Comparison: What’s the Difference Between Acrobat XI vs. X vs. 9?
[UPDATE (April 2015) – The next major release of Adobe Acrobat – the new Acrobat DC – is now shipping! Download a free trial instantly or check out what’s new in Acrobat DC vs. XI.]
One of the most frequent upgrade questions we’re seeing asked is what’s new, what’s different, or what’s changed between the new Adobe Acrobat XI (Acrobat 11) and previous versions? Or more simply put, what are the major new features in Acrobat X (Pro or Standard), versus Acrobat X or 9? Adobe calls it, “a powerful new PDF solution that rises to today’s complex document challenges,” so these kinds of answers can help decide about upgrading…
There aren’t any complete, formal reviews out yet, but here’s what some early test users are saying: “Being able to do complex things on the fly, like signing a document electronically or commenting on a document on an iPad, is very attractive,” and “makes it even easier and faster to create PDF forms and to automatically distribute and collect information with new online forms services,” plus “offers advanced document protection capabilities that are easier than ever for our staff to uniformly secure our documents.”
[ What’s the difference between the editions? See: Acrobat XI Pro vs. Standard vs. Reader ]
Adobe had four overarching goals for this release: (1) increase end-user productivity, (2) streamline collaboration, (3) lock down information security, and (4) support working with documents on mobile devices.
Adobe Acrobat XI (Acrobat 11) is Now Available – So What’s New?
[UPDATE (April 2015) – The next major release of Adobe Acrobat – the new Acrobat DC – is now shipping… Download a free trial!]
Two weeks after its official introduction, this morning Adobe released the Acrobat XI family – the 11th generation of the world’s most popular PDF creation and reading software.
The Adobe Reader XI is out as a free download in 27 different languages, while Acrobat XI Pro and Standard are now available for purchase or (if you’d like to try the product out first on your own system) free trial download.
Celebrating its 20th birthday next year, you may wonder what new could Adobe add to this industry-standard product line to make it work better and more effectively, and enable you get your work done faster, saving time and money? The answer is, surprisingly, a lot…
Learn New Adobe Acrobat XI with Two Hours of Free Video Tutorials
We’ve previously featured over 30 hours of free video tutorials for Creative Suite 6, plus four hours for Lightroom 4 – so here’s a brand new collection for the recently-released Acrobat XI Pro & Standard…
In the free courses below, Adobe’s top product experts share how to get started, the basics of the software, overviews of major new features, how to use key tools and functions, plus their favorite tips and most useful techniques. In total, there are three courses with over two hours of free content, spanning 68 separate chapters.
If you need a copy of Acrobat XI Pro to get going right away, you can just download a free 30-day trial and then jump right in:
Free Printing Guide for Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator & Acrobat
Adobe has made available an excellent resource that’s now updated for CS6 (and CC) – a free printing handbook in the form of a 149-page downloadable e-book: The Adobe Creative Suite 6 Printing Guide. Earlier editions of this book have been out for previous releases (see the older CS5.x, CS4 and CS3 links below), but now this is fully refreshed and upgraded for the most recent versions of the products.
How to Solve It When Adobe Programs or Updates Won’t Download
We’re on the Adobe Help Forums every day and regularly see users posting queries like “Can’t install Photoshop from the Creative Cloud” or “CC 2018 won’t download,” or “my product updates aren’t working”… It could be for the free trials or for the full paid versions.
Often the issue is related to one or the other download managers (DLM) that Adobe uses to deliver its software installers. Over the years and for various tools, they have used the Akamai Download Manager, the Adobe Download Assistant (ADA), the Adobe Application Manager (AAM), and most recently the Creative Cloud’s CC Desktop App.
Adobe employs these helper utilities because their downloads are usually large – multiple gigabytes – and download managers can help correct for unreliable Internet connections, and resume a download after it has been paused or unexpectedly broken.
But it turns out there can be interactions between the DLM and some configuration on the user’s computer, web browser, anti-virus software, Internet connection, or something else which causes it not to work… So the first step is to try something different with those.
FREE Copies of New Adobe Acrobat XI Pro – Our $950 Giveaway!
[UPDATE – Also see our new Holiday CC 2018 Giveaway!]
Adobe Acrobat X, the world’s leading PDF document creation software, has been with us for nearly two years now, and there are questions out there on when the next version Acrobat XI will be released…
Now, nobody can actually say whether it would be called Acrobat XI or Acrobat 11, but one thing for sure is that the upgrade will be incorporated into the next release of Creative Suite (CS6.5 according to plan) and the new Creative Cloud, as well as sold separately.
It hasn’t been announced by Adobe when or what new features would be in an Acrobat XI Pro or Standard, but we do have some educated guesses…
In the meantime while we wait for developments on this front, we’re going to give away two copies of Acrobat 11 to two lucky readers here (meaning you!) as soon as it’s available… Pricing is not definite but if version 11 costs the same as version 10, then Acrobat XI Pro would sell for US$449 for a full copy – meaning this new giveaway is valued at US$948.
And importantly, by popular request from previous giveaways, this one is open worldwide.
When is Adobe Acrobat XI Coming Out, and What’s New?
[UPDATE (April 2015) – The next major release of Adobe Acrobat – the new Acrobat DC – is now shipping… Download a free trial!]
It’s been a while now since Acrobat X was released, and considering Adobe usually runs on two-year release schedules for this product, give or take, what does this imply for when Acrobat 11 (Pro/Standard/Reader) will be coming out?
That’s the question of the season – along with, of course, whether the next version will be dubbed “Acrobat 11” or “Acrobat XI”…
At present there is precious little public information out there to answer these questions. Our best estimate would be simply to go with the release dates for the past few revisions of Acrobat and then extrapolate.
Acrobat 8 came out on November 2, 2006 – Acrobat 9 arrived on June 25, 2008 – and Acrobat X began shipping on November 15th, 2010. So a bit of basic math would project the Acrobat 11 release date to be sometime in mid to late November 2012. Typically, Adobe would launch (or announce) the new product lineup a few weeks before that ship date.
But if you can’t wait until release day to see (and try) it, then register your interest in a possible Acrobat XI public pre-release program. There are no guarantees on being accepted if/when it opens, but it’s free and easy to sign up so it’s worth a try. The application is open for Acrobat, Adobe Reader, or both. Adobe’s goal with prerelease programs is to receive input on product usage and new features, plus learn about any early issues to help produce a tool that’s better for everyone.
Acrobat & Lightroom: Impact of Creative Cloud and Upgrade Changes
Judging by the amount of attention that Adobe’s recent upgrade policy changes have been receiving, as well as our subsequent visitor poll on the company’s model shift to the new “Creative Cloud,” this is a big and important issue…
And while this cloud model is optional, two of the persistent questions so far have been: How are the Acrobat and Lightroom products affected by all of this?
Both of these tools have historically different release schedules from Creative Suite – and while Acrobat is included in the suites, Lightroom is not. Looking back, CS5.5 launched in May 2011, Acrobat X in November 2010, and Lightroom 3 in June 2010.
[See: When will Adobe CS6 be released? When is Lightroom 4 coming out?]
So first off, we can clarify: both Acrobat and Lightroom are currently slated to be included in Adobe’s Creative Cloud, at least according to this slide from a recent analyst presentation – although there is a disclaimer at the bottom which states, “list of included products [is] not yet final.”
[UPDATE (January 25th) — Adobe now says that Lightroom will not be included initially, but is “planned for a future release.”]
The next question then is, will either of these two popular standalone products be affected by Adobe’s new upgrade policy?
Adobe Acrobat X: Your Frequently-Asked Questions Answered
It’s been about a year since Acrobat X (10) was released, and given Adobe’s typical two-year cycle with this product line, it will probably be another year before we see Acrobat 11 coming out… So in the meantime, we’ve put together a list of helpful questions and answers that have accumulated here and during sessions with Adobe.
Hopefully sharing this information below can help answer frequently-asked questions that you may also have about the product:
Q: Does Acrobat X come in a 64-bit version?
A: No – though it works on 64-bit operating systems.
Q: Is Acrobat X Pro fully compatible with Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit?
A: Yes – and Acrobat X version 10.1 now supports Office 2010 64-bit.
Q: Will there be a 64-bit version in the future?
A: I’m sure – we’re getting a lot of demand – no timetable though.
Q: can Acrobat 9 be installed together with Acrobat X on one PC? If so, that’s great news.
A: Yep!
Q: Can version 9 and X coexist on a Mac running OS 10.6?
A: Yes. we’re doing that at the moment!
160+ Hours of Free Training and Tutorials from Adobe MAX 2011
[UPDATE (Oct. 2017) – Watch 140 hours of new training & tutorials from MAX 2017!]
Just back from Adobe MAX 2011 and it was sensational… The keynote presentations were larger than life and filled with news and demos of new Adobe software and initiatives. The hundreds of diverse product sessions were incredibly educational. The show floor was a buzzing activity of experts, partners, and vendors… And the renowned “MAX Bash” party did not disappoint.
But perhaps the best part for those who weren’t there is the majority of the sessions were captured on video and are now offered online for free… In other words, pick your favorite Adobe product(s) and you can learn the latest tips, tricks, and techniques from the top instructors in the field from the comfort of your desktop. There are three major tracks below (Design, Develop, and Envision) with scores of different topics; most sessions are about an hour long and the collection runs to over 160 hours of video in total.
