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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.

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

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  • Stefan Link commented  ·   ·  Report

    Thank you for sharing the info, that there is this magic button back to the good UI, I was so frustrated with the new UI, this made my day! :-)

  • Hawi commented  ·   ·  Report

    20240109-1836 UTC

    Window 10 (64)

    Deactivating the new Adobe look does not work

    Hi,

    I try to deactivate the new Adobe look, but every time it pops up again! Even the new version takes up to 20 seconds to load. Unbelievable.
    I think it's really time for more regulation to prevent this kind of nuissance programming. A pure waste of time, millions of users lose millions of hours solving such problems caused by this kind of IT terror.

    intervalqwert

  • Rene Andritsch commented  ·   ·  Report

    I have been using Acrobat professionally for 2 decades and I’m sure a lot of work went into the redesign. This is unfortunate. So far I did not meet a single colleague who kept the “new” Acrobat UI. Swapping places of important navigation elements is something that brakes a workflow if you are used to doing it for a long time. And also putting some of the most used tools to the bottom right corner is a decision I cannot comprehend. Users tend to have their mouse cursor in the top part of a document and also close to the menus.

  • Dirk Henning commented  ·   ·  Report

    "Swapping left and right-hand panels for no reason" This is so mad, how do you come up with such thing?

  • Richard Craven commented  ·   ·  Report

    Well, the file attachment didn't work out; too bad. Maybe it's available from Adobe archives.

  • Richard Craven commented  ·   ·  Report

    Sooo, we'll see how this works out. Attaching file...
    I offer this with no guarantees or warranties. As is.

  • Richard Craven commented  ·   ·  Report

    OMG, OMG! I recovered it, it's back!
    I keep most of my downloaded install files, which included AdbeRdr11010_en_US.exe . After de-installing Adobe from my (Win 7) system I ran that older file. It expanded into Reader 11.0.10.
    I tested it with my 2,124-page Principles of Operation pdf. There it was, my familiar GUI with comments on right and bookmarks on left! Oh, I am so relieved. Work has been very difficult up to now.
    PLUS, there is an option at the end of the install to restrict updating. You can guess how I set that! My very best wishes that you all may find this version. I just gave myself a great holiday present.

  • Evelyn Perdue commented  ·   ·  Report

    I was a daily and intensive user of Adobe Acrobat, and I have become so disoriented and frustrated with this new version.

  • Petra Bryan commented  ·   ·  Report

    I want a way to hide the toolbar or move it (preferably dock it like before), as it currently slows down some of my work as it is placed now.

  • Nick Harvey commented  ·   ·  Report

    the new e-signiture gui and send changes are not effective. for example, when you already have places signitures panels in the document, these are ignored in the update and new e-signatures panels have to be added. This is frustrating as they also need to be resized accordingly. Our issue is compounded as we have documents with multiple panels for signiture, now I have to place each one. The new process requires extra effort, so it's not an "upgrade" on the previous. It also makes little sense to split the process to add persons to the document. Instead of doing it all in one go, its now split into two stages for signitures and copying people in - terrible choices all round; but I suppose it is consistent with the other terrible changes you have been making recently. I'd use a different product if there was an alternative - you've opened the door to potential churn of customers.

  • V commented  ·   ·  Report

    I want to be able to USE this, not try to figure out where you hid everything. This is like Microsoft constantly shifting the menus and then finally hiding everything behind the stupid ribbons. I don't want to have to re-learn something for a UTILITY, especially when it offers NOTHING!!!

  • Hugo Cerqueira commented  ·   ·  Report

    I typically refrain from providing feedback on products, but I felt compelled to express my thoughts regarding the recent layout changes in Adobe Acrobat. Despite recognizing the effort put into these updates, I must admit that the new layout is not meeting my needs. Just today, I found myself unable to work efficiently on a PDF, leading me to switch to PDF Expert out of frustration. It's notable that I subscribe to Acrobat for myself and several other users (under a different email account, not the Gmail one I'm currently using, though I am willing to share those details with an Adobe representative if needed).

    The crux of my issue lies in the user interface; I'm spending an inordinate amount of time locating features that were previously intuitive. This constant search is not only inefficient but also quite aggravating. It's a classic example of the saying, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it." This principle, often cited in engineering, seems pertinent here. I believe it's crucial to have the option to revert to or choose a different layout that aligns more closely with the user's preferences and workflow efficiency.

  • Ted Converse commented  ·   ·  Report

    Hello?! Is ANYONE at Adobe monitoring this? How about a response please?!

  • Dennis Temko commented  ·   ·  Report

    Dear Adobe, I have been using the new updated Adobe since its release until December 15, 2023. I am an attorney and use Adobe Pro very often. The new update should not have been released. There are numerous bugs. For example, the signature function hardly works because the signature freezes all the time while on the page. Very difficult to get it where it belongs. The program also crashed more regularly. Next, the add text to a PDF no longer allows a user to add the text where they would like. Now, you have to just edit already existent text which is very far from idea. Also why are the page numbers on the side of the viewer?
    I commonly have multiple documents up on my screen and now if there is any overlap (there commonly is), I cant see the darn page numbers. There are other annoyances and bugs besides these. Think this new version is not ready for prime time.

  • Gary Chrysler commented  ·   ·  Report

    This is the reason nobody gives a ****. They are living for quarterly stock profit reports. Does anybody see any humans in the ownership tree? I don't. Dump the product and show a huge quarterly loss for Adobe. Then maybe the investors will sell out. Either that or kick the CEO's *** and make him fix it. Maybe somebody useful will buy it. Who knows! Sadly, I am 64 years old, and in all my years I have never seen anybody do the right thing in this situation. I have no idea why. Entrenched processes and ideas are difficult to change. People cling to them. You have to literally pull things out of their hands and physically take them! They need to hire me. I'll fix it for them. I have had to do this before. This is absolutely ridiculous!

    Who owns majority of Adobe? This is absolutely crazy! No humans!!!!!
    Largest shareholders include Vanguard Group Inc, BlackRock Inc., State Street Corp, VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares, VFINX - Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares, Morgan Stanley, Fmr Llc, Geode Capital Management, Llc, Jpmorgan Chase & Co, and Invesco Qqq Trust, Series 1 .

  • Robbie Patterson commented  ·   ·  Report

    Anyone who doesn’t know to turn off auto updates after disabling the new version: it’s an option under preferences. Personally, I think Adobe should have had someone in authority come out and actually say SORRY for how much anxiety and issues they caused their core audience with the original enforced and unannounced launch of that new abomination. Sadly the days of this company having anything but reps that resemble engineers portraying chatbots is long gone

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