PDF is a popular document format used to move millions of digital information and content around the globe. Regardless of the sheer amount of efficiency and reliability it offers, it’s just as susceptible to human errors and malware attacks that lead to the corruption of files and, in severe cases, data loss. Thankfully, most of these errors are reversible if you employ the right methods and techniques. In this article, we’ll examine the solutions to repair damaged PDF files and pick out our top choice.
Causes Of PDF Corruption
PDF files can be damaged or corrupted by different factors, including inconsistent network connection, power outage, malware attack, system error, and unsupported application/software. Let’s proceed by elaborating on these factors.
Bad Network: one of the commonest reasons behind a broken PDF is the bad or fluctuating network service. More often than not, a fluctuating network will lead to incomplete downloads, which in turn causes a PDF to become corrupt.
Power Outage: Sudden Loss of power while transferring or sharing PDFs can corrupt or completely damage the document.
Virus/Malware: Virus, malware, and Trojans are the biggest threat to digital files, including PDFs. Unfortunately, there are several millions of viruses and malware scampering through the web, meaning the chances of your PDF(s) falling prey to them is quite high. Saving a PDF in a storage directory that has been compromised by a virus or malware can corrupt it.
Unsupported Application: Portable Document File or PDF (like most people call it) was originally developed by Adobe Inc. Nowadays, you’ll find hundreds or even thousands of other applications that support it. Some even come with the promise of allowing you to create and edit PDFs; however, not all of these applications or software can be trusted. You might end up losing your PDF if you try to access it through an unsupported program, so we advise that you stick to Adobe Acrobat Reader or any of the other trusted applications when viewing your PDF(s).
System Error: This is potentially the worst possible nightmare for any computer user.
Virtually all the digital files on a computer can be compromised, damaged, or corrupted by even the slightest system error, and PDFs are not left out.
Common Ways To Repair PDFs
All the potential errors we’ve highlighted so far are quite scary. But it’s nothing to worry about because this section of the article contains effective ways to carry out file repair.
Repair Using Adobe Acrobat Reader
As the main originator, Adobe offers users a way to repair damaged or broken PDFs through its Adobe Acrobat Reader application. The entire process is straightforward and can be completed in two steps.
- Ensure that your Adobe Acrobat Reader app is the latest version. If you’re not certain, open the software and click on “Help” > Select “Check for Updates.” The application will prompt you if there’s an update available.
- Once you’ve made sure your application is up-to-date, click on “Help” > Select “Repair Installation.”
Restore Previous Versions of the File
Another effective method to repair corrupted PDF is to recall previous versions of the document. This can be done using the in-built Windows file recovery feature and will help recover your document if the error is affixed to the latest version. Follow these steps to restore old versions of your damaged PDF.
- Right-click on the corrupted PDF
- Find the “Properties” section > Click “Properties” > Select “Previous Version,” all the available old versions of the PDF should appear.
- Select the version you wish to restore > Click “Restore.”
Try Other PDF Reader Application
If you’ve tried the techniques mentioned above without the desired result, you might want to consider changing your PDF Reader. Switch to Adobe Acrobat Reader if you’ve been trying to open the file using other applications such as Foxit Reader or Sumatra PDF. If Adobe Acrobat Reader doesn’t fix it, try other programs that support PDF. If the error persists, try to restore the previous version, as explained earlier.
How To Repair PDF Files With Repairit
The methods highlighted in the last section of this article will fix even the most damaged or corrupted PDFs, but it might take some time and expertise. We imagine that you don’t have all the time in the world, and even if you did, you most likely would love to spend it doing something more productive other than trying to debug a corrupted PDF. That’s where our top choice solution comes in – Wondershare Repairit. This amazing repair tool will save you time and stress when repairing your damaged PDF. All you have to do is install the software and follow these steps:
- Open the Wondershare Repairit software
- Click File Repair
3. Click Add File (You can load as many files as you want)
4. Cross-check the files and hit the Repair button
5. Preview and Save the file(s)
Final Words
Encountering a fragmented or corrupted PDF file is not a rare sight; if you work with documents round the clock. However, with the tips in this article, specifically our top choice, which is the Wondershare Repairit tool, you will be more than prepared to repair your damaged PDF files when the need arises.