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Vista - Acrobat 8.1.3 and MS Office - PDF Creation Fails

dean9359
Registered: Nov 23 2009
Posts: 8

On Vista machine (32 bit, SP2) - upgraded from Acrobat 6 to 8 then installed latest updates.

Attempted to create PDFs in from Word and Excel files. Whether executing from an Office product, from Acrobat or a context menu - the create process hangs - although I do get the "Now printing... " message. (Last message is "Converting to Adobe PDF").

If I attempt to print to Adobe PDF from the Office product, it appears to run successfully - but only creates a shortcut to "Recent Items"

I tried the fix in the FAQ (change User Name and Initials) - but this had no effect.

Any suggestions?

My Product Information:
Acrobat Standard 8.1.3, Windows
lkassuba
ExpertTeam
Registered: Jun 28 2007
Posts: 3636
Have you tried doing a "Repair Acrobat Installation" from under the Help menu?

Also, try checking to see that the following is set:
1. Open Control Panel / Printers
2. Right click on the Adobe PDF printer icon
3. Click on the PORTS tab
4. Check to see if the "Documents\*pdf - Adobe PDF Port" is selected.

Did you remove Acrobat 6?

Lori Kassuba is an AUC Expert and Community Manager for AcrobatUsers.com.

dean9359
Registered: Nov 23 2009
Posts: 8
Thanks for the quick response.

Acrobat 6 was removed by the upgrade program.

I have run "Repair..." more than once, but I ran it again after receiving your note.

Both the Adobe printer and Adobe Converter printer use a port that points to "Desktop\*.pdf" NOT "Documents\*.pdf".

If this is the issue, how do I change the port? I tried adding a new port but was prompted for a file location for an ".inf" file. (There are several in the "Xtras" folder; should I use one of these.)
lkassuba
ExpertTeam
Registered: Jun 28 2007
Posts: 3636
Either "Desktop\*.pdf" or "Documents\*.pdf" will work. Are you able to print to the Adobe PDF printer?

What version of Office is this 2003 or 2007?

Lori Kassuba is an AUC Expert and Community Manager for AcrobatUsers.com.

dean9359
Registered: Nov 23 2009
Posts: 8
Cannot print to either the printer or converter.

Office 2007 (SP2)

Just tried to print to both the printer and converter from Notepad. The process no longer hangs but now even the shortcuts are no longer being built. Inability to print from notepad probably rules out an issue with MS Office.

I watched the print queues when submitting these jobs. Both updated the job count from 0 to 1 then back to 0.


-----------------------

Just discovered that I can create a PDF via the context menu for a .TXT file and for a .JPG

Attempting to do this with a .doc, .docx, .xls or .xlsx fails (hangs). But I believe that this is a known issue.
lkassuba
ExpertTeam
Registered: Jun 28 2007
Posts: 3636
Do you have all the latest updates for Vista? A long time ago there was a hotfix issued for PDF creation problems on Vista but the was rolled into SP1.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930627

Lori Kassuba is an AUC Expert and Community Manager for AcrobatUsers.com.

dean9359
Registered: Nov 23 2009
Posts: 8
System is running Vista with SP2
lkassuba
ExpertTeam
Registered: Jun 28 2007
Posts: 3636
Do you have the following set under Control Panel > Printers > Edit the properties on the Adobe PDF Printer?
1. Under the Advanced tab, select "Print Directly to Printer".

Lori Kassuba is an AUC Expert and Community Manager for AcrobatUsers.com.

dean9359
Registered: Nov 23 2009
Posts: 8
Yes. Both the PDF Converter and the PDF printer properties are set to "Print Directly to Printer".