Adobe Reader DC Library Package?

We have been looking into this the last few days. There are two "tracks" for Adobe Reader DC. You can read Adobe's description of these tracks here.

We will most likely add the Classic as opposed to the Continuous track. According to the document linked above Adobe states that you should use Classic if you:

• Use serialized deployments; that is, you don’t need identity-based licensing and deployment and the ability to manage users via the Enterprise Dashboard.
• Want to limit the feature set to those included in major releases.
• Have not purchased services.
• Want to manage updates like previous 10-11.x releases.
• Manage a locked environment and need to control the frequency and nature of updates. All updates remain available for download.

The Classic will most likely be added to the Package Library soon.

At this point, we have decided to add the "continuous" track to the Package Library. There doesn't appear to be any difference between the Continuous and Classic except for version numbers. (They are, according to Adobe's documentation, supposed to be different applications). Depending on demand and/or clarification from Adobe we may add the Classic track to the Package Library.

You can find Reader DC in the Package Library under the name Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.

Er, so I'm confused. Is Adobe depreciating the non Adobe Reader DC versions? 

If so, does the new package available in Deploy replace the current version of Adobe Reader XI 11.0.10?

Hi David,

Adobe Reader DC is the new version. Adobe continued to provide security updates to Reader X when XI came out two years ago. I would gather that the same attention will be applied to the XI line (if not the X line as well). If I am correct then you will see security patches and enhancements to the old versions but no new features.

If you have an Auto Deployment set up for Reader XI AND you want to move to DC then you will want to remove that Auto Deployment and create a new one for DC. Auto Deployments are based per application and apply only to updates in that application. Adobe Reader X, XI and DC are all three considered separate applications.

Shane, Thanks for the clarification. We're not using Auto Deployment and I realize I phrased my question poorly in the context of PDQ Deploy. 

What I meant to ask was if I do deploy Adobe Reader DC to a target, will it update Adobe Reader XI, or do I also need to uninstall Adobe Reader XI as well?

I decided to just test it out and that does appear to be the case. On the machine I deployed Adobe Reader DC 15.007.20033 to that already had Adobe Reader XI 11.0.10 it replaced Adobe Reader XI 11.0.10

Your package for Adobe Reader DC claims to disable the upselling.  When I installed it on my system, the Tools Pane was there full of upselling options.  Is there a way to deploy this with the Tools Pane hidden?  We do not want 1000 help tickets asking about those features, nor do I trust our users to hide it on their own (even if we gave them instructions).

We like keeping our third party apps up to date for security reasons and PDQ Deploy has been a tremendous boon in that regard.

Eleuthold, I noticed this as well. I'm thinking that there probably isn't an easy way to do this. Even version 11 of Adobe had the Tools bar that was displayed upon launch and had things like EXPORT TO MICROSOFT WORD or EDIT THIS PDF that would take them to Adobe's website trying to sell them Adobe Acrobat or now the monthly subscription based versions of Adobe Reader DC.

What it boils down to is Adobe is having great success with their Adobe Creative Cloud subscription services, so now they're trying to move that over to their lesser products like Reader.

I agree, this sort of thing will generate many a Help Desk ticket or phone call in our environment.

David,

I get that Adobe wants to sell software, and that's understandable.  I also hope that Adobe understands that they have a lot of Reader out there in Enterprise environments where this type of thing is not desired.  I don't see any point in hanging onto Reader XI and delaying the inevitable, so hopefully a solution will be found.  I'm looking for ways to hide it on my own, possibly by customizing a step at the end of the install.  If I come up with anything, I'll be sure to share.

I would also like to know if its possible to remove the Tools Pane upon launch, we also keep our 3rd party applications up to date for security reasons but some features in Reader DC are just not suitable or wanted in a corporate environment. Can the package in PDQ Deploy include something to remove/hide the tools pane and menu item?

Hey all. We are looking into this and should have a solution available very soon.

OK, the problem has, (I believe), been fixed. I apologize for any inconvenience.

This doesn't remove the Tools panel but it does (or should) remove the tools that require additional purchases.

If you are currently running the PDQ Deploy console please close it and the reopen it (or just hit F5 from the main console window). This will force a Package Library refresh. After doing this please delete or rename your existing Adobe Reader DC package. From the Package Library, import the package again. 

The changes made are highlighted in yellow in the attached image. (both Steps 4 and 5 were modified). 

Redeploy this new package to your existing installations.

Please note: We are also going to add the Adobe Reader DC CLASSIC track package to the Library. This package will install DC classic (which will have fewer updates and is probably a better fit for most enterprises)

Also, if you have any Auto Deployments configured for DC you will need to delete and recreate them. This is because the version of package didn't change so Auto Deployment won't download the new package. 

Shane,

The new package is definitely an improvement in my eyes.  The "comment" and "fill & sign" features are still visible, but those are free and actually get used by many of our users, so that's not necessarily a bad thing.  We will likely also try the classic package when it is released and make our decision from there as to which track we will use.

Thanks for the hard work and prompt response on this.  I'm a huge fan of your products!

-Eric

Thanks, Eric.

The Classic package is now available in the Package Library. The Collection Library has also been modified to track the Classic and Continuous tracks of Adobe Reader DC.