V1.8.4 - Certain PDFs don't load properly

Steps to reproduce

  1. Download this sample file (for testing purposes only) to your vault
  2. Open in it and Obsidian Vault.
  3. Scroll

Expected result

As you scroll, you expect to see all the content on the pages.

Actual result

Certain pages will fail to load. The results are inconsistent. I have been unable to find a pattern, but broken pages seem to always be grouped together.
broken_PDF

Environment

SYSTEM INFO:
Obsidian version: v1.8.4
Installer version: v1.5.11
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro 10.0.26100
Login status: logged in
Language: en
Catalyst license: none
Insider build toggle: off
Live preview: on
Base theme: adapt to system
Community theme: none
Snippets enabled: 0
Restricted mode: on

RECOMMENDATIONS:
none


1 Like

I forgot to mention that this behavior is not consistent across all pdfs. I haven’t been able to track down what causes a PDF to behave this way, but “lighter” pdfs don’t seem to have this issue.

The example above was made using an note taking app on iPad (don’t know the app name) by my professor and then exported to PDF. This PDF loaded correctly pre-v1.8.3

You could try updating your installer (download and reinstall from https://obsidian.md/)

Scrolling the sample PDF seems fine on my end. macOS v15.3, Obsidian v1.8.4, v1.8.4 installer.

2 Likes

I can confirm. A fresh installer is required.

I had an old Obsidian installer on Windows 10 which I rarely use. 1.5.something. I got a pop up warning explaining that a fresh download was required. You should have seen that warning too. (I’m not sure if it only shows once, since I stay updated.)

I opened up and finished Syncing. The PDF was not working properly.

I downloaded the latest installer, 1.8.4. The PDF works fine.

1 Like

Thank you both @ariehen and @rigmarole!
Can confirm that a fresh install worked!

I had been updating in-app since 1.5, so I haven’t run an install since I first got Obsidian, and therefore was never warned.

Thank you again!

1 Like

Great!

Most often you don’t need to do an installer upgrade for every release, but pdf.js (the pdf “engine”) was upgraded, it seems, with the recent installer. Likely something with that.

2 Likes

This is what I’m experiencing after the recent updates. And it’s the same problem on Windows 11, my iPad and iPhone. I did try to download and install the latest installer but unfortunately that doesn’t fix the problem.
Obsidian_F8QxkcjEBp

I did find a solution…

1 Like

This issue was driving me insane. In fact, some PDFs worked while others did not, which only made me even more intrigued. I spent two days trying absolutely everything to resolve it, never imagining that simply updating the installer would be sufficient. I also didn’t receive any notification that the installer was outdated.

I guess it’s from the PDF++ plugin (sorry if I’m wrong). So those who don’t use PDF++ will not receive such notification.


Other than installers, if you’re a PDF++ user, make sure it is up-to-date, because I (PDF++ dev) have made many updates to ensure PDF++ will keep working with Obsidian 1.8 since the day after the first insider release.


Generally speaking, if you encounter any issues, updating everything (plugins, themes, app & installer) is the very first thing that you should try, as suggested by the Troubleshooting Guide.