No PDFs Displayed; Black Screen

[Paul S.]

with
Vista SP1, up-to-date with security patches
Comodo Firewall Pro running

Just within the past few weeks, Foxit Reader (2.3) now will not display any PDFs; all I see is a black screen. All controls seem to be working. Uninstalled, reinstalled, same issue. I've used it previously with no problems.

Thanks for your assistance.

[christina]

Hello Paul S.,

Thanks a lot for your input. Would you please help to make a vedio about this issue?

[Paul S.]

Christina,

Thanks for responding. I appreciate the input because I'm out of ideas and I need to read PDF files.

"Would you please help to make a vedio about this issue?" Is this a Foxit Reader capability? I'm confused.

The only "steps" to reproduce are trying to open/display any PDF; all I see is black. I'll examine Foxit's help functions and put Platform/OS/Reader Version in an e-mail. I've been using Foxit without any problems for months; the black screen is a recent phenomenon.

[christina]

Christina,

"Would you please help to make a vedio about this issue?" Is this a Foxit Reader capability? I'm confused.

No, Paul, reader hasn't the function of making a vedio. I ask your help for making a vedio by any other multimedia tools that allow you to record your operations.



The only "steps" to reproduce are trying to open/display any PDF; all I see is black. I'll examine Foxit's help functions and put Platform/OS/Reader Version in an e-mail. I've been using Foxit without any problems for months; the black screen is a recent phenomenon.

Ok, Please help capture certain screenshots on this issue. The normal window before open a file , for example, the wrong window after disaplying a pdf . You can use the PrtSc key to print the screen.
Thanks.
Christina

[Paul S.]

Thanks very much for your patience with this, christina. I'm losing mine.

I'm using Vista Home Premium with two CRT monitors, so Screen_Capture_01 and Screen_Capture_02 display both screens. If the images need editing to help you and you're familiar with Paint editing options just let me know how I can make them more useful for you. I never use Print Screen so I'm not sure how to get this right.

I'm assuming this must be a settings issue somewhere---in Windows, Foxit---somewhere. I've never had any issue seeing PDFs with this reader until recently. Now none of them display.

I'll wait for your further direction.

[christina]

Hello Paul S,

Thanks very much for the images. Maybe 'two CRT monitors' is the cause. I will pass along this issue to the testing team for further confirmation.
Report Mantis ID:0005536

Greetings
Christina

[Paul S.]

Hi Christina,

Nothing in my hardware setup has changed since Foxit Reader stopped displaying PDFs; I've used the same setup for years. This black screen phenomenon is recent and doesn't affect any other application.

Thanks to you and the team for your assistance.

[bsulu]

I found myself having the same problem recently -- PDF files opened in Foxit were all black, but opening them in Acrobat was ok. I also have a dual monitor setup running Vista at home... but at work I use XP Professional. Both systems had the same problem with recent PDF files. I downloaded the recent Foxit 2.3 (previously I was using 2.2)... and the PDF files now display everything. I don't know if the older 2.2 was incompatible with recent PDF files being created with more recent versions of Acrobat or what... but the upgrade fixed my problem.

[Paul S.]

bsulu,

Ironically, I never had problems with previous versions of Foxit Reader, either on my old XP Pro system or, initially, on this Vista Home Premium setup. Currently I have Foxit Version 2.3 build 2923 loaded. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I tried uninstalling, cleaning the registry and reinstalling but without success.

I hate to have to go back to the slow, bloated Adobe product but unless this is resolved I'll be forced to, hoping that reader doesn't have a similar problem. Because all of Foxit's controls seem to be working fine I'm left assuming this is a software conflict with someone else's code. But whose? The other apps that I use I need. Very frustrating.

Thanks for your input.

[Paul S.]

I decided to uninstall Foxit Reader 2.3 and try version 2.2. Problem solved; 2.2 opens all of my PDFs. This is interesting in light of bsulu's experience noted above.

I'd rather use current versions of software but I don't want the slow, bloated Adobe product on my system if I can avoid it, so I hope the team can come up with something that will allow me to go back to the current Foxit Reader version.

Anyway, for now, I have what I need. Thanks to the team for their time on this issue.

[maxim]

I too have this issue. Windows XP SP2 on laptop with desktop extended to second monitor. Foxit 2.3 which worked fine for a while; now all PDFs blank.

If I can do anything to help you resolve this issue let me know, but I guess I'll soon go back to an older version.

[christina]

Hello Paul S. and Bsulu

Thanks for your writings. We keep testing this issue for several days on, and find no Black Screen appear. We suspect dual monitor is the cause of this problem. Would you please help test those pdf files with one monitor to see if the black screen will show up again? Thanks a lot. BTW, have you ever changed the the Windows Themes ?

[Paul S.]

christina,

I realize this isn't really the test you need, but I can at least report that Foxit Reader 2.2 build 2129 displays PDFs fine whether one or two monitors are on. I don't want to install v. 2.3 just for testing, since past experience indicates what the result will be. However, I would like to move up to v. 2.3 or later when this issue is resolved.

Windows Vista Home Premium SP 1

Paul S.

[Paul S.]

christina,

I tried the following yesterday with these results:
Windows Vista Home Premium SP 1, two CRT monitors active.

1. Installed Foxit Reader 2.3 build 3201 in C:\Foxit Reader 2.3
with V. 2.2 installed in C:\Foxit Reader 2.2. Both displayed PDFs fine.

2. Uninstalled V. 2.2, cleaned registry, rebooted.

3. Installed V. 2.3 by itself. Black screen again.

4. Uninstalled 2.3.3201, cleaned registry, rebooted.

5. Reinstalled V. 2.2 build 2129 by itself. PDFs display fine.

So I guess I stick with V. 2.2.

Paul S.

[christina]

Ok Paul S.

Thanks for your job. I will talk with the testing team again, hoping to reproduce this issue soon. Reproducing is an important step to find the problem.

Thanks
Christina

[LoveMyPadres]

I just sent two messages to support. I had the blank (not black, blank) screen problem. The PDF data was there; if I pressed the text button, the text would appear, and if I clicked on an email address, it worked as expected, but there was nothing on the screen. I went back to one screen, and it worked. Interestingly, I went back to two scrreens, and it continued to work.

So, those of you with multiple heads, try going to one, then back to normal and see if it works.

Cheers

Kelly:1_31:

[christina]

Thanks for your input. Our testing/developer team will look into this issue.

[msniner]

I have this issue as well, and it seems to me if I resize the window to more than 1000 pixels wide, the PDF will experience a graphics freeze, where whatever's displayed inside FoxIt (the PDF) will stay there and when you move the window around the desktop, it will display funny 'echo' artifacts... stuff that the window picks up when you move it around all the other windows and stuff on your screen.

If i resize the window smaller than 1000 pixels it works -- goes back to the way it was.