Troubleshooting PDF documents that won't load - "Open this PDF in Acrobat X" error

Last updated: February 9, 2026

If you're encountering an error message that says "For the best experience, open this PDF in Acrobat X, get adobe reader now" when trying to view PDF documents in Phaselaw, this typically indicates you're working with a PDF Portfolio file.

What is a PDF Portfolio?

A PDF Portfolio is a specialized file format from Adobe that allows multiple PDFs to be packaged into a wrapper. Think of a ZIP file, but for PDFs only. These files can only be opened using Adobe products and are not supported in Phaselaw's document viewer or other document viewers.

How to convert PDF Portfolios for use in Phaselaw

If you have Adobe Acrobat installed, you can easily convert PDF Portfolio files into regular PDFs that will work in Phaselaw:

  1. Open the PDF Portfolio in Adobe Acrobat

  2. You should see a list of files inside the portfolio on the left side

  3. Select all the files you want to extract

  4. Look for an option like "Extract from Portfolio" (the exact wording may vary depending on your Adobe Acrobat version)

  5. This will export each file individually into a folder

  6. You can then upload these individual PDF files to Phaselaw

Need additional help?

If you're still having trouble with the conversion process or need assistance identifying whether your files are PDF Portfolios, our support team is available to help.