Adobe Acrobat DC problems (aka how not to do "freemium")

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webfork
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Adobe Acrobat DC problems (aka how not to do "freemium")

#1 Post by webfork »

Preface: I'm unfortunately married to a variety of Adobe products due to circumstance so this is to some extent venting. Still, I hope this draws more people to test out the excellent freeware PDF viewer programs we have on the site.

Things not to do if you're going to sell a freemium product

I've been using Acrobat 9 for a very long time now but got a little worried about possible security issues so I went ahead and pulled their 2015.007 release. What I got:
  • Bundleware - offers installation, in my case McAfee AntiVirus
  • Unlabled pro functions
  • Adware - launches browser to show ads for "you might like" advertisements
  • Tied into a web service - many of the functions (no telling which is which) don't work unless you sign up for their service and buy it
  • Suggests Unusable Tools - worst of all, the program suggests a conversion function at first file open that doesn't even work, instead just opening a buy page
It's as if someone at Adobe went to a horrid car dealership where they try everything they can to get a few extra dollars out of you and thought "this is how we should run our business."

Other annoyances
  • Everything is tied into the "Adobe ID" function.  If you don't create yet another login and password (like you didn't have enough) you can't even send a help request.
  • Along the sidebar, the only functions that actually work for non-pro users is the Comment button.  There is no way to hide the other buttons.
  • Even the software design is junk: the settings screen barely fits on my 1600 x 900 screen.  This amusingly was also a problem in Adobe Acrobat 9.
I can certainly acknowledge this is a free product I'm complaining about but, compared to a lot of other PDF viewers/editors, this is a big step backwards.  If the idea here was to make a freeware offering that's a gateway to other Adobe products and services, I'm feeling the opposite.

One positive note is the that interface got a much-needed facelift drawing from the Firefox application submenu.
Last edited by webfork on Mon Nov 23, 2015 4:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: [removed a lot of repetition, use of term "awesome bar"]

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JohnTHaller
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Re: Adobe Acrobat DC problems (aka how not to do "freemium")

#2 Post by JohnTHaller »

It's gotten to the point that it very much reminds me of RealPlayer back in the day.
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Re: Adobe Acrobat DC problems (aka how not to do "freemium")

#3 Post by webfork »

JohnTHaller wrote:It's gotten to the point that it very much reminds me of RealPlayer back in the day.
Hah! Very well said.

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Re: Adobe Acrobat DC problems (aka how not to do "freemium")

#4 Post by Midas »

JohnTHaller wrote:It's gotten to the point that it very much reminds me of RealPlayer back in the day.
  • Haven't tried it, but that would be enough to keep me away... :(

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Re: Adobe Acrobat DC problems (aka how not to do "freemium")

#5 Post by webfork »

Along the lines of using something other than Adobe Acrobat: PC World article on 3 better Acrobat alternatives and two of these are available here on the site:
The "alternativeto" site for Acrobat:
https://alternativeto.net/software/adobe-reader/

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Re: Adobe Acrobat DC problems (aka how not to do "freemium")

#6 Post by Andrew Lee »

Not to forget PDF XChange Viewer:

http://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=1436

It has been my go-to PDF viewer for godknows how long. Can perform minor edits as well.

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Re: Adobe Acrobat DC problems (aka how not to do "freemium")

#7 Post by webfork »

Andrew Lee wrote:Not to forget PDF XChange Viewer
Agreed. I use it very frequently and it does more than enough for basic editor functions. I was reluctant to post about it as a genuine Acrobat alternative as reviews of the full version versus Foxit have been mixed.

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Re: Adobe Acrobat DC problems (aka how not to do "freemium")

#8 Post by smaragdus »

Years ago I was using a modified 'Lite' version of the evil behemoth. I have tried virtually all alternatives (both portable and not portable) but there are only two I can tolerate to some extent- STDU Viewer and SumatraPDF. Foxit Reader was once almost good but now it is almost as terrible as the product I don't even want to mention. I have never liked PDF-XChange Viewer for many reasons and here I am tempted to quote a review of PDF-XChange Viewer by someone else ('Hilbert') with which I totally agree:
Hilbert

Reviewing 2.051 (May 16, 2010)

PDF-XChange Viewer 2.051 is a glitzy irritating toy rather than a good PDF viewer. Essentially, it's just advertisement/adware to con you--or make you so frustrated--that you'll buy the so-called Pro version. I assume those who have given it a high rating score must ardor the techie-looking overly cluttered screen or are bedazzled by it, or they're casual users who've all day to read a PDF file.

Specific annoyances:
--------------------------

1. Adware features get significantly more in the way of its operation than do similar competing products (Foxit had similar issues but they intrude much less so). Many of PDF-XChange Viewer's menus items are redundant--their presence serves only as adware. For example, essentially every item in the 'Documents' menu is unavailable yet 'Documents' is not grayed/ghosted out. You know you're only using the 'free' program under sufferance of the manufacturer when continually reminded by big 'Pro' icons to buy it. In use, it's irritating and annoying.

1.1 My point about PDF-XChange Viewer being annoying adware is further strengthened by the fact that you can't even download it directly from the Beta News/File Forum site, rather you are linked--pushed--directly to the developer's site which promotes the 'Pro' version.

2. The ergonomics of this program are just bad. The opening screen is cluttered with unnecessary toolbars and items which are rarely used (or not used at all when used as a viewer). Finding your way about is awkward to say the least.

2.1 There's no integral help, it has to be downloaded separately. …So, later, you're off-line and you've no help, ok! This may be understandable for free or open source software but is isn't for commercial software. For starters, you've bought the product and only have received half of it. (One really has to shake one's head when one sees how dumb these some developers can be).

2.1 Like much software, PDF-XChange Viewer is another ho-hum program deigned by programmers who have zilch idea about ergonomics. They're too arrogant to ask users what they want, better still, they should be studying how users use their products (or try to use them).

3. ' PDF-XChange Viewer' is a misnomer. This program is a kludged/nobbled PDF editor masquerading as a viewer. It is full of editing features which can't be used or are nobbled until you pay for the full version. For example, highlighting features etc. cannot be flattened (made an integral part of the PDF) unless you buy the Pro version. If this were anything other than software, a vehicle perhaps, it would be considered to deceptive and misleading and the lemon laws would stick its claws into the manufacturer. Right, it's well time we had lemon laws for software.

4. Advancing pages with the spacebar. In default operation, tapping the spacebar to advance pages makes successive pages dribble down the screen. Unlike Foxit (which gets it right), no attempt has been made in PDF-XChange Viewer to paginate one page at a time nor to synchronize it with the screen. Tapping the spacebar just produces a vertical tickertape, one page dribbles onto the screen as the former exits.

5. Amazingly, the BACKSPACE KEY DOESN'T WORK when viewing a PDF. PDF-XChange Viewer. Developers, for heaven's sake, at least be smart enough to check out your competition first--check Foxit and see how it's supposed to be done. Why on earth would you want to alienate new users--converts from Foxit etc.--by messing with the keystrokes? After all, many other programs use the spacebar/backspace other than Foxit, the enormously popular image viewer, IrfanView for instance. (For some reason these 'dyslexic' programmers have forgotten to map forward and back arrow keys to the spacebar/backspace--in fact the strange mis-mapping of the down-arrow key to the space bar accounts for the sync problem mentioned earlier).

6. PDF-XChange Viewer very inconveniently LOCKS the PDF file it is viewing--that's to say the user cannot move the file whilst it's being viewed! This is highly inconvenient when say one is reviewing/sorting out large groups of PDFs and moving them to different locations, if PDF- XChange Viewer is left open the file locking will crash the move.

6.1 This is another instance of where (a) the software developers haven't done any/sufficient usability research, and (b) it shows that the developers themselves really don't use or test their products properly! [To be fair, I must point out that Foxit also has this problem, and a significant problem it is.]

6.2 Remember, PDF-XChange Viewer is supposed to be a viewer, and unlike an editor or word processor there is no need for viewers to lock the file that's being viewed, it can be read into memory and viewed from there (which too would make it faster). Even some good editors such as UltraEdit find no need to lock the files--their developers know users need to move files which are being viewed. For example, UltraEdit loads a viewed/edited file into memory and if the file is moved out from under it, it calmly asks the user if he wants to retain the image in memory or not! PDF-XChange Viewer's stupid programmers probably don't even know this is an issue with many users.

6.3 For ages, here we've overcome Foxit's annoying file locking issue using file unlocking methods, but whilst a nuisance it works reasonably well. The file is moved and Foxit doesn't complain but it can no longer read past the point it was up to in the PDF. MOVE THE PDF FROM UNDER PDF-XChange Viewer AND IT INSTANTLY CRASHES!

7. PDF-XChange Viewer is annoyingly slow when viewing PDF files that consist of all or mainly images, especially scanned books that contain much detail.

8. I'll stop here, there are other issues with PDF-viewer but I'm just wasting my time going any further.

Unfortunately, slow speed on image pages is a serious and common problem with PDF viewers generally. From the issues raised in points 6-6.3, it seems clear that if PDF readers aren't looking ahead and pre-processing pages in memory to increase their speed, clearly developers aren't optimally using memory.

As a group, PDF readers are a pretty lousy lot. Why should we users have to continue to put up with second-rate reader software that's just an afterthought for their PDF editors? It's been a problem for years.

With Adobe's PDF Reader having lost the plot ages ago, Foxit cruising as if it had eaten poisoned bait, PDF-XChange Viewer's many faults and so on, I recon it's time for a decent open source reader specifically dedicated to reading PDFs.
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/PD ... ll_reviews

This review is old but in my opinion it still counts.

The situation with PDF viewers is as terrible as with browsers- all suck very much.

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Midas
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Re: Adobe Acrobat DC problems (aka how not to do "freemium")

#9 Post by Midas »

Concerning point 1. of the quoted PDF Xchange Viewer review:
  • Image
IMHO, it its portable, it never causes any troubles, it is reasonably fast, it performs as expect, and it looks good on top, so it gets my vote, too. :roll:

I also happen to think that SumatraPDF can't be praised enough...

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