Fix Adobe Acrobat Custom Paper Size Disappearing from Print Preferences
Question details
The user needs to maintain a custom 17 × 11 inch paper size in their printing preferences, which currently deletes itself after being saved.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat DC 2017
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Setting up and saving a custom 17x11 inch paper size for printing PDF documents.
- Observed behavior
- The custom paper size disappears from the printer or print preferences shortly after it is created and saved in Acrobat.
Ensure you are logged into your computer with an administrator account, as standard user profiles often lack the necessary system permissions to permanently save changes to printer driver settings.
Recreate Custom Paper Size in the OS Printer Driver
Configure the custom paper size directly in your operating system's printer driver rather than within the PDF application to ensure it saves permanently.
When custom sizes are created within Acrobat's page setup, they are often treated as temporary application-level settings. Adding the custom dimensions directly to the active printer driver at the system level resolves most saving issues.
Navigate to your computer's Control Panel or system settings and select 'Printers & Scanners' or 'Devices and Printers'.
Right-click on your active printer and select 'Printer properties' or 'Manage' from the context menu.
Click on the 'Preferences' or 'Advanced' tab, then locate the section for 'Paper Size' or 'User-Defined Paper'.
Input your 17 × 11 inch dimensions, name the custom size, and click 'Save' or 'OK'. Relaunch your PDF reader and select this newly created size from the print dialogue.
Update or Reinstall the Printer Driver
An outdated or corrupted printer driver may fail to retain new configuration data. Updating the driver is often more effective than reinstalling the PDF software.
Print Custom Sized PDFs Effortlessly with WPS Office
If Acrobat continues to drop your printer preferences, WPS Office provides a robust, built-in PDF reader that perfectly syncs with your system's printer drivers, ensuring custom paper sizes like 17x11 are always recognized and retained.
- 1. Download and Install WPS Office: Download WPS Office for free from the official website and follow the installation wizard.
- 2. Open Your PDF: Right-click your PDF file, choose 'Open with', and select 'WPS PDF' to load your document.
- 3. Access the Print Menu: Click the 'Print' icon on the top toolbar or press the Ctrl+P keyboard shortcut to launch the print interface.
- 4. Select Custom Paper Size: Click 'Properties' next to your selected printer, choose your saved 17x11 size from the paper drop-down menu, and click 'OK'.
- 5. Print the Document: Review the preview window to ensure proper scaling, then click the 'Print' button to output your document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my custom paper size keep disappearing in Adobe Acrobat?
This commonly occurs when the custom paper size is defined temporarily within the Acrobat application rather than at the system level. It can also happen if your user account lacks administrator permissions to permanently modify printer driver files.
How do I permanently save a 17x11 paper size?
To save a custom size permanently, close your PDF software, open 'Printers & Scanners' from your system settings, right-click your active printer, select 'Printer properties', and add the 17x11 dimensions directly into the driver's 'Preferences' or 'Advanced' tab.
Will reinstalling Adobe Acrobat fix the disappearing print preferences?
Usually, no. Because print preferences are tied to the operating system's handling of the hardware, reinstalling or updating your printer driver directly is significantly more effective than reinstalling Acrobat.
