Adobe Acrobat Reader DC still works in macOS 15

Rod


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I was erroneously under the impression that Acrobat was gone to stay, at least the free PDF reader version. When I upgraded to Catalina it was just gone. Subsequent reading online seemed to confirm that only a subscription based model was available for macOS 15 but I was wrong.

After trying ad ridden alternatives and partly functional free alternatives from the App Store I persevered with searching the internet until I came across this site; Acrobat and macOS 10.15 Catalina compatibility

Despite all of the technical babble it gave me hope that I could reinstall a version that worked and was free at least for all of the basic features.

What I found was that although the numerous photographic panels seem to suggest you might have to spend quite a while setting up the whole process, at least for me was as simple as pie except for one thing. Where do I download it?

I puzzled over this for a while until whilst looking at the header then simply clicked on the Adobe Acrobat icon at the top of the page on the line which includes "Learn an Support" and "Get Started".
That took me to this page; Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, free PDF viewer download .The Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, free PDF viewer download
You will see that this version (the left one) is the 2019 version suitable for macOS 10.12 - 10.15.
It was now apparent that the wordy instructions were more to do with installing Acrobat DC, Acrobat 2017 and Acrobat 2015[FONT=adobe-clean, HelveticaNeue-light, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].[/FONT]

Once downloaded and running it did ask for permission access to a few things all of which I approved, I then checked for updates which brought me up to 2019.021.20056.
A quick change to View > Display Theme > Dark Grey and I have this;

Screen Shot 2019-11-27 at 2.52.37 pm.png

Back the way it was before the Catalina upgrade. I logged in with my old credentials with no problems.:):wink
 
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Rod

Rod


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I should add you can also download the Acrobat Pro version on the same page and continue to use it to read PDF's even after the free trial has expired.
 

Slydude

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Thanks Rod. I haven't actually had any form of Acrobat on my system in quite some time. Preview and the Export to PDF command in most of the software I use regularly gets the job done for me. I might add Acrobat again though. It never hurts to have a stand by program.
 
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Rod

Rod


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In the past I found it very handy living as we do in Indonesia for signing legal documents. other than that it doesn't get that much use on the MBP but I ran into an unexpected complication with the iOS and iPad OS Files app. I had a lot of copyrighted literature which I had saved in iCloud which opened just fine in pages because I had Adobe Document Cloud as a Location but when I lost Acrobat on my MBP I was unable to open the files on my laptop. It's a bit complex I know, suffice to say it all works again as it used to.
 

chscag

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Have to agree with Rod about keeping Acrobat in addition to Preview. Preview is great for managing JPGs, etc, but not very good at annotating documents. I keep Acrobat up to date just so I can use it for government documents and those that we need from the State of Texas. A simple document like the renewal for my Texas driver's license is an example. Preview did not work for that at all whereas Acrobat did.
 

Slydude

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I haven't had that issue but I don't often need to do those kinds of documents. The last time I did a document for the state it worked in Preview. I don't remember when I stopped using Acrobat. I don't think it was a conscious decision or any particular animosity toward Adobe. Just sort of happened organically.
 
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Rod

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Yes, same sorts of things for me Chas, we sold a property in Australia from Indonesia it was indespensible for that and medical insurance claims.
 
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Rod

Rod


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Just out of curiosity, did everyone else loose the Acrobat reader app on upgrade to Catalina?
 

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