Why does the DC installer remove Acrobat Pro XI, and all of its plugins, without warning?

[Teilo]

When you run the "Update" to Acrobat DC, Acrobat XI, and any plugins you are using, disappear. There is no warning. Pro XI is just simply gone.

It is not possible to install Pro XI along side of DC. If you try, the install seems to work, but the Applications folder only contains DC.

Also: Acrobat Pro XI does not appear in the Previous Versions list in the Creative Cloud app.

The only way I have found to get Pro XI back is to uninstall DC, then go to the Pro XI Download page: https://creative.adobe.com/products/acrobat

Click Download, and the CC applet will download and re-install Acrobat Pro XI. You will then need to re-install all your plugins.

Adobe: Thank you so much for creating a massive support headache for your customers! Your ability to screw us over knows no bounds.

[preflightcrashagain]

Hi Adobe staff,

I would like to say that im very happy with xi pro and wondered if you can tell me how long you intend supporting xi pro for ?

When will xi pro reach 'end of life' ?

We would love to upgrade to dc pro, and pay you for it, but not until it looks, feels and works like xi pro and with even better features, especially improved features

for commercial print.

Thanks in advance.

[MMPsandlake]

my acrobat just updated to the DC version, i had pdf Snake, it does not seem to work with DC, is that correct, anoyone else run into this issue?

[lrosenth]

If you are using a Mac, then yes, you will need to get an update to PDFSnake.

[hsvparalegal]

I'm so freaking happy I came across this!!!! I have been getting more and more frustrated each time I used that stupid DC program, I was willing to pay to give it back!  I've never spent so much time in Adobe's user manuals in my freakin life! Wow! This is my first time ever complaining on a site...but really, it's out of relief because I'm so happy to learn I can get the real Adobe Pro program back! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whew!

[glaustin]

Don't worry. It seems Adobe are spreading the pain across CC2015. Just look at the Premiere Pro board; deja vu!

[Igor.Freiberger]

Spreading the pain is a sad, perfect description. News from InDesign and Illustrator community are also not good.

I think Adobe must reconsider the yearly schedule and all the problems it causes.

[davidbrown38053]

Yesterday I was "upgraded" to DC from XI.  I want my XI back.  Every time I try to add text the program crashes and after spending over 45 minutes "chatting" with support no solution.  WTF!!  You bill me but I am screwed.

[Marlon Jones]

Many others before me have elucidated the main failings of this product, so I mostly won't add to them. Instead, in addition to those aforementioned woes, my primary problem with Acrobat DC is that it's just plain ugly. It's an aesthetic regression, on Windows 8.1 at least. Observe a previous version of Acrobat alongside DC:

Some thoughts to go with the imagery:

1. Why are those text links so large? If screen real estate is such an issue, as earlier claimed by our condescending and highly defensive Adobe representative, lrosenth, then why is it so lackadaisically adhered to for so many visual elements of the UI? Is there any plausible justification for the use of such large text in a world where most of Acrobat Pro's clientèle is working on high resolution screens? Would overall reduction in the size of the text not constitute a more efficient use of space?

2. Look at how large those icons are! Their size is exceeded only by the Titanic Teletubby Tiles under the Tools menu. The dishonest claim that DC's toolbars are actually more space-efficient is rubbished by the visual evidence. Resorting to '...' in order to display those icons that don't on the toolbar is not an improvement: it constitutes more mouse clicks. This is not a good thing; it's a bad thing.

3. There's insufficient contrast. I had to change my background to an off-white to compensate for the hallucinogenic acid-trip UI. Is this counter-productive and beside the point or what?

3. With regards the same links, why is Acrobat DC applying fake bold to what is clearly regular, text when, instead, an actual bold font for that particular typeface (which exists on Windows PCs) would suffice? It's ironic that Adobe, a concern that specialises in, among other things, high quality type and type production, would have this amateurish travesty pass muster as production-ready software. Truly, aliasing and fake bold in 2015!

4. Why is Adobe employing this dumbed-down-space-wasting-'80s-throwback-flat-design-language so prevalent in UIs of late? By universalising an interface across disparate media platforms (read: pandering to  mobile/portable touch devices designed primarily for content consumption, not content creation) you inevitably compromise usability and/or productivity for at least one of those platforms. This, at base, is a compromise of the very things the desktop computer does best.

5. This situation is the very same one we Windows users encountered with Microsoft and Windows 8.x. Apparently the opinions of a corporation's professional customer base cease to matter much once a product reaches the shelves. In other words, the ability to give all that much of a toss stops at beta testing.

6. Adobe are even dictating to you, as though misguided children, how to 'properly' use the software you paid for and depend upon for your livelihoods! They're rubbishing your work-flows!

7. Now of course Adobe, like Microsoft, won't back down, no matter how much we continue to vent and whine; neither will they admit to taking a step backwards. This much has been true for years. Remember, loyal customer base, that they're 'okay' with you not using their software if you don't like it, if you feel that it's seriously flawed. The contradictory natures of their product's interface, as well as the bloviations of their customer service representatives, confirm this.

8. As I see it, we can either all (a) suck it up and get used to it, (b) migrate to the offerings of other companies, or (c) revert to older versions. For that last option, better get in quick before Adobe gets rid of that ability completely and chains you to the Cloud of dependency where you give up all your previous rights and substitute them for corporate control. It's a shame that it's come to this, but hey, this is the state of computing circa the 2010s. It's a brave new world. The only real way to galvanise change in fossilised, dinosaur corporations like Adobe (and Microsoft, for that matter) is to vote with our wallets because our voices clearly aren't loud enough.

Sorry but no dice, Adobe.

P.S.: Hey, on the plus side I think the new PDF file icon looks better in my file browser.

[joshuas24232447]

I just completed the update and annoyingly enough it wiped out Pitstop and all of the customization that I had set up in both Pitstop and Acrobat. Now I have to go back and install Pitstop again and re-do all of the tools and views customization that I had previously. BEWARE!

[abailescollins]

@joshuas24232447  

Apologies for this, we did try and contact all our Enfocus PitStop customers regarding this situation and how to avoid it.

There is a technical note available that was sent to our mailing list and also posted on several forums.

To make sure you get this kind of information in the future can you drop me your details, or alternatively you could join the Official PitStop user group on Linkedin.

That's a growing community of users that you might find interesting.

[jacquelinetremblay]

I don't use any plugins and within 5 minutes of using DC for the first time experienced 15 crashes. Most of which weren't even "crashes" at all - just a pop up that appeared anytime adobe DC was accessed. The program is buggy, especially to be considered an upgrade from XI. Definitely regretting the update.

[AshuMittal]

Hi jacquelinetremblay‌,

Could you please share a screenshot of the pop up you are seeing or even the message on the pop-up dialog?

Thanks,

-ashu

[jacquelinetremblay]

Hey Ashu,

I've attached two screenshots. This is the second day I'm using DC - the

first error was exporting a two page Indesign file to DC (I had to reopen

the document after closing the error message). When I opened the file, I

received the same crash message. Basically everytime I use DC I've

encountered this crash.

JACQUELINE TREMBLAY

On Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 10:34 PM, ashumittal <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

Issue 1 - Error when exporting from Indesign CC 2015.

Issue 2 - Crash on file open (note that error 1 is seen in paint - both errors are not occurring at the same time)

[AshuMittal]

Hi jacquelinetremblay‌,

Thanks for the screenshots. We are trying to reproduce these issues internally and need some further information. We have sent you a private message with the information requests, could you please look into the same?

Thanks for your patience,

-ashu

[PeggyBjarno]

I am on a PC running Windows 7, and I have NO acrobat plugins. However Acrobat Pro DC continues to crash. I repaired it, using the uninstall/repair option, and it's still broken. Now what can I do?

Thank you,

Peggy

[PrintingServices]

"Let me start by saying that we are sorry that you are experiencing the problem that you are.  However, you should understand why you have these pains and hopefully prevent them from happening in the future. Adobe has NEVER supported the installation of multiple versions of Acrobat on the same machine.  Not on Windows and not on Mac."

WRONG, WRONG ,WRONG, WRONG!!

I had CS4, CS5, CS5.5, CS6, CC, CC2014 all installed side by side on both Mac and PC. Sometimes I wanted to use InDesign CC to work with a particular plug-in hthat wouldn't run with anything higher, sometimes I wanted to open an .indd file in CS4 because that's what it was last saved in. So to say you can't run them side by side is utter garbage.

The issue is AcrobatDC. It's crap. It won't run my plug-ins. And unless Adobe want to pay for the cost of buying the latest version of the plug-ins I use, they shouldn't  be effing software Nazis and force me to use the latest version. Simple as that.

[Mac4thirty]

While we wait for adjustments in personnel and someone capable to untangle the Acrobat DC f--k up, the best advice is: Do not update to Acrobat DC.

Adobe is not running every application they make like this. I think this Acrobat DC f--k up is different than anything else I've seen from Adobe. I don't want to imagine the way customers are being communicated with in this thread, is indicative of a turn, of how it may go in the future with other Adobe apps that we depend on. I really think it is someone on the Acrobat team setting a tone that other departments and other people at Adobe would be ashamed of -- I hope.

Someone at Adobe, a little higher up the ladder, needs to be made aware of this thread. CEO and a few of the VPs need to read it. Or maybe stockholders; maybe this thread could be part of the press that gets spewed in the annual report. Headline: New policy, Adobe releases kindergarten version of Acrobat, when customers articulate problems with update, Adobe treats them like idiots.

[glaustin]

Sadly DC is not alone. Just looking at the Premiere Pro forum (where a film producer with unreliable editing software is the recipe for bankruptcy) suggests the pain is more than shared across the board of Adobe's "2015" products. It's a shame Adobe can appear so amateurish and arrogant because if they provided a sympathetic pro service to their self-employed/ SME customer base, they would be unbeatable...

[TwoTree]

Looks like I'm late to the party 101215, but glad I came.

Was going to "upgrade" to DC to day and got half way through when I read that previous versions, files, etc. were all going to be destroyed. Stopped the install.

Reading through these emails has pursuaded me from using DC til things clear up or at all.

I had to fill in a W-2 form today and was directed to a site that wanted me to pay to sign it the freakin' thing. Scroooom.

So let me join the pejoratives directed at Adobe. I agree with every single one of them. If I had alternative software to use I would. Bunch a freakin' coders with too much time on their hands, and most probably marketing suits over-thinking everything.

Fie on you Adobe.

[labcdaire]

Very late to the party, too. But, wow! Didn't expect this! I just tried the Acrobat Pro DC version before considering updating our other computers, and it was literally unusable on my own Mac! Even collating files stopped in the middle of the process, with no reason. Opening documents was a real pain in the ass, too, even for documents < 5 Mo. Accessing tools was not easier either, it crashed like 20-30 times in less than 30 minutes and in the end, I just tried to uninstall this crap... but failed. Eventually we will keep using Acrobat XI and wasted our time with DC. We'll maybe end looking for alternatives and can't understand why Adobe is unable to provide any efficient update.

[Gary__F]

Thanks labcdaire for confirming the latest release is still shockingly bad. It will save lots of people from having to try it out again. It's been 7 months since DC was released and despite all the negative feedback Adobe still haven't buried DC and gone back to the much liked and stable XI release code base.

The DC user interface does not work well for a desktop application. It's okay for a phone or tablet app, but not for a professional desktop user. Of course the instability is the killer. Long live Acrobat XI.

[Mac4thirty]

Getting updates to this thread, I can't believe Adobe hasn't made some big moves to fix it. Hard to believe it goes on and on and that they continue to defend it. My approach to this right now:

1) I run DC on a secondary laptop machine, so I will see when/if Adobe gets this sorted out. I figure I must be seeing it wrong, that I don't get the changes, maybe the new kindergarten UI we'll grow on me if I open it now and then and try to run it. I keep thinking that someone somewhere must run DC and like it. I think, I don't use the "cloud" side of it and open PDFs and try to edit them on my iPad or phone, so maybe I'm the outlier.

2) However . . . I run the older version on my main design workstation, because if you're making your living with the tools, you don't have time to screw with mistakes developers make in new versions. I treat DC like it's a whacked-out-Beta-version that I don't want on my main design workstation.

3) I stay enthused about pretty much all other Adobe products, despite the fact that I think they've screwed up Acrobat.

Read the magazine style reviews of Acrobat DC and you'll find these moronic authors raving about how wonderful it is, but then scroll down to the user comments and the feedback from real people that have to use it (not just get paid to write a glowing review about it) and they pretty much all hate it and are surprisingly vocal about hating it despite the glowing review they just read. The most amazing thing to me is, Adobe could've done nothing, since XI, and life would have been better for many Acrobat users -- everyone that I am in contact with. Imagine all the people working on DC and all the hours invested, and to say, "Let's back up, dump DC, and try to undo this fiasco" -- that would undoubtedly be a tough call to make. Impossible. Not going to happen. What do you say, "Excuse me, boss, it appears my team has totally wasted the past couple of years."

[patcar5893]

I agree that it was a poor business to uninstall Adobe Acrobat Pro XI without warning.  I used to respect Adobe.  I am using Microsoft software routinely in protest. In my opinion, $10 per month is too much to pay for Adobe Acrobat DC. 

[jamesk66957036]

We were issued Acrobat Pro (and the entire adobe suite) through a subsidised government corporate licensing for NSW DET Teachers. The DC upgrade requires payment from a personal CC. How do I apply the government corporate licensing to the upgrade??

[jamesk66957036]

DC keeps crashing - I dont have the time to waste restarting acrobat to complete a simple task. I'm reinstalling pro and won't consider DC again this year. $15 a month is far too much to pay for Acrobat (completing forms, OCR and text edits). Ill take a look what microsoft have got to offer.