Adobe Acrobat .pdf Files Appear as a Blank Window or Frame

• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.02, 4.0, 4.01 for Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you try to view a Portable Document Format (.pdf) file in Internet Explorer, you may see a blank window or frame instead of the .pdf file. This may occur even though you have installed the Adobe Acrobat Reader program, and you are normally able to view .pdf files in that program.

CAUSE

This behavior can be caused by any of the following situations:

• An updated version of Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to use in-place activation. In-place activation is a function that opens a program file in Internet Explorer and displays the toolbars from the associated program.
• The security level for this zone is set to High in Internet Explorer 4.0 or 4.01. For information about security zones in Internet Explorer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

        ARTICLE-ID: Q174360
        TITLE     : How to Use Security Zones in Internet Explorer 4.0
  
  

• Ratings are enabled in Internet Explorer 3.02, or the safety level is set to High.
• The .pdf file is being served from an early version of some Web servers (such as Microsoft Internet Information Server version 2.0).

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, follow the steps in the appropriate section below:

Internet Explorer 4.0 and 4.01

If you are using Adobe Acrobat Reader version 3.0 or earlier, upgrade to version 3.01 or later. If you are already using version 3.01 or later, follow these steps:

1. Change the security level used by Internet Explorer to medium or lower. To view .pdf files in Internet Explorer 4.0 or 4.01, the security must be set to medium or lower. To change the security level, use the following steps.

   NOTE: If you do not want to reduce the security level for this zone, skip to step 2.

   a. Start Internet Explorer, and then click Folder Options on the View

         menu.
   

   b. Click the Security tab, click Internet Zone in the Zone box, click

         either Medium (More Secure) or Low, and then click OK.
   

   c. Try opening the .pdf file again. If you can open the file

         successfully, do not follow step 2.
   

2. Download the .pdf file, and then open it using the Adobe Acrobat Reader program.

Internet Explorer 3.02

If you are using Adobe Acrobat Reader version 3.0 or earlier, upgrade to version 3.01 or later. If you are already using version 3.01 or later, use one or both of the following methods:

Disable Ratings in Internet Explorer

To disable ratings in Internet Explorer, follow these steps:

1. Start Internet Explorer, and then click Options on the View menu.

2. On the Security tab, click Disable Ratings, and then click OK.

3. Quit Internet Explorer.

4. Download the .pdf file, and then open it using the Adobe Acrobat Reader program.

Decrease the Safety Level

Change the security level used by Internet Explorer to medium or lower. To do so, follow these steps:

1. On the View menu, click Options.

2. On the Security tab, click Safety Level.

3. Click Medium, click OK, and then click OK again.

4. Quit Internet Explorer.

5. Download the .pdf file, and then open it using the Adobe Acrobat Reader program.

MORE INFORMATION

Internet Explorer makes it possible to use the Adobe Acrobat viewer as a control. Due to a change in the object model from Internet Explorer 3.0 to Internet Explorer 4.0, Adobe needed to update their viewer to work with the Internet Explorer 4.0 object model. To obtain an updated version of Adobe Acrobat, contact Adobe.

The third-party product discussed in this article is manufactured by a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.