Troubles when building a file with texmaker with pdf open on acrobat reader (Windows 10)

Question

I'm editing .tex files with Texmaker on Windows 10 and I have the following issue. If I leave the .pdf file open on Acrobat Reader (the one relative to the .tex which I work on) then the editor shows a problem message when building, something like "Fatal error occurred, no output PDF file produced!". Basically I have to close acrobat in order to build the file, and use just the integrated pdf reader. This issue is not present on Ubuntu or mac OS for instance.

Can this be fixed?

Thank you!

It's because Acrobat opens the file with writing rights, therefore rewriting by another software is forbidden — BambOo, Apr 10 '18 at 15:24
@BambOo Okay I see. Can I let Acrobat open files without writing rights? — yeahyeah, Apr 10 '18 at 15:25
I don't know, maybe. I would rather advise using SumatraPDF when building latex documents. It's fast, portable and supports synctex — BambOo, Apr 10 '18 at 15:28
One advantage of Adobe Reader (any platform) is that it will object to PDF errors that are ignored by other readers (including Sumatra and Evince). So if you are doing anything experimental, particularly if using immediate.write to the PDF, it is always a good idea to open the final file in Adobe Reader before you send it on its way. Remember that an end-user is likely to be using Adobe software to review your file. — , Apr 10 '18 at 15:57
Does this answer your question? How do I open PDF in Adobe Reader DC without locking the file from being updated by pdflatex? — user202729, Dec 17 '21 at 12:03

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered May 11 '18 at 12:36

This answer gathers all information previously mentioned in comments

pdflatex fails to build the pdf because Adobe opens the file with writing rights, which prevents pdflatex to modify it.
Other softwares are more suited to the latex build process. For instance SumatraPDF (on windows platforms) allows to keep the document opened while building, even though it has some limitations, especially regarding tikz shading effects. Otherwise, it is both fast and easy to use. Some posts such as this one explain how to set sumatra to discuss with your favorite editor.
As mentioned by user139954, Adobe Reader has specific features and is to be used as a reference for all of your documents. So I would advise using a fast and lightweight pdf viewer for your all-day work and use Adobe reader to proofread everything before sending our work to anyone.

Troubles when building a file with texmaker with pdf open on acrobat reader (Windows 10)

1 Answers1