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.

[breesepub]

So you have to force the rest of to use things the way they want it?

2 words.

Preference Settings.

They are not bad for your health.

The way it is now I may have a stroke soon though.

[lrosenth]

In this, we will have to disagree.

Preference Settings are EVIL!

In fact, our goal is to reduce preferences not to increase them.

[breesepub]

lrosenth wrote:

In this, we will have to disagree.

Preference Settings are EVIL!

In fact, our goal is to reduce preferences not to increase them.

It is like buying a new car and the seats are locked into one position. Short people can't reach the pedals and tall people have their knees jammed against the dash. But I suppose that would be OK with you even if you are one of the short or tall people because after all most people are average size so it should be good enough for everyone?

[breesepub]

BTW...can you re-direct me to the forums where the Knowledge Workers hang out? I'd love to read all the wonderful things they are saying about AcrobatDC because obviously they aren't here at the Adobe forums.

[lrosenth]

That is 100% correct – they don’t hang out on forums.

They work in offices, at the behest of their corporate/government employers, who want them to be as productive as possible. The work that we have done (and are continuing to do) is to make them productive by helping them easily find the tools that they need to get their job done.

[Gary__F]

Corporates and Governments do not like big changes to how software works, especially radical UI changes. It causes disruption and forces a new learning curve for staff. That means a slow down in productivity. That means it costs corporates in extra time and money and it makes government departments slower. A significant change in UI may also cause employers to provide training for staff to get them up to speed. That again costs time and money.

So how are the changes in DC a good thing for your customers who employ Knowledge Workers?

I've bought a copy of Nitro. It's much easier to use than DC, is not as feature packed as XI, but seems to do everything I need. And I only have to pay once for it and I own it for life. What a crazy idea! But I still prefer XI and will stick with that until either Adobe force it to self-upgrade to DC or Nitro overtakes it.

[Rob_P-M]

I dunno. I'm a "Knowledge Worker" (lawyer) who's used Acrobat Pro for over a decade.  I <i>really</i> like Acrobat Pro XI, and, so far, I <i>really, really</i> don't like Acrobat DC.  I'm only using it on my "devices" but there is no way I'm up(down)grading to DC on my laptop or desktop until all this is sorted out.  I can't lose days to figuring out the new program interface.  I also don't like the fact that so many "features" are now tied to the subscription model, which I regard as highway robbery.  I have long trusted Adobe and appreciated its staff, but the roll out of DC has made me rethink using Acrobat at all.

Hey Adobe! The alternative programs for dealing with PDFs are getting better and better.  If you want to be able to continue charge a premium, you're going to have to have a product your customers actually like and think brings significant added value for the premium price!

[breesepub]

Rob P-M wrote:

I dunno. I'm a "Knowledge Worker" (lawyer) who's used Acrobat Pro for over a decade.  I <i>really</i> like Acrobat Pro XI, and, so far, I <i>really, really</i> don't like Acrobat DC.  I'm only using it on my "devices" but there is no way I'm up(down)grading to DC on my laptop or desktop until all this is sorted out.  I can't lose days to figuring out the new program interface.  I also don't like the fact that so many "features" are now tied to the subscription model, which I regard as highway robbery.  I have long trusted Adobe and appreciated its staff, but the roll out of DC has made me rethink using Acrobat at all.

Hey Adobe! The alternative programs for dealing with PDFs are getting better and better.  If you want to be able to continue charge a premium, you're going to have to have a product your customers actually like and think brings significant added value for the premium price!

What? An unhappy "Knowledge Worker"? How can that be lrosenth?

[lrosenth]

Rob – can you give us some idea of what you don’t like about the new UI in Acrobat DC?

As far as feature being tied to subscriptions – the only features that this is true for are the ones that require our cloud services, such as Send and Track and Send for Signature. Everything else in the product is FULLY FUNCTIONAL with a standard perpetual license – which we continue to offer customers that don’t wish to go subscription. So what are you thinking about here?

[rob day]

BTW...can you re-direct me to the forums where the Knowledge Workers hang out?

http://forums.newspeakdictionary.com/viewforum.php?f=18&sid=152a5cd631219cc309b6861728884f8c

[rubenarthe]

lrosenth wrote:

Acrobat is a product whose primary user is a Knowledge Worker and NOT a Creative Pro.   That is why our UI/UX does not attempt to use a common metaphor with our creative pro products – two VERY different sets of users.

I think your answer became the main point in this thread. Acrobat DC is for the Knowledge Worker. What Creative Pro's needs, have a name: Acrobat Pro XII.

Then we'll be able to work again.

After so many crashes, I'm back to Acrobat Pro XI, it's so easy to use. It works GREAT for me and I wish to be updated, NOT changed.

In the other hand, I appreciate you came and talk to us, lately big enterprises stop talking to customers, so I like what Adobe does in that sense.

[rob day]

After so many crashes, I'm back to Acrobat Pro XI, it's so easy to use. It works GREAT for me and I wish to be updated, NOT changed.

One thing DC does do is fix the Output Preview bug that's been around since version 9, so DC's Output Preview is better. Depending on your point of view the bad soft proof in XI is either an irritation or major problem:

Re: Desaturated colors in Acrobat XI vs ok colors in Acrobat 9

So, if you're in prepress and all you do is preflight and color checking, the unfortunate UI can be pretty much ignored. Also my crashing and slow downs really calmed down when I turned off Accessibility see #93

[breesepub]

Fixed what bug in Output Preview because the the bugs I've known about in Output Preview are still there?

[lrosenth]

What bugs do you know about?

[breesepub]

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

And I still consider SHIFT+CLICK only with Output Preview open to create a new sticky note instead of adding to the current selection as a bug!

[lrosenth]

Yup! We’ve already got the crash using RGB profiles and the shift-click for notes on our list for future updates.

[breesepub]

The link I posted above for Acrobat crashing has nothing to do with the RGB profile crashing bug. They are two separate issues.

[rob day]

Right, and the problem in XI that I'm referring to isn't about crashing, it's about the preview accuracy:

Re: Desaturated colors in Acrobat XI vs ok colors in Acrobat 9

[breesepub]

Gotcha. Thanks for the info.

[rob day]

Fixed what bug in Output Preview

See the link I posted—the conversion from the simulation profile into the monitor RGB profile wasn't right. So for example a CMYK image with an assigned profile in Photoshop would look slightly different in Acrobat with the same profile chosen as the Simulation Profile.

It only affected the soft proof and not the output numbers. I can't see any problems with the current Output Preview other than using an RGB simulation profile crashes DC—see Dov's post.

[rob day]

We understand that there is a learning curve – but I think you will find that once you get over the initial changes, you will find yourself enjoying it more and being more productive.

In fairness we should give DC some time and no doubt we will all get over the redesign—Acrobat is such an import application for the graphic arts there's not much choice. But I have to say I've never seen such unanimous thumbs down for an Adobe release for both its instability and its interface. I was trying to edit a simple text only 100 page B&W doc other day and it crashed 10 times in an hour—can't remember a released Adobe product ever doing that. This thread is a small sample, but there's not one positive in the 100+ posts, maybe some of the beta testers will weigh in. I think we are all praying that the Pre-K-iPhonized UI doesn't migrate over to the other apps.

[lrosenth]

I am pretty sure that the reaction to the move from Acrobat 9->Acrobat X was significantly more negative than Acrobat DC. And unlike then, we can much more quickly and easily get updates, fixes and improvements out to customers now that we have a subscription model.

[cdnatadobe]

Well aside from the iconography, your UI sucks, and the head of the DC section should be tossed out onto the street. Seriously. It is too damn bright. I suspect a lot of complaints are desktop users. 23" of this is like staring into one of those lightboxes used for depression. Do Photoshop and Lightroom users have to put up with this? No, they can they can choose their main interface shade of gray, at least for now, because it's easier for viewing their artwork and judging color. It should be no different for Acrobat, especially Pro. I've already Googled and searched your forums and the web. The highest ranked links are how to uninstall DC. Get the message? Plug-ins aside, it might not be half as bad if someone at Adobe knew how to make the Release version really look like this:

As that page says, the ENTIRE UI is supposed to be adjustable. But in after your robotic oversimplification I suspect, all that's in Preferences is how to change the document colors for "accessibility." That's great, except (1) even the near-blind will be still distracted by the brightness around the document, and (2) those of us working in accessibility want to see the document as is to check for color contrast. We're not interested in going blind ourselves.  This is a huge disappointment, and an incentive for companies to start looking at CommonLook and other PDF tools.  What worries me even more is that I've got a lot of life-time and money invested in LightRoom and its catalog over these past years. You guys pull a stunt like this with Lightroom and the s*** will hit the fan.

[benjaminz15]

It's pretty simple Adobe... communicate that Adobe XI will be uninstalled, and that DC is not an update, but new software that requires payment.  

[lrosenth]

If you are a CC Complete customer OR an Acrobat subscriber – then Acrobat DC IS an update and there is no cost/payment for your SUBSCRIPTION.

Only if you are a perpetual licensee – or either CS or Acrobat – then it’s a paid-for upgrade to a new PERPETUAL copy.

I guess I don’t understand why this is confusing…