Changes to your Adobe PDF experience

ACU staff can currently use Acrobat Pro DC to view, edit, and modify PDFs including adding comments, annotations, adding and removing pages, and converting files to other forms (eg. Word, Excel).

Due to unsustainable licensing changes enforced by Adobe, this functionality provided by Acrobat Pro DC (legacy) will no longer be provided to staff by default for editing PDFs.

From 13 May Adobe Acrobat Reader DC will be installed which allows you to view, comment and print PDFs only. You will still be able to create PDFs from Microsoft 365 products (eg. Word, PowerPoint, Excel) using the File > Save As function.

Please note that there are three terms used to refer to Adobe PDF products in this context:

Adobe Acrobat Pro (legacy) refers to the legacy fully-featured version of the software that is currently installed on all staff devices, and will be removed with this change. It will be represented by one of these icons on your desktop.

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC refers to the reader-only version of the software, which is replacing the Adobe Acrobat Pro (legacy) software. It will be represented by this icon.

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (new) refers to the NEW fully-featured version of the software that can be manually installed if ongoing editing of PDFs is required. It is identified by the following icon (while it looks similar to one of the Adobe Reader icons, the software name is specified below the icon to distinguish between Reader and Pro versions).

What if I need to continue editing PDFs?

See a full list of features provided by the fully-featured version of Adobe.

If you do need continue using these features:

• A limited number of licences will be made available to staff with a legitimate need to edit and modify PDFs. Please carefully consider if modifying PDFs is an ongoing function of your role.
• If you do require this functionality, you can follow these instructions to request an Adobe ID and download Adobe Acrobat DC Pro from the Adobe Creative Cloud app.

Please endeavour to submit your request as soon as possible to ensure there is sufficient time to process your license request.

When will this happen?

The change is scheduled on 13 May. You will receive an IT Service Advisory email reminding you about the change and requesting that you close any open PDFs. The change will be made in the background the next time your computer connects to the internet.

What if I already downloaded Adobe Acrobat DC Pro from Adobe Creative Cloud?

You do not need to do anything and can continue using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (new).

What if I don’t need to edit PDFs?

If you don’t need to edit PDFs, all you need to do is keep an eye out for the IT Service Advisory and close your PDFs when requested.

Where do I get help?

The following Service Central articles may be helpful and you can also contact Service Central on Ext 7272 for assistance.

• Do I need Adobe Acrobat Pro or Adobe Reader?
• How do I identify which Adobe PDF version I have?
• How do I request an Adobe ID and install Adobe Acrobat Pro?