PDF not downloading from chrome iPad Pro

I can view pdfs in the chrome browsers from webpages, but when I try to "open in" and "copy to adobe reader" on my iPad it downloads the file (often under the name "out" instead of the original file name), but is unable to open in adobe which gives me the error:"The document canno be opened because it is corrupted or damaged". I've tried this with various PDF documents from various public websites that don't have encry PDFs, that open easily on my MacBook and pc. Same goes for saving on iCloud, Dropbox or google drive. I just want to open pdfs from the web in chrome in adobe on my iPad--it's the primary intended use for my new device and I am unable to do it. Please help!

iPad Pro, iOS 10.0.2, Adobe Chrome

Posted on Oct 9, 2016 12:28 PM

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13 replies

Oct 9, 2016 1:15 PM in response to Dcdocfaustus

Hi. This may actually be an Adobe problem. I assume you're viewing the pdf in iOS Chrome. Then you touch and hold to see the OPEN IN at the bottom right. You select the Adobe application and it fails to download the document correctly. Is that correct? I use the GoodReader app, and this process still works for me. If you're using the normal send to button next to the URL bar, try touch and hold instead. You could also check for an Adobe update.

Oct 9, 2016 1:22 PM in response to Diana.McCall

Thanks for the quick response! It's not just happening with Adobe--the same is true when I save a pdf from Chrome to Google Drive, Dropbox or even iCloud. It saves a pdf just fine, but when I click on it (in any of the apps), it opens as a blank screen (not a blank page of a pdf) as though there's nothing there.. I only recently purchased the iPad, so all my software and apps are up to date.

Oct 9, 2016 1:52 PM in response to Dcdocfaustus

We seem to be talking at cross purposes. In iOS Chrome, I'm not aware of any option to save a pdf or other file. What I use is to tap (not hold, sorry) on the document, which exposes OPEN IN... in the lower right. This allows Chrome to send the URL to other apps, which then import the file themselves. Is that the method you're using? Note that this is not possible for all pdfs, maybe because their owners want to block downloads. If you're using some method based on select all/copy, I would not expect that to work, because it will only copy the text. If you're using some other technique, please describe it.


By the way, a new purchase doesn't mean your software is up to date. Have you updated to iOS 10?

Oct 9, 2016 2:31 PM in response to Diana.McCall

Yes, I'm using the Open In function--that's what I meant by save a pdf as I can have it available on the iPad in my local documents in Adobe to access without connectivity which I can annotate and highlight etc. I tap on the pdf in the browser window to select the "open in", and select the option to copy to Adobe. It saves a file that is blank and/or won't open and gives me the error "The document cannot be opened because it is corrupted or damaged." As a workaround, I tried instead to first save it to Google Drive (and then Dropbox and then iCloud) and tried to open in Adobe from there, but it's the file that's damaged, or incorrectly saved that won't open anywhere. I can only view the pdf in the web browsers. I've tried this with multiple pdfs from multiple sources from external websites that don't require logins and aren't encrypted and none of the pdfs work. And yes, all my software and apps are up to date. And, incidentally, I've used this method on my iPhone 5 for years to view and "save" pdfs in adobe locally on my phone so I can access them even in airplane mode etc.

Oct 9, 2016 3:52 PM in response to Dcdocfaustus

Good. If you're used to a computer, where you can just toss files around and open them with any application that works, you need to recognize that iOS isn't like that. Each iOS app manages its own data as objects. So, when you try to open a pdf in Adobe, Chrome hands the URL to Adobe and it downloads the file to store inside itself. I've just tested this process with both GoodReader and the Apple iBooks app, both of which work fine. And my pattern is similar to yours. I have almost 2 GB of documents stored in GoodReader on this iPad, so I can access data almost instantly.


I was testing with this https://www.csc.ncsu.edu/it/sites/default/files/apple-0004.pdf file which seems to be a generic pdf. Could you try it and see if it works? You may need to reinstall Adobe, or it may not be updated for iOS 10.

Oct 9, 2016 6:04 PM in response to Diana.McCall

Aloha Diana.

I'm trying to help another user with a similar but not identical problem. Since you downloaded the Acrobat app and it worked for you I'm wondering if the problem isn't specific to different iPad models. I fthat's the case the best we can hope for is a workaround and the feedback link.


PDFs don't work on iPad Pro nor iPhone 6s


http://www.apple.com/feedback/


Keep up the good work. You're making us look like a bunch of noobs. 🙂

Stay well. Bob.

Oct 9, 2016 6:25 PM in response to bobseufert

Aloha Bob.

It may be device-dependent, but it seems such a basic mechanism. Certainly with Chrome, I know it just hands off the link for the other app to download, because it's annoying to download a large pdf in Chrome, then download it again in GoodReader. The interesting thing with Chrome is that it thinks for a while to populate the list for OPEN IN... It's not the normal send to mechanism, which is pre-defined. Chrome somehow calls around to apps that are able to accept a given file (probably MIME) type. In this OP's case, it finds the app OK, but the handoff seems to go wrong. I suppose the Chrome code may not be entirely compatible with all platforms. Hard to say.


Thanks. I just try to pick my fights where I do have some info, avoid most of the flame wars.

Cheers, Di

Oct 10, 2016 4:01 AM in response to Dcdocfaustus

This is a bit of an afterthought, but have you restarted the iPad since updating iOS? Here's how


1. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the red slider appears.

2. Drag the slider to turn your device completely off.

3. After the device turns off, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button again until you see the Apple logo.


This actually reboots the system. The normal "turn off" process using the cover or Sleep button just puts the computer to sleep, so it wakes up in the same state.

Nov 27, 2016 7:40 AM in response to Dcdocfaustus

I'm having the same issue - new iPad Pro purchased for the purpose of studying/editing sheet music, which I mostly receive by email. Ipad is using the latest update, iOs 10.1.1, and has been restarted after any downloads. Upon opening a pdf in the following apps/sites/functions, they all display blank pages:

- native email app

- accessing email over Chrome

- accessing email over Safari

- opening the pdf in iBooks

- opening the pdf in the nice, fancy, specially-designed sheet music app

- Google Drive app (I can see a preview, but opening the file returns blank pages)


that's what I've found so far. The files display normally on my ipad mini on iOs 9, and on my iphone 6s on iOs 9. I'd say that's a wide enough range of apps to gather the problem is not that I'm expecting my ipad Pro to act like a laptop.

Other pdf files that were already in Google Drive before purchasing the ipad open just fine, so I tried sending a file to Google Drive using another device, thinking perhaps the ipad was not correctly moving it for some reason. Then going back to Google Drive on the ipad, it displays blank pages. I can get a pdf reader app to display it, but not an app that I need for annotating music notation. If the sheet music app were the only one displaying blank pages, I'd consider the app to be the problem. Thanks to AirPrint being discontinued (why?), I can't print out a hard copy, either.


I have an $1100 blank page display device!

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PDF not downloading from chrome iPad Pro

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