Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro to DC

[williamk43832713]

I have a fully licensed Acrobat 9 Pro. That ancient version is adequate for my needs. My accountant has prepared pdf files with Adobe DC. When I attempt to open/read these files the response is that cannot be done that I need a higher version than the one I have.

I need support and found that Adobe is useless in that regard. Can I upgrade from v9 Pro to another higher level? What is the least level needed to read or work with the pdf files developed in the DC version?

Condition: Adobe has lost my trust. I will NOT subscribe to the DC version because it is a subscription. What are the alternative? Will v10 Pro do this?

[JR Boulay]

"What are the alternative?"

Acrobat 2017: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/faq-acrobat-2017.html

[williamk43832713]

Thank you.

[Test Screen Name]

Way, way too late for upgrade pricing. You could have upgraded to 11 when it was current. Anyway you can’t but old apps (except from pirates, who load up with malware). Or you could get the free Acrobat Reader DC. Caution: you will need to give up opening PDF with double click because it would be random which app runs. 

[williamk43832713]

Would 11 open the files based on the DC version or must I go to Acrobat 2017?

[try67]

You can't get Acrobat XI (11) any longer, either. At least, not from Adobe. And even if you could, you shouldn't, as it's not supported by Adobe any longer and will soon be incompatible with the latest operating systems.

However, the answer is yes, files created using Acrobat 2017 can be opened in Acrobat XI.

[williamk43832713]

Thank you. From what I'm able to discern so far, it seems that I should acquire Acrobat 2017 although I confess I find this annoying. Why? Because given my use, ancient v9 Pro is quite sufficient and the only reason for this whole thread is that I'm forced because of incompatibility with DC files. Oh well.

[try67]

That should not be the case, either, unless something quite unusual is used in those files.

What happens when you try to open the files in Acrobat 9? Also, if you're just viewing the files (and not editing them) then you can use the free Reader DC.

[williamk43832713]

Answer: When I attempt to open the pdf file (known to have been authored by my accountant in the DC version) the message is "There was an error opening this document. An undated version of Acrobat is neede to open this document."

I know that there is a security password needed to open the document, know that pwd well, however it does not go that far to ask for the pwd. Accountant and self have been together for decades, no problems before. She apparently "upgraded" (grwak) to DC so that stopped that.

The "free reader" version might be sufficient. Thank you.

[Test Screen Name]

1. Acrobat DC and 2017 are much the same, except that 2017 is frozen in an older version. Soon there may be a new version and you'd need to pay to upgrade; I recommend a subscription, but not for technical reasons.

2. In general, files made with Acrobat DC/2017 can be opened in Acrobat 9. With one exception. When setting security/passwords, the person who protected the file can choose Acrobat 10 only, which uses much stronger encryption (security). Your accountant may be obliged to do this by convention, preference, or law...

3. You say 9 does everything you need. Well, it doesn't. It doesn't conform to the latest security standards. Also, I should mention it has many unfixed security issues, and that's a reason in itself to upgrade.

[williamk43832713]

However the files were made, whatever the conditions set were, the problem based on your information could have been set up when she (the accountant) made selections in the security and passwords, et al. We have NOT had this problem in past years, so I can suspect that she recently started using DC and caused this issue for me. I have many, many, clients. At no point have I had this issue before now, and I posted this thread since I'm not all inclined to "have the latest" as long as the ancient functions, and I completely abhor being forced into things because someone made a newer version that is not compatible with the older; incompatibility in anything, humans included, are issues we all confront and the fewer of these the more efficient life is.

That said, thank you for your contribution.

[JR Boulay]

Acrobat 8, Acrobat 9, Acrobat X (10), Acrobat XI (11) and Acrobat DC* fully support PDF version 1.7 (and older).

You should not get any warning about versioning issue.

I guess this file is corrupted.

* DC means Document Cloud, not 600  😉

[Test Screen Name]

No, I don't think it is corrupt. See this screen shot of security options:

[Test Screen Name]

By the way, this encryption (Called /V 5 internally) is defined in PDF 1.7 Extension Level 3, and was also adopted by ISO as part of PDF 2.0.

[JR Boulay]

PDF 1.7 AEL3 was released in june 2008, with Acrobat 9

[Test Screen Name]

Interesting. I haven't checked the details, but it is a fact that the Acrobat DC interface refers to V5 encryption as "Acrobat X and later".

[JR Boulay]

Remember, Acrobat 9 encryption had big flaws, which led Adobe to remove it:

https://blogs.adobe.com/security/2008/12/acrobat_9_and_password_encrypt.html

https://www.zdnet.com/article/with-256-bit-encryption-acrobat-9-passwords-still-easy-to-crack/

[williamk43832713]

Update! Also recognizing the posts for assistance from the two of you above! Thank you. Your approach to me is similar to the approach I use with others in my career of many decades.

Yesterday I came to the time-demand point where I had to open the files that were prepared in the DC version. I downloaded what was supposed to be the free Acrobat DC reader, and true when installed it was free (meaning no charge) it was more than anticipated. That effort accomplished my goal that triggered this thread. I was able to inspect the security properties and found, just as Test_Screen_Name had offered in the graphic posted above, that the security was set for v10 and higher, so if I had been running v10, all of this would not have been an issue for me.

What happened with the "Free" download after opening the files (and runing my printer for a few pages) increased my continued annoyance about Adobe. Installing the "free reader" of more than 200 Mb overwrote access to my tried and true Acrobat v9 Pro. That obliterated my ability to use v9, make edits and comments as I have for many years. The DC program did offer the opportunity to set up the <insert profanity here> subscription plan that DC drives toward, that I point-blank refuse to accept. That problem motivated two actions: 1) using the program Revo Unistaller Pro, I immediately removed the DC "reader" from my system; and 2), surrendering to the deities of Adobe, I went out to Best Buy and purchased Acrobat Pro 2017 that I have yet to install.

This is to thank you both for your contributions of support and knowledge, and I deeply appreciate your responses: I know more about Acrobat now than I have before.

[Max23103215u4t9]

I found that by opening the file first with "Adobe reader Touch" (free) and then printing the file using the Print function using the "Microsoft Print to PDF" printer the new file can be opened with Acrobat 9 Pro.  The only thing is that it took a 6,323 KB file (82 pages with graphics in it) a while to produce and the new file size was 101,473 KB because it becomes an image file.  If you need to copy any wording, you will then need to use the ocr text recognition to convert the image but you can just do that on the pages you need.  On large documents it is a time consuming process. 

The file was a PDF-1.7 format which Acrobat 9 Pro should be able to read.  The difference with this file was that is was encypted. Maybe ask your accountant not to encrypt the file unless there is a privacy issue.