Adobe Reader Error (solved): unsupported or damaged filetype

[Scott]

A member recently told me about an error they encountered when trying to open a PDF file they were sent from an author in Adobe Reader. I tried opening the file and sure enough I got the same error trying to open the file in Adobe Reader. The error message was:

Adobe Reader could not open 'filename.pdf' because it is either not a supported file type or because the file has been damaged (for example, it was sent as an email attachment and wasn't correctly decoded).

After some research, I found out that this error is almost always caused by trying to open a secure PDF in Adobe Reader. Secure PDFs must be opened in Adobe Digital Editions not Adobe Reader.

In any case, Adobe Digital Editions is free to download. It uses more security features such as restricting the editing or even printing of files, which are common for ebooks to protect the authors and publishers.

I assume these DRM-protected files may also be able to opened in some other PDF-compatible ereading software such as a Nook or the Kindle App. Can anyone confirm which devices and software programs can open up secure PDFs?

If you have Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) on your computer and still have this problem, it might be that your computer is still trying to open the secure PDF using Adobe Reader rather than Adobe Digital Editions. In that case, you need to associate that PDF filetype with ADE. Evan, an official rep at getsatisfaction.com gives the following instructions for doing this on some common operating systems:

If you have Windows 7:
1. Click the Start button, then 'Control Panel'.
2. Click 'Default Programs'.
3. Click 'Associate a file type or protocol with a program'.
4. In the list that appears, locate '.acsm', click on it to highlight it, then click 'Change program'.
5. Select 'Adobe Digital Editions' and click 'OK'.

If you have Windows Vista:
1. Click the Start button, then 'Control Panel'.
2. Click 'Program'.
3. Click 'Default Programs'.
4. Click 'Make a File Type Always Open in a Specific Program'.
5. In the list that appears, locate '.acsm', click on it to highlight it, then click 'Change program'.
6. Select 'Adobe Digital Editions' and click 'OK'.

If you have a Mac OS:
1. Hold the Ctrl button and click on the .acsm file.
2. Click 'Open With', then click 'Other...'.
3. In the list of programs displayed, select Adobe Digital Editions.
4. Check the 'Always Open With' box so the .acsm file type will always open in ADE.

I encourage anyone else who has any experience with this issue to post here either with your ongoing problem or with the solution that worked for you. Thanks!