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Unable to Download PDF of Documents in Digital Library

Mark.B.Hansen
Mark.B.Hansen ✭✭
February 5, 2022 edited July 30, 2024 in Search

I can no longer download a full PDF or a single page PDF of a document in the Digital Library. I get an error message that the downloaded file is damaged and cannot be repaired. What is wrong? I am trying to copy and paste a biography into the Life Sketch section of a FS record, and the only way I know to select text from a Digital Library document is to first download it, which I have done many times. But now I can't. I have tried it on two different computers.

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Answers

  • Aubrey Jacobs-Tyson
    Aubrey Jacobs-Tyson ✭
    February 5, 2022

    I am getting a similar error, though my error says that the "PDF failed to download". I'm getting this on every book or page I try to download and have tried different browsers, but I was able to download without issue just yesterday. I'm wondering if they have conducted a software upgrade that has caused this issue.

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  • genthusiast
    genthusiast ✭✭✭✭✭
    February 5, 2022 edited February 5, 2022

    @Mark.B.Hansen

    Workaround: If you click the icon left of the Download icon - Show Text - that brings up a Text box from which you can click-and -drag or select the actual text. Apparently the new Digital Book interface does not include the text by default.

    Alternate workaround: You can also click the icon to the right of Download - Share - and Copy the Link. Go into Source Box, attach the link - enter the Text in Notes, etc. This would allow you to attach the page as a Source to various persons.

    How to fix the problem: I don't know - someone (FamilySearch) with knowledge of storage of these books and how the files are stored can fix it. Yes this appears to be an issue with the new interface.

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  • Mary_Margaret
    Mary_Margaret ✭
    March 30, 2022

    Not being able to download a pdf of a record for my relatives is so frustrating, it isn't even worth using this site. I can use MyHeritage to get the same original records, like death certificates and I can print them as pdf or download them in the original size. Family Search has made everything too hard and frustrating.

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  • MaureenE123
    MaureenE123 ✭✭✭✭✭
    March 30, 2022

    I downloaded a pdf book file from the Digital Library without problems a few weeks ago, certainly after the date of the the original post.

    I think the post from Mary_Margaret is referring to something different, not a problem with the Digital Library.

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  • N Tychonievich
    N Tychonievich ✭✭✭✭✭
    April 24, 2022

    @Mark.B.Hansen Are you still unable to download Genealogy of the Parke Family in the Digital Library? I just tried it today (24 April 2022) and it downloaded without incident. Perhaps there was a temporary glitch in the system when you tried. If you continue to experience problems, here are some things to keep in mind:

    You need to sign in--and sometimes, for some reason, you'll see another Sign In button below the description of a book that you'd need to click too.

    Try various browsers and take a minute to clear FamilySearch cookies. I tested in Firefox and it worked. You can clear just the FamilySearch cookies by going to

    https://www.familysearch.org/cookies


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