Procore's PDF viewed is engineered to handle as many elements of a PDF file as possible. However, because so many potential factors can cause errors in any document viewer, you might sometimes experience errors related to your PDFs in Procore.
Most of these errors are related to the way a file was flattened in its source software. Some errors might be caused by font selection on the original file, or other configurations or selections on the PDF. Review the information here to learn about common errors, solutions, and best practices with PDFs in the Submittals viewer.
Review the contents of this table to learn about best practices, common errors, and troubleshooting steps for PDFs in Procore.
question |
answer |
Why am i getting a "Distribution failed" message when distributing a submittal? |
This error typically means that there's a problem with one of the files attached to the submittal. Try to download each file to see which one returns an error. Once you find the file that returns a download error, review the other common errors and best practices listed in this table to learn how to adjust the file to ensure successful handling.
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why I can't download a PDF after adding a Markup? |
When a markup is added to a PDF in Procore, it introduces another element to the file. If the original file was created on software that's not current, or if the file contains security settings that restrict the ability to add elements, you might experience this behavior due to incompatibility. Open the file in Adobe, or your preferred PDF editing tool, and review the following properties:
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What is the difference between flattening and printing to pdf, and which should i do? |
Flattening a PDF compresses all the layers into one single layer. When done correctly, flattening can be undone when needed. Flattening retains all the data housed in various layers, markups, and within the PDF itself, and allows the elements to be run through Procore's optical character recognition (OCR) technology accurately. This is the best way to consolidate layers of a PDF file, and should always be the first approach. Review your PDF software's documentation to learn how to properly flatten a file. As a best practice, always flatten files before uploading them to Procore. Printing to PDF, also known as 'rasterizing', is sort of like taking a picture of the orignial file. It does not maintain the data housed in the layers of your file, and so it's an option you should only use if properly flattening the file in your PDF software isn't possible, or is not resolving an issue. Print to PDF cannot be undone, and there is a chance PDF data may be irretrievably lost in this process.
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Why is text missing or replaced with symbols when i open a pdf? |
When this occurs, the first thing to look at is the font selection on the PDF file. PDF viewers typically support only TrueType fonts. TrueType fonts are common default font options like Arial, or Times New Roman. If you see a font labeled 'Custom' or 'Type 1' in your document's properties, manually adjust it to a TrueType font. To change custom fonts to supported fonts, use a software like Bluebeam or Adobe Pro to manually edit them. If the file is particularly large, or there is some custom text that is cannot be converted manually, you can open the file in a word processing software like Word and save that file as a new PDF to force the file into compliance.
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Why can't i click my attachment to view it? |
The link to open your attachment will appear gray and inactive when the file is still processing. Processing time has a direct relationship with internet speeds, file size, and the complexity of the file's elements (markups, layers etc.). If you have waited 15 minutes for the file to process, and refreshed the page, and the link is still inactive, download the file and open it in your PDF software to check for incompatible custom or Type1 fonts. Note: The attachment link will appear gray and inactive indefinitely if the file is not in a supported file type. See What file types and formats are supported in the attachment viewer in the Submittals tool? for details.
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The approver has the ball in court, and the file is in PDF format, but there is no option to mark up the file and other markups are missing. why? |
This often means the original file attachment was deleted. It's important to leave the original file in place on the workflow, even after a markup has been added. It can also indicate incompatible settings on the document, like security settings that restrict actions, or unsupported font types. To check for incompatible settings, open the file in Adobe or your preferred PDF editing tool and review the following properties:
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