Tips to open PDFA file

Can't open the PDFA file? You are not the only one. Thousands of users face similar problems every day. Below you will find tips on how to open PDFA files as well as a list of programs that support PDFA files.

PDFA file extension

File Name PDF/A Document
File Developer Adobe Systems Incorporated
File Category Document Files

The PDFA file is supported on 1 operating systems. Depending on your operating system, you may need different software to handle the PDFA files. Below is a summary of the number of programs that support and open the PDFA file on each system platform.

Operating systems
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

What is PDFA file?

The file in the PDFA format belongs to the Document Files category. It was designed by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Document Files consists of 574 similar files. PDF/A Document is supported by 1 operating systems. These systems consist of Windows, although it may occasionally be found on another system, it will be non-functional. The main program that supports this format is Adobe Acrobat. This was created by Adobe Systems Incorporated.

How to open PDFA file?

An often recurring problem with PDF/A Document is that PDFA is not associated with the correct program file. This causes the file PDFA to open by system applications not designed for this purpose, or to display a message that there is no associated program. This problem can be easily remedied.

The first thing you should do is just "doubleclick" on the PDFA file icon you want to open. If the operating system has an appropriate application to support it and there is also an association between the file and the program, the file should be opened.

Step 1. Install Adobe Acrobat

An often overlooked issue is to make sure that Adobe Acrobat is installed on the computer. This can be achieved by typing Adobe Acrobat into the operating system search engine. If it is not, installation may solve the problem, as most applications create file associations during installation. Later in this article you will find a list of programs that can open PDFA files.

Programs to open PDFA file

Remember to download programs supporting PDFA files only from verified and safe sources. We suggest using the websites of software developers.

Step 2. Create association of Adobe Acrobat with PDFA files

If the application is or has been freshly installed, but the PDFA file still does not use the Adobe Acrobat program, it means no association. This option is available from the level of Properties of a specific file available in the context menu. The window will show, among other things, the type of the file and the information by which the program is used to launch the file. Using the "Change" button we can set the program to handle this type. It may happen that in the next window there will be no appropriate program - however, this can be corrected with the "Browse" option where you should manually indicate the program location. However, it is important to check the "Always use the selected program ..." box, this will allow you to permanently associate the PDFA file with the Adobe Acrobat application.

Step 3. Update Adobe Acrobat to the latest version

If, however, after binding Adobe Acrobat with PDF/A Document there were still problems, you should update the program to the latest version. This can be done using the application (if it provides such options) or from the Adobe Systems Incorporated website and install the latest version.

Step 4. Check for the following problems with the PDFA file

Of course, it may happen that despite the above steps, the file still does not work. This could be due to the file itself, the cleanest issues are:

The affected file may be 0 KB or smaller than expected. Usually this applies to PDFA files downloaded from the Internet in case the download did not finish properly. The file should be downloaded again, making sure that the process has finished correctly.
The computer may have fallen victim to a computer virus or hacker. A virus scan using an up-to-date antivirus program should fix the problem. Some antivirus vendors also provide free online scanners. However, it is important to scan the entire system, not only the file PDFA or the program directory. Sometimes virus-infected PDFA files cannot be recovered, so make a backup in advance.
Older version of PDFA file may not always be supported by the latest software version. These problems are known and are often very easy to fix using the software developers's website.
The file may be corrupted in a number of ways. Depending on the type of file, it is necessary to repair it accordingly. Some programs offer the ability to automatically repair PDFA file corruption. The easiest way is to restore the file from a backup, if there is one, or contact Adobe Systems Incorporated
When reading, a message appears that the file was encrypted or corrupted. The encrypted file PDFA except for the special designation, works normally, but only on the device where it was encrypted, before transferring it to another machine, decryption is required.
Some operating systems do not allow file operations in certain locations, eg in system directories or directly on the system drive. While there is usually no problem reading such a file, it may not be possible to save it. If possible, you can try to move the PDFA file to another location.
This can happen on a file that does not support multiple access. Some file types can only be opened in one program at a time. Running programs (including those in the background) should be verified. Sometimes it is necessary to wait a while before referencing the PDFA file again. However, some background programs may block the PDFA file while scanning. If the problem persists, restart the machine.