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Answered

Understanding and customizing the current Acrobat interface

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
April 19, 2023
335 replies
127320 views

Hi,

I am trying to write a complaint email but of course, no contact details in this regard, so here I am:

what on earth is going on with this new update of Adobe Acrobat Pro that normally it's supposed to be more user friendly - news flash, it's not - and appart from this, there is this new awful feature that blocks the app whenever I try to handle documents, the app blocks, I can't close, I can't do anything, it just freezes. The only thing that gets me out of there is task manager, and then starting over again.

I did this 3 times, making me losing around 10 minutes for an edit that normally, before this horrible update, it was taking me few seconds... Come on guys WAKE UP!

Correct answer BaniVerma

Hi all,

How do I switch between the current and previous Acrobat interface?

Acrobat includes both the current and previous (classic) interfaces for supported versions where the option is available, so you can choose whichever fits your workflow.

Switch to the previous (classic) interface:

Windows: Menu > Disable new Acrobat
macOS: View > Disable new Acrobat

When prompted, select Restart to relaunch Acrobat with the previous interface. To return to the current interface, select View > Enable new Acrobat and restart Acrobat.

Reference

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/get-started/preferences-and-settings/switch-new-acrobat.html

What's different about the current Acrobat interface?

Previous (Classic) Interface	Current Acrobat Interface
Traditional menu and toolbar layout	Reorganized menus, toolbars, and panels
Frequently used tools available through the classic interface	Workflow-based tool organization
Standard toolbar layout	Customizable toolbar with frequently used tools

The current Acrobat experience organizes common PDF tasks by workflow and provides a more consistent experience across desktop, web, and mobile.

References

Can I customize the Acrobat interface?

Yes. To customize your toolbar:

From the Quick action toolbar, select Add, remove, or reorder tools, then choose Customize toolbar.
Select a tool category, then click the plus icon to add a tool to your toolbar.
Use the arrows to reorder tools, or the trash icon to remove them.
Select Save.

For the latest interface improvements and feature updates, see the current What's New documentation and Acrobat Release Notes.

References

Thanks,

^BS

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Mitchell32744962m82b

Participant

"We're always looking for ways to make Acrobat better"

Well, you definately have not. This program is terrible

SOLUTION: I'M SWITCHING TO BLUEBEAM!

J

jeffreywilens

Participating Frequently

I was not a big fan of the interface when I first saw it as an option a few months ago, but when using the classic interface I was experiencing terrible "screen flickering" when viewing documents in two page display (I verified this on multiple computers and reported it to support, a ticket is outstanding). Out of sheer desperation I activated the new interface.

Yes as an attorney I am a heavy user of PDF documents.

Yes, I find the reversal of where the bookmarks and page thumbnails and the commands awkward (I guess the designers though the commands are more important than the bookmarks/thumbnails but I disagree).

But some of the comments simply reflect limited effort to familiarize.

For example, there is a popup interface that appears when you select a word or phrase with your mouse and that it allows you to quickly highlight or redact the word or phrase as well as a few other tools. That's pretty cool.

The single hamburger menu is fine. One drop down with embedded options versus five or so drop downs is not that big of a deal.

Control-O still opens a document.

The undo button is still there, it just appears once you have the option to undo something and not before.

I was able to edit a paragraph to add some works without any crashing or difficulty.

You can add some commands to the floating toolbar on the left (and I wish you could remove some as I don't need to see "draw freehand" as an option), just like you could with the quickbar or whatever it was called on top.

And best of all, the screen flickering issue does not seem to be visible (at least so far) in this interface. I'm not sure why.

J

jdg1010

Participating Frequently

Also an attorney (in the data industry with high technical expertise requirements). Using Adobe for possibly 30 years. Did not experience the flickering, but would never deny someone else's experience.

This version cannot be redeemed. Cannot set the background. Cannot have pure text writing without opening the entire edit command structure (which endangers the entire document). Cannot have a simple signature without being commanded to secure the document (which can be rejected but it's extra steps which I did not ask to peform -- it's a constant upsale to DocuSign, etc.). The floating toolbar is a waste of space on laptops. This new design is for phones and they were too lazy to build a desktop version.

BTW ... I don't pay the monthly subscription fee to be told I have to learn the entire program structure from scratch. Adobe has among the worst technical and customer support systems of any company. Hard to imagine worse than eBay, Verizon or Microsoft, but, congratulations, Adobe -- you have accomplished it!

If I could switch to a competitor, I would ... and I have directed our IT people to initiate a thorough search to do so.

J

jeffreywilens

Participating Frequently

1) What do you mean cannot set background? Edit has an option to set a background. And what kind of background would a lawyer need (all my pleadings have the normal white paper background with line numbering but that is handled by Word).

2) I can edit existing documents without opening the whole edit command structure. Click on the word you want to edit, right click, choose edit and start typing. Yes, the edit menu pops up on the side but you don't need to use it unless you want to change the font or something. This is pretty much the same or better than the classic interface.

3) For signatures, I click the signature icon and have two choices of signatures I have stored there (I wish I could store more but the classic version has the same limit). Drag the signature to the signature line and you are done. I did not get a prompt to secure the document.

Acrobota does give "tips" use the Adobe Sign feature but that is included in the subscription price so I'm not sure what the issue is. Yes, I could do with less "tips" but the classic version has those also.

4) This design is clearly "not for phones." The floating toolbar is very thin and can be moved to the far side in the off screen border area. I display two pages up on a wide screen and always have borders on the side, but the text is big enough to read. I think they wanted to have the online version match the desktop version (Microsoft is doing the same thing with Outlook as you may know).

5) As for technical support, there is a bug in the display driver when using 2-page view on three computers and monitors I tested. You might test it yourself. Open up a document in 2-page full screen view because it is easier to test in that mode. Make sure the document has many pages. Then use the mouse or page up and page down to flip from beginning to end and back at a moderate rate. Try it a few times. You might trigger a less than one second "flash" on the right side of the page. It is most obvious when your borders are black not light gray. This is with the classic interface. So far I have not noticed it in the new interface. Technical support saw it on his screen share and claims it will be address in the next patch. We will see, but that was fairly responsive once I reported it by phone call support.

P

Ph0t0Junki3

Participant

I agree the new update is aweful it was fine the way it was. The new update makes it really annoying to edit docs and I just want to throw my computer across the room.

W

William32246251zy92

Participant

Yes. There is. Click the hamburger (drop-down) menu on the far top left corner. Near the bottom you will see something like "disable" the new version. I do not know how long it will work.

Obviously, Adobe hired people who either: 1. Do not understand how the product is used in business, 2. Hate Adobe and are trying to kill the brand, or 3. Both.

Dorothea L. Vidal

[P.I Removed by Moderator]

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Julie32601531car6

Participant

I have never commented on something like this before. However, this update begs a reply. The update seems to have done away with every useful feature of Adobe AND hides all the tools. Simple tasks like highlighting text are now impossible.

Is there some way to rever to the previous interface?

J

jeffreywilens

Participating Frequently

Click on the word or select the phrase you want to highlight with your mouse. An interface should automatically pop up that shows various tools including highlighting. Select highlight and it's done. Could not be simpler once you know how it works.

J

james.o.brien

Participant

Agree... absolute shite!

Constant page refeshing... I can't even see what has been updated other than moving the tool bars... so frustrating!
We pay a helll of a lot of muney to use these apps... rubbish!

P

Peter Scott 151

Participant

Come on Adobe!!!! Terrible, backward, disappointing, Acrobat update.

L

Larry32232602la8c

Participant

I can't even figure out where to start to express my anger over this mess of an update. How can something like this even be allowed to be released? Who on earth came up with this interface? Is there no accountability over there anymore. Put down the tablet, get back to your desk in your office at an actual work station and fix this useless piece of junk. I have reverted backt to the old interface for now but our team is actively looking for a better product now.

Looks like you need to shake up the staff folks.

denlaw1217

Participating Frequently

Let us know if you find an alternative to Adobe.
___________
Denny Esford
Attorney & Mediator
*Windy City Trial Group, Inc.*
[PI removed by moderator]

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Mitchell32744962m82b

Participant

BlueBeam

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William32246251zy92

Participant

I agree it is terrible. The new update is not at all friendly for people who use a keyboard. To use it, you have to take your hands off the keyboard and use a mouse which I don't use at all. I knew every keystroke before. To close a document it was simply Alt+F+C. For those familiar with the keystrkes we have that done before you could move your hands to a mouse. Now, you cannot even close a document without taking your hands off the keyboard. It is very very slow. Very unhappy.

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Laura A323145633wv5

Participant

it is horrible.... slowing work productivity to a standstill... cannot erase anything unusable even after fixes and re-install...AWFUL....FIX IT NOW

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