Documents in the Adobe Reader / Acrobat format with the * .pdf extension are the most common at the moment. An Acrobat document, like any other file, can be damaged. For example, when you try to open a document using Acrobat or Reader, you may receive various error messages. As a result, the document cannot be read.

The most common reason for such errors is the incorrect operation of various software: browsers, mail programs, operating system, antivirus, firewalls and others.

Simple ways to solve this problem:

• download the document from the original source again
• restore a copy of a document from a backup
• restore the previous version of the document file

If these methods fail to fix the file with the document, then Adobe, unfortunately, does not provide an exact guide for fixing the files. Examining the forum https://forums.adobe.com/ does not give a direct answer, but experts offer the following options for recovering faulty * .PDF files:

You should try each of these options for recovering invalid PDF files one by one:

Extracting text from * .PDF file manually

If it is important and sufficient to recover only the text from a damaged PDF file, then use any convenient text editor, for example Notepad ++, and open the damaged document with it. You will see a mixture of Post Script code, text and unreadable character sets, just like in the movie The Matrix. Then you need to visually select blocks with text in the file and copy these blocks into a new text file. It will be a long and painstaking work that will allow you to extract text from an Acrobat document. In this case, the tabular data, graphics, and text formatting cannot be restored.

Repairing a defective PDF file using a dedicated online service

The service client is required to:

1. select one * .PDF file uploaded to the service.
2. enter email address.
3. enter captcha characters from the picture.

After clicking on the "Send file for recovery" link, the browser will transfer the selected file to the online service. The service will start analyzing and processing the uploaded Acrobat file immediately. If the Acrobat document was repaired, screenshots of the restored pages, the sizes of the source and destination files, will be presented:

After paying $ 5 for a file up to 100MB in size, the user receives a link to download the recovered Adobe Acrobat / Adobe Reader PDF document.

The service is universal and works with all operating systems (Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android) and with all types of devices (computer, tablet, phone).

Recovering an invalid PDF file using a special utility

The most common and well-known utility designed to repair faulty Acrobat / Reader documents is Recovery Toolbox for PDF(https://pdf.recoverytoolbox.com/ru/). The software utility can only work in the Windows operating system and costs from $ 27. The number and size of recoverable files are not limited. The program does not have a preview of the pages from the revised PDF document. In DEMO mode, only a few pages from a large Adobe Reader document can be saved to disk.

Working with Recovery Toolbox for PDF is very simple and straightforward, as it is an ordinary step-by-step assistant. Only required:

1. Enter invalid * . pdf file on disk
2. Enter the name of the new PDF file where the recovered pages will be saved
3. Select a version of the new PDF file from the list

Note: Recovery Toolbox for PDF works only on Windows computers.

Conclusion

The most universal way to recover any Acrobat document is the online service https://onlinefilerepair.com/en/pdf-repair-online.html. If a damaged document cannot be transferred to third parties or you have a lot of incorrect documents to fix, then Recovery Toolbox for PDF will be a more optimal solution.

Note: PDF (Portable Document Format) is probably the most popular format for a document because it is supported by all OS, more secure, the Acrobat document file is difficult to modify, and the Acrobat document file can be password protected and watermarked.

PDF files are constantly encountered by users who download from the Internet various instructions, brochures, e-books, magazines and periodicals. To view printed products presented in this format, special programs such as Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader are used. But what if the PDF file turns out to be damaged and cannot be opened through the specified applications? Is it possible to carry out the recovery procedure without installing special software, using online services?

Online recovery

Since PDF files are still not as common as other documents, not everyone will want to install special software to recover them. Therefore, first, let's see the procedure for recovering PDF using online services. For example, let's take the site online.officerecovery.com - it will be the first in the search results if you are looking for a tool for recovering damaged PDF files.

If the file was successfully restored, then you will be offered two options for downloading it - paid and free. To make sure that you are not being deceived, download the demo version of the recovered electronic document and check its contents. For a free download, you will have to subscribe to the site, and also click "Like" or publish a link to the service on your blog or web page.

Online File Repair Service

If the online.officerecovery service did not help you, or you cannot download the full version of the document from it, then try an alternative method:

If the restoration is successful, a preview of the contents of the document will start. In the demo version, all pages of the digital document will be covered with the service's watermarks. You can download it without signs for $ 5.

Special software

If online services do not suit you due to their pricing policy, then try to recover PDF using special utilities.

Only the first page of the document is saved in demo access. To restore and save the rest of the sheets, you must purchase the full version of the program. The PDR Repair Toolbox utility works in the same way - it restores the first page, and then offers to purchase the full version of the program.

If you want a completely free solution, then try using the features of the File Repair utility. This application scans files of different formats (including PDF), trying to find and fix errors. It works a little worse than paid programs, but it retains a certain chance of document recovery.

Recovery restrictions

All programs and online services, whether paid or free, cannot recover PDF documents, the contents of which are password protected. Tools of this kind only help to read a file that cannot be opened through the standard Adobe Reader or other PDF applications.

Information can be extracted only from a damaged document; to read a password-protected file, you need to find out the security code or find other ways to remove the access key to the PDF content.

PDF recipients: corporate administrators and users

If you are a user or corporate IT professional, you can turn off header checking on computers by configuring the appropriate settings. You can configure these settings on a per-user basis in HKCU or on a computer-wide basis for all users in HKLM. You can use a similar method on Mac OS by changing the same plist setting. If the AVGeneral key does not exist, create it manually.

The HKLM path looks something like this:

HKLM \ Software \ Adobe \ (product name) \ (version) \ AVGeneral \ bValidateBytesBeforeHeader = dword: 00000000

For example, to change the behavior of Acrobat 11.0, create a DWORD here: HKLM \ SOFTWARE \ Adobe \ Adobe Acrobat \ 11.0 \ AVGeneral \ bValidateBytesBeforeHeader = dword: 00000000

The HKCU path looks something like this:

HKCU \ Software \ Adobe \ (product name) \ (version) \ AVGeneral \ bValidateBytesBeforeHeader = dword: 00000000

For example, to change the behavior of Reader 10.0, create a DWORD here: HKCU \ SOFTWARE \ Adobe \ Acrobat Reader \ 10.0 \ AVGeneral \ bValidateBytesBeforeHeader = dword: 00000000

Always change the product name and version number according to your specific situation. This method allows you to display the PDF on computers that you can control.

Business solutions

If using the online recovery service is not possible, you can download one of the following utilities:

In addition to the ability to recover information at home, they also provide unlimited options for recovering a large number of files, professional support and many other options useful to corporate users.

Video Tutorial for OfficeRecovery Online Service

About OfficeRecovery for PDF Online

OfficeRecovery for PDF Online repairs corrupted PDF documents (pdf).

Supported PDF versions:
1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6

The recovered data is saved into a new PDF document.

After the file recovery is finished, you can evaluate the demo results and register for free results or purchase them immediately. If the file could not be restored, you can order its analysis by our experienced team of specialists.

Examples of using

PDF corruption repair service can be used in situations when pdf file cannot be opened in Adobe PDF and you see errors or warnings while opening.

In order to quickly recover a damaged pdf file, upload the pdf document to our cloud recovery service using the form on this page.

It is important to note that if the recovery process is successful, you will receive a ready-to-use pdf file as a result. You can get fully repaired pdf document by selecting free or paid option.

Standard features:

• Support for Adobe PDF 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 specifications
• Recover page tree, missing pages, cross-reference table, images
• Restore interactive objects: links, notes, actions performed by clicking on links
• Restore original PDF formatting: fonts, markup, colors, magnification, etc.
• Create new PDF document with recovered data
• Easy to use, no special skills required

OfficeRecovery for PDF Online File Recovery Description

Corrupted pdfs are files that suddenly become unusable and cannot be opened with Adobe PDF. There are a number of reasons why a pdf file might be damaged. And in some cases it is possible to fix and restore a damaged pdf (PDF 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6) file.

If your pdf document has accidentally become corrupt / inaccessible for opening with the original software, don't despair! You no longer need to buy expensive software to repair just one corrupted pdf file. OfficeRecovery for PDF Online brings you a brand new online service that will help you instantly recover corrupted pdf document. All you need to do is just download the damaged pdf file using a browser, evaluate the quality of the demo recovery results and choose the solution that suits you best.

OfficeRecovery Online for PDF supports Adobe PDF 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6. The recovered data is saved into a new PDF document.

OfficeRecovery for PDF Online offers free / gratuit and paid options to get full recovery results. The free option assumes that full results can be received absolutely free of charge within 14-28 days. All you have to do is simply subscribe to free results after the end of the pdf file recovery process. If you need to get the repaired pdf file right now, instantly you just need to choose the paid option instead of the free one.

What if no data to recover detected in your pdf file? You can order a non-refundable analysis of your file by our experienced technical team. In some cases, data recovery is only possible manually.

Online unreadable PDF file recovery service allows you to fix Adobe Acrobat document in a couple of clicks. Just upload the document to the service and start recovery. Service features:

• recovery of pdf files of all versions;
• recovery of compressed and uncompressed file content;
• simultaneous use of various data recovery methods;
• no need to install software on a personal computer;
• low cost of restoration;

How to Repair a Defective Adobe Reader PDF File?

To restore any * .pdf file, you just need to upload it to the server. Then everything will be done automatically, and you can see what data can then be saved in a new pdf file.

Our service allows you to fix the following errors in PDF documents:

• Error opening document. The root object is missing or damaged.
• There are errors on the page. Acrobat cannot render the page correctly. Contact the PDF author to fix the problem.
• Error opening document. Problems reading this document.
• Error opening document. The file is damaged and cannot be recovered.
• Page processing error. Invalid resource function.
• Page processing error. The font contains incorrect cmap encoding.
• Page processing error. Too many actions.
• Found unrecognized sign "".
• The file is corrupted or damaged.
• The file contains information that is incomprehensible to view.
• The file does not start with% PDF.
• The PDF file is not readable by Acrobat Reader.
• Formatting error: not pdf or document.
• The file is damaged and cannot be recovered.
• Error detecting object header when uploading a .pdf file

Note:

• the service does not restore password-protected files;
• the service does not recover encrypted pdf files.