THIS! : GSK77 - Agree - ditch the new (or make it optional to those who just need to change for change's sake). Too many years invested and the "new", while I have used it (until today), doesn't seem to bring any real functional advantage. It is just "NEW". Not improved, not modern, and not welcome.

New interphase is terrible. Editing pdf is useless. Inserting link(s) is horrendous. Please just spend the time and energy fixing old buggy use instead.

My cynical guess is that since Adobe is now selling on subscription model, which means constantly charging you on a monthly basis, rather than sell Acrobat outright, it wants to show you that it's actually doing something to justify taking more money than it did before. So making inconsequential changes logs on their "what we did for you last year to deserve your payment" sheet. What if the changes are not inconsequential but actually detrimental to user experience? That's even better so they can roll out another update to improve your user experience, and only if 1% of users who stayed with the new UI just because they did care was a proof of their innovation.

Incredibly frustrating that Adobe releases the same generic statement every time they make updates "appreciate your feedback... etc etc as you get more familiar you will get more productive and more out of Adobe".

This is not the case. This is less efficient, it's obvious that those designing Adobe aren't actually users of Adobe. My needs for Adobe are not met by the changes. And the sentiment is shared by every other CPA I know in the industry. It is apparent that Adobe is making changes for the sake of changes, not for improving QOL. Please, just stop. Or keep the option of "Disable new Acrobat" because this is unusable without it.

Agree - ditch the new (or make it optional to those who just need to change for change's sake). Too many years invested and the "new", while I have used it (until today), doesn't seem to bring any real functional advantage. It is just "NEW". Not improved, not modern, and not welcome.

I'm grateful that y'all included an option to disable the new Acrobat but baffled as to why you felt the need to update the GUI in the first place. The new iteration is inferior in every conceivable way.

Every time I try to use the new interface I can't find what I need. I'm end up using the old interface

I completely concur with your analysis, Ron, but sadly Adobe are not the first (and undoubtedly will not be the last) to allow the mobile ’phone generation to influence how desktop products should look. I cite as the classic example the desktop functionality of Microsoft Windows 7 with the "let’s make it as much like a ’phone as possible" idiocies of Windows 10 and 11 ...

By the way... I used to work for Adobe at their Utah site. I know wherewith I speak...

This is a classic case of children taking over an adult tool, and changing it to look like their toys (i.e. phones). Adobe, please stop letting the junior product managers make asinine decisions with your products! Bring some adults into the discussion next time. Bring some user advocates into the discussion. Yes, you gave us the ability to revert, but seriously, how long will THAT last? It is costly to maintain two very different user interfaces. The day I am forced to use this awful interface is the day I cancel my subscription and look elsewhere for a PDF solution.

it would be nice if Adobe tried to make our lives easier by making their products better. As someone who has used Adobe products since the 90s, I was hoping the bloat from the years of selling new versions would chill out and the products would be more focused on performance and ease of use- perhaps with plugins for available for niche uses- instead we have a tone-deaf monopoly squandering good will and the new generation of designers questioning why they should use CC when there are now cheaper/better options.

I fully support the comments of Bevi Chagnon. I have been seriously disappointed with Acrobat for years, to the point that I feel like Adobe wouldn't even listen to me, discounting me as somebody who complains. But I'm not.

Most of the software I use works well. Sometimes there are issues and then developers fix those problems. Sometimes they change the interface and it's jarring, but I either immediately understand why or can figure it out over time.

But this? This is like Adobe contracted with patients in a mental health facility to full revamp their product. What possible benefit could come from switching the left and right panels? It doesn't even make any sense based on the way the program is used in most locations - select your page, highlight your text, choose your tool, left to right. Now we're going right to left? And that's just one of the egregious changes.

I'm 100% convinced that every change Adobe makes somehow benefits them, almost always to the detriment of the consumer. This is the only explanation for mysterious changes that make our jobs harder. If Adobe didn't have monopoly power, they'd quickly lose their position as the leader to any of the competitors Bevi mentioned above. I only use it because my IS department refuses to use another product.

That said, I still wish Adobe would get their act together, because I do HAVE TO use this product. There will come a point that this relationship cannot be fixed though, and I will only wish for Adobe to be pulled apart in some anti-trust class action suit. Actions like the "2023 Modern Look" being forced upon us with no warning will only hasten that process.

This is so disappointing guys. Seriously.

The thing that bothers me the most is point #1, with the left and right panels being swapped. I just don't understand how someone could think this was a good idea.

I totally understand that some people may prefer placing their tools on the right, espêcially for people using languages that read from right to left. If that was the intention, just make it an option! In pretty much any desktop application out there, menus and toolbars can be shuffled around and docked according to user preference.

Don't change the default layout unless you also give the user the possibility to set it back to their preference.

Basic common sense!

I just stopped my subscription to Acrobat because the update was so horrendous and went back to the Photography Plan only. I used to pay for both, and sometimes the whole Creative Cloud. I posted long ago when this discussion was getting started my opinion on the update. So glad we could revert to the previous interface.

I don't need Acrobat professionally (so sorry for all those who do and this has been so difficult for),

Wow. Awesome comment. Spot on. The best part, which still works in October 2023, for those who missed it:

[U]sers can revert to the old interface for now (August 2023).
— Windows: Hamburger Menu / Disable New Acrobat
— Mac: View Menu / Disable New Acrobat

Just dropped in to add another voice to the pile of pressure on Adobe to actually do their f***ing job for a change. This update is basically just force-feeding those of us on WORKSTATIONS the gimpy touch interface (it's not bad on a tablet).

Also, force me to deactivate and reactivate my workstation (which hasn't changed in 4 years) and see what happens, I dare you. How about you actually fix your BROKEN S*** before force feeding us features NO ONE ASKED FOR!!!

My suggestion is to keep the old Interface of Adobe, don't get rid of it. Allow users to switch to the old Interface if they want to and don't remove the old Interface revert option. Give users the option to choose whether they want to use the classic or modern interface during first startup of the Acrobat program after installation.
I agree, I also don't like the new interface, it doesn't make sense to flip all the controls and the loss of the labeled menu options (File, Edit, View, E-Sign, Window, and Help), plus the loss of the toolbar label was a deal breaker to me. It was super confusing to me when I received the update.

The new interface is awful. Why would you flip everything for no reason?

Thank you for writing this and articulating what we all feel. It is an awful "update"!

I am a proofreader for a print production team and use Acrobat 100% of my day to provide corrections and feedback to graphic designers. This new interface is completely unusable for my workflow and I immediately reverted back.