Opening an Inserted Object (PDF)

[Guest]

To All,

I am trying to solve a very inconsistent problem with Word 2003 and Acrobat
6/7.

I have a Word documents that we embed a PDF file into (Insert Object>Adobe
Acrobat> check display as icon) and then route to staff using Sharepoint
Services.

What happens incosistantly is that when a user opens the word file from
Sharepoint, and then double clicks the PDF icon to open the file the first of
two errors are displayed:

There was an error opening this document. File does not being with %PDF-',

You click OK to that one to get the next error:

This object was created in AcroExch.
THis application is not available to open this object.
Make sure that the application is properly installed and that is had not
been deleted, moved, or renamed.

I assure you that Acrobat works just fine. In fact both Acrobat and Reader
are installed on most of these machines.

I have ran tests to confirm that the version of Acrobat used 6 or 7 does not
appear to be a cause of these errors.

I read some article that said something that "Word is not especially adept
at handling PDF files". Whats this all about? Can this be true?
http://www.mcse.ms/archive264-2005-10-1887946.html

Anyone have any comments, thoughts or suggestions?

I would even be open to ideas on how to route word and multiple PDF files
together using SHarepoint. COnverting them all to DOC or PDF and attaching
them will not work. There are simple too many pages on each file to do that,
they need to be seperated. The Word Document also had change tracking enabled
so that it acted as a form for sign offs and notes.

Thanks!
KC

 

[Graham Mayor]

This seems to be a problem related to Sharepoint (about which I know
nothing). All that inserting an object as an icon does is provide a link to
an embedded PDF file. Double clicking associates the PDF with the
application configured in Windows to open PDF files - in your case that
should be Acrobat. Here Sharepoint is presumably getting in the way of that
relationship. What happens if instead of opening from Sharepoint you open
the file directly in Word from the hard drive?

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

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[Graham Mayor]

This seems to be a problem related to Sharepoint (about which I know
nothing). All that inserting an object as an icon does is provide a link to
an embedded PDF file. Double clicking associates the PDF with the
application configured in Windows to open PDF files - in your case that
should be Acrobat. Here Sharepoint is presumably getting in the way of that
relationship. What happens if instead of opening from Sharepoint you open
the file directly in Word from the hard drive?

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Guest]

Thanks Graham. I did run a few tests and determined that no matter how this
Word document was opened (directly from the Sharepoint site or saving to the
desktop and opening) I received the same error. The odd thing is that
sometimes if there are word docs with multiple PDF files attached, I can open
one just fine and not the other. I also posted this issue on the Sharepoint
groups, however after running those tests and removing Sharepoint from the
equation, I really think that this is a Word or maybe even an Adobe issue.

-KC

 

[Graham Mayor]

Check the Windows file association for PDF to ensure that it has quotes
around the %1 in the open with string: eg for Acrobat 6
"C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat\Acrobat.exe" "%1"

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<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Guest]

Graham, all looks good on the file associations. Since I am able to open some
files and not others, I thought that this might be setup properly.

Do you happen to know if there is a way to show, and perhaps extract an
embeded file without having to open it first? This way I can be sure that the
problematic files have the proper extension?

 

[Graham Mayor]

Having looked a little further into this, it appears that if the object is
embedded into the document (as opposed to linked to the file) there is no
relationship remaining in the document (including a filename reference) to
the original document. Even saving as a web page will not extract the
original file. The implication is that the document in question is corrupt.
You can view the underlying structure of the document using the script
editor (SHIFT+ALT+F11) but this will not tell you why these PDF files will
not open

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<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Guest]

I finally had some time to really sit down and wrestle with this issue. As it
turns out I can embed a PDF file without issue repeatedly (no surprise here).
I can even add a digital signature to a PDF file and embed it into a Word
Doc. However, when "Certifying and signing" a PDF file and embeding it into
a word doc, it appears to 'hang' Word during the insertig process. If you do
manage to get a 'clickable' icon in Word, it will not open and dispalays the
referenced error.

Never heard of this one, and it never came up in any of my searches. If
anyone has any first hand experience with this and can confirm this theory I
would appreciate it.

-Kevin

 

[Graham Mayor]

You should throw this one at Adobe

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<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Graham Mayor]

You should throw this one at Adobe

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>