Troubleshoot PDF Loading and Analysis

Applies to: All editions

PDF does not appear after Add Folder

Confirm that:

  1. The file has a .pdf extension;
  2. The selected folder or subfolder is accessible to the signed-in user;
  3. The file is not reached only through a junction or symbolic-directory reparse point, which PDFSanitize intentionally skips; and
  4. The same full file path is not already present in the list.

Folder enumeration ignores inaccessible subfolders where possible and records access problems in the activity log.

Analysis fails

Try the following:

  1. Confirm that the source file still exists and can be opened normally.
  2. Copy the file to a local working directory to rule out network locking or path problems.
  3. Confirm that the file is actually a valid PDF and not merely renamed with a .pdf extension.
  4. Retry analysis with only the affected document selected.
  5. Record the PDFSanitize version and the error context for support.

PDF is marked Encrypted

Encrypted and password-protected PDFs cannot currently be sanitized. Analysis records the encrypted condition and stops deeper inspection. Use an authorized process to create an unencrypted working copy before retrying.

Finding count is unexpected

The finding count represents PDFSanitize’s detected structures, not a count of all sensitive facts in the document. Some findings summarize an entire structure, while invisible or off-page text findings can be recorded per page.

Review the Overview values rather than relying on the count alone.

Hidden content was not detected

The hidden-text analyzer targets invisible rendering modes and text completely outside the page boundary. Other concealment techniques can fall outside that detection model. For higher-assurance structural minimization, consider Maximum Assurance and perform a visual disclosure review.