Struggling to install a 2015 version of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC on a new Mac (M1 Chip)

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Struggling to install a 2015 version of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC on a new Mac (M1 Chip)

Wondering if anyone solved the issue of the install for this product stopping on the "helpmeet" document file which is the issue for the install. See here the issue: https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-reader-discussions/installation-issue-adobe-reader-pro-2015-on-m1-macbook/m-p/12604632

The answer (as some have suggested) isn't "Why don't you pay to update?" because the updated version is subscription based on costly and the Acrobat DC 2015 has been purchased with a perpetual license and stills works (and Adobe has updates for it to work on an M1). It's the installation due to the helpme file which is a problem.

I've contacted Adobe and if I have a solution, I'll share it here because a number of people are looking for it. In the meanwhile, if anyone has already solved it, please do share. Thanks!

iMac (M1, 2021)

Posted on Mar 28, 2024 4:24 AM

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Answer 1

JEL888 Author

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75 points

Mar 28, 2024 4:32 AM in response to JEL888

After some looking around it may be that I'm just not going to be using Adobe Acrobat and longer (because I'm not going to subscription version). Found this answer which basically says that if won't work (even though it passed the check for compatibility) on the macOS after certain build.

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC 2015 (Classic) insta… - Apple Community

Oh well!

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Answer 2

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,272 points

Mar 31, 2024 7:53 AM in response to JEL888

There are PDF editors available for $180 USD or much less that may give you a choice of subscription or single-purchase, or just single-purchase. They are also compatible with current versions of macOS. The vendor sites offers free trials, and some are in the Mac App Store too.

Nitro PDF Pro (direct and Mac App Store) $180

Master PDF Editor (direct only) $70

Not an exhaustive list (more in the Mac App Store) but probably the two better choices after Acrobat Pro. I used Nitro PDF Pro to code some Adobe Acrobat JavaScript (AcroJS) on a PDF that enables a dialog showing that the document age has expired and then closes the PDF (when opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader), but not Apple's Preview.

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Answer 3

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,272 points

Mar 28, 2024 10:18 AM in response to JEL888

Although Adobe still provides the single-purchase 2020 Acrobat Pro DC for around $530USD, they claim it will be the last single-purchase version and receives no further updates from Adobe. There are far less expensive non-subscription PDF editors available, but one has to reflect on their need for a PDF editor in the first place.

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Answer 4

JEL888 Author

Level 1

75 points

Mar 28, 2024 1:40 PM in response to VikingOSX

Thank you for this comment that leads to a reflection of need. Mine is periodic and to edit PDFs structurally and textually. So my 2015 version was perfect for this. If the had one-shot, single use payments, I’d update.

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Struggling to install a 2015 version of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC on a new Mac (M1 Chip)

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