Adobe Acrobat 5.0 [OLD VERSION] :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Merely a Stepping Stone

2003-07-14
Since, for some unknown reason, Adobe doesn't offer a direct upgrade path from Acrobat 3 to Acrobat 6, I bought this Acrobat 5 Upgrade merely so I could qualify for a free upgrade to Acrobat 6. Not only is this silly of Adobe, it's also expensive. Instead of buying an Acrobat 6 package, sticking my old Acrobat 3 CD into the drive, and continuing on my way without further hassle or expense, I had to buy the Acrobat 5 upgrade, go to the Adobe website to find their customer support phone number, call them via their 800 number, get them copies of the receipt, pay a token shipping cost, and then install the new software. What's even worse is that I've spent over six weeks trying to do that. Amazon got me the package immediately. But, so far, I've had to talk to Adobe (at their expense) five times. The first time was to find out that the upgrade existed and get the instructions for faxing the information to them. Supposedly, my fax never arrived. Then, I had to talk to them about that and get a snail-mail address. Supposedly, THAT package never arrived. Then, with my next call, I managed to get an email address to send the documents to. Again, supposedly, that never arrived. Finally, I talked to a person who had me re-fax just the receipt and my Acrobat 3 serial number. She called me back within a half an hour and we completed the whole process (confirmed my shipping address and got a credit card number for the shipping fee). Besides the hassle I had to go through, this upgrade must have cost Adobe a bundle in phone and support personnel costs. The free upgrade period from Acrobat 5 to 6 is over now, but Adobe really needs to come up with a better way for their old Acrobat 3 customers to upgrade.

Newbie to Acrobat

2003-06-10
Yes indeed Adobe Acrobat is too expensive, but, when considering the alternatives of buying other brands of PDF software that have less than pleasing quality, it all boils down to choosing the product that has the highest quality. To my knowledge, Acrobat is still the best PDF software available.

My personal needs are to create PDF files, encrypt them, require passwords to view, and restrict the user from printing and copying. After testing a couple other PDF products, I quickly discovered that their security was overly easy to bypass, no I take that back, they were *ridiculously* easy to bypass. Adobe's security has so far proven to be usefully solid.

Since Adobe provides limited public information about their products, I recommend that you first buy a book teaching how to use an Adobe package and read it through so that you will know what the software actually does and does not do. Yes, I agree, having to purchase a book and spend the time studying is not the prefered way to learn about any product, but the few dollars invested can easily pay for itself by your knowing which software to buy (or more specifically, what not to buy!).

What has amazed me the most with my Acrobat experience is when I had to call Adobe customer service to get a complex upgrade to version 6. Not only did the girl answering know what I was talking about, she also accomplished the entire order within that one phone call! WOW! Customer service like that is unheard of today. Apparently Adobe does care about its products enough to hire quality employees, and with that level of care, I feel more confident that I made the right decision choosing Adobe. Too, I purchased Acrobat from Amazon for the same reason of wanting quality service.

There are other PDF products available, some are even free, but for those of us who prefer quality and usefulness over initially lower costs, Acrobat is an intelligence choice. Choosing the right product today, the one that does not crash nor take time away from our work to fiddle with settings, gives us more time to whine about the costs later. If Acrobat were less expensive, I would give it five stars.

Essential if you like to save web pages 2003-05-21
I use Adobe Acrobat for many things--creating PDF files, editing them and writing documents for work. But if you visit web pages and want to save or print them, the Adobe Distiller is really essential.

The Distiller acts like a virtual printer, and saves a web page view as a PDF file, complete with images. Unlike saving a web page, which relies on being on the internet to bring up linked photos, the PDF captures the pictures and creates a document that you can store away. Even if the webpage is taken down or altered, you have a copy of it. Web pages are rather ephemeral; they come and they go. This is a good way to document them.

I don't find the interface particularly easy to use--it's not like the Microsoft Office package and the icons are all new to figure out. The price is somewhat steep, though it's been lowered recently.

Despite these criticisms, I would not be without this software. It's probably one I use more than almost any other on my PC.

Good Product, Poorly Documented 2003-04-13
I didn't understand the multiplicity of ways in which Acrobat can be used until I took part in an Acrobat focus group. The documentation is awful and even the "official" Adobe instruction books (which are expensive) are no better.

That said, as I have gotten to know the product, I find myself using it more and more. It is particularly useful for file-sharing -- unlike MS Office files, which will repaginate for different users, the Adobe .pdf format is a graphic one, so that everyone who looks at a document is literally reading off the same page.

It is also possible to store large amounts of information in relatively small files. I know that because I know that files I pull down off the Web are relatively small, but being able to do it myself has proved elusive. There are some useful web pages on the topic on Adobe's website, but that too is poorly organized.

Magic for everyone who needs document review or control 2003-04-06
If you use Photoshop, this is a natural complement. It is great for document editing and management --- as well as downloading websites. There are more features than one needs to or will learn --- but an absolute for anyone who sends documents to others, as you can limit the use of the content sent (no printing, no extraction, allowing or not allowing editing, etc.

Acrobat 5.0 2008-01-18
I was using Acrobat Exchange 2.0 and the 5.0 version is a definite step up. As a writer (http://secretsgolden.com/)Adobe Acrobat is necessary to my work. I wouldn't be without it, and v.5.0 is a very good program!
Thank you for reading!

PDF Writer for Older Operating System 2007-05-14
Delivery as expected. I appreciate such "older software" still being available through Amazon and this vendor. I will always have issues with newer operating systems: price of system and software and stability when using a wide array of software by various providers; so I am not inclined to upgrade operating system without good reason.

Adobe isn't clear on what version of their programs this upgrades, but it is NOT one of their "Acrobat and Reader" series. Thus I was delayed in using this purchase while I determined what program the Upgrade worked on/with. Perhaps this and other sellers can clarify the Acrobat/Reader dicotomy for potential purchasers. I found Adobe wasn't all that helpful or knowledgable. Online users manuals proved more informative.
I am the system maintainer and user (self taught).

Great Program 2007-01-09
I don't know how our household functioned without this handy little program. The older version works just fine, does everything it is supposed to do with ease. Sure, it lacks some of the fancy features of the newer versions, but the price is better.

One caveat: Be sure the item you are buying is a regular license, not a student or "educational" copy. Sellers do not always mention this little detail.

Adobe Acrobat 5.0 2005-10-03
I was familiar with this product before I purchased it. I was leary about purchasing it without the manual or other documentation -- just the CD -- but I took a chance, based on Amazon.com's reputation for standing by their processes.
The product arrived exactly when and as promised and was also authentic and registerable. I am delighted with it. I found this product to be easy to learn and use immediately. It will take some time to learn everything about it, but the "help" options are excellent and also easy to follow. I'm sure this will be a welcome addition to our software family for years to come.

This is the best deal going right now for Acrobat 2004-05-21
By the time I was done reading the reviews for Adobe Acrobat 6.0 I was depressed. Not only do I not have Windows XP, or Windows 2000, or NT installed in my machine (The only operating systems that will work with 6) I also couldn't muster up the confidence in the product after so many people were giving it the thumbs down. I want to create an eBook, and Adobe Reader is the most popular reader out there, with some 400 million, to a half a billion users with it installed. What a dilemma. I kept coming back to read some more. Finally I found the answer. I bought a new Adobe Acrobat 5.0 here at Amazon from one of their vendors, and it works great with my Windows 98SE. I planned on buying the 6.0 upgrade after they got the bugs out, and or I got a new computer with XP. Then I found out that 5.0 was the only version before, and that was the professional version. 6.0 Standard is a geared down version of 5. Ok, so it has some additional features, but it is missing all the rest of the professional features that 5 has.
So what's the skinny on the deal? For what I paid for a new 5 that is the full program, unregistered, and upgradeable, plus what I would have to pay here at Amazon for the 6 Professional Upgrade, I saved 80 bucks, and wound up with both versions 5 and 6 pro. Which as I mentioned are both professional versions. If I bought 5 and upgraded to 6 standard, I would only spend a little more for both versions. (About 4 percent more for standard, and about 20 percent less for professional) That way if 6 standard turned out to be as bad as many were saying it is, I would have 5 also.
In the final analysis, I am using 5 and am super excited about the new capabilities that Adobe Acrobat gives you. I'm hoping that by the time I get a new machine with XP on it, Adobe will come out with 6.something, or a second edition of 6 etc. with the fixes built in.
I'm not the only one to come to this conclusion. I noticed in the sales rank at the time I bought it and wrote this review, that 5 was outselling 6. Also I noticed that in the "Those who bought 5 also bought this" section, it had a special note that said, 47% of the people who bought 5 also bought the 6 upgrade. If your running XP, 2000, or NT, get them both. That way all the bases are covered.
Check out the reviews on 5 you'll be surprised how everybody raves about it. To be perfectly honest with you, if I had an XP machine, I would have ordered the 6 upgrade at the same time. Hope this helps.