Updates for Acrobat 7

[erkkia30054718]

I have purchased Acrobat a good while ago, but I cannot update it. have contacted your services earlier but the problem has never been solved. NOW is the time to do it because I need an updated version of my product:  

Acrobat 7,

[Serial number removed. -Mod.]

I need to update it now

!

[GraphicsMaker]

Aside from the intermittent connection problems, here are some initial observations on the FTP site:

1) There doesn't seem to be a single file which will apply all updates cumulatively. This would be the equivalent to Apple's combo updaters. Instead, it would appear that we have to install all 10 to 12 updates one-by-one, in sequential order, and if one is missing, the chain is broken.

2) There are two files called “Acrobat-Pro_701_Upd_Pkg.dmg” which are not the same file, and are vastly different in size.

3) The naming formats, and contents of these directories, are wildly different and inconsistent. For example, in several directories, we have files ending with .dmg.aum, and there is no explanation as to what .aum means, but in other directories they aren't present. Some file names contain underscores while others don't, et cetera.

4) There aren't any release notes provided in text format such that a person could learn about the updates (changes, system requirements, known bugs, et cetera) before downloading them. I'm assuming that such notes are included with the downloads, but maybe that isn't the case either.

5) There is one version there in the middle (7.0.5?) which has 6 different download options, all of which are gibberish to me, and there's nothing to explain to us what the filename acronyms stand-for. See image below:

Does somebody get paid to oversee these FTP sites, or do they rely-upon unpaid interns?

[Test Screen Name]

1. "There doesn't seem to be a single file which will apply all updates cumulatively." Yes. This was changed in Acrobat 10, but older apps minimized bandwidth for those who kept up with updates.

2. "Does somebody get paid to oversee these FTP sites"

(a) The FTP sites are a software repository, no more at all. Release note web pages are long gone, and to be honest release notes with any actual tech info have never been much of a strength of Adobe's.

(b) When Adobe say something is unsupported, they mean it. Nobody will test software, organise updates, listen or care.

(c) That the updates haven't been removed is a minor miracle. A lot has gone. I don't say this is a good thing. Archive everything!

[GraphicsMaker]

Thank you for your insight Test_S.

Should we also be archiving the .dmg.aum files?

What do they do?

Also, can you help to decipher those file names in the image above?

[Test Screen Name]

The names look like they may be language codes. If you want English, French or German, try efgj. The shot also shows both Acrobat Pro and Standard (7.0 was the last Acrobat Standard for Mac).

Archive everything, though since you can no longer install and activate the base product, this may be of limited use... 

[GraphicsMaker]

Quote: “The names look like they may be language codes.”

That's what they are, thanks. I might have figured that out after several days, if I had nothing else to think about. I very nearly installed the .cck patch, but luckily I waited and got your reply first. Otherwise, I'd have to study Chinese, Cambodian(?), or Korean just to edit a PDF.

It's so arbitrary that only one update, 7.0.5, has that language choice to make.

Everything is so arbitrary with this FTP site, no standardization, and no consistency, which I think points to more serious flaws within Adobe, not just to their unwillingness to support previous updates because they see it as a waste of time.

Remember, all these files were brand-new at some point, so what's the excuse for them being in this state of disarray? We have to assume that the current batch of brand-new products are receiving the same level of attention to detail, or perhaps less.

[GraphicsMaker]

And, there are notes!

I've just found them. But, a person must first download the 7.0.5 update, that's the only one which has them. They're buried in the installer application, where nobody is going to look, inside of the package contents. At no point does the installer itself show the notes during the installation process.

For the record, since I couldn't find this on a reputable website, neither on Wikipedia, nor on Adobe's help website:

System Requirements

Acrobat 7.0.5 Professional for Mac OS® requires the following:

• PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor
• Mac OS X version 10.2.8, 10.3, or 10.4
• 128 MB of installed RAM (256 MB recommended)
• 495 MB of available hard disk space ( Note: At first startup, Acrobat requires an additional 25 MB of available hard disk space to create files for self-healing and other functions.)
• 1024 x 768 screen resolution
• CD-ROM drive, if installing from a CD

Acrobat 7.0.5 Standard for Mac OS requires the following:

• PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor
• Mac OS X version 10.2.8, 10.3, or 10.4
• 128 MB of installed RAM (256 MB recommended)
• 450 MB of available hard disk space ( Note: At first startup, Acrobat requires an additional 25 MB of available hard disk space to create files for self-healing and other functions.)
• 800 x 600 screen resolution
• CD-ROM drive, if installing from a CD
• Safari 1.2.2 for Mac OS X v10.3 or later (no browser support for Mac OS X v10.2.8)

[GraphicsMaker]

What the system requirements are for any of the other updates remains a mystery.

[GraphicsMaker]

And, this was also found in the same notes included with the 7.0.5 update. It more fully answers the question asked by an.capillo above:
 
Typewriter Tool
Organizations often provide PDF versions of their paper forms without interactive form fields. The Typewriter tool provides a simple and elegant solution for filling out those forms. The Typewriter tool is the existing Text Box tool, with a different set of default properties, which allows you to type text anywhere on a PDF document page. Just click and type.

Note: To allow Adobe Reader users to use the Typewriter tool in Adobe Reader to type text in a PDF document, commenting must be enabled for that document. Open the document in Adobe Acrobat Professional, choose Tools > Typewriter > Enable Typewriter Tool In Adobe Reader, and save the document.

With the Typewriter tool, you can do the following:
• Type blocks of one or more lines of monospaced black text anywhere on a page (Courier for Roman languages and a similar monospaced font for other languages)
• Resize text blocks
• Increase or decrease font size
• Increase or decrease leading (space between lines)
To use the Typewriter tool, choose Tools > Typewriter > Typewriter. You can also choose Tools > Show Typewriter Toolbar to display the Typewriter toolbar and then click the Typewriter button.

You can then do any of the following:
• To type text, click anywhere on the page and type. Press Return to add a second line.
• To move Typewriter text, click a Typewriter text block and drag it anywhere you want.
• To resize a Typewriter text block, click the text block and drag one of its corners inwardly or outwardly.
• To change Typewriter text size, select the text to resize and click the Decrease Text Size button or the Increase Text Size button.
• To change the line spacing (leading) of Typewriter text, select the text and click the Decrease Line Spacing button or the Increase Line Spacing button.
 
 

[GraphicsMaker]

@Test_Screen_Name:
What is the function of the .aum files? How do they work?

They are Adobe Update Manager files, apparently, but I don't understand the reason for them being provided separately, or their difference with the regular updates ending with .dmg.

Anybody else who knows this may answer, of course.

[GraphicsMaker]

Quote: “The FTP sites are a software repository… ”

Yeah, that seems to be the case.

I found some interesting things while poking around in there:

One was a pack of color profiles which is useful for my monitors.

ColorMatch RGB seems to make the color on one monitor look nicer.

But, it appears to be incompatible with an iBook's built-in monitor, or perhaps with Panther.

Also, there were a pair of what I assume to be photos of the retail boxes for Acrobat, archived in .sitx format, but The Unarchiver had errors while opening them, so I went back to Panther which has the original Stuffit Expander. It also gave errors. Seems that the content of the files inside is corrupt, or the .sitx archives themselves are corrupt.

Adobe FTP-site unpaid-interns: Please check these archived files and fix them.

[try67]

Again, the entire FTP site is not working currently. You can see it by going to the root folder: ftp://ftp.adobe.com/

You'll see that it opens just an empty window, instead of a list of folders:

I've reported the issue and hopefully it will be resolved soon and access to all the updates will be reinstated.

[Dov Isaacs]

The URL ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/acrobat/mac/7x/ is certainly up and working. There was an outage of the entire Adobe FTP site earlier this week, but access has been restored.