Version 2018.011.20038 Product Review

Hello

I am an industrial engineering student at Montana State University who is currently taking a course on “Interaction Design.” The only reasons I use Adobe Acrobat Reader (Version 2018.011.20038) is because it’s the default option for opening PDF’s and someone else installed it on my computer.

Overall, I hate the experience of using this product, primarily because the functionality of the product is limited and misleading. When I open a PDF, I’m greeted by brightly colored pictures next to option items that seem like very useful tools (strong aesthetics/user need awareness). This compels me to click on one, but sometimes when I do I’m brought to pop up pages that tell me I can’t use these functions unless I pay for Adobe Acrobat Pro and am left feeling tricked, cheated, and devalued as a user for not paying extra (poor emotional attachment). This experience discourages me from further exploring the capabilities of the program (not ludic) because I’m uncertain which functions I can use (poor translation of mental models). This limits the number of tasks I perform using this product to reading and printing.

Even then, when I try to print I am left disappointed. On the mac version of this program, there is no option that allows me to print double sided (lacking utility). This shows a lack of basic functionality and directly contradicts my goal as an environmentally conscious user who wants to save paper.

To improve this product, first I would recommend simply adding an option to print double sided for Macs. I’m sure many other environmentally conscious users like me would appreciate that functionality. To address the misleading functions, I would add an “Available with Adobe Acrobat Pro” label above the colored functions that would bring a user to the pop ups. This communicates to users like me which functions I can and can’t use, but also serves the business function of continuing to advertise for your paid product.

Thank you for listening to my feedback. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my use of this product and proposed improvements.

Romy Beigel

[Email address removed. To avoid feeding the scammers, please do not post email addresses or personal contact information in this very public forum.]