how do I give permission to adobe so I can open and convert files to PDF?

If you have Acrobat installed, it doesn't need any "permission".  Do you get any error messages when trying to convert?

Hi fubar2007,

I'm not sure I follow. Unless a PDF is password-protected, you should be able to open it directly in Adobe Acrobat or Reader--no need to sign in to open files. (If the PDF does have password security, you would need to get that password from whomever created the file.)

Now, if you have a subscription to an Acrobat.com online service, you can log in directly to https://cloud.acrobat.com with your Adobe ID or password. You can also sign in via Adobe Reader by clicking the blue Sign In button in the upper-right corner of the Tools panel.

Best,

Sara