In Summer 2020, the process of accessing and using Adobe products at Drexel changed. This affects:

• Any Faculty and Staff using Adobe Acrobat Pro
• Any Faculty and Staff using Adobe Creative Cloud purchased internally through the University

These changes were required due to Adobe's Licensing model which no longer provides a site license for all computers.

Summary of the Changes

• Adobe Acrobat Pro/DC will no longer be installed by default on all computers. Instead, Adobe Reader will be installed on PCs, and Faculty & Staff who require Acrobat DC (replacement for Acrobat Pro) for their job duties will need to install it using Software Center or Self Service for MacOS. More information on the installation is below.
• Access to Adobe Acrobat Pro will require authentication and authorization. All Active Faculty & Staff will have access via Drexel Connect to log into the Adobe products they are entitled to. Non-Employee Associates and Students are not currently eligible for Acrobat DC, but Drexel IT is looking into how to provide opt-in access at a later date (for a licensing fee).
• Those who use Creative Cloud products (i.e. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) or took advantage of Adobe's free COVID-19 licensing of Creative Cloud (ended July 6, 2020) had their accounts migrated from Adobe IDs to Drexel Connect back on November 25, 2020. Users that were affected received a communication from Drexel IT and/or Westphal IT.

Differences between Free vs DC

Before installing Acrobat DC, we encourage you to take a look at the comparison table below to note the feature differences between Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Acrobat DC.

If after reviewing the comparison table, you believe Acrobat DC is required, follow these instructions appropriate to your computer's Operating System.

Installation & Post-Installation

Where to Get the Installer 

For Drexel-Owned PCs, use Software Center.

For Drexel-Owned Macs, use Self Service for MacOS.

If you do not see the installer available to you in Software Center or Self Service for MacOS, please reach out to the Help Desk and include your Computer Name.

For all installs, please note that the installation comes with the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop application. Acrobat DC is part of Adobe Creative Cloud, so this tool is required in order for the application to function and update properly. Before installing, please close down all open applications, including Microsoft Office applications.

For personally-owned devices or casual users of Adobe DC, you can visit documentcloud.adobe.com and follow the steps under "Signing In to Adobe" below. The web version may have all the functionality required without needing to download the actual application to your computer. However, you must meet the eligibility requirements for Acrobat DC in order to use this web service.

Signing In to Adobe

After the install has completed, attempt to launch either the Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop applications. You will then be prompted to sign in on the Adobe screen by entering your email address. In the email address field, use your primary email address (usually in abc123@drexel.edu format), and click Continue. You will then be re-directed to Drexel Connect to complete the authentication process. If prompted to choose between a Personal Account or a Company/School Account, choose Company/School Account.

Questions? Need Additional Support?

The Drexel IT Help Desk or your local IT Support can assist you with this process.