New Acrobat Pro and Reader Tool Buttons have been hidden, relocated or completely removed

Question

The newest versions (February 2024) of both Acrobat and Reader were just installed on my Mac. The interface has completely changed, and not for the better, IMO. I was previously using a very specific setup with multiple Tool Buttons an easy click away. They were readily available in a strip of buttons along the top of my window. I used those all the time and found the layout very intuitive and efficient.

But now, the new interface is emulating Apple's UX approach to HIDE or remove everything! How do I Zoom a PDF to a specific magnifcation? How do I quickly move to the first/last page in a PDF? No clue how anymore. Those options are either buried somewhere, completely changed or gone altogether.

Can I reinstate the missing buttons? Apparently not. They do not exist.

For the ones that do remain, I am unable to add to and customize the one Toolbar that was not removed.

This revamp is extremely unhelpful and requires several extra clicks to do the same task as what previously needed just one click. Not to mention having to hunt for things that were previously easy to locate.

Am I missing something with this complete overhaul? And if somehow I am missing something, can someone please explain how this new interface is supposed to be "better" than what was working just fine for years?

Pariah Burke · Accepted Answer

Hi. I understand how frustrating it can be to have the user interface of a tool completely change on you. Fortunately, this one you can reverse!

Go to the View menu (Mac) or Menu menu (Windows) in Acrobat (or Reader) and select Disable New Acrobat. It will require a restart of the application, but when it comes back, you'll have the old UI!

M382992489i3m · Answer

I just created an account to leave this reply. STOP. The PC interface got to the point where nothing really needed to be done about 10 years ago. It's obvious you don't have any more meaningful changes to make, so now you're just moving the furniture around to try to keep things looking fresh. But every time you do this, you make things worse. Every time. If you don't have a meaningful change for the better, don't do it. You don't need to change just to change, especially when you're so bad at it.

Luckily I only have to use acrobat reader at work. I use a Mac at home and Preview is amazing. So when I have to use it at work and I see changes like this, it just reinforces the fact that I made a good choice.

To summarize: just stop

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