133 results found

1. Ditch the 2023 User Interface in Acrobat

   There are so many shortcomings and problems with the new 2023 GUI interface. Here are just a few:

   1. Swapping left and right-hand panels for no reason. This does not improve anything for users. It just forces users to change everything about how they work in Acrobat every workday.

   2. Functions are indicated by random icons. In the 90s, we learned that icons in software and websites don't work across different populations. Users have a difficult time figuring out what the heck they mean. Give text labels.

   3. The left panel is permanently positioned on the screen and obscures part of the document below. Seriously Adobe, WTF.

   4. The entire menu/panel system can't be customized, moved, or docked. Another WTF.

   5. Hamburger menus (those obscure 3 horizontal lines) are used on mobile interfaces to collapse menus. They are totally unnecessary and inappropriate on desktop interfaces — where working people spend most of their time working. Give people real menus with real names. "Menu" is not accurate, either. What is the name of the other menu to the right? Menu 2? Cheeseburger Menu?

   6. The new interface is inaccessible for those with disabilities who use assistive technologies, especially screen reader users. Adobe has seriously violated its VPAT with governments and corporations worldwide who are required by law to provide accessible work environments and tools.

   7. Grey on Grey is not an accessible color scheme. Can't tell if some icons are active or disabled. Those with low vision can't discern the icons.

   8. Digital signatures, Document Cloud (where Adobe stores your files by default), subscriptions, OCR, file creation, file combining, and accessibility all have reported major problems for the past few years...but rather than fix these critical problems, money was instead spent on rearranging the deck chairs on the sinking Titanic.

   As long-time PDF consultants, my firm has found that the majority of customers are professionals who use Acrobat for their jobs. These are not "casual" users working on their smartphones. They are using desktops/laptops with full screens, not mobile devices to do their jobs. And they work with PDFs a lot.

   They have developed actions and scripts to automate processes on dozens, hundreds, and even thousands of PDF files every day. These industries include print, prepress, graphic design, accessibility & remediation, accessible forms, variable forms, variable printing, data validation, financial institutions (think of all those bank statements every month!), health care, investment and finance, and manufacturing.

   Dramatic GUI changes like 2023's completely change how these automated processes work...if they still work at all.

   The cost to these industries to correct the now-broken processes — brought on by Adobe's whimsical, untested design idea — is appalling. If I was a major corporation hit by this unnecessary expense, I'd ban Adobe products from my company and look for another PDF vendor.

   There are now many reputable competitors to Adobe Acrobat: See:
   — https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-pdf-editors
   — https://www.techradar.com/best/pdf-editors
   — https://www.pcworld.com/article/407214/best-pdf-editors.html

   Calling this Acrobat's "Modern Viewer" is a form of gaslighting Adobe customers. It's not modern at all — 30 years ago, using icons failed in software and web interfaces, and it's failing again with Acrobat 2023. Sometimes retro isn't good, especially retro user interfaces. Please don't attempt to bring back disco, old-fashioned 20 inch TVs, polyester suits, rotary phones and VHS tapes as being "Modern," too.

   Ditch this "Modern Viewer" and instead give us a working tool to get our jobs done.

   1. Revert the interface back to what it was.

   2. Fix Acrobat's bugs. There are so many!

   3. And improve the accessibility for those with disabilities (who can't get to the Comments panel, Bookmarks panel, understand what and how much is redacted, make edits or change the content, scale/enlarge the interface, nor sign a PDF).

   For those still reading this, users can revert to the old interface for now (August 2023).
   — Windows: Hamburger Menu / Disable New Acrobat
   — Mac: View Menu / Disable New Acrobat

   I have no idea who long Adobe is going to let us revert to the "real" interface.

   There are so many shortcomings and problems with the new 2023 GUI interface. Here are just a few:

   1. Swapping left and right-hand panels for no reason. This does not improve anything for users. It just forces users to change everything about how they work in Acrobat every workday.

   2. Functions are indicated by random icons. In the 90s, we learned that icons in software and websites don't work across different populations. Users have a difficult time figuring out what the heck they mean. Give text labels.

   3. The left panel is permanently positioned on the screen and obscures part of the document… more

   857 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   Implemented  ·  654 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

2. New Acrobat: Wish List for a Better Interface

   What users need in the new interface...

   Fellow users, please add or vote up the features that are most critical for you.
   (Interface-related only, not new features or utilities.)

   ONE:
   A totally customizable set of toolbars — left, right, top, and bottom of the application window, and also on a side monitor.

   — User determines which toolbars are visible.

   — User can dock or float them anywhere, including on a second monitor that's outside the application window.

   — User chooses which tools are in each toolbar.

   — User chooses whether each tool/utility is represented as an icon only, icon + text label, or text label only.

   — Let the user develop a custom toolbar with the individual tools they use most often, and let them dock or float it anywhere on their computer screen. The majority of professional users use 5-10 tools regularly and not an entire tool panel.

   — Allow all panels / toolbars to be resized to fit the user's screen and needs.

   — User can save this setup as a custom workspace that can be reset, changed, and re-selected whenever the user needs to do so. (See Adobe InDesign as a model for this very helpful feature. See https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/customizing-workspace.html and https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/workspace-basics.html#Workspaceoverview)

   — And make it easy for users to create their own custom workspace. K I S S.

   Note: Adobe, when YOU determine which tools are in each panel, you prevent users from having ALL the tools they need for their tasks, and also make it more difficult to get to the specific tools they need.

   Example that fails in the new interface: having only the Comments panel or Page Thumbnails panel open at a time on the right side prevents people from efficiently editing PDFs. The problem isn't really that you moved left-side panels to the right and vice versa — it's that some pairs of tool panels can't be open simultaneously.

   TWO:
   Make the program fully accessible to all users...
   — Whether they have a disability or not.
   — Whether they use an assistive technology or not.
   — Whether they're on a full-screen monitor or small mobile screen.
   — Whether they have a touch screen or not.

   — Allow the user to control the color and contrast of the interface: dark mode, light mode, medium, black/white icons, and hi-contrast (for those with low vision or reading disabilities). Many of the colors you've chosen are not fully visible to those with various forms of color blindness and low-vision.

   Note: Thank you for darkening them in recent updates. That helped.

   — Allow the user to set the size of icons, labels, dialogue boxes, menu titles, and adjustment points.

   — Let users set the text size of comments in the Comments panel. People on high-resolution monitors (used by most professionals) and those with vision and reading disorders can't read the comments easily enough. Let comment text scale up and down as the user needs.

   — Hamburger menus (3 horizontal bars in the upper left) are NOT fully accessible to those with vision and mobility disabilities. Give users a choice of whether to have them in the interface or use traditional drop-down menus with text labels. Hamburger menus are best on mobile small screens; but they are cumbersome and clumsy on full-size monitors which are used by professionals in their daily jobs.

   — Redesign some of the tool icons, especially those that are confusing (see attached screen capture). Consider removing some of the icons: there are too many to sort through quickly, too many that are esoteric with undecipherable icons. Text labels can be faster to recognize and translate across all cultures.

   — Make every menu and toolbar accessible via the keyboard.

   — Bring back keyboard shortcuts for zoom in/out and paging. And let the user arrange where their icons are located on the screen.

   THREE:
   Fewer pop-ups.
   Please!

   — Once the user has viewed a pop-up, let them permanently close it.

   — And stop re-popping the pop-ups after each upgrade.

   FOUR:
   Clean up, minimize, and redesign the user preferences section.

   It's overwhelming. Confusing. Poorly designed.

   FIVE:
   The default interface should be the "classic" version, not the "new experience" — at least until you rework it sufficiently and the user makes the choice to move to the new version.

   — When installing a program update, warn the user that there's a new interface and let them choose whether to use the new one or keep the classic.

   — When installing an update, retain the user's custom workspaces, tool panels, and preferences.

   — And keep the option to Disable New Acrobat.

   Thank you for listening to us customers!

   And tap into the experts on the Acrobat prerelease/beta team. Most of us have worked with Adobe for decades and have helped develop the program since its its inception. Many of us teach Acrobat across many industries and know what customers easily grasp or stumble over. Some of us are professional UX/UI designers. And we know what customers need this powerful tool to do for them.

   What users need in the new interface...

   Fellow users, please add or vote up the features that are most critical for you.
   (Interface-related only, not new features or utilities.)

   ONE:
   A totally customizable set of toolbars — left, right, top, and bottom of the application window, and also on a side monitor.

   — User determines which toolbars are visible.

   — User can dock or float them anywhere, including on a second monitor that's outside the application window.

   — User chooses which tools are in each toolbar.

   — User chooses whether each tool/utility is represented as an icon only, icon +… more

   •  

   •  

   99 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   Implemented  ·  27 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

3. bring back old interface

   Please bring back the old interface. Where is the File menu? So I can Save As under a new name instead of overwriting the current file? How the **** do you ***** something so simple up so badly?

   32 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   Implemented  ·  5 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

4. Your new version is a POS.

   Your new version is a POS. Why do you guys come up with this ****? I can't find ANYTHING. The old version was fine. Please FIRE the lead developer of this new version.

   31 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   Implemented  ·  8 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

5. New Display is HORRIBLE

   New layout for Adobe is horrible!
   Why did Adobe change something that wasn't broken?
   All of the icons/buttons used to be along the top ribbon of the screen and now there's some on the left, some on the right and some on the top. And now I can't even find some (for example insert text box and take a snapshot) that I use constantly.
   I had everything customized as I use Adobe constantly in my job and now this is causing me a lot of unnecessary stress.
   Adobe should offer their customers the option of reverting back to the old display.

   New layout for Adobe is horrible!
   Why did Adobe change something that wasn't broken?
   All of the icons/buttons used to be along the top ribbon of the screen and now there's some on the left, some on the right and some on the top. And now I can't even find some (for example insert text box and take a snapshot) that I use constantly.
   I had everything customized as I use Adobe constantly in my job and now this is causing me a lot of unnecessary stress.
   Adobe should offer their customers the option of reverting back to the old… more

   86 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   Implemented  ·  11 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

6. VERY UNHAPPY WITH USER INTERFACE CHANGE

   hi,

   i recently had a forced update on adobe acrobat 23.008.20470. and i am extremely unhappy with the user interface changes. driving me nuts. put that **** back the way it was. now i have a bar thats taking up a large portion of the right side of my screen all the time. i can't put the buttons i want along the top only. i'm having difficulty getting my text format options to save. i double click on a text to move it and the text just highlights, it doesn't bring up the move cross. i cant even select the current text at all to even delete it or edit it. it just keeps drawing a line of the text. i'm super ******. i'd disable the automatic update if i could but its controlled by IT. very disappointed in this update. put it back, undo it completely it was fine before.

   hi,

   i recently had a forced update on adobe acrobat 23.008.20470. and i am extremely unhappy with the user interface changes. driving me nuts. put that **** back the way it was. now i have a bar thats taking up a large portion of the right side of my screen all the time. i can't put the buttons i want along the top only. i'm having difficulty getting my text format options to save. i double click on a text to move it and the text just highlights, it doesn't bring up the move cross. i cant even select the… more

   69 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   5 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →
   Implemented  ·  AdminBhawna Arora (Admin, Adobe) responded

   Thank you for sharing your feedback. As there has been no further activity or updates from your end following our previous replies and considering that some of the suggestions have already been implemented, we will be closing this thread. Please feel free to log/raise a separate ticket in case you observe any gaps or issues. 

7. This is the worst update

   Today's update is horrible -- it's a big, ugly mess. I can't find anything, the icons are tiny and all of my settings are gone. Please change it back and stop resetting settings with each update.

   Users -- go to File and then down to "Turn off New Adobe" to get rid of the new, horrible layout

   165 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   Implemented  ·  19 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

8. pop-ups

   No more pop-ups. You heard everyone else. Do your job.

   20 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   Implemented  ·  3 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

9. New Layout

   The new layout is terrible. It is not intuitive and the old layout was significantly better.

   56 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   Implemented  ·  5 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

10. User Interface and Navigation Layout is terrible

    I HATE the new layout of the Acrobat PRO, it is the most frustrating layout. I have been using Acrobat for YEARS and everytime there is an update it gets worse and worse. There is nothing intuitive about the layout of the tools or that you have icons with no words to express what they stand for. I liked having the menu bar across the top. Please at least give us an option of how to go back to the old style! My workflow is constantly interrupted to have to figure things out!

    131 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    Implemented  ·  7 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

11. STOP THE POP UPS!

    Can we stop with the constant pop ups? Adobe was once an elegant software. Now it's intrusive, annoying, and sluggish.

    26 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    Implemented  ·  2 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

12. Return the Old Interface - the New Interface is AWFUL

    I HATE the new interface. Please return it. It is not space friendly nor user friendly on my end. I use Adobe quite a bit and this is costing me time and efficiency.

    113 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    Implemented  ·  8 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

13. Make UI Customizable

    The new UI that was forced upon us is not the most efficient layout for everyone. Therefore, we need the ability to be able to customize access to what tools we use most often. Most of the ones I currently use take multiple clicks to get to and through this, costs me time and frustration. It seems from reading other comments that I am not alone in this viewpoint.

    39 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    Implemented  ·  6 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

14. User interface is the worst ever. Bring back the old interface

    My idea is to bring back the old function interface.

    The new user interface is the most inconvenient, inexplicable, poorly organized user interface I have experienced with any Adobe product.

    In the future, interfaces should be tested with real live users and not code writers.

    I wish there were a way to use a "legacy" interface.

    337 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    Implemented  ·  118 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

15. Please make the pop ups stop. It makes your product useless.

    Please make the pop ups stop. It's a useless feature for me. I don't want to use it, but instead the app keeps crashing because of the stupid pop up.

    17 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    Implemented  ·  2 comments  ·  Generative AI  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

16. HORRIBLE NEW USER INTERFACE!!

    Absolutely HATE the new interface. Hate it so much so I am taking valuable time out of my day to come here and make this post. Be interesting to see if anyone with Adobe even looks at these posts.

    First, I struggle to see anyway, so making TINY LITTLE ICONS MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR!!!

    I have to hover over said icons to see what they are even for then strain to see what the pop up says.

    I need to be able to advance pages, zoom, etc from THE TOP OF THE DOCUMENT NOT THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER!!!!

    WHOEVER DESIGNED THIS SHOULD BE DEMOTED AND WHOEVER AGREED IT WAS GREAT AND ROLLED IT OUT SHOULD BE FIRED!!!

    Absolutely HATE the new interface. Hate it so much so I am taking valuable time out of my day to come here and make this post. Be interesting to see if anyone with Adobe even looks at these posts.

    First, I struggle to see anyway, so making TINY LITTLE ICONS MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR!!!

    I have to hover over said icons to see what they are even for then strain to see what the pop up says.

    I need to be able to advance pages, zoom, etc from THE TOP OF THE DOCUMENT… more

    98 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    Implemented  ·  12 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

17. Disable new layout - Reader

    The new layout for Adobe Reader is ****. There is no easy way to find out how to turn it back to the normal default layout.

    85 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    Implemented  ·  11 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

18. Just opened a PDF file that I had worked on yesterday, and now all the menus are set out differently. How can I revert back to old display?

    Just opened a PDF file that I had worked on yesterday, and now all the menus are set out differently. How can I revert back to old display?

    I want Adobe to look the same as it did yesterday. Confusion causes loss of productivity.

    31 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    Implemented  ·  5 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

19. New Design is TERRIBLE!!!!!

    New design is TERRIBLE. Where is the ribbon? Where are the display tools.

    81 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    Implemented  ·  8 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

20. I hate this new version!!! WAY LESS USER-FRIENDLY!!!

    Put all the commands and buttons back where they were.

    82 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    Implemented  ·  6 comments  ·  User Interface  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →