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Adobe Acrobat  5, 6 version conflict

Problem Using Version 5
The PDF was created by a newer version of Acrobat than you have. You open a PDF in Acrobat or Reader and see a message box that looks like this:

(The title bar may say "Reader" or "Adobe Acrobat" depending on which application is trying to open the PDF)  Follow the instructions in the section entitled "What to do about it"

Problem Using Version 6
Error occurs when attempting to save a PDF file that has been made version 5 compatible using version 6.

Fix: Click OK. This will return the SAVE AS option box. Choose CANCEL. From the FILE menu choose REDUCE FILE SIZE... that will give you the Acrobat Version Compatibility option. Choose Acrobat 5.0 and later and Click OK. The SAVE AS option box will be presented again. Choose a new file name or leave the default file name and answer YES in the dialog box asking to REPLACE THE EXISTING file. Click SAVE.

What to do about it

  1. If you click OK, chances are fairly good that the file will open and look fine in your copy of Acrobat/Reader.
  2. If you are using Acrobat Reader, download and install the latest version of the free Reader available from the Adobe website.
  3. When filling in information on a form that has been created or edited with Acrobat 6.0 using Acrobat 5.0, the information may appear correctly but print up-side-down.
    1. Make sure you are using version 5.0.5 of Adobe Acrobat. To find the version number click on the Help menu and then About Adobe Acrobat. [Updates can be downloaded from the Adobe website]
    2. Contact the PDF document owner and request that they replace the file with one created using the information in step 2 in the section "Preventing the Problem" below.

Note: When accessing Acrobat (.pdf) forms, it is recommended that you click the right mouse button over the file link and save the file to your hard drive (using "Save Target As" or "Save Link As" or your browser's equivalent). Open the file on your hard drive using the application instead of your web browser.

Preventing the Problem

  1. If you're not the one who created the PDF and
    1. You don't need to save a copy of the file, download and install the latest free Reader from the Adobe website.
    2. You need to save a copy of the file, contact the PDF document owner and request that they replace the file with one created using the information in step 2 below.
       
  2. If you're the one creating the PDF, open the file in Acrobat 6, click on the Advanced menu, then PDF Optimizer,  then choose "Compatible with: Acrobat 5.0 or later", and click OK and save the file.

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