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J
Justin3167320153hh
Participating Frequently
December 8, 2024
Answered

Read a pdf without signing in

  • December 8, 2024
  • 3 replies
  • 21268 views

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

 

 

 

    Correct answer S_S

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


    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.

    3 replies

    G
    gvaeth
    New Participant
    April 13, 2025

    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

      

      J
      Justin3167320153hhAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      April 14, 2025
      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
        G
        gvaeth
        New Participant
        April 14, 2025

        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.

        R
        Adobe Employee
        ravinderg62643219
        Adobe Employee
        December 9, 2024

        Hi @Justin3167320153hh 

         

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

        Regards

        Ravi

        J
        Justin3167320153hhAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        December 15, 2024

        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? 

         

          C
          C.34849720xnti
          New Participant
          August 13, 2025

          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.


          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!

          try67
          try67
          Community Expert
          December 8, 2024

          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).

          J
          Justin3167320153hhAuthor
          Participating Frequently
          December 15, 2024

          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
            try67
            Community Expert
            December 15, 2024

            > 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):

             

             

             

             

             

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