Acrobat 8: Adobe product interoperability
With a new version of Adobe Acrobat–and soon the free Adobe Reader–shipping and being downloaded, updated versions of some common user-support questions are appearing. One of the most frequently posed: ‘Can I install Acrobat 8 and also keep an earlier version on the same computer?’
Adobe’s Support Knowledgebase now provides a variety of updated and some new answers and solutions for users of the new, enhanced product.
Technical Document #333223 addresses the multiple-version issue:
“Although you can install Adobe Acrobat 8.0.x on a computer that contains an installation of previous Acrobat versions, it is not recommended. Acrobat 8.0.x Professional and Acrobat 8.0.x Standard use the Acrobat 8.0.x version of PDFMaker and Adobe PDF printer. When two or more versions of Acrobat are installed on the same computer, removing one version of Acrobat may disable functionality.”
And regarding the order of whether to install, then remove an older version–Acrobat or Reader–or vice versa, the tech support advisory suggests:
“Removing previous versions of Acrobat or Adobe Reader after you install a more recent version can disable functionality. Repair the current version of Acrobat after removing the previous version. If the repair process does not restore all functionality, reinstall the current version.”
Of special note is a lengthy chart on version interoperability included in the recently posted Knowledgebase document, which “shows what will happen if you install Adobe Acrobat 8.0.x when the computer already has Acrobat or Adobe Reader installed.” See the excerpt below; other versions and products are covered in the support document.
