Acrobat Helper

[applem80852158]

Hi, we are installing CC on our new Mac Mini's and have found an issue with two of them regarding Acrobat. When launcing Acrobat on one, it also launches another Acrobat called "Acrobat Helper". So, I now have two versions open on the Mac? The other Mac does not do this, it only opens Adobe Acrobat. Has anyone had this issue at all? Reason I ask is that the Plugin Pitstop Pro only seems to work on the Acrobat Helper version. Both Macs have exatly the same OS and Acrobat versions.

[Bilal Ansari · Accepted solution]

Regarding two apps/icons:

1. Open Preferences.
2. Click on 'Security (Enhanced)' on the left side pane.
3. Under 'Sandbox Protections', check the checkbox 'Enable Protected Mode at startup'.
4. Restart Acrobat.

Regarding Enfocus PitStop plugin:

This is a known issue. https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/protected-mode-troubleshooting-reader.html

This needs to be fixed by PitStop team. Kindly contact PitStop for updates.

[Amal.]

Hi there,

Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out.

It sounds like one of your Mac Minis is launching both Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Helper, while the other one only launches Acrobat. The Acrobat Helper process is a background service that supports Acrobat’s functionality, but it should not appear as a separate application.

Please try the following steps and see if that works:

Check for Multiple Acrobat Installations:

• Go to Applications > Adobe Acrobat and ensure there is only one version installed.
• If you see multiple installations, try uninstalling all versions and reinstalling the latest one via Creative Cloud Desktop.

You may also try to reset Acrobat preferences as described here (https://adobe.ly/3WQoTl0 ) and see if that helps.

[oliverl88274404]

Amal,

Any update with this please as it is exrememely annoying. Adobe Acrobat Reader is opening as a seperate application and is the default applucation for PDFs. Why? I have had to take off the Enhanced Security tick boxes to enable me to be able to use PitStop Pro, has this got anything to do with it? Your suggested help does not work, what are the other alternatives?

[oliverl88274404]

I also have this issue with PitStop Pro on the Mac... My Macbook opens Adobe Reader with PitStop absolutely fine.. My Mac on the other hand opens the Adobe Reader app as my main PDF Viewer, instead of Adobe Reader. ANNOYING. The help suggested below is no help whatsoever, non of these fixes work.

[Bilal Ansari · Accepted solution]

Regarding two apps/icons:

1. Open Preferences.
2. Click on 'Security (Enhanced)' on the left side pane.
3. Under 'Sandbox Protections', check the checkbox 'Enable Protected Mode at startup'.
4. Restart Acrobat.

Regarding Enfocus PitStop plugin:

This is a known issue. https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/protected-mode-troubleshooting-reader.html

This needs to be fixed by PitStop team. Kindly contact PitStop for updates.

[Koen32152128v9t8]

I have the same problem, reinstalled Adobe Acrobat DC, works fine untill you deacitivate the Sandbox security. At that moment you get more spinning wheel on my Mac. Reactivate the sandbox security, its works fine. The difference is that with sandbox security the Adobe Acrobat Helper does not start up. Whithout, its starts Adobe Acrobat Helper and he takes a lot of resources, even blocks your OS. Is there a possiblity to deactivate the start of Adobe Acrobat Helper???

[Bilal Ansari]

Hi,

As I understand, when sandbox security is disabled, then on launching Acrobat, the OS hangs, right? Kindly share the spindump of the hang.

Also, why is there a need to disable the security? Note that Adobe does not recommend turning off the sandbox security. It is highly recommended to keep the security turned on at all times.

[Koen32152128v9t8]

Hi,

In attachment the crashreport.

I have to deactivate the enhanced security because of the needed installation of Enfocus Pitstop 25.03 plugin. The problem is that is worked before but with the latest update of operation system sequoia 15.4.1 + update from acrobat.

Also I believe it is only with M3 or M3 max processors that we see it at other clients to.


Met vriendelijke groeten | Meilleures salutations | Best regards
_
Koen Degrande
Service Engineer - PrePress
[Personal info removed by Adobe Moderator]

[Urs2959739707ac]

We are experiencing the same issue. For our prepress, we purchased Mac minis with M4 chips. We’ve installed Acrobat DC version 25.001.20476 along with PitStop 25.03. In order for PitStop to work at all, we have to disable the Acrobat sandbox security setting.

However, once this 'Enable Protected Mode at startup' is disabled, Acrobat only launches in the background. What appears in the foreground instead is “Acrobat Helper.” Even when using Command-Tab to switch between apps, “Acrobat Helper” is shown, although Acrobat itself should be the active application. This is very strange.

When we install the exact same configuration on a Mac Studio with an M2 chip, this issue does not occur. Therefore, we suspect the problem is specific to Macs with M3 or M4 chips.

Is there any known solution?

[AnandSri · Accepted solution]

Hello @Urs2959739707ac

I hope you're doing well. We apologize for the delayed response and the trouble.

Please ensure you have the latest version of Acrobat installed on the machine: 25.001.20997. Planned update: December 9, 2025. 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.

Solution and recommendations: 

Re-enable Protected Mode after completing PitStop tasks

• Go to Menu > Preferences > Security (Enhanced) and check Enable Protected Mode at startup. Restart Acrobat.
• This restores normal behavior (Acrobat in foreground) but will block PitStop again.
• Adobe strongly recommends keeping Protected Mode enabled whenever possible for security.

• This behavior is linked to Protected Mode (sandbox security) and third-party plug-ins, such as Enfocus PitStop.
• When you disable “Enable Protected Mode at startup” to allow PitStop to run, Acrobat’s sandbox structure changes. On newer Macs (M3/M4 chips), this can cause the Helper process to appear as the foreground app instead of Acrobat.
• The issue does not occur on some older Apple Silicon models (e.g., M2) because of differences in macOS security enforcement and how Acrobat handles sandboxing on newer hardware.

Regards,

Anand Sri.

[Urs2959739707ac]

Hi,
thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, you only describe the problem, which I have already requested. In my opinion, the solution lies in a better collaboration between Adobe and Enfocus. I very much hope that this will be solved in future versions of Adobe Acrobat and Enfocus PitStop!
Regards,
Urs

[AnandSri]

Hello @Urs2959739707ac

We will provide the product team with the details for further investigation and to enhance collaboration on the product.

Regards,

Anand Sri.