Every couple of years when Adobe puts out a full new release of Acrobat, there are a few different editions to choose from and new features to study to decide which of them you’re going to get… This year is no different – the Acrobat X (10) family is available in the form of the free Reader, the familiar Standard and Pro, and a brand new Suite edition that bundles Acrobat Pro together with Photoshop, Captivate, and three other Adobe products in a package to deliver complete business communications.
Conspicuously absent is the “Pro Extended” edition from version 9, which used to be called Acrobat 3D. What happened to Pro Extended? The answer:
Users of Acrobat Pro Extended’s 3D features are now directed to Tetra4D, who have taken over development and support of the 3D engine from Adobe. Their 3D PDF Converter plugin for Acrobat X Pro does support the latest versions of 3D files and comes with a copy of 3D Reviewer, but will not work with Acrobat 9. See the link for a full list of supported formats.
(Note that upgrade licenses for Tetra’s Acrobat X Pro plug-in coming from any version of Acrobat 3D or Acrobat 9 Pro Extended are free for a limited time.)
For the rest of the product line, here’s a brief list of some major differences between Acrobat X Reader, Standard, Pro, and Suite – a comparison focusing just on the new features:
| New Features | Reader | Stnd. | Pro | Suite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optimize PDF viewing with Reading Mode, including a “heads-up display” floating toolbar for navigation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open online PDF documents via the web with streamlined loading and viewing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Share any size files online with new and expanded services at Acrobat.com | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Easily access the tools you use most with the customizable Quick Tools area | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Convert PDF files to Microsoft Excel, Word, Access, and PowerPoint formats | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Use improved OCR (optical character recog.), with up to 50% smaller files and greater image fidelity | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Integrate with Microsoft SharePoint for PDF collaboration, file sharing, and web publishing | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Create PDF files with a single click from within the most popular Office 2010 applications | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Remove hidden content, such as metadata, with a single click using the Sanitize Document tool | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Unify a range of content in a customized PDF Portfolio with new layouts, themes, and color palettes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Automate repetitive multistep tasks and share with others using the new Action Wizard | Yes | Yes | ||
| Permanently delete sensitive information, including specific text or illustrations, with redaction tools | Yes | Yes | ||
| Create professional forms from templates or from scratch using Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES2 | Yes | Yes | ||
| Use Adobe Photoshop CS5 to prepare high-quality visuals for business communications | Yes | |||
| Combine audio, video, screen recordings, and more into a rich media experience using Adobe Captivate | Yes | |||
| Transform static PowerPoint slides into dynamic, interactive presentations using Adobe Presenter | Yes | |||
| Convert video into Adobe Flash Player compatible formats using Adobe Media Encoder CS5 | Yes |
For the complete comparison list of all 43 line items, click through to see this page:
[ Version comparison: What’s the difference between Acrobat X vs. 9, 8, & 7? ]
Adobe Acrobat X Suite is the BEST – after i checked the complete comparison list i will take the Suite.
Is the typewriter tool available in the Acrobat X Suite and X Pro?
Hi Charles, thanks for your comment… That’s a good question and you’re not the only one to have it!
The answer is yes. But Adobe actually renamed the Typewriter tool in Acrobat X to make it easier for new users to find and understand… The Typewriter tool is now called Add or Edit Text Box – please see:
(Where) Is the Typewriter Tool in Adobe Acrobat X (10)?
Hope this helps!
We are upgrading to Acrobat X Pro and I would like to verify that forms created in previous versions of Acrobat (especially 9 Pro) will still be compatible in Acrobat X. Will we be able to open and complete these forms without issues?
Thank you for your assistance.
Hello Audrey, thank you for your question on Acrobat X forms compatibility – it’s an excellent one.
For forwards compatibility (reading older forms in newer versions), you should have no problem… For backwards compatibility (reading newer forms in older versions), it looks like your answer is here.
A little late to the discussion but another question regarding the JavaScript and higher level functions we used in Acrobat Pro Extended. We create interactive 3D content and though we can create the 3D PDF with tetra4D we are having issues with being able to read and interact with the 3D in Acrobat X.
I see where X requires a lot of the JavaScript to be stripped out of a document which renders our products useless. How can I ensure my customers are going to be able to access the interactive 3D content with Reader X with out the need for added plug-ins?
Welcome Dale, thank you for asking more about 3D (Extended features) in Acrobat X, you’re probably not alone in wondering.
For answers, you may find this forum discussion thread helpful, as well as this one.
Thanks for the feedback. Both of your links were to the same thread. I guess I’m not so worried about being able to create the 3D content, It is more about being able to run the JavaScript that drives the interactivity of the 3D within Reader X. We’ll keep researching and appreciate your feedback.
Whoops! Sorry about that Dale… too fast on the copy-and-paste… The second link above is fixed now, and goes to a different thread where it should.
Can you modify pdf cells or templates from an existing pdf? For example can I add a couple of cells to a pdf from that I’ve downloaded from someone else? Can this be done with standard or does it require pro?
Hey there Brian, you can modify existing PDFs with Acrobat X Standard, so you should be able to do that…
Pro adds more tools for Portfolios, Actions, accessibility, redaction, preflight, document comparison, LiveCycle forms, and Reader enablement.
Download the free trial to check it out for yourself first, if you like – and/or browse the online documentation.
I like to resize, rotate, add and delete pages with my Acrobat. Can I do that with Standard XI or do I need Pro?
Yes Colleen, you should definitely be able to do that with Acrobat XI in either the Standard or Pro version – see the official documentation page under “manipulating” and “crop” PDF pages.
I just purchased Adobe X Standard. I went to create a PDF out of an architectural drawing and the option for Arch C and Arch D paper was not available to me. I tried to add it and the program wouldn’t let me. How can I make that paper size available?
Hi Cindi, not sure about adding architectural paper sizes as it’s not something we have done here – but the downloadable product manual might have an answer for you.
How much would the Adobe Acrobat X Suite Cost compare to Adobe Acrobat X Pro?
Actually Alice, the Acrobat Suite is no longer offered – Adobe discontinued it last year when they released Acrobat XI…
Sorry about that but see here for what they recommend to replace it, and get instead.
What functionality is disabled or not available in Adobe Acrobat X if JavaScript is NOT enabled?
@M.Stenger
Acrobat Adobe X PRO
We’ve never tried that, but possibly some interactive PDF functionality could be impacted, like in dynamic forms (formatting, calculating, validating data, assigning an action, etc)…
Are you concerned about JavaScript in Acrobat security?
Hey, question…. I need to edit text (regardless of font), add stamps, reduce file sizes, create fillable forms, and draw/comment/markup existing PDFs. What version do I need???
Version XI (11) – they finally added the ability to easily and naturally edit/change text and images within any PDF document in this current release, with the new Edit Text & Images Tool:
Acrobat XI is Now Available – So What’s New & Different?
You can download a free trial here:
Acrobat XI Pro/Standard and Reader: Direct Download Links
Does the Acrobat Professional version correct the problem I have experienced in Standard where scanned documents to be modified as fill-in form have the form fields rotated 90 degrees? Also, does the Pro version make it easier to enable forms for Adobe Reader without the need to save an extra version for future edit? Thank you
Those are good questions JS – and the best way to make sure you get the exact answers you want is to simply download a free 30-day trial of Acrobat XI Pro and see if it does what you need… In other words, try it out.
I downloaded the Acrobat XI Pro trial and still have the same problem. Copy form field from “old” form results in 90 degree rotation on the new form. To correct this, I am required to rotate the field, then resize vertically and horizontally. Since I am using stored procedure to populate the form, the naming convention is critical. Is there a setting somewhere that can be changed to correct this problem? Thank you.
Hello again, have you tried the online manuals/documentation for Adobe Acrobat Pro? (approx. 500 pages for either version)
I have reviewed documentation, online manuals, and researched this problem for hours, and cannot find a solution other than “recreate” the field(s). If there is a known solution to the copy/paste field rotating and resizing on the new form, I would like to know what that is.
If there is no solution other than to recreate all fields, then we can make our upgrade purchase based on other features between Std and Pro versions. Please advise if there is a solution to this problem.
Thank you,
Well our best advice in that case is to contact Adobe directly with the question, and/or post a query on the Adobe Expert Forums to see if someone else has a corroboration or solution for what you’re encountering.
Does Standard allow you to save an email in PDF form (where Reader does NOT)?
Yes Fred, both Acrobat Standard and Acrobat Pro include PDFMaker, which can create and convert to PDF from within the authoring applications – including Office documents, emails, AutoCAD, etc.
(Whereas Reader is generally read-only and does not do this.)
Will acrobat standard convert a pdf to a jpg?
Yes Leslie, you should be able to do that – see:
Converting PDF to JPG using Acrobat XI Standard
Can someone tell me what version (if any) allows you to rearrange the page order in a PDF doc?
No problem Shawn, either the Standard or the Pro versions can do that (but not the free Reader) – see:
How do you change the order of pages in a PDF document using Acrobat?
Hello
I am using Acrobat Pro 9 and my company wants to update to 11 Standard?
I am engineer and do some editing, converting, etc. what are your recommendations ? what are the main advantages and disadvantages
Thanks,
Hello Jelo, please see this comparison page to help you decide for your Acrobat upgrade:
What Are the Differences Between Adobe Acrobat XI vs. X vs. 9?
Are you able to “password” protect PDF files when saving to a shared drive?
Can’t see why not, Cathy.
Is there a multi-user option on either X or Pro?
Not sure George, your question is a little unclear – could you please give a bit more detail on what you’d like to do?
Our club wants to use Acrobat X but leadership members change and more than one person may need to use it on their own computer. Regular license allows one user to install on two machines.
OK George, please see this guide to answer any questions you may have:
How Many Machines Can You Install or Run Adobe Software On?
Does this version allow for the use of a pen-writer?
can a signature field be created on a pdf using Reader?
Hi Ella,
You can sign a PDF using Adobe Reader – is that what you mean?
How to Sign a PDF or Add Your Signature Using Acrobat Reader DC