Skip to main content
V
varase
Participant
June 19, 2025
Answered

Ran trial of Acrobat Pro and deleted it

  • June 19, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 678 views

I ran a trial of Acrobat Pro, then with a collosal brain fart deleted it using CleanMyMac - I missed the Adobe uninstallers.

 

I installed the free Reader app, but now when I run MS Office I get:

 

Run-time error '53':
File not found: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/
MACPDFM/MacPDFM.framework/Versions/A/MacPDFM

 

How do I get rid of whatever remanents of Adobe Pro that exist on my system to this stops happening?

Correct answer AnandSri

Hello @varase 

 

You can manually clean up, and as correctly highlighted by our community product expert, installation and reinstallation will not reinstate the trial.

 

Steps to do a manual clean-up: Restart the machine once.

 

Quit Adobe Acrobat

Make sure the app is not running:

  • Right-click the Acrobat icon in the Dock and choose Quit
  • Or use Cmd + Q
  • If it won’t quit, open Activity Monitor, search for “Acrobat,” and force quit any related processes.

 

Run the cleaner tool once. Use Finder’s Go to Folder (Cmd + Shift + G) and delete these folders if they exist:

Location What to Delete
/Applications/Adobe Acrobat Main app folder
~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat User data
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat System-wide data
~/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.Acrobat.*.plist Preferences
~/Library/Caches/Adobe/Acrobat Cache files
/Library/LaunchAgents/com.adobe.* Background services
/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.adobe.* Daemons

 

Use Spotlight or Finder search with “Adobe” or “Acrobat” to find any stragglers.

 

Restart the machine again.

 

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

2 replies

try67
Community Expert
try67Community Expert
Community Expert
June 19, 2025

Be aware that by uninstalling it you're NOT preventing the trial from becoming a paid-for subscription, though.

To do that you need to go here: http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/cancel-subscription-acrobat-online-services.html

 

    AnandSri
    Community Manager
    AnandSriCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    June 19, 2025

    Hello @varase

     

    I hope you are doing well. Thanks for reaching out, and we are sorry for the trouble you had.

     

    Microsoft Office apps (Word, Excel) are still trying to load Adobe’s MacPDFM.plugin or framework, which no longer exists because it was deleted manually. To do a clean uninstallation, you can use the Acrobat Cleaner tool to remove all the files related to the Acrobat trial and restart the machine. 

     

    CleanMyMac and similar tools often miss deep system-level plugin files or Office add-ins installed by any app. These leftover references cause Office to look for non-existent files, triggering the error. See this Microsoft article with detailed information: https://adobe.ly/3I5u5Na

     

    Let us know how it goes, and feel free to reach out if you need any assistance.

    Thanks,

    Anand Sri.

    V
    varaseAuthor
    Participant
    June 20, 2025

    Yeah, I've tried all the uninstallers I could find as well as the Adobe Cleaner tool - all to no avail.

     

    I have a funny feeling the only way I'm going to get rid of Acrobat and all its components is to reinstall the Adobe Pro trial then use the official uninstaller (and then maybe using the cleaner tool).

     

    If that doesn't work I may have to restore my machine prior to the time I installed the Acrobat trial and just stay away from Adobe products.

    AnandSri
    Community Manager
    AnandSriCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
    Community Manager
    June 20, 2025

    Hello @varase 

     

    You can manually clean up, and as correctly highlighted by our community product expert, installation and reinstallation will not reinstate the trial.

     

    Steps to do a manual clean-up: Restart the machine once.

     

    Quit Adobe Acrobat

    Make sure the app is not running:

    • Right-click the Acrobat icon in the Dock and choose Quit
    • Or use Cmd + Q
    • If it won’t quit, open Activity Monitor, search for “Acrobat,” and force quit any related processes.

     

    Run the cleaner tool once. Use Finder’s Go to Folder (Cmd + Shift + G) and delete these folders if they exist:

    Location What to Delete
    /Applications/Adobe Acrobat Main app folder
    ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat User data
    /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat System-wide data
    ~/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.Acrobat.*.plist Preferences
    ~/Library/Caches/Adobe/Acrobat Cache files
    /Library/LaunchAgents/com.adobe.* Background services
    /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.adobe.* Daemons

     

    Use Spotlight or Finder search with “Adobe” or “Acrobat” to find any stragglers.

     

    Restart the machine again.

     

    Thanks,

    Anand Sri.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices