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can't open pdf attachments in Mail

I have updated to OS 11.6.6 and cannot not open pdf attachments in the Mail app. (I can open them fine if I first drag them to my desktop.) My default pdf reader is Adobe Acrobat Reader. Any solutions to this problem?


MacBook Air

Posted on Jun 4, 2022 9:50 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 7, 2022 5:36 PM

This is bad advice - the problem has nothing to do with your preferred application for PDF files. There's a bug in macOS 11.6.6 which prevents opening of any attachment in Mail if the assigned program is already open. If you have assigned Preview to open PDFs then you have to quit Preview before double-clicking the file. By the same toke, if you use Adobe Acrobat then you have to quit it first, then double-click the attachment.

Don't waste your time reaching out to Adobe to resolve the problem. It's with macOS 11.6.6 - this is entirely on Apple to fix the bug they introduced with 11.6.6.

15 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 7, 2022 5:36 PM in response to Drew_7

This is bad advice - the problem has nothing to do with your preferred application for PDF files. There's a bug in macOS 11.6.6 which prevents opening of any attachment in Mail if the assigned program is already open. If you have assigned Preview to open PDFs then you have to quit Preview before double-clicking the file. By the same toke, if you use Adobe Acrobat then you have to quit it first, then double-click the attachment.

Don't waste your time reaching out to Adobe to resolve the problem. It's with macOS 11.6.6 - this is entirely on Apple to fix the bug they introduced with 11.6.6.

Jun 5, 2022 11:59 AM in response to dob1952

Hello dob1952,


We recommend attempting to open a pdf from your email with Preview instead of Adobe. You can choose an app to open a file on your Mac by following this user guide: Choose an app to open a file on Mac - Apple Support


If the issue is resolved by taking this step it is likely related to Adobe being your default app. We'd recommend reaching out to Adobe support for more information.


Regards.

Aug 30, 2022 11:29 AM in response to DanielDimov

Hello!


Okay, so I had this issue. I got on the phone with someone from support and we figured it out. I was able to do screenshots and save them as PDF and open them. There were some PDFs I could open and some I couldn't. So, I had the person resave the attachment and resend it. Boom. Worked.


I don't know if this will work for you, but it worked for me. The file could be corrupt. If this doesn't help, get someone from support to call you.


Good luck!

can't open pdf attachments in Mail

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