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mikzn

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Sep 2, 2013
3,005
2,293
North Vancouver
This has been plaguing me for years with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC - Every once in a while I get this message - "The document could not be saved. A number is out of range" 😡

I used to think it was one of the images or text boxes was outside the printable boundaries - but it happens even when I make sure everything is with the page and printing boundaries

Once it happens I cannot save the files and if I have worked on the document for an extensive amount of time I loose all the modifications and changes and have to repeat all the work done starting again from the original file - very frustrating and a big loss of time

Worse yet - when redoing the same changes / work - I get the same error again - so I have learned to open the file in preview and print to PDF - and then open the "preview saved PDF" file and then I can work on the file and make changes that can be saved.

I have searched the internet for how to troubleshoot the error and fix it within Adobe but have not found any answers that work

Any thoughts on what causes this error with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC ?

Adobe-Error.png
 
Last edited:

DeltaMac

macrumors G5
Jul 30, 2003
13,749
4,572
Delaware
There's some internet search results for that error.
So, you are not alone...
What I saw as a common (possible) reason, is a pdf that has some minor format error.
And might be fixed by using a different method to save the PDF, such as "printing as a PDF", and choosing to print/save the PDF.
But, after I read your OP again, looks like you have tried that.
Did you also try a "Print to PDF" from Adobe Acrobat (and not just a simple Save)? I couldn't tell from your description in your OP, so I might have missed that.
 
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mikzn

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Sep 2, 2013
3,005
2,293
North Vancouver
thanks - yes have tried all what you have suggested - within Adobe Pro DC - no success within Adobe - as per original post my best work around has been to open in Preview and save as PDF

This error is confusing and very frustrating - can happen with opening a file and deleting only one element and then trying to save - if you don't try to save along the way - you can put a lot of work and effort into the file and loose all the work and changes - very frustrating
 

DeltaMac

macrumors G5
Jul 30, 2003
13,749
4,572
Delaware
Just curious - do you get the error only from PDFs that you sourced from somewhere (not originally created by you), or do you also see the error on PDFs that you created? Related to that, do the PDFs that display the error come from other platforms (Win, Linux) and not originally created on macOS system?
Or, apparently not related to a specific source, the error just shows up randomly...?
 
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mikzn

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Sep 2, 2013
3,005
2,293
North Vancouver
Thanks Again, most of the PDF's I work on are generated by our marketing dept and from Mac based applications - mostly Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, OmniGraffle etc

All of the PDF's work fine (at first) until I modify them locally (in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC) and as mentioned above - this can be as simple as deleting one of the text boxes or a graphic and then trying to save the modified PDF

I am quite sure is not from a Linux / Windows files in my case but perhaps that could also generate the same error for others - not sure

I have been able to rarely find a "text box outside the printable range" as mentioned above - but that is rarely the issue and when it happens I have never been able to figure it why it occurs - so my solution is to save the file in preview (Print to PDF) and then work on the preview saved file - for now.
 
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