Adobe Software Compatibility

Adobe Software Tip Sheet

Grants.gov recommends using Adobe Acrobat Reader for Windows or MAC OS. Learn more about Adobe software compatibility with Grants.gov and ensure that your version of Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat can be used to download, complete, and submit grant applications.

Verify the Compatibility of Your Adobe Software

To verify if you have a compatible version of Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat installed, click on the following test Workspace PDF form link:

VERIFY ADOBE VERSIONING TEST WORKSPACE PDF FORM

If you can see the Worskapce PDF form, you are able to complete and submit grant applications on Grants.gov. Grants.gov supports the following Adobe Reader versions:

• Adobe Reader DC (Continuous) version 2015.010.20060 or later
• Adobe Reader DC (Classic) version 2015.006.30121 or later
• Adobe Reader version 11.x
• Adobe Reader version 10.x
• Adobe Reader version 9.x

If you are unable to open the test Workspace PDF form, it may be due to the following:

• You are not running a supported version of Adobe Reader. Check the version number of your Adobe Reader software. Grants.gov supports Adobe Reader version 9 through 11 and the versions of Adobe Reader DC listed above. Click here to download the latest version of Adobe Reader .

• Your browser settings are keeping you from opening the test package. A quick solution is to save the test Workspace PDF form to your desktop (by right-clicking on the link) and open it separately.

How to Download the latest Adobe Reader DC Version

1. Go to https://get.adobe.com/reader
2. Download installation file and install.
3. In the Adobe Reader DC menu, click Edit, click Preferences, under Categories select General, uncheck the option Show online storage when saving files, and click the OK button.
4. Applicants should be able to successfully complete their application without issue.

For assistance with viewing PDFs in your web browser, review the following:

• Adobe's help page for troubleshooting instructions to view PDFs on the Web .

• Adobe's help page for configuring Firefox and Chrome to open PDFs using Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat .

• Adobe's help page for configuring the Microsoft Edge browser to open PDFs using Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat .

NOTE: Adobe Reader is free software developed by Adobe, a private software company. From time to time, Adobe releases new versions of the application; Grants.gov may not be able to fully test the most recent version(s). Users are urged to verify their Adobe software's compatibility by using the above test Workspace PDF form link.

Adobe Reader vs. Adobe Acrobat Standard/Professional

Adobe Acrobat Standard/Professional version 9 through 11 may be used in place of Adobe Reader when completing and submitting grant applications on Grants.gov. To verify your software's compatibility, see the above section titled "Verify the compatibility of your Adobe software."

Multiple Users Completing a Workspace PDF Form

If more than one person is entering text into a Workspace PDF form, the same version of Adobe Reader software should be used by each person. Check the version number of the Adobe software on each user's computer to make sure the versions match.
Using different versions of Adobe Reader may cause submission and/or save errors – even if each version is individually compatible with Grants.gov.

Encountering Errors

If you have received an error message when attempting to save an application package, the package may have previously been opened or edited with an incompatible version of Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat.

Potential error messages include Error: org.xml.sax.SAXParseException:, File Damaged and Cannot Be Repaired, or Schema Validation Error.

To resolve the error, the applicant should download a new package and then open, complete, and submit it using a compatible version of Adobe Reader. Do not cut/copy and paste the text from the corrupted file into the new package, or the errors may be carried over.

Please also note that applications should be completed using the same version of Adobe software from start to finish. Using different versions – even if they are both compatible – could result in an error when trying to save or submit an application package.

Security Settings

Security settings on your local network or computer could impact your use of Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat. Please consider the following:

• If you receive a security message when trying to download a new version of Adobe Reader, your computer's settings may not permit you to download and install new software. For help with such an issue, you should contact your network administrator.
   
• If you receive a security risk notice when trying to upload or view an application package, you might be prompted to "trust" the package.

To trust a single application in Adobe Reader:

1. After clicking on Save and Submit, Adobe may alert you to potential security risks.
2. On the alert, click on Options.
3. Then click on Trust this document always.
4. Save the document.
5. Then click on Save and Submit Application.
6. Enter your login credentials.
7. Then click on Sign and Submit Application to complete submission of your application.

To trust future applications in Adobe Reader:

1. Click on Edit.
2. Then click on Preferences.
3. Then click on Security (Enhanced).
4. Under Privileged Locations, click on Add Folder Path.
5. Browse to the folder containing your application files and click on OK.
6. The specified folder is now trusted by Adobe security settings.