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Acrobat for Windows and Mac: User Interface

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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.

857 votes

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Bevi Chagnon | PubCom.com shared this idea  ·   ·  Report…  ·  Admin →

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  • Kim Gall commented  ·   ·  Report

    This is the worst "update" that Adobe has done in all the years I've used it. Please fix the toolbar on the left side issue and the bookmarks on the right issue. We should be given the option and ability to move and customize so that it works best for our needs.

  • Thomas Cincotta commented  ·   ·  Report

    Just wasted far too much time with simple Adobe Reader documents trying to permanently prevent bookmark sidebar from opening on right side of document. Check forums tried to follow instructions and none worked. Every time document was opened out popped the bookmarks sidebar. I was able to eliminate the toolbar sidebar on the left side going through Preferences menus. Finally found a web posting saying Adobe had upgraded the software for the Reader after HP laptop restart which indicated it was doing updates so went to control panel settings for applications and drove the updates to Adobe Reader but the problem still ..existed. web comments suggested complete reversion back to the original Adobe Reader application. Now I finally I'm able to park both the tools and the bookmarks menu so they stay hidden when I reopen a PDF document. Please fix this problem if you're going to drive us to an update because I honestly wasted more than an hour going back and forth trying to understand what I was doing wrong and why none of the hints on the forums helped. This is an excusable. Test this before you put it out and you would have seen it.

  • Michael Wong commented  ·   ·  Report

    It's not just Acrobat, they are doing the same to Photoshop also. Accessing menu items (Alt+...) are broken. And loading is slower than ever.

  • Production commented  ·   ·  Report

    I installed the latest version of Acrobat today and I had to abandon it fairly quickly. It's very slow and cumbersome. When I attempted to make the the window wider or narrower, it was nearly impossible and took forever. I especially do not appreciate how much the new arrangement of the tools slows me down. It seems bloated and filled with things I will never, ever need to use. What possible reason could there be to 1) switch the tool panel from right to left? 2) What possible reason could there be to have a tool bar that is trapped inside the application window so that it's in the way and taking up space. The little icons for the tools are not even remotely intuitive. The worst, however, is the tool tips that I could not eliminate. So I have reverted back to an older version. Such useless changes only slows people down and frustrates them. I don't hate change, but neither do I like MBAs with "great ideas" who change everything around to make their mark at everyone else's expense. Some of us have jobs with real deadlines and don't have time for this nonsense.

  • Trix commented  ·   ·  Report

    Well, I just left PDF Expert because of accessibility issues. The top bar, where the tabs for different documents are, are gray text on a black background. I don't do well with that kind of set-up. And there's hardly a blank space to grab and drag the window around the desktop. I looked at Foxit, and they're assuming I need minimum 100 seats. Ugh. So I'm paying $20 a month for Acrobat. I just let all the design apps go in favor of Affinity.

  • luke burton commented  ·   ·  Report

    The number of problems with Adobe is enormous, the number of people complaining about Adobe is enormous, the amount of arrogance in the so called Adobe experts is enormous, the subscription cost is enormous, this bug thread alone is enormous.... the amount Adobe cares about any of us is f_ck all. Sorry folks, they just dont care. Dont worry.... they are ruining the industry enough that it wont exist in ten years.... us, Adobe, design, print..... all gone.

  • TnF TnF commented  ·   ·  Report

    Can't wait to see the day Adobe burns to the ground. Every day they make worse and worse decisions. Customer is always right. Vote with your money.

  • Freeman Helmuth commented  ·   ·  Report

    As much as I want Adobe to do something, based on the fact that we have zero response from them I believe they're still in the "oh its just a bunch of users who hate change" phase. Not until this idea gets hundreds more votes and persistently stays open will they do anything. They have thousands(millions?) of users and 679 votes looks pretty small so far.

    I design UI/UX and so I know as others have said that this is truly a terrible update. They really missed it. But they won't believe that until a large percentage of their user base moves away(money). Once that happens they'll listen.

    I'm using the comments feature right now. So broken it's not funny. And yet they had time to release a new UI but not fix that. Very sorry priorities.

  • Mark Schumacher commented  ·   ·  Report

    I wonder, if Adobe can gather this data, what % of users have turned off the new Adobe because of this ****? You'd think that 25+ pages of negative comments / feedback would have them on this quickly, but...

  • InstyButte Typesetting2 commented  ·   ·  Report

    6 more votes to the Top Idea! I'm certain that Adobe will then start to pay attention to all the feedback.

  • Donna Mudgett commented  ·   ·  Report

    Thank God for people who really help like Bevi Chagnon. IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT! Fix the stuff that isn't working properly and don't change every that actually is working. This new "interface" takes away all the familiar tools.

  • Allyson Shwartz commented  ·   ·  Report

    What he ^^^ said!! Even the fixes I have found don't actually work. Like trying to attach the document as a pdf file instead of a link. Nope have to take multiple extra steps. Like trying to rid the comments column whenever a document opens up. Nope, uncheck the box and it reappears checked everytime and the stupid comments column is always there. Those are just a couple of so many annoying changes I have spent hours trying to fix to no avail. I hate the new Adobe interface with a passion.

  • Kris commented  ·   ·  Report

    Thank you @BeviChagnon for telling us how to revert to the old interface (original post). But now I'm not able to revert to the new version to see where or how to use the AI. Oh well. The new interface is terrible and I'm spending twice as long on a document than I should be in this new version. Very sad because I've been a big proponent for Adobe for many years but they're slowly losing me as a customer. I'm all for changes to improve software but these changes are not good.

  • Tamra Harbo commented  ·   ·  Report

    This latest update has really broken adobe, half the time the features don't work, the new layout locks down the sidebar so you can't even customize it for your purposes, instead your forced to leave AI and other shortcuts that are not used very often, also one day I log in and I see the usual icons on the sidebar but some days when I log in there are additional icons posted which you are also not allowed to modify, I really wish PDF Expert was not just an apple PDF program, I would have ditched Adobe immediately. Further aggravating that they are ignoring user comments and 'hoping we will get used to the new upgrades', more like downgrades, unfortunately.

  • Cayenne Woods commented  ·   ·  Report

    HATE this!! every other app in the world has toc/bookmarks on the left. Never wanted this, hate it, gonna stop using acrobat

  • Ntombenhle commented  ·   ·  Report

    Deeply frustrated that I cannot change the settings to my preference or move the floating tools into the top of the screen. It's preposterous.

  • AOP commented  ·   ·  Report

    Please read this adobe ^ why change something that isn't broken. I am sick of these IT techs who feel obliged to make 'efficient' changes. The only benefits they are doing, is themselves. What a bunch of idiots!

  • adithya b commented  ·   ·  Report

    Why break something that was working flawlessly?

  • TnF TnF commented  ·   ·  Report

    Please send this new UI designer to north korea and have him dig his own grave.

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