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niels+jørgenp33636695
niels+jørgenp33636695
Participant
June 9, 2026
Question

Extreme slow on opening ...

  • June 9, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 13 views

I use Adobe's graphic design applications extensively, especially InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat. Of course, always the latest versions, and on a Mac 🙂

But one thing puzzles me: Acrobat is by far the slowest application to start up. Even when the program is already running, it still takes an incredibly long time to open even the tiniest document. I assume it's because Adobe has packed it with all sorts of extra features and services...

Does anyone know of a trick or hack to make Acrobat run faster? Is it possible to disable some of all that extra stuff?

My InDesign opens an 800 MB document in about 2 seconds, while Acrobat takes 7–8 seconds to open a 48 KB PDF.

That's completely crazy.

My Mac is a Mac Studio M4 with 64 GB of RAM, so hardware certainly isn't the issue 🙂

    1 reply

    Anand Sri Bhattacharya
    Community Manager
    Anand Sri BhattacharyaCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    June 9, 2026

    Hello @niels jørgenp33636695,


    I hope you are doing well, and thanks for reaching out. We're sorry for the trouble you had with the Acrobat app.


    Could you please share more details about the issue?

    Your exact Acrobat version installed (Acrobat > About Acrobat) and macOS version (e.g., macOS Sonoma / Sequoia)? Ensure that you are on the latest build of Acrobat Version: 26.001.21651. Planned update, Jun 05, 2026. Check for any pending updates by navigating to Menu > Help> Check for Updates. Install the updates, restart the app and the machine, and try again.

    Does the slowdown happen only on first launch, or every time you open a PDF, even after Acrobat is already running?


    For testing purposes, turn off the enhanced security from the Preferences > Acrobat > Preferences > Security (Enhanced) > turn off protected mode at startup, and enhanced security > click ok, restart the app, and the machine. Then try again with the performance. Please enable the security settings after the test.


    Also, from the same Preferences Window, go to General> uncheck Show Online Storage When Opening Files and saving files options > Click OK, restart the app, and check.

    Please note that Acrobat runs natively on M1/M2 for better speed. To learn more, check this article: https://adobe.ly/4vJxg0V


    If the issue still persists, please use the Acrobat Cleaner tool to remove the installed Acrobat, restart the machine, and download Acrobat.


    Let us know how it goes, and share your observations.

    Regards,

    Anand Sri.

    niels+jørgenp33636695
    niels+jørgenp33636695Author
    Participant
    June 10, 2026

    Hi, Acrobat is version 2025.001.20937.

    MacOS is Tahoe 26.5.1

    The slowdown only happends the first time i open a doc.

    protected mode at startup, and show online storage is allready disabled.

    So no change.

     

    Anand Sri Bhattacharya
    Community Manager
    Anand Sri BhattacharyaCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    June 10, 2026

    ​@niels+jørgenp33636695 Thanks for sharing the details. 

     

    Please use the Acrobat Cleaner tool once to remove the app and reinstall it.

    Also, for testing purposes, create a test user profile with full admin access or enable the root account. Install Acrobat, and test the performance.

    If the issue still persists, please capture the logs and share them with us for further investigation. To collect logs, please refer to this article: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/acrobat-diagnostics.html

     

    Regards,

    Anand Sri.

     

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