Install and Configure Adobe Reader v9 for Windows
Adobe Reader 9.x is a software product from Adobe Systems which allows people on different computer systems to view a computer file and see the same thing, complete with formatting, fonts, pictures and graphics. Adobe Reader uses the PDF (Portable Document Format) file format.
These steps are written for computers with Windows XP Professional.
Note: As of Oct 13, 2009, the current version of the Adobe Reader software is version 9.2. To see what version of Adobe Reader you have installed, open Adobe Reader. From the Help menu choose About Adobe Reader .... You will see the version number listed in this window. Click the version window to close it.
Which Sections should I follow?
- If you have a version previous to version 9, follow all these steps to download the new version, remove any old versions an install the new version.
- If you have version 9.0.x o 9.1.x, follow the Download Software and the Install Adobe Reader sections below to update the software.
Note: Adobe also sells a "full" version of Adobe Acrobat. If you have a version of this on your machine, you do not need to uninstall it to install the new version of Adobe Reader. The current shipping version of the full version is Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional. If you already have version 9.x.x of this software, see Steps 11 - 16 in the Install Adobe Reader section below to update the software.
Download Software
NOTE: As of Oct 13, 2009, the current version of the free Adobe Reader software is version 9.2.0.
- Click this link to download the version 9.2.0 installer.
AdbeRdr920_en_US.exe
- Click Save.
- Click the Desktop button. Click Save again.
- Once the download completes, if you are asked, click Close.
NOTE: Do not open the 9.2.0 installer yet.
Remove old versions of Adobe Reader
Note: If you are updating from Adobe Reader v8.x or earlier to Adobe Reader 9.2.0, you should follow these steps to remove any old versions before installing the new 9.2.0 version. HOWEVER, if you have Adobe Reader 9.0.x or 9.1.x installed, you can skip directly to the Install Adobe Reader section. The 9.2.0 installer will update in place version 9.0.x or 9.1.x.
NOTE: If your computer has a full version of the Adobe Acrobat software installed (software that allows you to create PDF documents), you should be very careful here. Do not un-install the Full Version of the Adobe ACROBAT software or its updates. Leave this software on the computer.
- Quit Adobe Reader.
- Move any actual PDF documents you want to keep from C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat folder to another folder.
- Click Start and then select Control Panel.
- Double-click the Add or Remove Programs control panel.
- If you have multiple listing for Adobe Reader (example: you have updaters installed), select the highest version listed and click Remove.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to remove it.
- If needed, repeat steps 5 and 6 to remove other Adobe Reader listings.
Example: Scroll down in the control panel and look for "Spelling Dictionaries Support for Adobe Reader x".
- When done, close the Add or Remove Programs control panel.
- Close all running programs. (ex: Word, Outlook, Excel, etc.).
- From the desktop, double-click on the "AdbeRdr920_en_US.exe" file. If asked, click Run.
- If you are asked to select a "Default application for viewing PDF" files, select your preference. Click Next.
- Leave the Destination Folder at the default choice. Click Next.
- Click Install.
- When the process completes, click Finish. If needed, click Exit.
- If needed, restart the machine. Then return to Step 8 below.
- You can now delete the "AdbeRdr920_en_US.exe" installer.
Note: Acrobat.com is a set of online services from Adobe. They include file sharing and storage, PDF converter, online word processor, and web conferencing. You can delete the Acrobat.com shortcut as well.
Note: Please open Adobe Reader to accept the License Agreement. If you don't, PDF's will not be displayed in web pages as expected.
- Double-click the Adobe Reader 9 desktop shortcut to open Adobe Reader; or, click Start, choose All Programs, then select Adobe Reader 9.
- If a License Agreement appears, click Accept.
KEY STEP: You should use the built-in Adobe Updater to apply any extra updates.
- From the Help menu choose Check for Updates.
- If no updates are available, click Close.
If updates were found, they should begin to download. If not, click the Download and Install Updates button. If asked, click Install Now. - The updater will prompt you to close the program before the update can be installed. Click Continue.
Note: The Installation Progress window may be minimized to the lower right of the screen (in the notification tray). To see the Installation Progress window, right click on its white icon and choose Show Progress.
- When the process completes, click Quit.
- The Adobe program will re-open.
- From the Help menu choose Check for Updates. If no updates are available, click Close.
- If not already open, open Adobe Reader 9.
NOTE: These next steps are our recommended setup options. You may make other changes in the Preferences fields as well.
- From the Edit menu choose Preferences.
- In the Categories list, choose Page Display, in the Rendering section, select the Smooth Text option of your choice.
Example: if this is a Laptop or a Desktop LCD screen, select the For Laptops\LCD screens option. - In the Categories list, choose Forms.
- Under Auto-Complete, change the selection from Off to Advanced.
- Place a check in Remember numerical data box.
- In the Categories list, choose Identity.
- Enter your Name and Email Address. Note: You may fill in more if desired.
- In the Categories list, choose Internet.
- From the Connection speed drop-down list, choose LAN.
- Click OK to close Preferences.
- Adobe Reader is configured and ready to use.