woe me adobe!
September 18, 2008 12:41 PM Subscribe
Why doesn't my upgraded version of Adobe have a create pdf option and what can I do?
My PC at work was recently upgraded, and along with it, Adobe was upgraded to version 8. I used to be able to extract pages from pdfs and create new pdfs (and did this frequently), but this version of Adobe seems to completely lack anything like that. I know that "create pdf" should be in the menu under Document, but it isn't. I have no "create pdf" button in my toolbar. I have done searches on google, read the help pages on Adobe 8, and they all tell me what I already know: where to go and what to do to extract pages when the necessary options are present. Mine aren't. Are they hidden in some super secret way that I can somehow unlock? I have been through the toolbars and see absolutely no options even resembling this, and have no idea why it would be missing now when I could do it before. I have also called IR; they have no answers. Please, oh please, any suggestions?
My PC at work was recently upgraded, and along with it, Adobe was upgraded to version 8. I used to be able to extract pages from pdfs and create new pdfs (and did this frequently), but this version of Adobe seems to completely lack anything like that. I know that "create pdf" should be in the menu under Document, but it isn't. I have no "create pdf" button in my toolbar. I have done searches on google, read the help pages on Adobe 8, and they all tell me what I already know: where to go and what to do to extract pages when the necessary options are present. Mine aren't. Are they hidden in some super secret way that I can somehow unlock? I have been through the toolbars and see absolutely no options even resembling this, and have no idea why it would be missing now when I could do it before. I have also called IR; they have no answers. Please, oh please, any suggestions?
Adobe is the brand name. You had Adobe Acrobat (either Pro, Standard, etc) that allowed you to create PDFs. You now have Adobe Reader which just lets you read PDF files. You need to have your IT people put on the correct version of Adobe Acrobat if you want to be able to create PDFs.
posted by birdherder at 12:59 PM on September 18, 2008
posted by birdherder at 12:59 PM on September 18, 2008
And, by the way, until this gets sorted out, you can create PDF files using "CutePDF" - its a free download available from http://www.cutepdf.com/
posted by kbanas at 1:01 PM on September 18, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by kbanas at 1:01 PM on September 18, 2008 [1 favorite]
I frequently have this trouble using my university's computers...or at least a similar problem where, in effect, all I have access to is Reader rather than Acrobat Pro. What worked for me was launching the Acrobat Pro install file (usually under C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Setup Files\somethinglongandnumerical). I have no idea why that helps, since it doesn't really seem to be installing anything, but after that, Acrobat Pro is there.
YMMV and all of that, but I don't think that trying this will make anything worse. However, if you don't have anything under the "Adobe" folder but "Reader 8.0" then, yeah, see everyone else's remarks.
posted by teremala at 1:08 PM on September 18, 2008
YMMV and all of that, but I don't think that trying this will make anything worse. However, if you don't have anything under the "Adobe" folder but "Reader 8.0" then, yeah, see everyone else's remarks.
posted by teremala at 1:08 PM on September 18, 2008
Most likely they forgot to give you the Pro or Standard version and you simple have Acrobat Reader.
posted by damn dirty ape at 1:13 PM on September 18, 2008
posted by damn dirty ape at 1:13 PM on September 18, 2008
Response by poster: Oops. I really do know it's called Acrobat (really!). The guy I talked to in IR kept referring to it as "Adobe," though, but obviously I am not the most techy person. I have folders called "acrobat" but no setup files. Thanks everyone and sorry for my ineptitude.
posted by Polychrome at 1:30 PM on September 18, 2008
posted by Polychrome at 1:30 PM on September 18, 2008
If you go to Software995, they have freeware versions of Adobe Creators. You need to download multiple applications: the driver, printer, etc.
posted by xammerboy at 1:30 PM on September 18, 2008
posted by xammerboy at 1:30 PM on September 18, 2008
Response by poster: To clarify--the pdfs are being opened in Reader rather than Acrobat, which explains the problem.
posted by Polychrome at 1:31 PM on September 18, 2008
posted by Polychrome at 1:31 PM on September 18, 2008
And, by the way, until this gets sorted out, you can create PDF files using "CutePDF"
This is a pretty darn good app btw. The free one. Makes PDF's really really fast. The "Full" version (which is not free) is pretty awful imho. Better to stick with Acrobat for editing. FYI.
posted by elendil71 at 2:05 PM on September 18, 2008
This is a pretty darn good app btw. The free one. Makes PDF's really really fast. The "Full" version (which is not free) is pretty awful imho. Better to stick with Acrobat for editing. FYI.
posted by elendil71 at 2:05 PM on September 18, 2008
CutePDF is ok... I prefer the completely open source PDF Creator for my proprietary-format-document-creation needs.
Also, FWIW, the latest version of Reader is 9, but it offers almost no functionality above version 8, other than a couple security fixes and being bundled with the shovelware Adobe AIR and Acrobat.com.
posted by BeerFilter at 2:29 PM on September 18, 2008
Also, FWIW, the latest version of Reader is 9, but it offers almost no functionality above version 8, other than a couple security fixes and being bundled with the shovelware Adobe AIR and Acrobat.com.
posted by BeerFilter at 2:29 PM on September 18, 2008
Best answer: Yep, it sounds like you had Adobe Acrobat Pro, but during the upgrade you ended up wit Adobe Reader.
As you already know, it is indeed a pet peeve of many of us to hear it referred to as "Adobe." But don't be too hard on us. It's not just to be petty. It's because many of us have spent untold amounts of time trying to help friends and coworkers who tell us they are using Adobe, or created something in Adobe, or want to download Adobe. And all of our efforts to educate these people that Adobe can mean Photoshop, or Dreamweaver, or GoLive, or LiveMotion, or InDesign, or PageMaker (etc.) has not made a dent. I finally resorted to saying "Well, I use Microsoft. Try that."
In any case, here's how it works at my office: Adobe Reader is free, but Adobe Acrobat Pro is charged per seat. My office will gladly deploy Acrobat Pro to anyone who needs it, but it requires a supervisor to fill out a simple form verifying that they need it to accomplish their duties. They just don't want to pay for a seat if it's not needed.
The same thing happened to me a couple times during upgrades. My Acrobat Pro went away, and I had to contact the right people to get it back. Note that the "right people" may not even be the same people who do the system upgrading. In my office, it's a whole different part of IT, and there is very little communication between the two. So, you may just need some persistence in finding the person who has the power to push the right software to you. Good luck!
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 3:14 PM on September 18, 2008
As you already know, it is indeed a pet peeve of many of us to hear it referred to as "Adobe." But don't be too hard on us. It's not just to be petty. It's because many of us have spent untold amounts of time trying to help friends and coworkers who tell us they are using Adobe, or created something in Adobe, or want to download Adobe. And all of our efforts to educate these people that Adobe can mean Photoshop, or Dreamweaver, or GoLive, or LiveMotion, or InDesign, or PageMaker (etc.) has not made a dent. I finally resorted to saying "Well, I use Microsoft. Try that."
In any case, here's how it works at my office: Adobe Reader is free, but Adobe Acrobat Pro is charged per seat. My office will gladly deploy Acrobat Pro to anyone who needs it, but it requires a supervisor to fill out a simple form verifying that they need it to accomplish their duties. They just don't want to pay for a seat if it's not needed.
The same thing happened to me a couple times during upgrades. My Acrobat Pro went away, and I had to contact the right people to get it back. Note that the "right people" may not even be the same people who do the system upgrading. In my office, it's a whole different part of IT, and there is very little communication between the two. So, you may just need some persistence in finding the person who has the power to push the right software to you. Good luck!
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 3:14 PM on September 18, 2008
"To clarify--the pdfs are being opened in Reader rather than Acrobat, which explains the problem."
NO!
What you mean to say is; "To clarify-the pdfs are being opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader rather than Adobe Acrobat Professional"
posted by SirStan at 8:35 PM on September 18, 2008
NO!
What you mean to say is; "To clarify-the pdfs are being opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader rather than Adobe Acrobat Professional"
posted by SirStan at 8:35 PM on September 18, 2008
Response by poster: NO!
What you mean to say is; "To clarify-the pdfs are being opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader rather than Adobe Acrobat Professional"
I don't know about y'all, but when I open the pdfs is says "Adobe Reader 8" at the top (and "open with Adobe Reader 8"). If they don't want it called that, then this labeling seems to be counterintuitive!!
posted by Polychrome at 8:41 AM on September 19, 2008
What you mean to say is; "To clarify-the pdfs are being opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader rather than Adobe Acrobat Professional"
I don't know about y'all, but when I open the pdfs is says "Adobe Reader 8" at the top (and "open with Adobe Reader 8"). If they don't want it called that, then this labeling seems to be counterintuitive!!
posted by Polychrome at 8:41 AM on September 19, 2008
Yeah, they dropped the "Acrobat" brand for the .pdf viewer. It is now just Adobe Reader.
posted by Lleyam at 9:59 AM on September 19, 2008
posted by Lleyam at 9:59 AM on September 19, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
I assume you're talking about Adobe Acrobat. There is also another (free) product available from Adobe called Adobe Reader.
As you might guess, Acrobat can create, save, merge, splice, delete, whatever to PDF files, while Adobe Reader is a free program used to, basically, view PDF files. It can't do any of the other fancy stuff.
Are you sure you're not using Adobe Reader as opposed to Adobe Acrobat? It would account for all the missing toolbars and functionality.
posted by kbanas at 12:59 PM on September 18, 2008