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Participating Frequently
September 12, 2022
Answered

Adobe Acrobat DC shortcut keeps reappearing on desktop.

  • September 12, 2022
  • 41 replies
  • 71418 views

Is there an option to turn off this GRUESOMELY ANNOYING reappearing of this shortcut?
It does this at home and at work every so many weeks. At home I can just delete it, but at work I need to ask IT department every time to do this....

Is this just commercial branding?
What is the point of having this shortcut anyway?

Correct answer JR Boulay

"This issue is addressed with the new version of Acrobat - 23.01.20143"

Amal. this problem is not solved.
During the disastrous* update to version 2023.006.20380 the icon reappeared on my desktop once again.

 

* See this topic: https://community.adobe.com/t5/holding-room-discussions/crazy-and-brutal-update-bis/m-p/14248473

41 replies

Participant
March 23, 2024

I find that my desktop shortcut for the reader keeps moving when I reboot my PC. Dammed annoying.

Participant
January 18, 2024

Just to add more insult to this ridculus process - every time the automatic updater runs it not only creates a new deskstop shortcut, it deletes the old one first so the the new one is not where you left it.
I have now reached the point where to avoid futher fustrastion I am deleting Acrobat from my pc - will find an alternative that plays nicely.

Participant
August 15, 2023

Just want to reiterate this has still not been fixed. The only way to prevent Adobe Acrobat from installing an icon on your desktop continously is to uninstall Adobe Acrobat (reccomended).

Amal.
Community Manager
Community Manager
August 18, 2023

Hi there

 

We are sorry to hear that the issue still appears.

 

Would you mind collecting the Adobe CC logs https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-log-collector.html , Procmon logs (Win Only) https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/acromonitor.html  and share them via any cloud storage. Just upload the log file to the cloud, generate the link, and share that link with us for further investigation.

Regards
Amal

Participant
June 18, 2023

Hi. The standard installer does not offer the traditional GUI checkboxes to create a desktop shortcut and start menu items. If you want Adobe to let you easily turn off the desktop shortcut, this should probably be the change to ask for.

 

To achieve this with the current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, you need to use a full enterprise installer together with a matching version of the Acrobat Customization Wizard utility, which creates an .mst (Microsoft Installer Transform) file containing the desired modifications, and integrates it via a modification to the setup.ini file. You then need to reinstall Adobe Reader using setup.exe. The transform file will be remembered under  C:\Windows\Installer and will reapply for all future updates. Except that for over a year, this was bugged and the desktop shortcut would be recreated after each update anyway. This was apparently fixed in april 2023.

 

The full procedure is as follows:

  1. Obtain full installer. For business use, fill out the Distribution License form to instantly get a link. Otherwise, just web search for 'adobe reader enterprise installer'. The 64bit offline installer is only available for 'All Languages-MUI', so I instead intercepted the standard online 64bit installer's 7zip download in C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Temp.
  2. Install a matching version of the Acrobat Customization Wizard.
  3. Unpack installer exe using 7zip, or by using the installer commandline -sfx_ne -sfx_o"<path>".
  4. In the Wizard, use Open Package, then in Shortcuts remove the Desktop icon, then use Save Package. (There are also other useful changes you can make.)
  5. Remove any previous installations and install the new custom package.
ls_rbls
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 19, 2023

Thank you for going through this hassle.

 

Much appreciated!

Participant
May 12, 2023

OMG, cannot believe Adobe is still doing this annoying thing. Who needs or wants or ever c;icked on Adobe Reader icon on the desktop right? This is not how this app is used IMO. I swiched to some non-Adobe alternative because of this sh*t decades ago! Not kidding, 20 years agi minimum!  I installed Reader again  recently and here I am, googling this for an answer again. Truly cannot believe this is happening. I hate Adobe for this ignorace towards users, and I am not alone.

Amal.
Community Manager
Community Manager
May 16, 2023

Hi there

 

This issue is notified to our engineering team for review.

 

We will share more details as we get information from the engineering team.

 

Regards

Amal

Participant
June 7, 2023

 

Inspiring
May 10, 2023

I just checked for updates, updated to version 23.001.20174.0, and a shortcut was not created on my desktop.

 

I have never used the "Check for Updates" option to update Acrobat Reader, so I hope the installation process is the same when the app auto-updates and that the desktop icon is not created. Fingers crossed.

 

Note that recently an Adobe employee posted in this thread that version 23.01.20143 corrected the issue — that version did NOT correct the issue for me.

 

I appreciate Adobe support trying to help, but Adobe provided incorrect information multiple times in this thread. I don't know why this issue has been so difficult for Adobe to understand, or why we were told multiple times the issue was resolved, when it was not.

 

If the issue is truly resolved now, that would be great.

Participating Frequently
April 20, 2023

I guess Adobe uses this tread to see what solutions people come up with so they can find ways around it to make it appear again!
Its like Adobe hase fun in trolling users.

Amal.
Community Manager
Community Manager
May 10, 2023

Hi @ceriel26069959g8ml 

 

Please update the application to the recent version 23.01.2017x from the help menu > check for updates and reboot the computer once and see if that works for you. 

 

Let us know if you still experience this issue

 

Regards

Amal

Participating Frequently
May 11, 2023

@Amal. No, I wont!
This is a problem for years and it is fixed like 100 times already.

And the only relpy you give is, "please update" "please tell the version you are on".
No Amal, no!
Adobe is just f*cking with us.

Ow and I am using foxit for some time now without any problems!

Participant
April 19, 2023

April 2023 here! Dear people of 2022, we're still having the problem, so fret not.

 

I'm creating an app that detects when certain files are created in specific locations and perform an action based on what the file is. This will be a direct delete without second thoughts.

Participant
April 17, 2023

Adobe, stop doing this nonsense with desktrop icon!

Amal.
Community Manager
Community Manager
April 17, 2023

Hi @Nickita Surtsev 

 

Hope you are doing well. This issue is addressed with the new version of Acrobat - 23.01.20143.

 

Please update the application from the help menu > check for updates and reboot the computer once.  You may also download the patch manually from the link https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/ReleaseNotesDC/index.html

 

Let us know how it goes.

 

Regards

Amal

Cranked
Participating Frequently
April 17, 2023

Guess what Amal? I don't believe you.
I closed down my subscriptions to Adobe almost a year ago now and switched to Foxit and surprisingly, it was better for my needs. I'm just one former Adobe user who you've lost forever.

Participant
April 13, 2023

I also have this problem!! Please fix this Acrobat!!

Participant
April 15, 2023

It's been seven weeks since I've seen an Acrobat icon appear so this appears to be a solution:

The last time the icon appeared, I checked System Configuration and the Update Service was unchecked and it showed disabled on 1/30/23 but the damn thing was RUNNING! This is what worked for me.

Open Task Manager.

Select AdobeARMservice amd right click on it.

Select Open Services.

Under Services (Local) select Adobe Acrobat Update Service. (mine was set to Automatic)

Right click on it and select Properties.

Under the General tab halfway down find Start Up Type and select Disabled from the drop down menu.

Click Apply.

Click OK.

No more unwanted icon!

In a couple weeks we'll see if that worked or if Adobe somehow manages to override Windows. Already have

Amal.
Community Manager
Community Manager
April 16, 2023

Hi @danny284879207x6e 

 

Hope you are doing well.

 

The new version of Adobe Acrobat (23.01.20143) is now available. Please try to update the application from the Help menu > Check for updates and reboot the computer once and see if that works for you.

You may also download the patch manually from the link https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/ReleaseNotesDC/index.html

 

Let us know how it goes.

 

Regards

Amal