Hoping to get some changes from Adobe, we've created this Wish List to improve the interface.

Add your ideas at https://acrobat.uservoice.com/forums/590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac/suggestions/48153893-new-acrobat-wish-list-for-a-better-interface

Do not like the new interface at all. Less intuitive, not as fluid, (not that the old version is either), it is clunky and loses features that were actually not bad. Having to deal with a massive reorganization of the program in the midst of my working environment. I don't want to spend time relearning software in the middle of doing my job. Acrobat is way overpriced for the value as it is. This is why the subscription model only works for software companies and not their customers.

Annotations are now a mess as well. We have to explain to hundreds of our users how to revert to the old interface.

Before, when e.g. replacing text, you could just select the text and type the new text - and it automatically created the correct annotation type. Now it takes me two clicks to manually choose the comment type for every individual comment.

We went from 0 to 2 clicks. Not good. It's also harder to find since the entire annotation toolbar was simply removed.

The new interface is inefficient.

While using the older version of Adobe Acrobat and having issues with it…

• Taking forever for documents to open
• Selecting a file within File Manager and the document not even opening Adobe at all.
• Having to go into Task Manager and then having to delete all Adobe background processes to make the program work again or uninstalling and reinstalling the program.
• My customized toolbars reverting back to default on their own every now and then.

I finally broke down and enabled the newer version of Acrobat. What a pain in the A$$! Do the people that create these new versions even use the program?

• The new layout – whose bright idea was this? There is so much I don’t even know where to begin. It is not user friendly AT ALL. You have tools to the left, tools to the right and bottom right. This is a lot of moving your mouse around to do various tasks. Why can't I have the quick action toolbar docked to the side panel or up at the top? I do a lot of screenshotting and this stupid toolbar is ALWAYS in the way! When I zoom in to 150% and the entire document is not showing - there is not "left to right" scroll. Not to mention the "All Tools" toolbar, why can't I make this smaller? It takes up so much “viewing” space!
• I work on multiple monitors, and I typically have Adobe opened up full screen. If I open multiple documents and they fill the top area, when I want to move the program to a different monitor, there is nowhere in the top to double-click to make it full screen. I know I could click on the full screen button on the top right, but if I accidentally move the program to a new monitor and that button is not viewable, that is when I cannot double click the area to make it bigger.

I would simply go back to the old version, but every time I do, I have the above issues and when I have to pick from either the old version or the newer version, at least the newer version isn’t making me fix the program all the time.

You know, for the amount of money us customers pay for this program, you would think it would be better. Adobe use to be the gold standard. However, it seems it is turning to **** and if this continues, I will have to start looking at their competitors. Adobe needs to look at all the discussions and comments and just switch back to the older version and fix the problems that everyone was having in the older version without having to change the toolbars. You don't change what isn’t broken (toolbars, etc.), you just fix the issues. This version is complete S#@$!!.

Bevi Chagnon. Your comments are spot on. And thank you for informing us how to revert back to the "old and improved" interface.

Having the fill and sign tools at the side instead of the top is a downgrade when I need to have two documents open next to each other.

I reverted back to the old UI only for this reason.

Adobe Acrobat today updated itself without asking me for permission. It changed to that "new experience" (again) without asking me for permission. I do not need a unnecessary "new experience", which I cannot use. I need to get things done with it, I can do that with the classic interface, but the new interface has hidden all functions and does not allow me to customize the menu bars. If I cannot use a program, I will not use it. Either the classic interface stays there, or Acrobat goes away from my desktop.

Adobe is either deliberately tying to run the company into the ground or inspire their developers to jump ship and start their own alternative to Adobe.

I updated Adobe as I was unable to decline the update. The new interface is a complete departure from the previous version. The updated version is not intuitive, clunky, it appears deliberately degraded and crashes routinely. You have to TRY to make something that previously worked so well... now work so poorly.

I advise Adobe not to waste your and my time with some corporate doblespeak of feigned optimism and obtuse logic to justify the degraded product. I look forward to an alternative to Adobe dominating the market so I can permanently switch. It's disappointing to say the least.

I agree! I very much do not like the panel being on the right side. We should have the option to move it to the left and to be able to pin it open if we want to. Also, the floating menu bar is terrible and I hate it. I am sooo grateful that I can "disable new acrobat"!!! I was seriously considering cancelling my Acrobat all together that is how miserable I was. Users need the ability to customize how they want their menu bars to appear.

It's as if Acrobat developers are into "recreation programming" and completely ignore that a lot of professionals actually use Acrobat Pro in the production of such things as newspapers, magazines, books, digitization projects and so on. What they did was unacceptable. Our newspaper was surprised by this "update" on the very day of edition closure and we couldn't find a way to use our much needed batch Sequences, which took us a lot of time and work to develop. On top of that, Acrobat kept crashing, sometimes from simple things like clicking on a link. Adobe treated Acrobat Pro as if it was a simple PDF viewer. They seem completely removed from the reality of their costumer base. We are now actively looking for an alternative PDF editor, made by a company which doesn't despise its professional clients.

Hi Adobe developers!
why you just do not roll back new version instead of feeding us with stupid answers after you can see so many citical comments?????

@Bhawna Arora - seriously you advised me how to launch "last session" and how to "disable new Acrobat"???? I DID IT AND IT DOESNT WORK!!!!!

I am deleting Adobe and switching on NITRO

Hi @pawel.rafa@gmail.com,

Thanks for writing the specific instances which are not working seamless for you. Though these issues are not reproducible in general but I am keen on debugging any code break at your end. Please find our responses inline:

1. Despite of I am switchin dark mode, Adobe always coming back to light one > Might be the case, some setting is overriding. Please share some reference for reproducing this issue.

2. why I can see "tour panel" each time I am opening any file > Each megaverb has its associated tour cards, once it is shown, it would never be shown again.

3. unable to "disable new Acrobat Reader" from Menu Panel > For Win, please go to Hamburger menu and select 'Disable new Acrobat' and for Mac, go to View menu, select 'Disable new Acrobat'

4. unable to set "open pdf's from last session on Acrobat lauch" > Please go to preferences and under General select 'Open PDFs from last session on Acrobat launch'

Should you have any further queries, please feel free to drop it here.

Thanks,
Bhawna

I spent hours trying to edit a document I created. It was locked, this really sux. I've been using acrobat for years, and I dread using it know. I'm looking for one that is sane.

I agree the new interface is exhausting and not intuitive. I switched back to the old interface. I ask Adobe to please keep the old interface.

I think it was more than just the UI that got screwed up in this release. I've seen repeated cases where Acrobat sucks up all available CPU for no apparent reason, even though it's just sitting there in the background and I'm not interacting with it in any way.

The only way to recover is to kill the process and restart it.

I want to complain bitterly about this wholly unnecessary, useless, and impenetrable "update." It was fine. Who asked you to meddle with the original interface? Why couldn't you have left it alone? What is the matter with all you tech companies (this includes Microsoft and its incessant ridiculous and wholly un-user-friendly tinkering with Windows, and now Google is threatening to change its interface as well; there is nothing wrong with the current one, it is refreshingly simple and uncluttered) constantly trying to mess with our screens? Do you think calling it "an experience" will make it better? "Nightmare" would be correct: an "experience" I don't need. I have better things to do with my time than trying to decipher yet one more way to do the same thing. At least you had the humility to recognize that we might not all be as enraptured by this futile absurdity as you are, and gave us the opportunity to go back to what was perfectly fine before. So think twice before meddling with the interface again. Remember you have competitors.

The worst thing is to change a working user interface. Must be some junior "inventive" manager eager to claim innovation that made such decision.

1. Despite of I am switchin dark mode, Adobe always coming back to light one
2. why I can see "tour panel" each time I am opening any file
3. unable to "disable new Acrobad Reader" from Menu Panel
4. unable to set "open pdf's from last session on Acrobat lauch"

Bwahahahaha!!!

Fun fact: Adobe used to espouse the following virtues:

For our customers:
deliver the best and most innovative products;
license technology on a fair and impartial basis;
maintain total confidentiality about each customer’s business;
provide the highest possible level of service.

Customers
• Treat the customer, as you would like to be treated
• Make the customer an ally not an adversary
• Evaluate issues from the customer’s point of view
• Your performance may have a major impact on the survival of the customer’s business
• Make the customer feel that we need his business
• Thank the customer frequently for his business

From Adobe’s Core Values and Beliefs, by Charles M. Geschke
August, 1998, full article available at: https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/1998-08-Geschke-Adobe-Culture.pdf