Troubleshooting guide for "Downloadable" and "Online" subscriptions

Table of contents

Software installation

  1. Install Adobe Acrobat or Reader (if not installed yet).
  2. Install the FileOpen plug-in (if not installed yet).
  3. Verify FileOpen plug-in is properly installed:
    1. Windows: Open Acrobat/Reader > Help menu > About Third Party Plug-Ins
    2. Mac: Open Adobe Acrobat/Reader menu > About Third Party Plug-Ins
    3. FileOpen WebPublisher or FileOpen Client should be listed there.

Important: FileOpen have released an updated FileOpen plug-in for Adobe Acrobat and Reader on Windows. The Client, Build 0925, implements support for the latest Adobe Acrobat/Reader and Microsoft Windows releases. Specific improvements include:

  • Support for Acrobat/Reader XI
  • Support for Windows 8
  • Assorted bug fixes and minor improvements.

This update replaces the 0920 release from June 2012. Previous versions of the FileOpen plug-in are not supported by Adobe Reader/Acrobat XI. FileOpen Client 0925 is backward-compatible to Adobe Reader/Acrobat 7.

Macintosh users:

To ensure that PDF files open in Adobe Acrobat or Reader and NOT in “Preview” or “PDF Viewer”:

  1. Open Acrobat or Reader.
  2. Go to Preferences > Internet.
  3. Check off “Display PDF in browser using” and select “Adobe Reader XXX” from the drop-down menu.

Important: Adobe Reader 11 is not compatible with the current release of FileOpen plugin for the Mac (876).

MacOS 10.6

Please see instructions from Adobe:
Acrobat PDF Plug-in Does Not Load in Safari 64-bit Web Browser on Mac OS X Snow Leopard (v10.6).

MAC OS 10.7.x and Safari 5.1.x

Please see Compatibility Advisory Regarding Adobe Reader plug-in and Acrobat plug-in with Safari 5.1.

Testing your FileOpen installation

To test whether the FileOpen is installed correctly, please open the FileOpen test file. You should see the screen depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1: FileOpen successful installation screen

Figure 1

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Error message “Cannot unlock file…”

Affects: Windows & Mac, Single-User Downloadable

Figure 2: Cannot unlock file screen

Figure 2

Cause 1

Adobe Acrobat/Reader and FileOpen Plug-In were not installed prior to activation.

Solution

The publication must be reactivated (see Software installation).

Cause 2

The publication is being opened on a different computer than that on which it was activated, or the computer hardware/software has changed significantly since activation.

Solution

  1. Ensure all required software is installed on the computer (see Software installation).
  2. Log in to the CODES–GUIDES Online Library.
  3. Activate your publication. Send a license re-set request to codesonline@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca if there are no available licenses.
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Error message “No active collections”

Affects: Windows & Mac, Single-User Online

Figure 3: No active collections screen

Figure 3

Cause 1

Subscription may have expired.

Solution

First, double-check to ensure that the subscription has not expired by logging in to the CODES–GUIDES Online Library. If the subscription appears in the list of active publications, it will show an expiration date. If it does not appear, it has likely expired.

Purchase a renewal through the NRC Virtual Store or NRC Construction Client Services.

Cause 2

Subscription still in effect: locally-saved PDF needs refreshing.

Solution

Log in to the CODES–GUIDES Online Library and download a new copy (see Error message “This document is not a well-formed PDF document…”).

Cause 3

The FileOpen plug-in cannot detect that you are currently logged in to the CODES–GUIDES Online Library.

Solution 1

Log in to the CODES–GUIDES Online Library. Attempt to view the publication again.

Solution 2

Open Internet Explorer. From the Tools menu, select Internet Options. On the Privacy tab, set the slider to Medium. (See Figure 4.) Log out of the CODES–GUIDES Online Library, close all browser windows, and log in again. Attempt to view the publication again.

Figure 4: Internet options screen

Figure 4

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Error message “This document is not a well-formed PDF document…”

Affects: Windows & Mac, online subscriptions

Cause

The FileOpen plug-in times out while loading the PDF file.

Solution 1 (Internet Explorer on Windows, Single-User Online)

Change a setting to open all online PDF files in a separate Adobe window instead of within the browser.

  1. Open Adobe Reader (or Adobe Acrobat).
  2. Under the Edit menu, click Preferences.
  3. Go to the Internet category on the left.
  4. Un-check the “Display PDF” in browser option.
  5. Log out of CODES–GUIDES Online Library, if applicable.
  6. Close Adobe Reader/Acrobat, and all Internet Explorer windows.
  7. Try logging in to the CODES–GUIDES Online Library and viewing your document. It should take a while to download, and then open up in a separate Adobe window.

Solution 2 (Mac, Single-User Online)

Download a copy of the Single-User Online publication to your computer.

The following steps assume that you have installed Adobe Reader/Acrobat and the FileOpen plug-in (see Software installation).

  1. Log in to the CODES–GUIDES Online Library.
  2. Download the Code document in question by right-clicking and saving the file (the right-click menu option may read “Download”) to an easy-to-find location, such as your Desktop.
  3. Locate the file using the Finder app (or on your Desktop), and double-click it to open.
  4. If you receive any failures along the way, please take a screenshot (Mac OS X) and email to codesonline@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.

The file may reside indefinitely on your computer, but you must be logged in to the CODES–GUIDES Online Library to open it, and it will expire along with your subscription.

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Blank browser window

Affects: Windows & Mac, Single-User Download & Single-User Online & Concurrent-User Online

Cause

The browser is not using Adobe Reader or Acrobat to open the PDF.

Solution 1 (Windows & Mac, Single-User Online & Concurrent-User Online)

Follow the same instructions as for Error message “This document is not a well-formed PDF document…”.

Solution 2 (Windows & Mac, Single-User Downloadable)

Download a copy of the Offline Activation PDF and the Single-User Downloadable publication to your computer.

The following steps assume that you have installed Adobe Reader/Acrobat and the FileOpen plug-in (see Software installation).

  1. Log in to the CODES–GUIDES Online Library.
  2. Follow the link on the right-hand side to“ Activate subscription”. Use your Sales Order and PDS numbers.
  3. When prompted to “Register your computer”, right-click the Offline Activation PDF link, and choose to download/save the PDF to your computer to an easy-to-find location, such as your Desktop.
  4. Find the file you just saved in Windows Explorer, the Finder app (the icon looks like a blue square-headed face) or on your Desktop (if that's where you placed it) and double-click it. It should open in Adobe Reader/Acrobat. If it doesn't, right-click it and choose to open it with Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat. If you see a PDF document that reads “Offline Activation Confirmation”, continue with the next step. Otherwise, please take a screenshot and send it to codesonline@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. You may then delete the temporary file.
  5. Return to the CODES–GUIDES Online Library website and follow the link on the right-hand side to “Access my publications”. Download the Code document in question by right-clicking and saving the file to an easy-to-find location.
  6. Unzip the zip file you downloaded in the last step. This can usually be accomplished by double-clicking the file.
  7. Open the Codes PDF in Adobe Reader/Acrobat the same way as before; you may need to right-click and select the Adobe program with which to open the file.
  8. If you receive any failures along the way, please take a screenshot and email it to codesonline@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
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Blank Adobe Acrobat/Reader window, or error message about missing components

Affects: All online & downloadable subscriptions

Cause

Adobe Acrobat/Reader and FileOpen Plug-In are not installed.

Solution

Before you activate or view your publications, all required software must be installed on the computer with which you will be viewing the CODES–GUIDES publications (see Software installation).

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Other PDF viewer errors

Affects: all online & downloadable subscriptions

Cause

Non-Adobe PDF software, such as Mac Preview, Mac PDF Viewer, BlueBeam, FoxIt, Nitro, etc. are often set as the default PDF viewers on certain computers, despite installation of Adobe Reader/Acrobat.

Solution

Manually open in Adobe Reader/Acrobat.

  1. Ensure that all required software is installed (see Software installation).
  2. Open Adobe Reader or Acrobat, go the File menu and select Open.
  3. Select the publication PDF and Open.

Alternative to above: Locate the PDF publication in Windows Explorer or the Finder app, right-click on it, and choose Open With, then Adobe Reader or Acrobat.

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Browser not supported

Affects: all online & downloadable subscriptions

Cause

Use of a browser other than Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari.

Note: Google Chrome is not supported.

Solution

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