The following article is about Adobe Acrobat's version history.
Acrobat VersionNotesOSFeatures 1.0 15 June 1993Acrobat Reader priced originally at $50 per user.DOS/Mac 2.0 September 1994 First version for Microsoft Windows Windows, Mac, SunOS, Solaris, HP-UX, IRIX, AIX, OS/2 Acrobat Catalog, which creates searchable indexes for PDF files Adobe also released the first Acrobat Plug-ins SDK; allowing third-party developers to create plug-in programs for the Acrobat Exchange application. 3.0 November 1996 Last version for Windows 3.1x Windows, Macintosh, SunOS, Solaris, HP-UX, IRIX, AIX, Digital UNIX, Linux, OS/2 4.0 April 1999 Last version for Windows NT 3.51 and Mac OS 7.1.2 - 8.5 Windows, Macintosh, Solaris, HP-UX, IRIX, AIX, Linux Support for PDF version 1.3 5.0 May 2001 Last version for Windows 95, Mac OS 8.6 and Mac OS 9.0.4 - 9.2.2 Windows, Macintosh, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, Linux Support for PDF version 1.4 6.0 July 2003Adobe Acrobat Reader was renamed to Adobe Reader.
Version 6 was criticized for its performance. The Acrobat 6 plug-ins for web browsers were also criticized for suffering from bad performance and potentially rendering one's web browser non-responsive.
Last version for Windows 98 and Windows Me.Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX Support for PDF version 1.5 7.0 28 December 2004The first version to include a mandatory product activation.Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, AIXIt included: Support for PDF version 1.6 Support for Adobe Policy Server rights management Support for embedded 3D object information from the .u3d Universal 3D format
Adobe Acrobat 7 Professional for Windows now includes Adobe LiveCycle Designer 7.0. Adobe Elements 7.0 was also released which was still only sold by volume licensing outlets but decreased the minimum licenses limit to 100 licenses. Finally, another edition of Adobe Acrobat, Acrobat 3D, was added to the set.
Adobe Acrobat 3D included all of the functionality of Acrobat Professional 7.0 as well as updated assistance for embedded 3D computer graphics, tools for capturing 3D content from OpenGL applications, and the Adobe Acrobat 3D Toolkit for converting CAD documents to PDF objects. Also included is a version of the capture tool for installation on Unix systems.
Last version for Windows NT 4.0, though with limited feature support. 8.0 3 November 2006A later update 8.1 in June 2007 was released in order to be compatible with Microsoft Office 2007 and 64-bit Windows operating systems. Also during September 2007, Adobe Reader 8.1.1 released for Linux and Solaris (SPARC) users.
The Adobe Acrobat 8 set had a few changes. Acrobat 3D was now able to produce embedded PRC file format, a very compressed format for geometry and graphics which requires Reader 8.1 to display. It also supported Product Manufacturing Information and a number of different CAD formats.
Acrobat Connect Professional (formerly Macromedia Breeze) was also added to the set. It allowed scalable interactive web conferencing and multiple personal meeting rooms for everyone part of an enterprise.
The Mac OS X version of Adobe Acrobat Pro was improved significantly: Adobe Acrobat for Macintosh was made a Universal binary that operated on both PPC and Intel architectures.
8.x product support ended in November 2011.Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX Support for PDF version 1.7 Acrobat 8 Elements, which was withdrawn before its expected release during mid-2007Adobe – Acrobat 7 Elements : FAQ Acrobat Connect (formerly Macromedia Breeze), a support application with online personal meeting rooms to collaborate in real time with as many as 15 participants 9.0 June 2, 2008Adobe Acrobat 9.0 was released. Support for version 9 ended June 26, 2013,One Year from Now: Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9 EOL. Adobe Reader Blog. with the last available update being 9.5.5. Adobe Acrobat 9.5.5 is the very last version, which can be installed on Unix-based system. Therefore 10 years after release Adobe Acrobat 9.5.5 is still in use.
Adobe Reader 9 ends compatibility with Adobe Reader Extensions 5 and 6 which permit Adobe Reader client software to save changes to filled-in forms in PDFs. Adobe Reader Extensions 6.1 and newer are still usable. Legacy PDFs will still be viewable, however they will open with the warning "This document enables Reader capabilities that are no longer enabled in this Reader version."Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions ES Update 1 Upgrade Center, see 'Previous generations' tab for information on the missing support
The Adobe Acrobat 9 set also omitted the multiple document interface. Previous versions of Adobe Acrobat activated multiple PDF files in the same window (except for version 8 where MDI was only an alternative option and the default mode SDI). Acrobat 9 however, only uses the single document interface scheme, wherein each PDF file is activated in an instance of Adobe Acrobat. Last version for Windows 2000, PowerPC-based Macintosh PCs and any Unix-based-system.Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX Support for PDF version 1.7 Support for Adobe extensions for PDF 1.7 The ability to create Acrobat forms was in Acrobat Standard, which was previously only available with Acrobat Professional 6, 7 and 8 Support for real-time collaboration on PDF files with synchronized document views and chat Improved Web Capture for copying entire web pages or just some parts into PDF Integration with Acrobat.com to enable storage and sharing of PDF files Support for comparing and highlighting the differences between two versions of a PDF document Support for playback of Flash Video or H.264 video in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader Support for conversion of a variety of video formats to Flash Video for playback inside PDF Support for creating PDF maps by importing geospatial files that retain metadata and coordinates Support for Optical character recognition (OCR) on PDF files using ClearScan. Adobe ClearScan technology creates and embeds custom Type1-CID fonts to match the visual appearance of a scanned document after optical character recognition. ClearScan uses these newly created custom fonts instead of system fonts or Type1-MM
The Adobe Acrobat 9 set includes a new program: Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended for Microsoft Windows. This product includes Adobe Presenter as well as the features of Acrobat 3D. 10.0 November 15, 2010Support by Adobe ended November 15, 2015. Version 10 introduced Protected Mode, a sandbox that employed features and techniques previously in use by Google Chrome and Microsoft Office 2010 to help mitigate or prevent potentially malicious content from affecting users' files or settings. In later Windows versions, Protected Mode is implemented as a low integrity process to further restrict the sandbox, and User Interface Privilege Isolation is used to thwart keystroke logging processes that operate at a higher integrity level.
Adobe Reader X is available for Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS. Compatibility with Linux was never planned, why Unix-Users are stuck with 9.5.5.Windows/Mac 11.0 October 15, 2012Support by Adobe ended October 15, 2017. The graphical user interface for desktop systems is carried over from version 10. Last version for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 (unofficially bypassing installation, version X is the last officially-supported version) and OS X versions Snow Leopard-Mountain Lion.Windows/MacSome new features include a completely redesigned PDF editing experience, exporting PDF files to Microsoft PowerPoint, touch-friendly capabilities for mobile devices, and integrated cloud services. LiveCycle Designer is no longer bundled (but remains a standalone product). Acrobat XI was released to the market on October 15, 2012. DC (2015) April 6, 2015Support by Adobe for Adobe Acrobat Classic 2015 and Acrobat Reader Classic 2015 ended April 7, 2020. The UI in this version has changed dramatically since version XI. Adobe Acrobat DC is available for Windows 7 or later. It is also available for Mac OS X 10.9 or later. Beginning in this version, version numbers are now labeled by year of release, not by the number of the release. As such, this has version number "15" instead of "12". Also, Adobe Acrobat DC is split into two tracks, continuous and classic. The classic track has updates released quarterly and does not provide new features in updates, whereas the continuous track has updates issued more frequently with updates performed silently and automatically.Windows/MacReader returns to the "Adobe Acrobat Reader" name. There is a heavy focus on the Adobe Document Cloud feature. "DC" is now appended to the product name for both tracks (notwithstanding the classic track's default installation folder being Acrobat 2015 with only the continuous track's being Acrobat DC). The multiple document interface is added back (with release 2015.009 of the continuous track), but with a tabbed interface instead of the original windowed interface. 2017 Standard/Pro DC (2017) June 6, 2017Based on Acrobat2017_MUI (06-06-17). Acrobat Standard 2017 is not available on macOS.
"DC" branding denotes the "continuous track" (subscription-based release that receives regular feature updates). Year-number branding denotes the "classic track" (perpetual license release that only receives fixes).Windows/Mac 2020 Standard/Pro DC (2020) June 1, 2020Based on Acrobat2020_MUI (01-06-20). Acrobat Standard 2020 is not available on macOS.
"DC" branding denotes the "continuous track" (subscription-based release that receives regular feature updates). Year-number branding denotes the "classic track" (perpetual license release that only receives fixes).Windows/Mac2021 Standard/Pro As of this release, the 64-bit (x64) version of the software is being rolled out2022 Standard/ProOctober 11, 2022Windows/Mac Both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) are available.
It presents a compact UI experience, helps export PDF from Page Thumbnails, and provides readiness with macOS Ventura.23.003Windows/Mac...24.002May 05, 2024This release is an optional update which contains enhancements around Gen AI features in Acrobat & ReaderRelease Notes 24.003Oct 03, 2024They added AI image generation and editing with Adobe Express to all paid Acrobat versions. Windows/Web/Mobile Generate images from texts. Editing images
Reader Touch
1.0
Originally called Adobe Reader For Windows Tablets (Version 1.0) was released on the Microsoft Windows Store on the second week of December 2012, based on the Adobe Reader Mobile engine found in the iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows phone versions, is the first application written by Adobe Systems for the Metro Style interface. The current versions offers only basic PDF reading features, subsequent patches will bring more complex features to catch up with the more feature complete iOS and Android versions. Adobe Reader for Windows Tablets supports both ARM and Intel x86/x86_64 architectures and can be used both via touch and more classic keyboard+mouse combination. The main features are: Windows Native App and UI Semantic Zoom to jump between pages Bookmarks and search feature Opening password protected PDF Select and Copy text
On February 1, 2013, Adobe Reader for Windows Tablet has been officially renamed to Adobe Reader Touch to tell Hybrid Desktop Windows Users which version of Adobe Reader may have (Modern UI or Desktop Version). Name change apart, the changes include: Easier Document Navigation With Mouse and Keyboard ([+] and [-] Zoom Buttons) View Sticky Notes
1.1 Version 1.1 was released on April 11, 2013. The changes include: Printing Keyboard shortcuts for Find, Open, Print and Close
1.2 Version 1.2 was released on June 27, 2013. This update adds: Go To Page for quicker navigation Notes to your document Highlight, Strikeout and Underline with Selection and Markup Tool to text View Notes attached to text markup Save and Save As functionality