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pippaschoeman's avatar
pippaschoeman
Copper Contributor
Sep 10, 2025

PDF not Opening from Mail

I have just bought a new MacBook Air and upgraded to Microsoft 365.  I have some important PDF files to open which needs a password to open them.  When I click on the file an error message comes up saying "can't open file". Something went wrong and your file cannot be opened now. Please try again later.  It is not giving me an option to enter a password and there is no menu bar showing.  Have I not go my Mac set up right or can I not just click and open now.  Please help a real techno phobe.

microsoft 365

1 Reply

  • Kidd_Ip's avatar
    Kidd_Ip
    MVP
    Sep 14, 2025

    How about this:

     

    1. Use Adobe Acrobat Reader

     

    1. Save the PDF to Your Desktop First

    Instead of clicking the PDF in Mail:

    • Right-click the attachment > Save As > save to Desktop.
    • Open it from there using Preview or Acrobat Reader.
    1. Check for Updates

    Make sure your Mac and Microsoft 365 apps are fully updated:

    • Go to System Settings > General > Software Update.
    • Open App Store, search for Microsoft apps, and update them.
    1. Try Opening with Preview (manually)
    • Right-click the saved PDF > Open With > Preview.
    • If Preview doesn’t prompt for a password, try Acrobat Reader instead.
    1.  Disable “Enable native OS mode” in Acrobat

    Some users with M1/M2 Macs found that disabling this setting helped:

    • Open Acrobat > Preferences > General.
    • Uncheck “Enable native OS mode for optimal performance”.

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