Fix Acrobat 9 Cannot Combine Word Documents on Windows 10
Question details
Users are unable to combine multiple Word documents into a single PDF because the conversion process gets stuck on the first document.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Pro 9, Microsoft Office 2016
- Device & OS
- Windows 10
- Scenario
- Attempting to merge multiple Microsoft Word documents into one PDF file using the Acrobat 9 interface.
- Observed behavior
- Acrobat Pro 9 freezes or indefinitely hangs while converting the very first Word document during the merge process.
Before proceeding, check your software versions; using heavily outdated software like Acrobat 9 alongside newer operating systems and Office suites frequently causes background integration failures.
Manually Convert Word Documents to PDF Before Combining
Bypass the Acrobat and Office compatibility failure by using Microsoft Word's native PDF export feature before merging.
Acrobat Pro 9 is an obsolete version that lacks compatibility with Windows 10 and Office 2016. The direct merge feature relies on old background processes that freeze in newer operating system environments. Converting files manually first avoids this broken integration entirely.
Launch Microsoft Word 2016 and open the first document you intend to include in the merged PDF.
Click on 'File' in the top-left corner, select 'Save As', choose your destination folder, and select 'PDF (*.pdf)' from the 'Save as type' dropdown menu. Click 'Save'.
Open each subsequent Word document that needs to be combined and repeat the 'Save As PDF' process.
Launch Adobe Acrobat Pro 9, go to 'File' > 'Combine' > 'Merge Files into a Single PDF', and add the newly created PDF files instead of the Word files to successfully combine them.
Use WPS Office to Seamlessly Combine Multiple Documents into PDF
Skip the hassle of outdated software and manual conversions. WPS Office provides built-in PDF tools that let you directly and flawlessly combine multiple Word documents into a single PDF in just a few clicks.
- 1. Download and open WPS Office: Launch the WPS Office desktop application on your Windows 10 computer.
- 2. Access the PDF Merge tool: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab on the homepage and select 'Merge PDF' from the available PDF toolkit.
- 3. Add your Word documents: Click the 'Add Files' button and select all the Word documents you want to combine. You can drag and drop them to rearrange the order.
- 4. Combine and export: Click the 'Merge' or 'Combine' button. WPS Office will automatically convert and stitch the documents together into a single PDF file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Acrobat 9 freeze when interacting with Office 2016?
Acrobat 9 was released well before Office 2016 and Windows 10. It lacks the modern API integration required to trigger background conversions in newer versions of Word, causing the software to lock up or freeze indefinitely when attempting to communicate with Office.
Can I install a patch to make Acrobat 9 compatible with Windows 10?
No. Adobe ended all support, security updates, and patches for Acrobat 9 many years ago. There are no official patches to make it natively compatible with Windows 10 or modern Microsoft Office versions.
Is there a free way to combine PDFs after converting them manually?
Yes. If your old version of Acrobat stops working entirely, there are many modern, free tools and lightweight office suites like WPS Office that include a PDF merging feature, allowing you to easily combine files on Windows 10.
