Why change everything?

Report · Jun 22, 2023

Why? Why do you "creators" feel a need to completely change the layout of toolbars, etc. in a program?! Do you have nothing to do so you just search out what you can do to aggravate us? Adobe Acrobat DC is now TOTALLY different in the toolbar layouts! WHY???

Report · Jun 24, 2023

reginal79098089 wrote on 22 June:

Adobe Acrobat DC is now TOTALLY different in the toolbar layouts!

Hi Reginal,

I have yet to hear from someone who likes the "new experience" in Acrobat, but it is easy to turn off!

Steps to enable [and disable] the new experience

To enable the new experience, go to View > Enable new Acrobat and click Restart.
To disable the new experience,
- Windows: Click the hamburger menu ( 3 lines ) at the upper left corner and choose Disable new Acrobat.
- macOS: Go to View > Disable new Acrobat.

Details about the New Experience here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/new-acrobat-experience.html

Does this help?

Jane

View solution in original post

Report · Feb 24, 2024

Was this even tested before it was released to the public?
By DCProud 202

Adobe has pre-release testers for all the Creative Suite programs and Acrobat. Occassionally I see Adobe announce for people to join the testing program.

Many of us community experts here in the forums are testers for Adobe, and many of us have been doing this since the 1980s and 1990s.

I can't recall much positive feedback from the testers before the "modern" Acrobat was released to the public. I know my comments back to the engineers were fairly extensive. Some things were improved (darkening the icons from a light gray to a dark gray, for example). But for the most part, the comments have fallen on deaf ears.

Over the past 18 months, I personally have continued to use and test the newest beta releases, but I often have to abandon them and switch to another computer that runs the "classic" interface. I have only so much time to donate to Adobe to dignose problems (and provide detailed bug reports and comments to the engineers). I, like most folks here, have a job to do. Working for free for Adobe is not on my to-do list.

3 suggestions:

Disable the new Acrobat and revert back to the "classic" interface. I believe that all of the old functionality is still active there.
Join the Acrobat beta testing group. I don't know where to direct you to join, but try searching for a public page in the Acrobat section of Adobe's website.
Consider another brand of PDF editing software. The PDF file format was placed into the public domain about 15 years ago and since then, other companies have developed competing programs. Wikipedia has a decent list of other brands. One of our favorites is ABBY Fine Reader/PDF.

But note that none of these competing programs have all the features of Acrobat, so if you're in certain industries, you're really stuck with Adobe Acrobat. These industry-specific features include:

Accessible PDFs and documents
PDF forms
Printing, graphic arts, and preflighting for print
Security
Digital signatures
Automated PDF documents (aka, stuff like bank statements created from a database a on grand scale)

So see if any other alternative brand gets the job done for you. Be careful of the company's country of origin: you might not be able to install software from certain countries, which is the case here in the US for government computers. Example: FoxIt is a Chinese company and usually is not allowed on our government clients' computers.

As always, don't forget to voice your comments on UserVoice and click the button to VOTE. That is the only place where Adobe takes notice of customers.

Let Adobe know:

You can voice your opinion about the new interface at UserVoice: https://acrobat.uservoice.com/forums/590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac/suggestions/47082691-ditch-t...

Be sure to leave a comment about your experience with the new interface. They need to hear from users. And don't forget to click the VOTE button.

FYI, UserVoice is Adobe's official website where it reads and takes into account suggestions and complaints from users of its various products. On the other hand, this community forum is a user-to-user help forum.

View solution in original post

Report · Sep 10, 2023

Go back to the old menu as shown. I have tested the new interface and decided, that I like it. I can understand that you want what you are used too, and Adobe seems to anticipate this. At least for now, the old interface is still available. Use that one.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

Report · Sep 10, 2023

Abambo:

What is it about the new interface that you like? Is there anything in particular that is way better?

I can figure out how to use this new interface. I will learn to use it in time. It looks like they switched left and right menus to the opposite sides for reasons I can't fathom.

Report · Sep 10, 2023

Abambo:

What is it about the new interface that you like? Is there anything in particular that is way better?

By james90293

The interface is cleaner. I was never a fan of the old interface. You ask 10 people and you get 10 different opinions. As I understood, the new interface does not yet allow for all the customizations that the old one allowed for.

For now, Adobe decided the new interface was a big disruption, so they allow you to use the old interface and to continue to work as you are used to.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

Report · Sep 14, 2023

I agree, Adobe pulled a Windows Metro on Acrobat.

Report · Sep 20, 2023

Agree 100%. What they have done should be criminalized. At the very least, put out a very detailed video and tutorials explaining where everything went and update all of their online articles to reflect these absurd changes. One can't find anything now.

Report · Sep 20, 2023

One can't find anything now.
By GKARAM

Have you disabled the "new experience" yet, as described throughout this thread?

To disable the new experience,
- Windows: Click the hamburger menu ( 3 lines ) at the upper left corner and choose Disable new Acrobat.
- macOS: Go to View > Disable new Acrobat.

Jane

Report · Mar 01, 2024

I tried.

macOS: Go to View > Disable new Acrobat.

CRASH!

I think I need to delete/reinstall to make it work.

Report · Sep 20, 2023

I'm so glad for the info on how to go back to the old interface. THANKS!

WHY move EVERYTHING around and make buttons smaller?

To enlarge or reduce the PDF you are viewing ... ya lets move it from the TOP to the bottom right and make is SMALLER!

Ugh ... lets NOT!

Report · Sep 20, 2023

Has anybody seen or read "THE REASON" for the changes to the interface? I have read the usual suspects view that it was "CLEANER" or "IMPROVED" but I have yet to see the rationale for taking menus that were on the right and move them to the left. It seemed like a pontless exercise to me but I am willing to learn if any of you "smart guys" can dumb it down for me. I know this is a user to user forum. Thanks to all those that help us.

Report · Mar 01, 2024

It seems like changes for the sake of change. The Acrobat team needs to do something so they appear productive.

Report · Sep 21, 2023

This would be humorous if it wasn't so completely inaccurate:

Report · Sep 25, 2023

I HOPE ADOBE IS READING THESE COMMENTS - I CAN'T LIVE WITH THE NEW VERSION.

NOTHING WORKS - SHORT CUTS ARE HOPELESS EVERTHING IS LOST AND HAS TO BE FOUND

IT' S NOT MODERN - BUT SHOULD BE CALLED SECRETARIAL VERSION FOR AI DEFICIENT PERSONS

Report · Sep 25, 2023

disable new acrobat

Report · Sep 25, 2023

I've done that. I still don't have scroll bars...

Report · Sep 25, 2023

(i replied to @forumdiday )

Report · Nov 07, 2023

Scroll bars is a different problem. That has nothing to do with the new interface.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

Report · Oct 07, 2023

Just wanted to add a reply to this, as a longtime user I can't stand the "new" acrobat and DISABLE it on all my computers. I hate it. I don't know who designed it but they have no concept of UI design.

Report · Oct 31, 2023

Thank you so much for sharing how to disable the new format. It is awful. I spend a lot of my time doing simple editing of drawings on acrobat and it had become horrible to do with the new format. If its not broken it doesn't need fixing

Report · Oct 31, 2023

I forgot to publish my favorite answer in this topic.

That's fixed.

😉

Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe

Report · Nov 01, 2023

Who's bright Idea at Adobe was to bury the Zoom menu??? I can't stand the new layout and I'm so happy there's a way to disable it.

Report · Nov 04, 2023

One more THANK YOU!!!!!

Report · Nov 06, 2023

I friggen cannot figure this new system out. (Cursing removed)

Report · Nov 06, 2023

then return to classic view.

Report · Nov 06, 2023

Those saying just return to the classic view kind of ignore the fact that to even do that 1) you would not normally expect an option to reverse a new UI, 2) you would have to hunt to find the button to do it, or 3) you would have to search online for a solution. That is not intuitive. And the new format UI starts with shifting everything from where you expect it to be intuitively. Adobe saying "we have tried to ensure all tools & features currently supported retain their familiar functionalities and workflows as they did in the previous version" rings hollow if users are struggling to even find those functionalities in the first place because the new interface moved them all over the place and hid them behind unlabeled icons. Stated simply, there's a reason so many people are angry about this change.

Report · Nov 06, 2023

your post is in a thread where the solution has been explained numerous times.