PDF file won’t display/open in web browser but will open if downloaded/opened in Adobe Acrobat

PDF Portfolio vs PDF Binder

If you have a .PDF file that won’t display/open in your web browser but will open if you download and open it in Adobe Acrobat, most likely it’s been saved as a PDF Portfolio file. PDF Portfolio files are not PDF documents and are actually an archive of files stored inside a single document, with a .PDF extension. Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome do not support viewing portfolio PDF files. In order to view the file from within the web browser you’ll need to re-create the PDF Portfolio as a PDF Binder.

Option 1: Convert the file using Adobe Acrobat

1. Open Adobe Acrobat
2. Choose File > Create > Combine Files into a Single PDF

3. Choose “Add Files”
4. Select the file that you downloaded that will not display inside of your web browser
5. You will most likely get a prompt that says that the file is a PDF Portfolio that contains multiple files

6. Click OK
7. Arrange the pages and documents in the order you’d like them displayed in the PDF document
8. Click the blue “Combine” button
9. Now the document should be displayed in the order you chose
10. After reviewing to make sure everything looks correct you can save the file
11. Click the save icon in the top left or choose File > Save
12. Choose a folder location and rename the default filename from “Binder1.pdf” to your preferred filename

Now if you upload this updated document to SharePoint you should be able to view it from within your browser.

Option 2: Re-save the file using Adobe Acrobat without the portfolio option checked

When combining documents into a single PDF document you have the option to create a PDF Portfolio – we want to Uncheck that option to ensure that a PDF binder is created so it can be viewed inside of a web browser.

1. Open Adobe Acrobat
2. Click Tools > Combine Files
3. Add files/Add open files then select the documents you want to combine
4. Arrange the pages and documents in the order you’d like the displayed in the PDF document
5. Click the “Options” button
6. Ensure that the “Save as PDF Portfolio” option is unchecked

7. Click OK
8. Click the blue “Combine” button
9. Now the document should be displayed in the order you chose
10. After reviewing to make sure everything looks correct you can save the file
11. Click the save icon in the top left or choose File > Save
12. Choose a folder location and rename the default filename from “Binder1.pdf” to your preferred filename

Now if you upload this updated document to SharePoint you should be able to view it from within your browser.