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Difference between Adobe Acrobat X Reader, Standard, Pro & Suite

Compare the Adobe Acrobat X Product Family

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:

Complete Adobe Acrobat X Family Comparison

[ Version comparison: What’s the difference between Acrobat X vs. 9, 8, & 7? ]

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45 thoughts on “Difference between Adobe Acrobat X Reader, Standard, Pro & Suite”

  1. 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.

    Reply
    • 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.

  2. 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?

    Reply
  3. 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.

    Reply
  4. 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?

    Reply
    • 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.

  5. 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?

    Reply
  6. 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???

    Reply
  7. 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

    Reply
  8. 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.

    Reply
  9. 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,

    Reply
    • 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.)

  10. 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,

    Reply
  11. 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.

    Reply

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