Acrobat 10.1.1: Unable to Create PDFs from Web Pages

Unfortunately I'm running Lion now, but I was running 10.6.8 until two weeks ago with Acrobat 10.1.1 and I used this feature often, without error. Can you submit a bug report here:
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

I've tested it in Lion (just to be sure) and it worked fine. I often use cnet.com as my example site, the video even came in.

Can you try un-installing & re-installing Acrobat?

The only workaround, for now, would be to Print to PDF.

I'm reluctant to submit a bug report, since I'm not yet convinced it's a bug—it may be something I'm doing wrong, or something about my configuration that's causing the problem.

As far as Print > Save as PDF is concerned (I assume that's what you meant by the "workaround"), I don't see the point: It won't provide me with a hyperlinked PDF document.
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Before I attempt to see if uninstalling/reinstalling Acrobat Pro provides the solution, I'm wondering if something else may be responsible for the problem: Acrobat Reader. (Out of curiosity, I had previously installed Reader 10.1.1 on the machine. At the time, I was running Acrobat Pro 9.4.6, and the two apps (Pro 9 and Reader 10) coexisted without any problems. Prior to installing Acrobat Pro 10, I uninstalled 9.4.6, but didn't bother to remove Reader.)

What do you think?

Hi,

the best Mac-software ever made for converting web pages to PDF is Paparazzi! : http://derailer.org/paparazzi/

It's free and provided with Automator's actions…
Try it and you will forget Acrobat's WebCapture (except if you need to catch videos or SWF files).

;-)

Screenshots? I'm not interested in making screenshots...I want to create PDF documents that replicate webpages in their *entirety* — including the links to the multiple levels that they contain.

Rick,

Reader and Acrobat should have no problem co-existing on the Mac (Windows has some issues with this). I have 2 versions of Acrobat & Reader on my Mac without issue.

Printing to Adobe PDF should keep the hyperlinks (Acrobat auto detects them in documents), but will not include Flash content and may not have the best layout. Please try un-installing and re-installing Acrobat 10 and make sure you update to 10.1.1.

Finally there are 2 ways to create a PDF through the Print dialog, the Adobe way and the Apple way. If Acrobat is installed properly, you should see File > Print, to Adobe PDF, when you choose that a settings window will come up. I typically use High Quality Print. If you don't see that settings window, you may be using the Mac's built in PDF converter, which produces different results.

Paparazzi! created hyperlinked PDF documents, no problemo.
And it's the only Mac-software that keeps the HTML page format untouched, without truncating as A4 or letter format.

;-)

Not exactly:
- printing to Adobe PDF remove any hyperlink,
- Acrobat auto-detect URLs and email addresses on PDF pages, but it cannot recreate them from an underlined word (as the blue ones on this page).

;-)

Good point Merlin, about the blue underlined links that aren't literal on the page, but when I tested this before I posted (on the Mac) it took the blue text and wrote in the full URL.

However, I am running Lion (not Snow Leopard), so I don't have the option to print to "Adobe" PDF any longer. While the file is not pretty, it does grab all the links:
https://acrobat.com/#d=8YHdk0jV2y4NJPedn04TpQ

The same page using File > Create PDF > From Web Page is FAR better (although the Web font couldn't be embedded):
https://acrobat.com/#d=1lA91LYh6gx-pcvektu8LQ

Merlin & Kelly-<
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Well, I tried Paparazzi!, and although it certainly is more than the usual "screeenshot" apps I've seen, it's far from Acrobat in terms of the results.

So, I then uninstalled Acrobat (using the uninstaller), and then reinstalled it. But the problem persists! The only way I can create a PDF from a web page is by using Acrobat 9 (which currently resides on a bootable backup drive).

This is incredibly frustrating, not to mention a tremendous (and I suspect needless) waste of time!

Rick: since you are on a Mac you can have both Acrobat 9 and X in your applications folder.

I kept Acrobat 9 with my Acrobat X on my Mac, not for web capture but for creating Portfolios (since they are better, nicest, lighter, etc. in 9).

;-)

Kelly: I'd never succeed to create a PDF from any app using the "Save as AdobePDF" PDF-Service, it always return an error alert saying: "Error, blablabla, file cannot be created.
(Snow Leopard)

:-(

Really? I've been reluctant to try that, since I was under the impression that there would be a conflict of some sort among the various files (application support, plist, registration, etc., etc.) that are created and stored for Adobe's products. (For example: If someone had installed Acrobat Pro, and then later installed one of the CS suites, I thought that the version in the suite would "conflict" somehow with the stand-alone version.)

I already have an iBook G4 with Acrobat 5, 7, 8 and 9 installed : no problemo.
Now I use an iMac with Acrobat 8, 9 and X : no problemo.

Just be sure to install the "working" version as the latest.

;-)

Adobe software has always been "challenging" (well, maybe I should say "puzzling") to me when it comes to installing/upgrading/changing. I vaguely recall folks running into difficulties when they attempted to install their Acrobat on a new computer they bought to replace their old computer, which was the computer on which they originally had installed Acrobat. Somehow Adobe (or the Acrobat installer) "knew" that the software was being installed on a different computer, and this prevented the user from doing the installation.


1. Let me understand clearly how I should proceed:

a. Use Acrobat 10's Uninstaller to remove it from my system. (Ummm...what about Reader 10?)
b. Do a "clean" install of Acrobat 9.
c. Re-install Acrobat 10.

Is that correct? If so, I'll follow your instructions. But I still am concerned, because, as far as I understand, Acrobat 10 *should* be working properly on my machine, and it's not. So it makes me wonder if there's something about my configuration that is causing a problem when it comes to Acrobat, and which may also cause *more* problems when I attempt to install and run both versions of the software on the machine simultaneously.

2. One more question: The original version of Acrobat 9 is quite old, and has gone through many auto updates. I'm wondering if I could save some time (without running any risk of screwing things up) if I simply copy over Acrobat 9 and all of its related system-level files from the bootable back-up disk on which it currently resides.

2: Sure, you are on a Mac, simply drag'drop your Acrobat 9 backup to your applications folder, it will prompt for the key at first launch.
You can also copy the Acrobat 9 folder from the User's Library folder, but it's not essential.

In any case, there is no real issue: clean-installing Acrobat 9 over Acrobat X overwrite the "AdobePDFViewer.plugin" and the "Save as AdobePDF" PDF-Service.
Nothing serious and the workaround is easy: zip them (right-clic) before clean-installing Acrobat 9, delete them after the first Acrobat 9 launch and unzip Acrobat X files.
That's all.

;-)

Rick,

There may be more going on with your machine, than I can troubleshoot in this post. As I said, I used this often in 10.6.8 (with Acrobat 10.0 - 10.1.1) and Acrobat 9. If you submit a bug report, Adobe does follow up with you directly.

1. If you are going to install, I recommend starting with 9, then installing 10, so that you have the newest resources loaded last.
    a. Reader on the Mac is independent from Acrobat, so the un-installer affects only Acrobat, not Adobe Reader.
    b. Is this feature not working for you in either Acrobat 9 or 10? As Merlin said, you can keep many versions of Acrobat on the same Mac (not the case in the Windows world).
    c. Yes, un-install and re-install Acrobat 10.

2. Copying Acrobat 9 over from an old backup is NOT recommended and may cause more problems. Running the installer is the best way to get this on your machine.

I should have asked this in the beginning, how many web pages have you tried to use this on? Have you tried adobe.com and cnet.com? Depending on the code, some sites will produce errors, but I always get a PDF. Most of the errors are from advertisers links on the page, not the actual content.

Kelly & Merlin-
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My apologies for not responding sooner...you've both been extremely generous with your time and helpful with your advice.

I have yet to follow up with this because of some personal tragedies (death and financial). I hope to be able to make progress very soon, and will report back as soon as I can.

Many thanks,
-Rick

Sure, capturing web pages is not the most important thing in a life.
Be well.
:-)

Well, I'm back...

I just finished uninstalling Acrobat Pro 10, installing Acrobat Pro 9, and reinstalling 10. All 3 versions (Pro 9 & 10, and Reader) coexist (as you both indicated they would).
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However, the original problem remains: I still cannot create PDFs from web pages (regardless of which web page I try) using Acrobat Pro 10. (Acrobat Pro 9, however, has no problem.)

Rick,

Are you on 10.1.1? I am running Lion and it still works for me (it may take 2 full minutes, depending on the page, but it works), using File > Create > PDF from Web Page.

Are you getting the same original error?

Can you submit a bug report? The team WILL follow up with you directly:
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

The only other thing I can think of is some internet security or firewall setting, preventing Acrobat from connecting to the internet.

Yes, I'm on 10.1.1, and yes, the error is exactly the same. And were it a security/firewall issue, I would expect it to be a problem with both versions of Acrobat (9 and 10). But I never experienced the problem with the current (v.9.4.6) or previous versions of Acrobat 9.

Very bizarre.

Now, for something even more bizarre: Last night I opened both versions of Acrobat and asked each to create a pdf of the same web site. And (rhetorical question) guess what? Both worked flawlessly. I then quit 9 and (successfully) tried 10 by itself; opened them both and then quit 10 and (successfully) tried 9 by itself; quit them both and (successfully) tried each, in turn, by itself;….Etc. I ran through the entire series of permutations and combinations simply to see if somehow the behavior (current or previous) of one was affecting the behavior of the other.

Bottom line: The problem (apparently) "went away" (at least for now).

Of course, I'm happy it's working. However, I'm uncomfortable that I remain clueless about why it *wasn't* working. Not knowing the underlying cause, I'll probably spend the rest of my life (figuratively speaking) wondering and worrying it'll happen again at a most inopportune time.

I need a drink.