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PDF generation fails in AEM 6.5.24 after Acrobat and Office upgrade

Last update: Thu Mar 12 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

PDF generation fails in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) 6.5.24 when converting Microsoft Office documents after upgrading from Acrobat 2020 to Acrobat DC. AEM returns an error during Word, Excel, and PowerPoint conversions, while manual conversion works correctly outside AEM. Removing specific Windows registry entries associated with Office type libraries restores PDF generation in AEM.

Description description

Environment

  • Product: Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms on JEE
  • Version: 6.5.24 and earlier
  • Operating system: Windows Server 2022
  • Microsoft Office: Office 2021
  • Adobe Acrobat: Acrobat Pro DC (32-bit required for PDF Generator)

Issue/Symptoms

  • PDF generation from AEM fails for Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.
  • AEM displays the error ALC-PDG-016-004 – An error was encountered while processing the Microsoft Word file for PDF generation during document conversion.
  • Manual PDF conversion using Acrobat or Microsoft Office works correctly outside AEM.
  • The issue persists after reinstalling AEM, Office, and Acrobat on reused servers, while a new setup doesn’t show the issue.

Resolution resolution

Note: Ensure you have administrator privileges on the server where AEM is installed.

Follow the steps below to address the issue:

  1. For Microsoft Word:

    1. Identify the registry entries:

      • reg query "HKCR\TypeLib\{00020905-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\8.7\0\Win64".
      • reg query "HKCR\TypeLib\{2DF8D04C-5BFA-101B-BDE5-00AA0044DE52}\2.8\0\Win64".

    2. Delete the following registry entries:

      • reg delete "HKCR\TypeLib\{00020905-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\8.7\0\Win64" /f.
      • reg delete "HKCR\TypeLib\{2DF8D04C-5BFA-101B-BDE5-00AA0044DE52}\2.8\0\Win64" /f.

  2. For Microsoft Excel:

    1. Identify the registry entry reg query "HKCR\TypeLib\{00020813-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\1.9\0\Win64".
    2. Delete the following registry entry reg delete "HKCR\TypeLib\{00020813-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\1.9\0\Win64" /f.

  3. For Microsoft PowerPoint:

    1. Identify the registry entry reg query "HKCR\TypeLib\{91493440-5A91-11CF-8700-00AA0060263B}\2.c\0\Win64".
    2. Delete the following registry entry reg delete "HKCR\TypeLib\{91493440-5A91-11CF-8700-00AA0060263B}\2.c\0\Win64" /f.

  4. Restart the Windows and AEM Server.

  5. Try converting the PDF again directly within AEM.

  6. Verify that PDF generation succeeds for all supported document types.

Notes:

  • Deleting these registry keys removes references to corrupted or incompatible Microsoft Office type libraries that can prevent PDF Generator from automating Office applications.
  • Delete only the specified registry keys. Do not remove unrelated registry entries.
  • Always back up the system or export the relevant Windows registry entries before making changes.
  • This resolution applies to AEM Forms environments running on Windows where PDF conversion failures persist after standard software reinstallation.
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