atw: Re: [austechwriter] Re: File does not begin with %PDF

  • From: Helen Mangelschots <hma@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "'austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 09:05:01 +0200

Hi Michael,
Yep, client does mean customer in this case. This customer is accessing a
PDF file stored on our webserver via the Web when he runs into this problem.
Other customers do not have this problem, which seems to suggest the problem
lies with this customer's configuration, not with the PDF file itself. The
PDF file was created in-house (compatibility with PDF 1.3 and later) and has
never been sent by e-mail (which apparently is a common cause for this kind
of problem). The customer assures us he has the latest version of the
Reader.  

Regards,
Helen

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Edward Granat [mailto:megranat@xxxxxxxx]
Sent: zaterdag 23 augustus 2003 6:43
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [austechwriter] Re: File does not begin with %PDF


To my thinking, there are three likely possibilities, Helen (Mangelschots).

(Presuming also that you are talking about a "client" as in a "customer", 
not a workstation on a network.)

1.  It might be because of a file attachment with multiple file extensions, 
posing as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file but actually containing an 
executable virus file.

2. You might be running an obsolete version of the Acrobat Reader (3 or 4) 
trying to display a version 5 or 6 file (perhaps with 128 bit security 
features enabled).
(If you do not already have the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader, it is 
available for free on the Web from 
<http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html> but be warned, if you 
have an obsolete version of the Acrobat creation tool installed, this might 
be overwritten or prevented from working by installing the latest Reader.)

3. The file that was sent to you might be damaged or otherwise corrupted in 
some way.

Most likely a combination of options 2 and 3.

Best to ask the originator to resupply the file, on disk, rather than by 
E-mail, if the latter was the way it was received.

HTH.

Regards,

Michael Granat
Write Ideas

At 17:01 22/8/2003 +0200, you wrote:
>Hi guys,
>One of our clients receives the above message when trying to open one
>of the PDF forms on our webserver, others don't have this problem so
>I don't think the problem lies with the PDF.
>Saving the file first then opening it in Acrobat Reader on the
>client's machine solves the problem but is not an option as some PDF
>form fields contains "pre-filled" data from an underlying database
>(Submit button does not work either in this case).
>Any suggestions? TIA!
>
>Helen
>
>PS: This message was posted earlier to the old austechwriter at yahoogroups
>by accident)
>
>---
>ICMS Group nv - for better use of information & knowledge
>Leuvensesteenweg 282c - 3190 Boortmeerbeek - Belgium
>Tel +32 15 61 85 45   Fax +32 15 62 03 99
>Mail to: hma@xxxxxxxxxxx   Visit us at http://www.icmsgrp.com

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