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24

How to configure TeXnicCenter to work with Adobe Reader DC? When I building and view current file .tex the following error "Can not execute the command" shows up and the PDF is not generated.

error TeXnicCenter

If there are any related post, could help. Thanks a lot!

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up vote 71 down vote accepted

Can be solved by proper setting in TeXnicCenter:

  1. Go to menu: "Build"-> "Define Output Profiles."
  2. choose profile "LateX to PDF".
  3. Switch to "Viewer" tab
  4. Set-up parameters:

"Executable path" should be something like (check, where have you installed Adobe Reader):

    C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe

Parameters: "Command", "Server" and "Topic" appears three-times on settings page - be sure to change ALL three appearence correctly.

"Server" parameter should be always:

acroviewR17

(For the earlier version of Adobe, it should be acroviewR15. For later versions of Adobe, it should be acroviewR18).

"Topic" parameter should be always:

control

"Command" parameter should be twice:

[DocOpen("%bm.pdf")][FileOpen("%bm.pdf")]

Last instance of "Command" parameter (in "close document..." section) should be:

[DocClose("%bm.pdf")]

After setting everything, confirm "Profiles" dialog and it is done.

Or just check following snapshot of settings

enter image description here

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  • 6
    That little acroviewR15 did the trick for me. Great answer! – Drarp Nov 11 '15 at 17:52
  • 2
    The acroviewR15 part solved it for me too. Thank you! – RobinAugy Sep 26 '16 at 8:21
  • 1
    additionally in Acrobat you might need to change Edit -> Preferences -> Security(Enhanced): uncheck Enable Protected Mode at startup – Markus Schmassmann Dec 5 '16 at 16:22
  • 10
    With the April 2017 update to Acrobat Reader DC, the server parameter has to be acroviewR17. – Frank Seifert Apr 13 '17 at 18:58
  • 4
    With the newest update 2018.009.20044 and beyond, please change all "Server" parameter from acroviewR17 to acroviewR18. Check your Adobe version using Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. – Frenzy Li Nov 16 '17 at 23:29
up vote 25 down vote

With the (silent) April 2017 update to Acrobat Reader DC to version 2017.009.20044, the parameters in Jiří's answer don't work anymore. TeXnicCenter just stops responding when trying to view the output with F5.

To solve the problem, simply replace the server parameter from acroviewR15 to acroviewR17 like below.

The dialog can be accessed with Alt + F7. Read more about the new Acrobat Reader version number here.

enter image description here

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  • I've edited his answer, I think that's more useful for other people than another answer with less votes. – domotorp Apr 25 '17 at 8:59
up vote 4 down vote

To complement the answers by Jiří Chmelík and Frank Seifert.

Update: In October 2018, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC has been updated to 2019.008.20071. acroviewR19 should be used instead, if you have this or a newer version.

In November 2017, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC has been updated to 2018.009.20044. If you have this reader version (or any version starting with 2018), replace the server parameter from acroviewR15 or acroviewR17 to acroviewR18 as shown below. To access this dialogue box, press Alt+F7 in TeXnicCenter, select the "Latex => PDF" profile, then switch to the "Viewer" tab.

enter image description here

To check your reader version, open Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, under "Help" menu, click "About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC". If the version number begins with

  • 2018, set all your Server parameters to acroviewR18,
  • 2017, set all your Server parameters to acroviewR17,
  • 2015, set all your Server parameters to acroviewR15.

Reference for all future versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.

enter image description here

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  • 1
    Yes, I am already affected by this. – Matsmath Nov 19 '17 at 6:46
  • I did all of the above (my version is 2018) nothing works yet. Same error :( – Herman Jaramillo Feb 22 at 22:30
  • @HermanJaramillo Do you have Adobe Acrobat Reader DC? Or one without Acrobat – Frenzy Li Feb 22 at 22:32
  • @FrenzyLi Yes I do. – Herman Jaramillo Feb 23 at 12:56
  • I ended up giving up on TexNicCenter in favor of TexWorks which actually works quite well. – Herman Jaramillo Feb 24 at 0:31
up vote 2 down vote

I had the same problem after Adobe Reader update, solved with:

Executable path = C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe
Server = acroviewR15
Topic = control

defined in Build -> Define Output Profiles... -> choose "LateX to PDF" -> Viewer tab (for TeXnicCenter).

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  • 2
    Welcome to TeX.SX! Can you supplement your answer with some information about where to type that code? – egreg Jul 1 '15 at 7:30
  • @egreg: How to open output as pdf directly? Should I need to make some changes in settings of my pdf reader? Right now, only the reader opens, not the document as pdf (which would be more convenient) – Abhimanyu Arora Mar 6 '16 at 15:18
up vote 0 down vote

Reader Config If you use Adobe Reader XI version 11.0.23 (updated June 23, 2018), this trick will work: https://nw360.blogspot.com/2017/03/set-up-pdf-viewer-in-texniccenter.html

View project's output and Forward search: Choose Command line argument and type in "%bm.pdf"

Close document before running (La)TeX: Select DDE command and the command is [AppExit]

Server: arcroviewR11
Topic: Control

The server above is for Adobe Reader. For Adobe Acrobat Pro, use arcroviewA11.

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protected by Torbjørn T. Feb 11 '16 at 7:53

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