Choose File > Export and select Adobe PDF as the Format.
Last updated on
May 24, 2023
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Also applies to Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InCopy
Issue
When trying to open a PDF generated from InDesign or Illustrator, Acrobat displays the following error message:
"Acrobat could not open '[name of file]' because it is either not a supported file type or because the file has been damaged (for example, it was sent as an email attachment and wasn't correctly decoded).
To create an Adobe PDF document, go to the source application. Then print the document to Adobe PDF."
Using Apple Preview, the error is, "Couldn't open the file. It may be corrupt or a file format that Preview doesn't recognize."
Reason
The file was created by selecting the option "Save as PDF" from the Mac OS Print dialog.
This workflow is not supported.
Solution
Solution 1:Use the Export PDF (InDesign) or Save As > Adobe PDF (Illustrator) methods
InDesign
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Select the desired PDF options.
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Click Export.
Illustrator
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Choose File Save and select Adobe PDF as the Format.
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Select the desired PDF options.
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Click Save PDF.
Solution 2: Print to Adobe PDF
InDesign and Illustrator
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Choose File > Print.
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Select Adobe PDF [version] from the Printer list.
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Select the desired printer options.
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Click Print.
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Adobe MAX
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Oct 14–16 Miami Beach and online