Dana Johnson

Q: Preview displays blank page with some pdf files but prints what is hidden

Some of my pdf files have started coming up as blank in Preview. There still is data underneath, which selecting areas will disclose as though you are scraping white out off the print.  Printing is unaffected, and only some files are affected.  Tried repairing permissions, but no luck.  I recently did the OS update, and didn't notice the problem before that.  I have restarted the computer a couple times,.  a few odd artifacts have shown up on the screen as well, though box selecting over these causes them to disappear.  I haven't been able to find any consistent difference in the pdfs that will display properly and the ones that won't.  doesn't appear to be associated with when they were created or  which version of software they were created with.  Saving them under a different name doesn't help.  Adobe reader works fine, so it is specific to Preview ( which I would rather keep as my default reader )

Any ideas what went wrong?  How to fix it?

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Feb 4, 2015 11:01 AM

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Q: Preview displays blank page with some pdf files but prints what is hidden

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  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Feb 4, 2015 1:33 PM in response to Dana Johnson
    Level 9 (69,991 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 4, 2015 1:33 PM in response to Dana Johnson

    Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J.  When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Remove the following. You may not find them all.

     

    Containers/com.apple.Preview

     

    Preferences/com.apple.Preview.LSSharedFileList.plist

             

    Preferences/com.apple.Preview.SandboxedPersistentURLs.LSSharedFileList.plist

     

    Saved Application State/com.apple.Preview.savedState

     

    Credit Linc Davis  for this solution.

  • by Dana Johnson,

    Dana Johnson Dana Johnson Feb 5, 2015 1:34 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (26 points)
    Feb 5, 2015 1:34 PM in response to Eric Root

    Found all the files and deleted them, ( and emptied trash  just to be sure) Obviously they are recreated when needed, but this didn't work.  I still show a blank page while the content shows up in Print Preview, and prints fine.

    Thanks for the try.  Still have no idea what is going on.  When I went to force quit Preview, I did notice two of them in the force quit list and force quitting one didn't eliminate both so I had to do it twice.  I have noticed both on my Mac and my iPad running the latest iOS that  things often seem to open a window twice in quick succession, Safari is a good example, but the second thing to appear on the screen is all that stays.  Didn't happen as far as I can recall until a more recent ( not the latest)  OS update.  I may have to switch to Adobe until this gets resolved.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Feb 5, 2015 3:24 PM in response to Dana Johnson
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Feb 5, 2015 3:24 PM in response to Dana Johnson

    Have you edited these files in Adobe Acrobat?

  • by Dana Johnson,

    Dana Johnson Dana Johnson Feb 5, 2015 3:54 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (26 points)
    Feb 5, 2015 3:54 PM in response to Linc Davis

    No.  I rarely if ever use Acrobat Reader, and never opened any of the files in question with it until I tested one that came up blank in Preview

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Feb 5, 2015 4:00 PM in response to Dana Johnson
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Feb 5, 2015 4:00 PM in response to Dana Johnson

    Are any of the affected files available for public download in unedited form?

  • by Dana Johnson,

    Dana Johnson Dana Johnson Feb 5, 2015 6:43 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (26 points)
    Feb 5, 2015 6:43 PM in response to Linc Davis

    They are mine, and I don't care if they are copied, so if it is not the wrong thing to do, I could post a link to the file/s in dropbox here.  Don't know the etiquette of such things.  I'm a bit new to Drop Box too, only recently having any files that I've wanted to share that couldn't be emailed for size.  These are Kb sized, medium resolution scans of handwritten sheet music.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Feb 5, 2015 8:18 PM in response to Dana Johnson
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Feb 5, 2015 8:18 PM in response to Dana Johnson

    You can do that if you like. Make sure there is no personal information in the file, including the Inspector window.

  • by Dana Johnson,

    Dana Johnson Dana Johnson Feb 9, 2015 1:08 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (26 points)
    Feb 9, 2015 1:08 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Sorry to take so long, been busy.  here's the dropbox link,  It is only a bit over a hundred Kb

     

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/mg4d5z6rs77clut/Callahan%27s%20%3A%20Echo%20copy.pdf?d l=0

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Feb 10, 2015 6:56 PM in response to Dana Johnson
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Feb 10, 2015 6:56 PM in response to Dana Johnson

    Back up all data. Quit Preview if it's running.

    Hold down the option key and select Go Library from the Finder menu bar. From the Library folder, delete the following items, if they exist:

              Containers/com.apple.Preview

              Group Containers/com.apple.Preview

              Preferences/com.apple.Preview.LSSharedFileList.plist

              Preferences/com.apple.Preview.SandboxedPersistentURLs.LSSharedFileList.plist

              Saved Application State/com.apple.Preview.savedState

    Log out and log back in. Launch the application and test.

  • by Dana Johnson,

    Dana Johnson Dana Johnson Feb 11, 2015 12:49 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (26 points)
    Feb 11, 2015 12:49 PM in response to Linc Davis

    No Luck.  The file shows up in quick look and as an image in an e-mail, but not in Preview.  plenty of the other files work fine, so I don't know what is wrong with the ones that don't.  Since the other things do show up in preview, I am inclined to think Preview isn't the culprit, but something that happened to specific files Perhaps incorrectly setting some bit.  Unfortunately, knowing what to look for or even how to look for it is not a current skill of mine.I might be able to go back through Time Machine and see if I can find a version that works, but I don't know if it will tell me anything. 

  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Feb 11, 2015 8:47 PM in response to Dana Johnson
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Feb 11, 2015 8:47 PM in response to Dana Johnson

    I have no trouble viewing the file you posted in the same version of Preview that you have.

    Please read this whole message before doing anything.

    This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

    Step 1

    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

    Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

    While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

    Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

    After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

    *Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

    Step 2

    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

    Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.

    Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.

    Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

    Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

    The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

    Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

    After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

  • by Dana Johnson,

    Dana Johnson Dana Johnson Feb 13, 2015 12:35 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (26 points)
    Feb 13, 2015 12:35 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Guest user has same issue, no luck there, but Safe mode works fine with the test file. ( repeating, that only some of these PDFs don't display, others created the same way are fine.) looks like some third party thing then?  Probably a more recent one, but I haven't checked these files for a while Since copies have been on my iPad, where I usually access them.

  • by Dana Johnson,

    Dana Johnson Dana Johnson Feb 13, 2015 1:14 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (26 points)
    Feb 13, 2015 1:14 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Forgot to mention that after restarting as normal, the problem still occurs.  At least 70 percent of my sheet music PDF files are affected.  So far any patterns I think I see are quickly disproved.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Feb 13, 2015 2:03 PM in response to Dana Johnson
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Feb 13, 2015 2:03 PM in response to Dana Johnson

    Back up all data before proceeding.

    Launch the Font Book application and validate all fonts. You must select the fonts in order to validate them. See the built-in help and this support article for instructions. If Font Book finds any issues, resolve them.

    Start up in safe mode again to rebuild the font caches. Restart as usual and test.

    If you still have problems, then from the Font Book menu bar, select

              FileRestore Standard Fonts...

    You'll be prompted to confirm, and then to enter your administrator login password.

    Also note that if you deactivate or remove any built-in fonts, for instance by using a third-party font manager, the system may become unstable.

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