Mac > MS Word > PDF difficulty

[wab123]

I run a 2017 MBA, I use MS Word, having done so for years. Currently using Word from Office 365 2o16.
I write and occasionally have to save Word documents to .pdf, no problems with that.
(Several times over the past ten years I've tried to use 'Pages' but I give up, frustrated and disgusted, Pages is hopeless in my opinion)
On opening a saved .pdf, it opens in full screen mode, no problem with that.
BUT: The .pdf opens showing the last page first. The entire document is displayed back to front !
I have tried all the workarounds I can think of but so far, am unable to get the .pdf to display in correct order, i.e., beginning with page 1, 2, 3 etc.
I have Adobe Reader (free software) but rarely use it. It would appear that bottom the rung Reader will not alter the screen view.
I am advised Adobe Acrobat may help in rearranging display priority but Abode want $22/month for 12 months.
As I'll only use it once as working in PDF format is not within my purview, that expense cannot be justified.

Any Forum member got any solution/s ?

 

[honestone]

I also have a 2017 13" Mac Book Air (with a 256 gig SSD). I previously was using Word 2016 (still running High Sierra, as am waiting for one of my critical apps to be upgraded for Mojave compatibility (will happen in early December)), but I never saved documents in PDF format. But I have processed PDF documents with Adobe Acrobat Pro Version X. Also, I just ran Preview and opened various multi-page PDF documents, and had no issues at all.

Was this happening before you upgraded to Mojave (I assume that is what you did)?

Also, I am now using LibreOffice on both of my Macs (have a late 2012 Mac Mini also), and it is great! It can read and write documents in numerous formats. I can try its word processing module (called Writer Document) to create a multi-page PDF document, and then see how Adobe handles it. (I also have an external SSD that I have been using for Mojave testing, and I can also do the same there). I'll report back my findings.

By the way, take a look ay this site:

https://roaringapps.com/apps

It's a way of checking compatibility of applications with various Operating Systems. When I put "Adobe Acrobat" in the search box, it showed various versions of it, and some of them are compatible with Mojave, but for some of them it is inconclusive. Not sure which version you have. I have Adobe Acrobat X Pro, and that table shows full compatibility with Mojave (and High Sierra also(.

Update #1 - OK, on my Mac Mini running High Sierra, I launched the Writer Document application, then opened a 3 page document that had been previously created with Word. I made one small change, then saved it (actually "exported" it) as a PDF document, again containing 3 pages. I then double clicked on that PDF, Adobe Acrobat X launched (as expected), and it opened the file as "normal", ie, at page 1.

Update #2 - OK, on my external SSD with Mojave (OS 10.14.1), I followed the same steps. That is, I launched the Writer Document application, then opened the same 3 page document that had been previously created with Word. I made one small change, then saved it (actually "exported" it) as a PDF document, again containing 3 pages. I then double clicked on that PDF, Adobe Acrobat X launched (as expected), and it opened the file as "normal", ie, at page 1.

So, not sure what to say. Could it be an issue with Word, the version of Adobe you are using, and/or Mojave?

One other thing, though doubt it will make any difference: V10.14.2 of Mojave is currently in the third phase of beta testing.

 

[wab123]

I also have a 2017 13" Mac Book Air (with a 256 gig SSD). I previously was using Word 2016 (still running High Sierra, as am waiting for one of my critical apps to be upgraded for Mojave compatibility (will happen in early December)), but I never saved documents in PDF format. But I have processed PDF documents with Adobe Acrobat Pro Version X. Also, I just ran Preview and opened various multi-page PDF documents, and had no issues at all.

Was this happening before you upgraded to Mojave (I assume that is what you did)?

Also, I am now using LibreOffice on both of my Macs (have a late 2012 Mac Mini also), and it is great! It can read and write documents in numerous formats. I can try its word processing module (called Writer Document) to create a multi-page PDF document, and then see how Adobe handles it. (I also have an external SSD that I have been using for Mojave testing, and I can also do the same there). I'll report back my findings.

By the way, take a look ay this site:

https://roaringapps.com/apps

It's a way of checking compatibility of applications with various Operating Systems. When I put "Adobe Acrobat" in the search box, it showed various versions of it, and some of them are compatible with Mojave, but for some of them it is inconclusive. Not sure which version you have. I have Adobe Acrobat X Pro, and that table shows full compatibility with Mojave (and High Sierra also(.

Update #1 - OK, on my Mac Mini running High Sierra, I launched the Writer Document application, then opened a 3 page document that had been previously created with Word. I made one small change, then saved it (actually "exported" it) as a PDF document, again containing 3 pages. I then double clicked on that PDF, Adobe Acrobat X launched (as expected), and it opened the file as "normal", ie, at page 1.

Update #2 - OK, on my external SSD with Mojave (OS 10.14.1), I followed the same steps. That is, I launched the Writer Document application, then opened the same 3 page document that had been previously created with Word. I made one small change, then saved it (actually "exported" it) as a PDF document, again containing 3 pages. I then double clicked on that PDF, Adobe Acrobat X launched (as expected), and it opened the file as "normal", ie, at page 1.

So, not sure what to say. Could it be an issue with Word, the version of Adobe you are using, and/or Mojave?

One other thing, though doubt it will make any difference: V10.14.2 of Mojave is currently in the third phase of beta testing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for your reply honest one (good name!) but I have no problems with my MBA or, MS Word.
My problem is I can’t get my PDF’s to display in correct sequence.
I’ll never use Acrobat - or more correctly, I’m not prepared to pay for an app I’ll hardly ever use.
So I ask again, does anyone know how to get around this difficulty ?
Cheers
wab123

 

[honestone]

What program (or programs) are you using to try and open the PDF document you created with Word? Try Preview (inside your Applications folder).

You can also download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software. This link explains how to do that for various browsers:

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/install-reader-dc-mac-os.html