Adobe Reader 8 and Adobe Acrobat 7 on the same system

hey fog and folks,

i DO face a problem since i've installed acrobat 7.0 and reader 8.1 on the same system: acrobat 7.0 simply doesn't start any more, no matter how i try. neither by a right click on a file to the 'open with...' dialogue nor by launching the .exe program file. but the acrobat 7.0-folder is still where it has to be -- without any changes after installing the reader.

so, fog, think about installing reader. or does anyone of you guys know how to fix that problem?...

thanx!

Here is a link to Acrobat product interoperability and coexisting installations:
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=333223&sliceId=2Here is a link to an Expert answer on making Acrobat (not Reader) the default:
http://www.acrobatusers.com/forums/ask_an_expert/questions/view/3100/

thanks a lot lkassuba, that's exactly what i'm looking for.

I downloaded Adobe Reader 7 because I am creating some forms in Acrobat Pro 8 that will be opened and used in Reader 7. After I create a form, I pull it up in Reader 7 to make sure that it works before distributing it. Of course, having both versions active is now causing a problem when I click on a PDF link from the Web.

After checking out the above links, I changed my default from Reader 7 to Acrobat 8. This didn't resolve my issue because when I click on a PDF link it pulls up Acrobat 8 and a window pops up that says: Cannot use Adobe Reader to view PDF in your web browser. Reader will now exit. Please exit your browser and try again." When I click on "okay" Acrobat Pro closes out. When I 'try again' the PDF comes up in Reader 7.

Any other ideas on how the two programs can coexist? Or should I just delete Reader 7 and go back to seeking out an employee with Reader 7 when I want to test a form? I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks!

DB

OK - I'm going to make a somewhat definitive and blanket statement here (and will catch some flack for this... )

In general, it is a 'bad idea' to have both Acrobat and Reader installed on the same system. Even though, 1) I will get a small flame from some folks at Adobe 2) We do it ourselves in our corporate installation. More on #2 in a minute.

Why - There are two major areas where Acrobat and Reader tend to collide - IE/Browser integration and file extension. The File extension issue is fairly easy to rectify by using the link lkassuba listed above --> http://www.acrobatusers.com/forums/ask_an_expert/questions/view/3100/The browser issue can be more difficult, as evident by my posting here --> http://www.acrobatusers.com/forums/ask_an_expert/questions/view/3345/In general, if you need to be doing testing - spend the $$ and either procure a second machine (along with a KVM box) or, better yet, a copy of VMWare. Primarily because you will need to test on more than just your target version of Acrobat/Reader - there are still A LOT of pre-Ver 7 readers out there. As a corporation we still target Acrobat 5 for much of our work. Reason? Many of our clients (some of them in silicon valley) are not quite up to speed on these things. Then engineers are, but we don't work with them. We work with their HR departments - a different, but important, type of individual.

OK Why, when you have both installed, your target wouldn't launch? Check task manager. Both Acrobat and Reader have a habit of, on occasion, keeping an instance up and running. Just blow it out of Task Manager and try again. If you are launching the same product as is running this isn't an issue. If you are trying to switch products, this can be a problem.

Also, setup your shortcuts with a /n at the end.. for example:

"C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\Acrobat.exe" /n

Do this for both Acrobat and Reader - this will allow you to multiply run each application rather than to only allow one to run. A small help in testing.

On - back to the hypocritical - How come you run both but advise us against it. You can run both - but you have to 1) manage your complete installation base as a single installation model - everyone has the same configuration! 2) TEST TEST TEST... take a breath ... then TEST some more. Reader is installed on all 26,000 workstations in our environment - at the same time - using the same installation parameters built on Tuner/Customizer. Acrobat (only on licensed machines, thank you) is also deployed in the same manner. Reader, as it is on all workstations, is set as the superior (default) product. With Acrobat set as the inferior. Why? What happens if we remove Acrobat? Reader doesn't take over as the default - nothing does. Broken functionality, support call, wasted employee time, lost revenue. We do allow for associates to switch their file extension from Reader to Acrobat because when Acrobat is removed Reader will become the default. However, this does not work with the browser integration. Overall, it took us 9-months of analysis, repackaging, testing (a number of e-mails to Adobe engineering), testing, retesting and testing some more before we were able to get something that functioned well.

So, to summarize:
Don't install both at the same time (unless you can support it)
Go with VMWare if you can afford it - for $189 - not bad.
Use /n. Even on single product installs it can be extremely handy.
TEST TEST TEST - not how it is working - how your customers will break it!

Don't hesitate to holler if you have any questions.

Good luck!

Thanks for your response, dthanna! It was pretty much what I was expecting to hear, but it never hurts to ask. I am going to remove Reader 7 from my system and whenever I need to test a form, I'll just ask another employee with Reader 7 to be my guinea pig. As for the VMWare, although the price you mention isn't bad, it's not quite worth it for me to go through our office bureaucratic red tape to secure more software (it took me a while to get the Acrobat Pro upgrade to 8!).

DB

Today I installed Reader 9.x on an XP Professional that has/had Acrobat 7.1.0 Professional installed.

At NO TIME did the Reader 9 installer forewarn me of the intention to uninstall Acrobat 7.1.0 Professional.

No one should have to rely upon visiting your web site to check for compatibly issues between any other your products.

I now have to spend time otherwise delegated for other tasks towards fixing this situation so that Acobat 7.1.0 Professional is back to full operating use.

As a programmer, I know the smartest thing to do before installing an upgrade, is to warn the user installing that there are issues and to offer the option to abort the install.

Once again, Adobe has made a good impression.

Happy Holidays.

Have you tried running different versions of MicroSoft Office on the same machine?

You have come to a user to user site and not the Adobe product site. Most of the users here are trying to help you on their time and do not work for Adobe nor do they get free Adobe products. If you want a better answer, try the Adobe premium customer service site, http://www.adobe.com/support/programs/ .

And I will refrain from multiple posting to your other post about the same topic.

I have not lost sight of the fact that this is a user-to-user support site. I like that other users who may have had the same experience as mine are very generous with their time and that they are willing to come to another's aid. I don't like it when someone presumes that I am not a thankful person.

Maybe you perceive that I don't appreciate the users here because I am drowning in frustration with product issues caused by Adobe?!?!

I just got off the telephone with Adobe and learned they do not support Acrobat 7.x any more, via telephone or otherwise.

I thank [u][b]everyone[/b][/u] for their time and effort on my behalf to help me in this situation.

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.


Please read and post replies to the thread entitled, "How To Fix Incompatibility Reader 9.x and Acrobat 7.1.0 Professional??"

Thanks again.

A problem was reported as

Cannot use Adobe Reader to view PDF in your web browser. Reader will now exit. Please exit your browser and try again." When I click on "okay" Acrobat Pro closes out. When I 'try again' the PDF comes up in Reader 7.

I do not have a dual installation of Acrobat and Reader. All I have is Acrobat 8 Professional (8.1.7). Which is why the only difference in my case is that “try again” causes the PDF to come up in 8 Professional. Everything else is the same. Even the reference to “Acrobat Reader” and “Reader” in the error message is the same, though there is no version of Reader on my system.

Bottom line: This particular error does not require a dual installation. It is an error that arises with Acrobat 8 Professional alone.

It’s not a terrible problem to have, but it shouldn’t be there and it is annoying. Moreover, I have never had it before, having gone through some version of Acrobat 4, Acrobat 5, Acrobat 6, Acrobat 7, and Acrobat 8, with and without simultaneous installation of some version of Reader. I do not recall encountering the problem before upgrading to Windows 7 (64-bit).

A solution to this problem would be greatly appreciated.