How to Fix Adobe Acrobat Pro DC Excessive RAM Usage on macOS
Question details
The user is experiencing a severe memory leak where the PDF application consumes an abnormally high amount of system memory, eventually causing system warnings.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
- Device & OS
- macOS High Sierra
- Scenario
- Viewing or editing PDF documents, particularly those containing complex 3D renders or multimedia elements.
- Observed behavior
- The application continuously uses 20 to 40 GB of RAM, triggering macOS to display a critical 'out of application memory' error alert.
Save all open documents and close background applications, as severe memory consumption can lead to unexpected system freezes or crashes during troubleshooting.
Update Software and Disable Third-Party Plug-ins
Outdated software versions or incompatible plug-ins are common culprits for memory leaks in PDF applications.
Running the latest versions of both your operating system and the application ensures that known memory allocation bugs are patched. Third-party plug-ins can also conflict with system resources.
Launch Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, click on the 'Help' menu in the top menu bar, and select 'Check for Updates'. Install any available updates and restart the application.
Open the Apple Menu, select 'App Store', and navigate to the 'Updates' tab to check for any pending macOS High Sierra system patches.
Navigate to Acrobat 'Preferences' > 'General'. Check the box for 'Use only certified plug-ins'. Restart the application to observe if the high RAM usage is resolved.
Reinstall Application and Monitor System Activity
A corrupted installation might improperly manage memory resources and require a clean reinstall.
Use WPS PDF for Smooth, Low-Memory PDF Management
If heavy PDF applications continue to drain your Mac's memory, WPS PDF offers a highly efficient and lightweight solution for reading, editing, and managing PDFs without overwhelming your system resources.
- 1. Download WPS Office: Download the free WPS Office installer for Mac from the official website and install it on your system.
- 2. Launch WPS PDF: Open WPS Office and click on the 'PDF' tab on the main dashboard to access the dedicated PDF tools.
- 3. Open Your Documents: Drag and drop your heavy PDF files into the workspace to experience fast loading times and low-memory performance.
- 4. Edit and Manage: Use the intuitive top toolbar to edit text, add comments, insert images, or compress the PDF file size.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my PDF editor use so much application memory on Mac?
Excessive memory usage can be caused by rendering complex 3D objects, processing heavy multimedia files, conflicting third-party plug-ins, or a memory leak bug in a specific version of the software.
How do I force quit an application when my Mac says 'out of application memory'?
Press Command + Option + Escape to open the Force Quit Applications window, select the unresponsive application from the list, and click the 'Force Quit' button to instantly terminate it.
Can I limit the RAM usage of specific applications on macOS?
macOS automatically manages memory allocation, so you cannot strictly limit a single application's RAM usage natively. However, you can minimize its footprint by disabling non-essential plug-ins and avoiding having multiple heavy files open simultaneously.
Will upgrading my macOS fix application memory leaks?
If the memory leak is caused by an OS-level bug in an older system like macOS High Sierra, upgrading your macOS can help. Always ensure your applications are compatible with the newer macOS version before upgrading.
