How to Fix Acrobat Pro X Cannot Combine Word 2016 Documents
Question details
The user is unable to combine Microsoft Word 2016 documents into a single PDF using Adobe Acrobat Pro X.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Pro X, Microsoft Word 2016
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Trying to merge multiple Word documents into a single PDF file using the Acrobat combination tool.
- Observed behavior
- Acrobat Pro X fails to recognize Word 2016 files during the document combination process, despite the same workflow working previously with Word 2010.
Verify that your Word 2016 documents open correctly and gather all the files you intend to combine into a single, easily accessible folder on your computer to streamline the manual conversion process.
Convert Word 2016 Files to PDF Before Combining
Since Acrobat Pro X cannot directly process Word 2016 files, converting them individually to PDFs first bypasses the PDFMaker compatibility issue.
The Adobe PDFMaker plugin in Acrobat Pro 10 is not compatible with Office 2016. To get around this limitation, you must rely on standard PDF merging rather than direct Word-to-PDF combination.
Launch Microsoft Word 2016 and open the first document you wish to include in your combined PDF.
Click on 'File' in the top-left corner, select 'Save As', choose your destination folder, and select 'PDF' from the file format dropdown menu. Click 'Save'.
Repeat the 'Save As' process for every Word 2016 document you want to merge.
Open Adobe Acrobat Pro X. Click on 'File', select 'Create', and choose 'Combine Files into a Single PDF'. Select all the newly created PDF files, arrange them in your desired order, and click 'Combine Files'.
Upgrade to a Newer Version of Adobe Acrobat
Upgrading resolves the root cause by providing native compatibility with Office 2016 applications.
Combine Word Documents into PDF Easily with WPS Office
Skip the compatibility issues between older Adobe software and Office 2016. WPS Office includes a powerful built-in PDF toolkit that lets you seamlessly convert, edit, and combine Word documents into a single PDF for free.
- 1. Open your Word documents: Launch WPS Office and open the Word documents you want to merge.
- 2. Export to PDF: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab on the ribbon and click 'Export to PDF' to quickly save your documents as PDF files.
- 3. Access the PDF Merge tool: Switch to the 'PDF' tab in the WPS Office interface and select 'Merge PDF' from the toolbar.
- 4. Combine the files: Add your exported PDF files to the merging window, arrange their order, and click 'Merge' to combine them into one document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Acrobat Pro X work with Word 2010 but not Word 2016?
Adobe PDFMaker in Acrobat Pro X was developed long before Word 2016 was released. The plugin does not support the newer architecture and lacks the necessary updates to communicate with Office 2016 applications.
Can I install an update for Acrobat Pro X to fix this compatibility issue?
No. Adobe Acrobat Pro X has reached its end of support lifecycle, meaning Adobe is no longer releasing new compatibility updates, bug fixes, or patches for newer Microsoft Office versions.
Is there a free way to combine Word 2016 documents into a PDF?
Yes. You can use the built-in 'Save As PDF' feature in Microsoft Word to export each document individually. Afterward, you can use a free office suite like WPS Office or a secure online PDF merger tool to combine the resulting PDFs.
