Share this article

Improve this guide

Fix: There was a problem reading this document error on Windows 10

7 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

Share this article

Improve this guide

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more

Key notes

There was a problemreadingthis documenterror messageusually appears when trying to viewPDF files. Thiserror messagewill prevent you from viewing certain documents, and in today’s article we’ll show you how to fix thiserror.

There was a problemreadingthis documenterrormessage will prevent you from viewingPDF files. This message has several variations, and these are some similar problems that users reported:

There was a problem reading this document error message, how to fix it?

Solution 1 – Hold the CTRL key to view extra information

There was a problemreadingthis document error14message can appear while trying to open certainPDF documents. According to users, the problem occurs due to file corruption, and in order to see the fullerror message, users are suggesting to press and hold theCtrlkey when theerrorappears and click the OK button.

This will show you more information about thiserror. Bear in mind that this method won’t fix the core problem, but it will give you the additional information that you can use in order to troubleshoot the issue further.

Solution 2 – Resave the problematic file

As previously mentioned,There was a problemreadingthis document error 15can occur due to file corruption, and in order to fix the problem, it’s advised to open the document, save it again and try to open it once more.

Several users claim that resaving the document can fix the file corruption issues as long as the file is readable, so be sure to try that.

Solution 3 – Extract the desired pages

According to users, if you keep gettingThere was a problem reading this document error 14messages, you might be able to circumvent the issue simply by extracting the pages that you need.

YourPDF filecan be corrupted, and if you can’t repair it by using our previous solutions, you can at least try to export the pages that you need. This won’t fix the core problem, but at least you should be able to view the pages that you need.

Solution 4 – Open the file in the browser and save it

In order to fixThere was a problem reading this document error 14,you might want to try using a browser to view the file. If the file can’t be rendered in the browser, then it’s advised to save a copy from the browser.

To do that, open thePDF filein the browser, chooseFile > Print > PDF > Open PDF in Preview. After doing that, choose a save location and save the file and you should be able to open it without any problems.

Bear in mind that you might not be able to open thePDF filein your default browser, so it’s advised to try this solution with several different browsers until you find the one that works for you.

Solution 5 – Use an older version of Adobe Reader

According to users, sometimes this problem can occur due to the version ofAdobe Readeryou’re using. To fix that, you just need to switch back to the older version ofAdobeReader. To do that, you first need to uninstall the version ofAdobeReader you’re using.

There are several methods you can use to do so, but the most efficient one is to consider thebest uninstaller softwareon the market right now.

In case you don’t know howuninstaller softwareworks, it will remove the selected application, but it will also remove all files and registry entries associated with it.

Once you remove Adobe Reader, download an older version and install it. Keep in mind that the older version might not be available fromAdobe’s website, so you’ll need to rely on third-party sources.

Bear in mind that Adobe Reader might try to update itself automatically to the latest version, so be sure to disable this option in settings.

Solution 6 – Disable Display PDF in browser option

SometimesThere was a problem reading this document error 14message can appear due to your settings in Adobe Reader. However, you might be able to solve this problem simply by disabling the DisplayPDFin browser feature.

To do that in Adobe Reader, follow these steps:

After doing that, check if that problem is still there. Several users reported that this workaround solved the problem for them, so be sure to try it out.

Solution 7 – Update Adobe Reader to the latest version

In some cases, you might be able to solveThere was a problem reading this document errorsimply by installing the latest updates for Adobe Reader. Adobe Reader usually checks for updates automatically, but sometimes you might skip an update or two.

However, you can always check for updates right from the application itself. Alternatively, you can download the latest version fromAdobe’s website and install it. Once Adobe Reader is up to date, the problem should be resolved and everything will start working again.

Solution 8 – Use a third-party reader

If you’re still gettingThere was a problem reading this documenterrormessage, the problem might be yourPDFviewer. Issues with Adobe Reader can occur, and in order to fix the problem, perhaps you can try using a differentPDFreader.

There are many greatPDFviewers on the market besides Adobe, so if you’re an avid user of digital papers or ebooks, you can try thebest PDF reader apps on Windows 10.

Once you download and install a differentPDFreader, try to open it again and check if the problem is still there.

Solution 9 – Download the PDF again

IfThere was a problem reading this documenterror keeps appearing, the problem might be thePDF file. Sometimes thePDF filecan get corrupted, and if you tried all of our previous solutions, perhaps you can fix the problem simply by redownloading thePDF file.

Once you do that, try to open it and check if the problem is still there. Alternatively, you can try to open thePDF fileon a different PC or on your phone and check if the problem appears there as well.

There was a problem reading this document errorcan be quite problematic and cause issues while trying to viewPDF files, but we hope that you managed to solve this problem using one of our solutions.

Fix: There was a problem reading this document error on Windows 10#

There was a problem reading this document error message, how to fix it?#

Solution 1 – Hold the CTRL key to view extra information#

Solution 2 – Resave the problematic file#

Solution 3 – Extract the desired pages#

Solution 4 – Open the file in the browser and save it#

Solution 5 – Use an older version of Adobe Reader#

Solution 6 – Disable Display PDF in browser option#

Solution 7 – Update Adobe Reader to the latest version#

Solution 8 – Use a third-party reader#

Solution 9 – Download the PDF again#