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Michael33346871bgoh
Participant
November 2, 2023
Answered

Disable New Acrobat Problem

  • November 2, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 22841 views

My work computer updated to the new Adobe Acrobat Pro (2023.006.20320) and the app is now completely unusable. This update is genuinely terrible. Nothing was improved, and even after a month using this version, work that used to take me 5 minutes now takes half an hour.  

 

I've tried to find the option to "disable new acrobat" but it does not appear under the "View" drop down menu. Why is the option not appearing for me and how can I revert back to the previous acrobat version?

    Correct answer S_S

    Hi @will_6303,

     

    Hope you are doing well. Sorry for the trouble.

     

    In case you are still looking for a solution, here are some registry settings to permanently disable the features.

     

    To do so, go to Start > Registry Editor > go to location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown

     

    Once there, add the below keywords:

    DWord: bWhatsNewExperience (disables the What's New Window)

    Value: 1

     

    DWord: bEnableAV2Enterprise (Disable Modern Viewer/New Acrobat)

    Value: 0

     

    Hope this helps.


    Regards,
    Souvik.

    3 replies

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    Michael33346871bgohAuthor
    Participant
    November 3, 2023

    Can someone please help with this, I do not have an option to revert back to the old acrobat version and I cannot do the work I need to with this update. This is seriously starting to become an issue for me, I have work I need to get done.

      E
      ELAINE3485208522jt
      Participant
      February 26, 2024

      I too work on many pdfs during the day.  Although I have the hamburger menu, when I select "disable new acrobat" and restart the app as instructed, it's still the new interface.  As a work around I don't exit the app, only the individual pdfs so I'm not waiting for the "what's new" box every time I open a new one.  Certainly not the ideal solution but the only way I've found to reduce the disruption.  

        X
        xinding_0390
        Participant
        September 22, 2024

        same problem as me.

          P
          PositiveEnergy
          Inspiring
          November 2, 2023

          Switch From New Adobe Reader to Old Layout
          https://youtu.be/NZDs3hVl8TU

            M
            Michael33346871bgohAuthor
            Participant
            November 2, 2023

            Hi, thank you for your response. As I have mentioned in the first two responses, there is not a hamburger icon in the top left corner of my screen. I included a screenshot of the icons that are present for reference.

             

            Can someone please help me find the "Disable New Acrobat" option WITHOUT suggesting that I click the hamburger icon at the top of the screen?

              T
              Terri M
              Participant
              January 16, 2025

              Everyone who is experiencing these issues - go on to Adobe chat support, ask them to check your user profile on your machine. I have just spent 2 hours with one of the team, because having uninstalled Acrobat to try and solve this issue, I couldn’t get the reinstalled version to open at all. He spent an hour trying to install and open, couldn;t work out why, escalated it and he eventually found the issue is with my user profile, he cleared out any old adobe files in the registry etc and then started again. It's now working, and when clicking "disable new acrobat" it restarted immediately and looks like acrobat used to with no AI pop ups. So there must be similar issues for other people who were in the infuriating loop I have been for weeks.


              Deleting my existing Adobe Acrobat "Preferences" folder fixed the problem for me such that clicking on the 3 lines/Hamburger icon in the upper left corner and selecting "Disable new Acrobat" now actually diables it and returns me to the old Acrobat.  Previously, I could click on "Disable new Acrobat" and restart Acrobat until I was blue in the face and it would not disable it. 

               

              Follow the instructions here to get rid of your old "Preferences" folder:

              https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/how-to-reset-acrobat-preference-settings-to-default/td-p/4792082

              It says:

              Manual Reset:

              Preferences can be reset manually, restoring Acrobat to its default settings and creating a fresh product version. Here’s how to reset preferences on a Windows OS:

              • Close the Acrobat DC application and terminate all Adobe processes from the task manager.
              • In Windows Explorer, navigate to the Preferences folder: C:\Users[username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Acrobat\DC\Preferences.
              • Move the Preferences folder to another location or rename it as Preferences_old (to serve as a backup).
              • Relaunch Acrobat DC and it will generate a new Preferences folder in the original location.

               

              Note: The AppData folder is hidden and may require adjustments in File Explorer settings to gain access. Please refer to a Microsoft Article: “Show Hidden Files”, for assistance.

                Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
                Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
                Legend
                November 2, 2023

                Hi @Michael33346871bgoh,

                You're not alone! Thousands of complaints in the forums about what Adobe calls its "modern interface."

                You can disable it and revert to the tradition "classic" interface (at least for now):

                • Windows, go to the Hamburger Menu in the upper left corner and select Disable New Acrobat.
                • Mac, go to the View Menu and select Disable New Acrobat.

                 

                Please voice you comment directly to Adobe's engineering and marketing teams by voting and commenting at https://acrobat.uservoice.com/forums/590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac/suggestions/47082691-ditch-the-2023-user-interface-in-acrobat   It's important to let them know how the "modern" interface doesn't meet your needs.

                 

                |    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
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                  Michael33346871bgohAuthor
                  Participant
                  November 2, 2023

                  Hi Bevi. Thank you for your response. As mentioned in the original comment, the "Disable New Acrobat" option does not appear for me. I am using a windows device, however there is not a hamburger menu in the top corner of the screen. The only menu options at the top left of the screen are File, edit, view, e sign, window, and help. Below that there is a "home" tab, a "tools" tab, and then tabs for each individual pdf that is open. There are no other clickable icons in the top left corner.


                  Please refrain from posting pre-typed responses to this question. I have already read through the forum for a fix to my problem (including the multiple times that exact response has been posted) and I have not found one.

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