How to Disable 'Preparing Document for Reading' in Adobe Acrobat
Question details
The user wants to stop Adobe Acrobat from pausing and displaying a 'Preparing Document for Reading' dialog pop-up when opening PDF files.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Opening large or complex engineering PDFs in Adobe Acrobat.
- Observed behavior
- Acrobat locks up the document and pauses while displaying a 'Preparing Document for Reading' progress message due to accessibility tagging.
Ensure you have the latest patch of Adobe Acrobat installed (such as version 11.0.4 or newer), as some older versions may not display the necessary accessibility toggles.
Disable Assistive Technology Support in Preferences
Turning off the assistive technology support feature prevents Acrobat from automatically scanning and tagging the document for screen readers, effectively stopping the loading message.
Acrobat includes built-in accessibility features designed to help screen readers interpret PDF files. When enabled, the software scans the entire document structure upon opening.
While useful for visually impaired users, this scanning process can cause significant delays when opening large, complex, or engineering-based PDF documents.
Launch Adobe Acrobat. Click on 'Edit' in the top menu bar (or 'Acrobat' if you are on a Mac) and select 'Preferences' from the dropdown menu.
In the left-hand sidebar of the Preferences window, locate and click on the 'Accessibility' category.
Look for the section labeled 'Other Accessibility Options'. Uncheck the box that says 'Enable Assistive Technology Support'.
Click the 'OK' button at the bottom right to apply the changes. Close Adobe Acrobat and reopen your PDF document to verify that the message no longer appears.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Acrobat say 'Preparing Document for Reading'?
This message appears because Acrobat is utilizing an accessibility feature to analyze the document's text and structure. It prepares the document so that screen readers and other assistive devices can read it out loud.
Will disabling this feature alter my PDF document?
No. Disabling the assistive technology support only stops the software from pre-processing the file for screen reading. It does not change the formatting, layout, or content of your actual PDF file.
What should I do if the 'Enable Assistive Technology Support' option is missing?
If you cannot find this specific toggle in your Preferences menu, your Adobe Acrobat installation might be outdated. Updating to the latest available patch (e.g., version 11.0.4 or newer) typically restores the accessibility settings.
Is there a way to skip the message without changing preferences?
When the dialog box appears, you can occasionally click 'Cancel' to stop the tagging process for that single viewing session. However, the only permanent way to stop it from reappearing on every file is by disabling the feature in the application's preferences.
