Common PDF Problems and Practical Ways to Fix Them
Nine PDF failures that come up repeatedly — won't open, missing fonts, huge file size, blank pages — with the cause behind each one.
PDF problems tend to repeat. Working out which of a handful of causes you are dealing with is most of the fix, so here they are with the reasoning behind each.
The file will not open
Usually an incomplete download rather than a corrupt document — a browser interrupted mid-transfer produces a file that looks the right shape but ends abruptly. Download it again first. If that fails, run the validation tool: if the structure parses, it can write a rebuilt copy that stricter readers will accept.
Text cannot be selected or searched
The document is a scan. There is no text layer, only a picture of text. Searching cannot work because there are no characters to match. This requires OCR, which Pdf2Go does not currently offer.
Fonts look wrong or characters are missing
The fonts were referenced rather than embedded, so your reader substituted whatever it had. Fix it at the source by re-exporting with font embedding enabled — the option is usually in the PDF export dialogue of whatever produced the file.
The file is enormous
Almost always high-resolution images, and often only on a few pages. Analyse before compressing so you know whether the whole document needs treatment or just three photographs.
Pages appear sideways
A scanner orientation setting. Rotating in your reader fixes your view only; write the rotation into the file so it travels with the document.
Pages are blank
If the page is blank everywhere, a duplex scanner captured the back of a single-sided sheet — delete it. If it is blank in one reader but not another, the page probably uses transparency or a layer that the first reader renders poorly. Try a different viewer before assuming the file is broken.
Printing produces the wrong size
A mismatch between the page size in the document and the paper in the tray, commonly A4 versus US Letter. Set 'fit to printable area' in the print dialogue rather than editing the PDF.
A form cannot be filled in
Either it is a flat document that only looks like a form, or it uses form technology your reader does not support. Printing, completing by hand and scanning is inelegant but always works.
The password is not accepted
Check for a keyboard layout difference or an autocorrected capital before assuming the password is wrong. If it genuinely is lost, the document cannot be recovered — request a fresh copy.
Keep the original file until any fix is confirmed. Recovery tools produce a new copy; they do not undo damage to the source.
Conclusion
Most of these come down to three causes: an interrupted transfer, a scan with no text layer, or a setting applied at export time. Identifying which one you have takes a minute and points straight at the fix.