User profile for user: tsgroup
tsgroup Author
User level: Level 1
7 points

The file xxxx couldn't be opened because you don't have permission to view it.

Purchased a Mazda workshop manual from EBay on a CD. I can copy the folder/files. Permissions says I have read/write. File xxxx56.pdf is the menu. While in Adobe on my Windows 11 VM I am asked if I want to open one of the "sub" PDFs from the menu. In Preview, I am not asked if I want to open the file. I can't find a setting allowing me access to the other files through file xxxx56.pdf. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Sep 3, 2025 12:42 PM

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User profile for user: Tesserax
Tesserax
User level: Level 10
157,248 points

Posted on Sep 3, 2025 12:57 PM

What I believe you’re running into isn’t really a "permissions" problem, even though macOS is wording it that way.


Many workshop/manual CDs from eBay (Mazda, Toyota, etc.) are authored in Windows with a set of linked PDFs. The "menu" file (xxxx56.pdf) uses embedded launch actions or relative paths to open the sub-PDFs. Adobe Acrobat/Reader on Windows supports this, but Preview on macOS doesn’t — it blocks or ignores those embedded links for security and compatibility reasons. That’s why you’re not seeing the prompt in Preview, even though you technically have full read/write access.


You’ve got a few options here:

  • Open with Adobe Acrobat Reader on macOS — Download Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (free) and use that instead of Preview. It handles those embedded links the same way as in your VM.
  • Since you can already copy the folder, you could ignore the menu file and open the sub-PDFs directly from Finder. They’ll usually be in a "Docs" or "PDF" folder on the CD structure.
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Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Tesserax
Tesserax
User level: Level 10
157,248 points

Sep 3, 2025 12:57 PM in response to tsgroup

What I believe you’re running into isn’t really a "permissions" problem, even though macOS is wording it that way.


Many workshop/manual CDs from eBay (Mazda, Toyota, etc.) are authored in Windows with a set of linked PDFs. The "menu" file (xxxx56.pdf) uses embedded launch actions or relative paths to open the sub-PDFs. Adobe Acrobat/Reader on Windows supports this, but Preview on macOS doesn’t — it blocks or ignores those embedded links for security and compatibility reasons. That’s why you’re not seeing the prompt in Preview, even though you technically have full read/write access.


You’ve got a few options here:

  • Open with Adobe Acrobat Reader on macOS — Download Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (free) and use that instead of Preview. It handles those embedded links the same way as in your VM.
  • Since you can already copy the folder, you could ignore the menu file and open the sub-PDFs directly from Finder. They’ll usually be in a "Docs" or "PDF" folder on the CD structure.
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The file xxxx couldn't be opened because you don't have permission to view it.

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