine causing issues.

If I use the exact same source files to create a PDF using any of my other tools I have no issues. I checked the PDF versions made by the tools and they are all set to 1.5.

A customer mentioned being able to convert them in a way they worked by saving them without having to do any kind of extraction, but I have not been able to duplicate that. Perhaps he did a "print" which seems like it could work.

In summary, the workaround everyone is talking about, using an alternate reader, of course works. But not everyone wants to change.  The culprit I have found is my Nuance PDF Creation tools that are using the ImageToPDF engine.

I hope it gets FIXED as I really don't want to have to regenerate all of my PDF files.

March 4th, 2015 7:47am

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