PDF is the preferable file format used by companies and individuals alike to share files. When downloading documents online, chances are high that the documents will come in PDF format. The format offers several advantages over other file formats including preservation of graphics integrity, document security, and support for a wide range of content including text and images.

One of the most widely used PDF readers is Adobe Acrobat Reader. It allows users to view, print, annotate and perform advanced editing in PDF documents. Adobe Acrobat Reader is available in both Free and Premium editions. The premium edition is packed with additional features for digital signing, file conversion, editing, scanning among others.

Here at Ibmi Media, as part of our Server Management Services, we regularly help our Customers to perform related Open Source Software Installation queries on Ubuntu Linux System.

In this context, we shall look into the installation of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Steps to Install Adobe Acrobat Reader in Ubuntu

1. Update your system

To begin, ensure that your system packages are updated to their latest versions. To do this, Update the package lists for Ubuntu 20.04 with the below command:

$ sudo apt update

2. Add the i386 Architecture

Being an older version, Adobe Acrobat reader requires several i386 packages that will not install by default on Ubuntu 20.04. You need to enable the 32-bit architecture on your Ubuntu system with the below command:

$ sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

3. Install software dependencies for Adobe Reader

You require several additional packages to run Adobe Acrobat reader on Ubuntu 20.04. To install the required dependencies run the command:

$ sudo apt install libxml2:i386 libcanberra-gtk-module:i386 gtk2-engines-murrine:i386 libatk-adaptor:i386

4. Get Adobe Acrobat Reader binary package

With the dependencies installed, the next course of action is to download the latest Debian binary package for Acrobat reader. Currently, the latest version is version 9.5.5:

$ wget -O ~/adobe.deb ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/unix/9.x/9.5.5/enu/AdbeRdr9.5.5-1_i386linux_enu.deb

5. Install adobe acrobat Reader

Now that you have successfully downloaded adobe acrobat reader install by executing the command it as shown below:

$ sudo dpkg -i /AdbeRdr9.5.5-1_i386linux_enu.deb

6. Launch Adobe Acrobat Reader

Finally, go to the activities menu and search for Adobe Acrobat Reader. Simply click on the icon.

Alternatively, you can launch Adobe Acrobat Reader from the command line:

$ acroread

How to Uninstall Adobe reader from Ubuntu Linux System ?

In case you want to remove it from your Linux system then simply use the apt remove command.

$ sudo apt remove adobereader-enu

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