New article
Recently updated
Troubleshooting issues with opening XFA PDFs
Who is this article for?
Users experiencing issues opening PDF documents, specifically dynamic XFA PDFs.
No special permissions or access are required.
When attempting to open PDF documents directly from the dashboard or document tree, you may run into issues. These often stem from browser limitations in handling specific PDF formats.
This article outlines the cause and provides practical solutions to ensure seamless document access.
1. Issue
Some PDF documents, especially those using XFA (XML Forms Architecture), do not open correctly in browsers like Edge or Chrome.
These browsers use built-in PDF viewers that do not support XFA-based PDFs, resulting in blank pages or error messages.
Previously, older browsers like Internet Explorer supported these formats due to integration with Adobe Acrobat.
2. Solution
DF is a dynamic XFA PDF which can only be opened with Adobe. Internet Explorer is able to open this file type since it uses Adobe as a PDF viewer.
Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome both use proprietary PDF viewers that do not support XFA PDFs.
Below are a few workarounds you can implement in your work.
2.1. Switching to a compatible browser
Use Mozilla Firefox, which offers better compatibility with XFA PDFs when integrated with Adobe Acrobat.
2.2. Use the Adobe Acrobat extension
Install the Adobe Acrobat extension for your browser, and configure the browser to open PDFs using Adobe Acrobat instead of the built-in viewer.
2.3. Download and open locally
Right-click the document link and select Save link as…, then open the downloaded file using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
2.4. Adjust browser settings
If you're using Microsoft Edge, you can adjust the browser settings to make using Adobe Acrobat easier.
To adjust the settings:
- Go to Settings.
- Select Cookies and site permissions.
- Navigate to PDF documents.
- Enable Always open PDF files externally.
This will force downloads and open them in Adobe Acrobat.