User profile for user: jhall1303
jhall1303 Author
User level: Level 1
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Opening a PDF on MacOS Monterey results in error, opens fine on iPadOS Files

I'm struggling trying to open PDF files from my Mac running Monterey 12.2. When I try to open the PDF using Preview it results in an error message of "Couldn't communicate with a helper application."


When I try to open it using PDFPenPro it results in an error stating "The file couldn't be opened because it isn't in the correct format."


This is the same error for most any PDF file I try to open so it's not just limited to a single file.


The PDF file was originally stored on Microsoft OneDrive, but I moved it to my local desktop for testing, but results in the same error messages.


I can open the PDF file just fine from iPadOS Files application without any problem.


Any thoughts on what may be causing this issue?


Thanks for any insights!


Jon

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 12.2

Posted on Feb 8, 2022 08:07 AM

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User profile for user: VikingOSX
VikingOSX
User level: Level 10
122,124 points

Posted on Feb 8, 2022 08:21 AM

One thing comes to mind that PDFs created on Windows and using Adobe LifeCycle Designer may place plug-in requests in the PDF and the expectation would be that Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat Pro DC would be opening the PDFs and servicing the plug-in request. A non-Adobe PDF reader/editor that does not know how to handle those plug-ins might report that the PDF cannot communicate with that plug-in, or that it is damaged when it does not know how to deal with the plug-in request.


If you are using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for iOS/iPadOS, then it may be handling the plug-in request, even if ignoring it because it cannot be found.

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User profile for user: VikingOSX
VikingOSX
User level: Level 10
122,124 points

Feb 8, 2022 08:21 AM in response to jhall1303

One thing comes to mind that PDFs created on Windows and using Adobe LifeCycle Designer may place plug-in requests in the PDF and the expectation would be that Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat Pro DC would be opening the PDFs and servicing the plug-in request. A non-Adobe PDF reader/editor that does not know how to handle those plug-ins might report that the PDF cannot communicate with that plug-in, or that it is damaged when it does not know how to deal with the plug-in request.


If you are using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for iOS/iPadOS, then it may be handling the plug-in request, even if ignoring it because it cannot be found.

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Opening a PDF on MacOS Monterey results in error, opens fine on iPadOS Files

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