Read a pdf without signing in

[Justin3167320153hh]

Im sure this has been asked before but I cant find a recent answer.

I have run a signed-in adobe acrobat previously on my Home PC, but now the licence is installed on my work PC and laptop.

Now I cant even read a pdf on my Home PC withough it trying to sign me in.

Is there a way around this?

OR

Is signing in with my paid subscription the worst thing I could have done on my home PC and I am now being punished for having a paid subscription?

Regards

[ravinderg62643219 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Justin3167320153hh 

For your usecase I would suggest to create the following registry key.  In this setting, Acrobat will run as Reader mode and don't ask for sign in, while if you want to use paid features, sign in with your Adobe ID and use the paid features. Signing out will again make it work like Reader.

Key Path : - Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown

Key Name - bIsSCReducedModeEnforcedEx

Key Value - 1

Key Type - DWORD

Regards

Ravi

[Justin3167320153hh · Accepted solution]

When I export the key I get this path which looks a different path
different to yours...(Policies)

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe
Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown]
"bIsSCReducedModeEnforcedEx"=dword:00000001

Good luck

[try67]

If you log out of your account you should still be able to view the PDF using the free Reader (which is the same application, only without the additional features of the subscription).

[Justin3167320153hh]

I dont believe this is correct. When I log out it wont let me read a pdf using the "free reader". Unfortunatley this is the reason for this question.

[try67]

> A workaround could be using free alternatives like Adobe Reader without logging in 

That's the entire point of this question... And yes, it is possible.

Here's me doing it on my machine using the latest version of Reader, without being logged in (notice it says "Sign In" at the top right corner):

[Justin3167320153hh]

It might if I sign out, totally uninstall Acrobat and reinstall but Im not
interested in doing this because I want to keep the full package on my home
PC for when I need it.

Presently, after being logged in, if I log out I cant use the 'reader'
version. I think once the program its been updated with the subscription
tools, you cant easily roll back to using the 'reader', even if you log
out. I tried creating a basic account on a different email to see if this
helped but it insisted I pay up (after a week trial).

(My understanding is there is no 'reader' anymore it's actually the same
installer, BEcause if I try to install the 'reader' is says its already
installed. but happy to be proven wrong).

[ravinderg62643219]

Hi @Justin3167320153hh 

You can uninstall Adobe Acrobat and install the free Reader from https://get.adobe.com/reader/.

Regards

Ravi

[Justin3167320153hh]

Ok thanks. 

Is this the only way?

I run 3 computers, home, work, lapotop but can only be logged in on 2. Is it therefor impossible to read a PDF on the 'logged out' computer using acrobat without uninstalling Acrobat and installing the reader every time?

Is acrobat punishing me for maintaining a paid account? 

[ravinderg62643219 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Justin3167320153hh 

For your usecase I would suggest to create the following registry key.  In this setting, Acrobat will run as Reader mode and don't ask for sign in, while if you want to use paid features, sign in with your Adobe ID and use the paid features. Signing out will again make it work like Reader.

Key Path : - Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown

Key Name - bIsSCReducedModeEnforcedEx

Key Value - 1

Key Type - DWORD

Regards

Ravi

[justin_0936]

Hi Ravi,

This woork great thanks. Exactly what I was trying to achieve.

Justin

[Justin3167320153hh]

Signed in correctly on my main account!!!

Thanks Ravi,

Solved.

[James37794113phmo]

Great tip. It would be excellent to see this as the standard behaviour. Makes moving around multiple computers constantly a real pain. 

[C.34849720xnti]

Hi @ravinderg62643219, any chance you know how to solve this issue on macOS as well? I am having the same issue on my Macbook

[S. S · Accepted solution]

Hi @C.34849720xnti,

Thanks for writing in!

The same workflow can be achieved in Mac. 

The only difference: the values have to be added through Terminal.

You can try the below terminal commands based on the version of Acrobat you have:
For Acrobat Pro DC: sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.adobe.Acrobat.Pro.plist bIsSCReducedModeEnforcedEx -int 1

For Acrobat Reader: sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.adobe.Acrobat.Reader.plist bIsSCReducedModeEnforcedEx -int 1

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Souvik.

[C.34849720xnti]

Thank you Souvik, I followed your instructions as well as the instructions on https://helpx.adobe.com/enterprise/kb/acrobat-64-bit-for-enterprises.html under "How to use unified Acrobat in read-only mode in macOS?". It worked, and now I can use Acrobat on my Macbook without signing in!

[different_fun6148]

Pls help.

Amending Acrobat registry still asks for logging in forcing you to create an account even after updating registry. If you don't create an account, the open pdf document vanishes. Basically cannot view pdf files. Have to open them in chrome. I think many people will now try to find alternatives to Adobe Actobat as this has become like another Microsoft trying to extract money just to view pdf files which have been saved on computer since 10 years.

Like most homes, our home desktop computer is used by many family members and only 1 person had an Acrobat account which is used for person's office work, and other family members are forbidden from using it. There are no passwords inside the PC and family members save files under same folders as they cannot afford to buy 6 separate computers. Now when any other family member or a guest at home tries to open an existing file or gets a file in email or downloads a pdf from web,  it does not open- even airline tickets. It just opens for 3 seconds and vanishes from screen forcing users to opennit in chrome or microsoft browser. This is appalling. Acrobat Reader was supposed to be a free feature. All files used to open till the person with account started using this desktop. We cannot expect that person to keep the account open for others.  Moreover keeping Acrobat account open consumes almost 55-70% RAM.
Why  is Adobe harassing users as now we have to tell others not to send us pdf files as we cannot open them. Adobe will self destroy itself as users will try to move away or find alternatives or another company will come to market and offer free service snatching all existing Adobe users.

Has some Indian CEO taken over Adobe???? These ideas are only implemented  by them. We had an Indian CEO briefly take over Canada Post which was running in loss. He just tripled the price of all stamps to bring government owned Canada Post into profit. The stupid guy did not have a basic understanding that govt services are there for benefit of citizens. The stamp prices were rarely raised by any past incumbent. The same thing Indian elected MPs did in advising Canadian Govt to collect billions in immigration fees and let education instituitions charge high tuition fees and bring in millions of  foreign students (many underaged) to beef up Canada's GDP. And it led to falling standards in colleges and universities as they went all out to grab exponentially high international fee paying foreign students aged 17-19 years. . And it led to crime, unemployment, gangs, rental crimes, and Canada became infamous all over the world. 
Anyway need help for Acrobat as it has frustrated me for past 2 months and I have to open pdf documents in browser as acrobat is junk now.

[justin_0936]

I have a new PC running windows 11 and an adobe subscription. I'll see what happens shortly when I remove the subscription. Are you sure you got the registry update exactly correct? Double check, letter for letter.

Get Outlook for iOS<>

[Tony34854159jgxr]

Thank you for bringing this up Justin. I was feeling the exact same way as you. I have 3 computers (work desktop, travel laptop and kitchen tablet for recipes/googling/looking up cat videos) I got the subscription because occassionally (less than once a month) I need to edit a pdf for my home business and got tired of asking my friends to do it for me. All the sudden, it created a headache for me because I couldn't use reader on my tablet.

I too felt like I was being punished! This use case needs to be more accessible than hand editing a registry key, but so glad this option exists.

[gvaeth]

It's not working for me.  I start Acrobat and soon after the login window pops up.  A few seconds after dismissing it Acrobat closes.  

I exported the new key.  Does this look correct?  I had to create the FeatureLockdown path.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown]
"bIsSCReducedModeEnforcedEx"=dword:00000001

[Justin3167320153hh · Accepted solution]

When I export the key I get this path which looks a different path
different to yours...(Policies)

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe
Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown]
"bIsSCReducedModeEnforcedEx"=dword:00000001

Good luck

[gvaeth]

Oof, I can't follow simple directions and proofread I guess.  I don't have access to that PC right now but I'll create the correct key and test later today.

Thanks.

[gvaeth]

As expected, works fine.  No more family members frantically tracking me down to get the password!

[S. S]

Hi @gvaeth,

Hope you are doing well. 

Thanks for sharing that it worked for you.

Marking this as a correct answer for future users to use as a reference.

Regards,
Souvik.