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Acrobat - 2023 Changes Are Beyond Awful... Or Is It Just Me?

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
July 24, 2023
58 replies
36160 views

Who thought it a good idea to change nearly everything at once?

Guess what - most of us are working for a living and don't have time for hours of tutorials and having to sift through support forums to find out how to use software that has been one of the back-bones of our work-flow.

As a designer working in the construction industry, along with being a skilled graphic designer, (you name the Adobe product, I have probably used it) I have found Acrobat to be an excellent, can't live without tool over the years, but this new version has hidden every bit of functionalityy that I personally need.

Am I asking for help here? No. I simply don't have time to mess around while some hotshot new designer celebrates his/her/it's new internal slaps on the back for a job 'well done' at Adobe, and the team scrabble around to answer some of the complaints.

To say I am dissapointed, is an understatement.

Before anyone says it, there are always complaints when software interfaces are changed. But mostly these are rolled out as minor changes, that after a bit of grumbling, people learn and accept, and everyone understands why software must develop. Not wholesale changes such as these..

I have been using Bluebeam Revu recently in tandem with Acrobat, and I am gutted to find myself having to turn to it rather than the Adobe that I have used and loved for decades.

So here are just a few gripes...

No longer can I automatically zoom in and out using a mouse wheel. Presumably there is a way of 'turning this on' hidden away in the depths of the many sub menus. Or does the sdesigner only use a tablet?

It's a basic function that makes it a useable tool, so why is it turned off. Now I have to look in opposite corners for the Pan tool and the Zoom functions. What was wrong with the hovering menu at the foot of the page with all the tools to hand? The select, zoom and pan tools are the three most useful tools to have readily available. It is almost as though the person / peeps who has/have re-designed it, doesn't use it personally. Except perhaps to read a copy of their latest comic.

I can't be bothered to continue and resent needing to.

The question is... do I stay or do I go?

Give me a really good reason to stay Adobe.. Please.

Modern Acrobat

Correct answer Patrick31582352vq9r

Just a post to concur.

Thank goodness they provided, and I finally found, the option to revert to "old adobe". I was struggling w/ the new markup tools which really slowed down my progress for a few weeks. I thought I could get used to it... but no, all my easy markup tasks are still much more cumbersome. Why can't "escape" button close out the tool you're using (text box...)? Nope, lets just keep adding text boxes everytime you click until you click on a new tool?

Show previous replies

T

Tariq Ahmad

Community Manager

Hi All,

Hope you are doing well.

We acknowledge that the new Acrobat represents a notable change; however, we hope that as you get familiar with the new interface, you can be more productive and get more out of Acrobat.

We are actively working on all the currently unavailable features, such as customizing the all-page display, navigation & zoom tools such as 2-page view, 2-page with scrolling, marquee & dynamic zoom, etc., from the bottom right menu. And we will address them with the highest priority.

As you get more comfortable with the new interface, please contact us with specific questions on tools, features, or functionalities. We’re happy to provide helpful resources and answers to your questions.

If your critical workflows are impacted, you can switch to the old UI from the “Menu” on the top left corner of Windows and View Menu on MacOS. We will follow up with a detailed community-featured post, guiding you to familiarise yourself with the new interface and regular updates on upcoming changes.

A point to note is that as we made these changes in the interface, we have tried to ensure all tools & features that are currently supported retain their familiar functionalities and workflows as they did in the previous version. We are committed to addressing any gaps or issues users report related to any break in current workflows in all our past & upcoming releases. In case any of your current workflows are not functioning as expected, do share them with us on this thread, and we will address them with the highest priority. In case any of your critical workflows are impacted, you have the option to switch back to the old UI from the “Menu” on the top left corner of Windows and View Menu on MacOS.

We will follow up on this response with a detailed article explaining the changes, a guide to help familiarise you with the new interface, and regular updates on upcoming changes.

Thanks,
Tariq Dar

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RUDY5ED2

Participant

No Tariq, it's not a "notable change." It's a tremendous decrease in the quality of your product that is infuriating everyone. Getting rid of the undo button alone while editing text is an atrocity. The layout and all other unnecessary counterintuitive changes are too many to name. Please stop sugarcoating and gaslighting and at least for once - someone from your office - acknowledge our anger and discontent. You are protecting failure. This was a huge mistake and the way you are handling it is insult to injury.

M

Matthew31381637cdkb

Participant

Well said with profound articulation of the frustration. I was just trying to find a word in my Acrobat document. A simple activity in the former program Ctrl F and bingo you find the word. Now with this new program you have to enrol in a PhD for 3 to 4 years to be able to understand what you are supposed to do, Tariq not every user has competence in rocket science just own up and everyone will appreciate your empathy and therefore stay loyal - this is an abormination.

Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com

Legend

You can revert to the classic GUI interface by following the instructions here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/revert-to-classic-interface-from-new-acrobat-gui/...

|    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |

heidiw54773222

Participant

Oh my God, thank you so much!!! You have literally saved my life. I have to proof and markup using Adobe all the time and I can't even count the additional clicks that this ridiculous format has added to the process. You have literally given me hours back in my life!

Thanks

R

Raquel31853786wfxd

Participant

I'm at the tail end of a legal deadline and this pops up. Seriously someone should be fired. It removed all my custom tools, and is making my life so difficult I'd rather use Bluebeam after years of preaching on my Adobe soapbox. No more. You've lost me for good!

JR Boulay

Community Expert

Definitely not just you. (bis)

Inverting the tools with the navigation panels and adding 1 to 3 clicks to perform each operation doesn't strike me as efficient, productive or intelligent.

Removing the Action Wizard and the plugins is not a good idea too.

Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe

C

Clogdiver

Participant

I just updated, I feel saddened. I really dont like the side panels swap. Such a major change they have not considered without locking it down. It not only reflects the PDF I am editing but all the screenshots in the training manuals and screenshots and demo's that are now wrong. Why would you enforce a swap over like this with no option to edit? I work left to right and I dont want a menu on the right. I want it left where it was...

Amal.

Community Manager

Hi there

++ Adding to the discussion

For information and know-how about the new UI, please go through the help page https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/new-acrobat-experience.html

You may also share your feedback with the engineering team using the link https://acrobat.uservoice.com/

Regards

Amal

G

Gwen31666870bpie

Participant

Write to Adobe

I just opened the "new" update and I am LIVID! Things that used to be easy and even POSSIBLE are NO LONGER POSSIBLE with the update. There is NO "SAVE AS" link just the little icon on the OPPOSITE side from where it was normally located!

I can NO LONGER easily save 1 item to TWO files! I have to re-download the page/paper to save it a second time.

The number of PAGES in an item is NO LONGER SHOWN!

Changing the size of the view is NOT LONGER FOUND!

LOTS of WASTED SPACE with the 'new' side bars.

ALL TOOLS are opened on the side of EVERY ITEM I Download! Waste of time since it needs to be CLOSED with each paper!

WHY was a COMPLETE REDO of ALL ITEMS at the same time?

I don't have time to RE_LEARN your program and if I could find another program I WOULD JUMP AT IT and DELETE ADOBE completely for their LACK of concern for their customers!

try67

Community Expert

Definitely not just you. We're getting multiple complaints from people each day about various aspects of the new UI. All of them are solved by switching it off.

I just encountered an issue where a script was not working in the new version due to a bug, but it started working fine as soon as the user switched back to the old design. So the changes are not just aesthetic, there are also functional differences (undocumented, of course), including bugs that only exist in the new version.

D

davidk5418443Author

Participant

Thanks for the feedback, that is interesting.

Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com

Legend

Yes, the new interface is being panned by users.

I personally agree with you and there have been countless complaints here in the forums.

You can revert to the previous interface:

File menu (the new Hamburger menu in the upper left) or under the View menu on Apple.
Disable New Acrobat.

Best to you.

|    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |

D

davidk5418443Author

Participant

Thanks, that is a major relief.

Sent from Outlook for iOS<>

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