📋 Applies to: All users
Module: Platform-wide
Last reviewed: 2026-06 · Owner: Support
This article covers common PDF display problems in Alvys, including garbled text, incorrect layout, and blank pages, and provides browser and file-level steps to resolve each issue.
This article covers common PDF display problems in Alvys, including garbled or unreadable text, incorrect layout or formatting, and blank or empty pages when opening a PDF. Follow the steps below to identify and resolve the issue.
Thumbnail for the PDF display troubleshooting article
Symptom
You are experiencing one or more of the following when opening a PDF in Alvys:
Text appears corrupted, garbled, or contains missing characters
The PDF layout is incorrect, with cut-off text, overlapping content, or formatting errors
The PDF page is blank or the file fails to open entirely
Cause
PDF display problems in Alvys are browser-side rendering issues. They are not caused by a specific role or permission setting and can affect any user. Common causes include:
Missing or unsupported fonts on the user's device
Encoding issues or an incompatible PDF format or version
Display scaling problems in the browser-based document viewer
A corrupted or incomplete PDF file
Browser cache or temporary files interfering with how the PDF loads
A file too large for the browser's built-in viewer
Resolution
Garbled, corrupted, or missing text in a PDF
Try opening the same PDF in a different browser (for example, if you are using Chrome, try Firefox or Edge) or on a different device. If the PDF displays correctly elsewhere, the issue is specific to your current browser or system font settings.
Download the PDF and open it using Adobe Acrobat Reader instead of the browser viewer. Acrobat provides broader font support and may render the document correctly even when the browser viewer cannot.
If the problem occurs across multiple browsers and devices, the PDF file itself may be corrupted. Contact the person who generated or uploaded the file and ask them to regenerate or re-upload it.
Incorrect layout or formatting (cut-off text, overlapping content)
Use the Rotate or Zoom options in the Alvys document viewer to adjust how the document is displayed.
Download the PDF and open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader or another dedicated PDF viewer to confirm whether the layout issue is in the file or the viewer.
If the file was created from a scanned document, check the scan resolution. Low-resolution scans can cause readability and layout problems. If the scan quality is insufficient, ask for a higher-resolution rescan or a re-upload.
Blank page or PDF fails to open
Refresh the page and try opening the file again.
Clear your browser cache and cookies, then attempt to open the PDF again. In most browsers this is found under Settings > Privacy > Clear browsing data (select Cached images and files and Cookies).
Download the PDF and open it using Adobe Acrobat or another PDF reader to confirm whether the file itself contains content.
If the downloaded file also shows a blank page or fails to open, try opening it on a different device. If the problem appears on all devices, the document may be corrupted, incomplete, or empty and will need to be re-uploaded or regenerated.
If That Didn't Work
If you have completed all the steps above and the issue persists, contact Alvys Support with the following information:
The file name and a screenshot showing the problem
The browser name and version you are using (for example, Chrome 124, Firefox 125)
The device type and operating system (for example, Windows 11, macOS 14)
Any error messages displayed on screen