printer "Adobe PDF" disappeared

[Eric29468550zh5u]

I attempted to print a microsoft word document today and the print "Adobe pdf" disappeared.  This issue started today.  Previous to today, I have printed word documents to pdf many times using the following process (within Microsoft Word):

File > print > then selecting "Adobe pdf" instead of my normal hard-copy printer. 

searched forums and found some suggestions to:

1. Repair installation

2. Manually add the printer - there are many versions of this, and some do not reflect the options available on my machine.  This March 23, 2020 post seemed to fit best, which was written by "swapnilsrivastava"

Re: Adobe Print to PDF printer disappeared after U... - Adobe Community - 10992334

I completed the steps, but when attemping File > Print > selecting "Adobe pdf" > then hitting OK...I received an error and the printer queue under "Adobe pdf" seemed to hang up.  I cancelled that print job, restarted my computer and tried again with the same result.

I am able to successfully use the process (within Micorsoft Word) "File > Save as pdf".  However, this process prints the file WITHOUT the tracked changes.  I need to use the process "File > Print > then select Adobe pdf" to be able to show the tracked changes.  Please help. 

Here are some figures on my system.  I'm using Windows 10 V 22H2 (OS Build 19045.2728).  My company has an account with several users of which I am one.  That account has resulted in the installation of Acrobat DC.  Oddly, when I checked my verion today, it seems that the version is Acrobat Standard 2024.002.20736 has installed itself.  My Acrobat checks for updates and installs automatically, as recommended by Adobe, so I have no control over that. 

[John T Smith]

You need to ask program questions in the forum for the program you are using
To ask in the forum for your program please start at https://community.adobe.com/
Moving from Using the Community (which is about the forums) to the Acrobat forum

[Eric29468550zh5u]

Thank you for that tip.  I'll re-post in the correct area.

[Abambo]

Your version is Acrobat Standard DC. What does your IT support say about this? From my own experience, IT support is notorious for changing system settings and not checking the consequences of this.

Do you have a “Microsoft Print to PDF” printer? In your case, this could do the same service.

[Eric29468550zh5u]

Just checked with my admin, and she confirmed what you said.  My Help > About says Acrobat Standard.  However, my admin's interface shows that we are licensed for Acrobat Standard DC.  Regarding Microsoft Print to PDF...thanks for that tip.  You're right.   It actually did what I want.  However, I'm going to move this post to the correct part of the forum (as suggested by John Smith above), and see if I can figure out how to get Adobe to do this correctly as well.  Thank you for your help.

[Abambo]

A moderator moved your post to the correct forum. That means that you have a duplicate post that I locked. You will get your answers here.

The help about says Acrobat Standard, but as you communicated your version number, I knew it is DC. 

What I meant with the IT service: they can impose group policies and those policies my restrict the Adobe PDF virtual printer to function. The printer should not disapear like this. So my first guess would be some change from the IT side. That happens, if you are not a standard user and have access to programs, others don't have. 

[Eric29468550zh5u · Accepted solution]

It seems this may have been a bad install.  My admin and I got started a ticket with Adobe.  Apparantly a lot of people were experiencing similar symptoms as me. The Adobe technician took control of my computer, removed Adobe completely, and reinstalled.  That did the trick.  Thank you for weighing in.