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Why does the DC installer remove Acrobat Pro XI, and all of its plugins, without warning?

Forum|Forum|10 years ago
April 6, 2015
53 replies
94518 views

When you run the "Update" to Acrobat DC, Acrobat XI, and any plugins you are using, disappear. There is no warning. Pro XI is just simply gone.

It is not possible to install Pro XI along side of DC. If you try, the install seems to work, but the Applications folder only contains DC.

Also: Acrobat Pro XI does not appear in the Previous Versions list in the Creative Cloud app.

The only way I have found to get Pro XI back is to uninstall DC, then go to the Pro XI Download page: https://creative.adobe.com/products/acrobat

Click Download, and the CC applet will download and re-install Acrobat Pro XI. You will then need to re-install all your plugins.

Adobe: Thank you so much for creating a massive support headache for your customers! Your ability to screw us over knows no bounds.

Install update and subscribe to Acrobat

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer lrosenth

Let me start by saying that we are sorry that you are experiencing the problem that you are. However, you should understand why you have these pains and hopefully prevent them from happening in the future.

Adobe has NEVER supported the installation of multiple versions of Acrobat on the same machine. Not on Windows and not on Mac.

We are aware that some of our customers choose to use this UNSUPPORTED configuration AGAINST OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, however, it is NOT supported. As such, the act of upgrading from Acrobat XI to Acrobat DC is just that - an UPGRADE. It's not a "install a new piece of software next to my old one". Just as when you update/upgrade apps from the Mac App Store or with the Chrome browser - you don't get to keep old software, you simply get the shiny new thing.

Concerning plugins - it appears that some of you have been installing your plugins inside of the application package on the Mac. This is also an NOT RECOMMENDED configuration since Acrobat X, when we enabled support for an external plugin folder - for exactly this reason - that when we uninstall an application it also uninstalls the included plugins. Had they been in the proper external folder, they would have been left alone. Though, as Andrew said, none of the plugins would still work on the Mac.

Show previous replies

glaustin

Inspiring

Thanks Joe. I didn't, but XI Pro just didn't respond since DC appears listed in the manager list. Can I remove DC from the list so it doesn't keep showing as an update?

lrosenth

Adobe Employee

You can click “Ignore”, just as you can for any other update from CC.

glaustin

Inspiring

Thanks. At the risk of sounding dense, how do I click "ignore"? The choices I have are just "update" or "uninstall" (never needed to ignore an app before). Also can you tell me exactly what it is and supposed to do? Is it supposed to replace XI Pro or sit alongside?

G

grondin

Participant

Where do I send the bill for my time fixing Adobe's screw up with this??

Thank you for the Acrobat XI re-installation link!!

glaustin

Inspiring

Hi Guys

I'm on CC2014 and just been pulling my hair out having lost a load of time with a key job where none of my pdfs opened and eventually found out about this DC madness! Please can someone tell me:

1. What is DC exactly and what does it do different to XI Pro?

2. Is it replacing XI Pro or additional to XI Pro (if so, and why isn't integrated into XI Pro)?

3. Must I have it?

4. If I don't need it; why is there no choice on how it appears in the manager?

5. How can I stop it appearing and banjaxing Acrobat XI Pro?

For the Adobe reps looking in; I don't want to play about with file strings and codes for something that's unnecessary and I don't want! Does Adobe ever have it foot in the operational service provision world or must it always have its head full of ways to squeeze more money out of its subscription slaves, without caring about the consequences to their livelyhoods!!??

Got that off my chest; so what can I do to stop Acrobat XI Pro dropping off?

Regards,

Graham

J

joec88

Participating Frequently

Don't apply the update.

lrosenth

Adobe Employee

We have a posted a new Knowledge Base (KB) article on both the issues with CC installation of Acrobat DC as well as plugin handling and installation. It can be found at Acrobat DC removed Acrobat XI and plugin compatibility | Mac, Windows

S

seamonkey84

Participant

lrosenth wrote:

We have a posted a new Knowledge Base (KB) article on both the issues with CC installation of Acrobat DC as well as plugin handling and installation. It can be found at Acrobat DC removed Acrobat XI and plugin compatibility | Mac, Windows

Thanks for the link to that article, however it should be noted that the external plugins folder in /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat/DC/ is still removed when the associated app is uninstalled. I'm not sure how this addresses "Had they been in the proper external folder, they would have been left alone" when uninstalling a version...

lrosenthCorrect answer

Adobe Employee

Let me start by saying that we are sorry that you are experiencing the problem that you are. However, you should understand why you have these pains and hopefully prevent them from happening in the future.

Adobe has NEVER supported the installation of multiple versions of Acrobat on the same machine. Not on Windows and not on Mac.

We are aware that some of our customers choose to use this UNSUPPORTED configuration AGAINST OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, however, it is NOT supported. As such, the act of upgrading from Acrobat XI to Acrobat DC is just that - an UPGRADE. It's not a "install a new piece of software next to my old one". Just as when you update/upgrade apps from the Mac App Store or with the Chrome browser - you don't get to keep old software, you simply get the shiny new thing.

Concerning plugins - it appears that some of you have been installing your plugins inside of the application package on the Mac. This is also an NOT RECOMMENDED configuration since Acrobat X, when we enabled support for an external plugin folder - for exactly this reason - that when we uninstall an application it also uninstalls the included plugins. Had they been in the proper external folder, they would have been left alone. Though, as Andrew said, none of the plugins would still work on the Mac.

dv8kiwi

Inspiring

Perhaps when Adobe CC automatically updates from a 32 bit to a 64 bit version of Acrobat, WITHOUT warning users that plug-ins will stop working, is the time Adobe SHOULD START supporting the installation of multiple versions of Acrobat on the same machine. At the very least they should RECOMMEND that users do not upgrade until they are sure their plug-ins will work with the new version.

Just discovered that the Windows version is still 32 bit, so the old plugins are working!! They just need to be copied to the new plugins directory. Adobe PLEASE don't upgrade Windows version to 64 bit!!

S

SBaryla

Participating Frequently

Thank you for the heads up! You sure saved me some time today.

Frans v.d. Geest

Community Expert

Also, something seems broke on Mac anyway: the Open dialog has a big. non rezisable grey area and you get a spinning ball for 10 seconds on every Open. Not to mention the little children's interface. This version has Vista all written over it!

Tigercorrectionalservices

Participant

I have the same problem with the big gray box. It just started this morning. The only thing that I have done differently was I updated office for mac 2011 (the office 365 licensed version).

So far, I have found very little to like about DC. I sincerely hope this is not a sign of things to come for other adobe cc products.

lrosenth

Adobe Employee

Yes, we are aware of the gray box and looking to have that fixed in a future update.

Riley – what type of work/industry are you involved in that you haven’t found something of note in Acrobat DC? We think there are things in there for everyone – not the least of which is the easier and more productive UI.

T

TeiloAuthor

Participating Frequently

I see another user found the installer: Download Acrobat products | Standard, Pro | DC, XI, X https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/acrobat-downloads.html

On the phone, Adobe stated that if you uninstall DC, that XI would become available again in the CC applet. That, of course, is not the case. However, the link above resolves the issue, but the install is now manual, and cannot be done using the CC app.

I'm going to guess that Pitstop Pro 13 will work fine. That still leaves Quite Imposing, which is at present still 32-bit.

abailescollins

Participating Frequently

@Teilo

PitStop 12 update 3 will also work correctly, that is 64-bit already.

T

TeiloAuthor

Participating Frequently

abailescollins‌

The red brick icon problem goes away after a couple of Acrobat restarts. However, without Quite Imposing, I have a broken workflow.

The plugins are not the real issue. I fully expect that a new version of Acrobat will not be compatible with existing plugins. The real issue is that Adobe decided, for no reason, to uninstall XI, and thus break critical production workflow tools at my company. For the record: I have 130 seats of CC. And for those who DID install DC, it's buggy as hell and crashing constantly.

Now for an update:

If you use the web installer linked above, you can install Acrobat Pro XI without first uninstalling Acrobat DC and they both work.

In other words, There was no reason for Adobe to uninstall XI.

J

jonase99155873

Participant

I´m running OSX 10.10.2 and Pitstop 12 update 3.

My problem is with the icons. Only "lego pieces"

abailescollins

Participating Frequently

You shouldn't see those lego blocks there. I have the same configuration and I see the correct icons in the tool bar as below.

The other icons on the right we don't know how to generate yet as Adobe didn't tell us, but the top ones should be ok.

the only difference is I did a clean install not an upgrade. Can you maybe try adding them again or if you have no luck contact Enfocus support and tell them I asked you to contact them.