How to Fix Acrobat 2017 PDFMaker Disabled in Office After Update
Question details
The Adobe Acrobat 2017 Pro PDFMaker add-in keeps getting disabled in Microsoft Office after installing the February 2021 update (version 17.011.301900).
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat 2017 Pro / Microsoft Office
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Creating PDFs from Microsoft Office using the Acrobat PDFMaker add-in.
- Observed behavior
- The PDFMaker add-in stops working and is disabled automatically. Reinstalling Acrobat restores it temporarily, but it becomes disabled again after the background update is applied.
Ensure you have administrative privileges on your computer, as troubleshooting Office add-ins and repairing Adobe Acrobat installations require admin rights.
Repair Acrobat Installation and Re-enable PDFMaker
Repairing the Adobe Acrobat installation and manually re-enabling the add-in within Office can restore functionality.
Sometimes the update process corrupts the add-in registry keys. Repairing Acrobat and forcing Microsoft Office to re-enable the add-in resolves most minor conflicts.
Launch the affected Microsoft Office application (e.g., Word) and navigate to File > Options.
Select 'Add-ins' from the left menu. Change the 'Manage' dropdown at the bottom to 'COM Add-ins' and click 'Go'. Check the box next to 'Acrobat PDFMaker Office COM Addin' and click OK.
If the issue persists, open Adobe Acrobat 2017, go to Help > Repair Installation, and follow the on-screen prompts to fix missing or corrupted files.
Temporarily Disable Automatic Acrobat Updates
If a specific patch (like the February 2021 update) is causing the conflict, temporarily disabling updates keeps the add-in functional until Adobe releases a permanent fix.
Create PDFs Seamlessly with WPS Office
Avoid complex add-in conflicts between Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat. WPS Office features a built-in, highly stable PDF converter that lets you export documents, spreadsheets, and presentations to PDF in just one click.
- 1. Open Your Document: Launch WPS Office and open the text document, spreadsheet, or presentation you want to convert.
- 2. Click Export to PDF: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab or the main menu and click the 'Export to PDF' button.
- 3. Save Your PDF: Choose your export settings, select a save location, and click 'Export' to generate a high-quality PDF instantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Microsoft Office keep disabling my PDFMaker add-in?
Office automatically disables add-ins that it perceives as causing performance issues, crashing the application, or conflicting with recent software updates to maintain application stability.
How do I force Office to always enable the Acrobat PDFMaker add-in?
You can force-enable the add-in by opening the Office application as an Administrator, navigating to File > Options > Add-ins, selecting 'Disabled Items' from the Manage dropdown, enabling PDFMaker, and then re-checking it under 'COM Add-ins'.
Can I create PDFs in Office without the PDFMaker add-in?
Yes, you can use the built-in 'Save As' feature in Microsoft Office and choose PDF as the file format, or select 'Microsoft Print to PDF' from your printer list when printing.
