Cannot open a downloaded pdf file..."The file couldn't be opened because it isn't in the correct format."
I have had this problem several times lately: I cannot open a downloaded pdf file. The error message reads: "The file couldn't be opened because it isn't in the correct format." But, of course, it is a pdf file.
My MacBook Pro (2.5 Ghz Intel Core i5) is running OS X 10.9.4. Here is what happens when reading an online user manual that I want to save to the Desktop and read later as a PDF file on my iPad or phone. With Safari I will select "Export As PDF" and the file shows up on the desktop. Even after multiple trials, there will be a dialogue box indicating the file cannot be opened. If I check the file info, the size is "zero." Trying to save the file as a pdf using the Print menu yields the same results. I have tried both of these methods using Preview, Adobe Reader, and PDF Pen Pro. This strange behavior also occurred several weeks ago and I finally abandoned the effort. But when the same thing happens twice, it becomes an issue that needs to be resolved.
Similar Messages
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Hi,
Since upgrading my Mac OS X from 10.6.8 to firstly, 10.8 and then, 10.9, I have not been able to open new pdf files on either Preview or Acrobat Reader.
I can still open previously downloaded pdf files but not new ones.
I can still open new pdf files online. However, when I save a pdf to my computer, I cannot open them anymore.
I upgraded to 10.8 a couple of weeks ago and then accepted a free upgrade to Maverick (10.9) this morning. I was hoping that by upgrading to Maverick, I would be able to open pdf files again but alas, that is not the case.
I really need to open pdf files as a matter of urgency as I do this on a daily basis. I am not a computer whizz so if anyone can help find a simple yet effective solution to my problem, that would be much appreciated.
Thanks!When I try to open a downloaded pdf file, I receive this message:
"It may be damaged or use a file format that Preview doesn’t recognize."
Yet, when I try to open pdf files downloaded whilst still using Mac OS X 10.6.8, they open as normal. So what is the problem, please?
I have deleted Adobe Reader and re-installed it. Yet, it follows the same pattern as above. The same is true of Preview. It's really frustrating because it means I can only open new pdf files using Safari (so I have to be online to do this). I need to be able to open pdf files when I'm offline as well.
Thanks. -
Safari won't open up downloaded pdf file
Safari won't' open up downloaded pdf file but Firefox will.
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac12,1
Processor Name: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.5 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Safari Version 6.1.1 (7537.73.11)
Receive message;
Adobe Reader could not open '2620522_rep.pdf' 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).
I've done the dance with going to Library/internet plug-ins and there isn't anything there that refers to Adobe. I only have 4 plug-ins anyway.
Upload mgr
Content mgr
Picassa
and RocketEngine (which I need to find out what that is and get rid of it if I don't need it.)
I don't have Silverlight (which I hear will interfere).
I've got Adobe set up in settings to update automatically. I went to Adobe regardless and went to install Adobe reader and it said I already had it installed.
Anyone have an idea where to go from here?
Thanks in advance...From the Safari menu bar, select
Help ▹ Installed Plug-ins
Besides the following, what plugins are listed?
iPhotoPhotocast
Java
QuickTime
Shockwave Flash
WebKit built-in PDF (absent in OS X 10.9 and later) -
Why can't I open or download PDF files in Firefox
Why can't I open or download PDF files in Firefox. In Safari PDF files open automatic. Firefox won't open anything.
Does this help?
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/pdf-files-are-blank-and-cant-be-downloaded- mac -
I cannot open a downloaded PDF document, why? I
I cannot open a downloaded PDF document, WHY?
My MacBook Pro (2.5 Ghz Intel Core i5) is running OS X 10.9.4. Here is what happens when reading an online user manual that I want to save to the Desktop and read later as a PDF file on my iPad or phone. With Safari I will select "Export As PDF" and the file shows up on the desktop. Even after multiple trials, there will be a dialogue box indicating the file cannot be opened. If I check the file info, the size is "zero." Trying to save the file as a pdf using the Print menu yields the same results. I have tried both of these methods using Preview, Adobe Reader, and PDF Pen Pro. This strange behavior also occurred several weeks ago and I finally abandoned the effort. But when the same thing happens twice, it becomes an issue that needs to be resolved.
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I exported my iBook and got the .ibooks file on my Desktop(iMac Retina 5K), I tried to put the file into the iBooks application but I get a message that says "The file "______.ibooks" couldn't opened because it isn't in the correct format. I took the same file and transferred it in my MacBook Air and was able to put it in the iBooks application no problem, the MacBook Air runs OS X v 10.9.5
Please advise as to Why it would work on an older OS X version as oppose to the newer OS X Yosemite
Thanks
JPThanks Lyra,
I may be doing something wrong because looking at the "Purchased" in iBooks I only see all the books that I actually purchased, none of the iBooks that I created in iBooks Author shows up. I can re-download all the iBooks I've purchased and some in iCouds, but the ones I've created in iBooks Author are no where to be found.
Any help is much appreciated,
Best Regards,
JP -
Preview gives error "The file ... couldn't be opened because you don't have permission to view it."
Yesterday I could access all my pdf´s with Preview. Today I get the error "The file ... couldn’t be opened because you don’t have permission to view it." upon opening a pdf file with Preview. All other pdf viewers open the files with no problem.
I repaired permissions with disk utitlity with no success.I booted into recovery and repaired disk permissions with the disk utility from there. That fixed it. Apperently it repairs more stuff than when you´re booted into the OS. But what an annoying bug, this happened twice to me already by now...
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The file "x.numbers" couldn't be opened.
I don't use numbers on the Mac often, so don't know how long this problem has been there for (I generally use the iPad version). When I try and open any of my iCloud saved versions it comes up with an error: The file "x.numbers" couldn't be opened. This happens with all of my documents, all of which open fine on the iPad or iCloud.com. If I download the document from iCloud it will open from my computer. If I then save it back to the cloud I can no longer open it. Everything is up to date, with the latest version (OS 10.9.4, Numbers 3.2). Any advice?
Hi Stephen,
Apple Menu > System Preferences > iCloud
Have you ticked Documents & Data?
Regards,
Ian. -
When I try to open a download PDF I get message to install Adobe Reader. I do it and get the same message already installed. I close Safari and reopen but get same message to install Adobe
You don't provide any details, but from the sound of it you are trying to open an online PDF in a browser that does not use the Adobe Reader plugin: http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/pdf-browser-plugin-configuration.html
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What can I do if I get the message "The file "MyFile.numbers" couldn't be opened.
When trying to open a file that I've worked on before, I get the message "The file “MyFile.numbers” couldn’t be opened." What can I do?
Please review this information:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6991 -
When I try to open images I am getting this message: "The file “image.jpg” couldn’t be opened because you don’t have permission to view it." "Which I've tried - but it's not responding, plus its with all images now. Can anyone help?
Back up all data.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iBooksX
Right-click or control-click the line and select
Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)
from the contextual menu.* A folder should open with an item selected. Quit the application if it's running. Move the selected item to the Trash. Relaunch the application and test.
*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select
Go ▹ Go to Folder...
from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return. -
When I try to open a pages document on my mac book pro it says "The file 'thesis.pages' couldn't be opened." But i can open the same file on my iPad and iPhone without a problem.
Thanks very much for the instructions. I encountered this problem this morning myself and the recommendation fixed the problem immediately. When things like this happen with iCloud and Pages it makes me wonder if I might be better off using something else, having just recently had to fix the problem that the current Pages can't read documents I created with a much earlier version until they were "upgraded" by an interim version.
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I was using configurator without trouble. Unfortunately, my battery died and my computer went down. I plugged my computer in, restarted it and tried to open configurator. Now this is the error I am getting. Apple Configurator could not open your library.The file couldn’t be opened because it isn’t in the correct format. How do I fix this?
Thank you for responding. The number 2 after the file final cut events is temporary so I can copy it to another drive while I am working on this. . i got a new message that reads...
Final Cut Pro must restore or move corrupted databases before opening. -
The file "aaa.jpg" couldn't be opened because you don't have permission to view it
The file “aaaa.jpg” couldn’t be opened because you don’t have permission to view it.
This message is coming up every time i try to look at a photo on my Mac . This is new ... does anyone know what has happened?Back up all data.
This procedure will unlock all your user files (not system files) and reset their ownership and access-control lists to the default. If you've set special values for those attributes on any of your files, they will be reverted. In that case, either stop here, or be prepared to recreate the settings if necessary. Do so only after verifying that those settings didn't cause the problem. If none of this is meaningful to you, you don't need to worry about it.
Step 1
If you have more than one user account, and the one in question is not an administrator account, then temporarily promote it to administrator status in the Users & Groups preference pane. To do that, unlock the preference pane using the credentials of an administrator, check the box marked Allow user to administer this computer, then reboot. You can demote the problem account back to standard status when this step has been completed.
Triple-click the following line to select it. Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C):
{ sudo chflags -R nouchg,nouappnd ~ $TMPDIR.. ; sudo chown -Rh $UID:staff ~ $_ ; sudo chmod -R u+rwX ~ $_ ; chmod -R -N ~ $_ ; } 2> /dev/null
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
The command will take a noticeable amount of time to run. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear, then quit Terminal.
Step 2
Boot into Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at startup. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.
When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select
Utilities ▹ Terminal
from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open.
In the Terminal window, type this:
resetpassword
That's one word, all lower case, with no spaces. Then press return. A Reset Password window will open. You’renot going to reset a password.
Select your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if not already selected.
Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.
Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.
Select
▹ Restart
from the menu bar. -
Textedit won't allow me to save .txt file "The file "Untitled.txt" couldn't be opened."
I have searched for this but couldn't find the answer for it. Everytime I use textedit and then tried to save my file I get the following error "The file "Untitled.txt" couldn't be opened." I am trying to save the file to my desktop with .txt extension but still not able to do so and it is driving me crazy.
I have recently upgraded to Mavericks 10.9.2 - there are a number of glitches that I have noticed. Hopefully Apple will remedy the issues soon.
Recently TextEdit has been behaving weirdly.
I type a document and go to save and I get the following:
I think you'll agree that the document exists, this is a screenshot of it.
I know there is a "/" in the name and that Mac doesn't like it but the same problem exists with whatever name is used and in whichever location is selected for the save.
Having run Macintosh since OS 8.6 I do have some working knowledge of how to resolve problems. My immediate action was to reboot the system. Nothing - same issue. I then moved to the Preferences directory (~/Library/Preferences) and did the usual trashing of the applications preferences. I noticed that in Mavericks there are way more associated preferences for each app. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I trashed the lot and emptied the trash. I was not able to empty the trash entirely - the system informed me that one of the documents was in use. I did not have TextEdit running. I removed the offending file from the command line using rm.
I then rebooted the system again and opened TextEdit and tried again and lo and behold the documents were able to be saved. However on inspection of the Preferences again I now find that TextEdit seems to have no preferences? See the Spotlight search below.
Whilst I tend to adhere to the adage "if it ain't broke - don't fix it" in this case I would really rather like to see the TextEdit Prefs.
Maybe there is a Mac-guru out there that can explain a) what is going on here b) how to reinstate some prefs for TextEdit as it would seem pretty normal that they exist. and c) what happens if TextEdit throws a wobbler again, I have no prefs to trash
At this time of writing TextEdit seems to be behaving normally aside from the above mentioned prefs issue.
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