When this happens, usually an uninstall, reboot of the computer and reinstall resolves the issue.


Uninstall Adobe Acrobat Pro

  • Go to Control Panel (in windows 10 type Control Panel in the search box and select it from the list of items)
  • Select "Uninstall a program" or "Programs and Features" - this depends on the view for the control panel page
  • Look for and click once on "Adobe Acrobat" in the list of programs, select "uninstall from the top menu"
  • When the program has finished uninstalling, restart your computer
  • Once the computer has restarted, if you are off-campus, login to the VPN
  • Now we have to update Software Center to make Adobe Acrobat Available to reinstall


Updating Software Center

  • On Windows 10: Click Start (windows symbol) – type “Control Panel” in the search box (without the quotes), then click “Control Panel” when it shows in the search results – Click System and Security (if the view is “Category” view) – Configuration Manager
  • Click the “Actions” tab then click Machine Policy Retrieval & Evaluation Cycle
  • Click the “Run Now” button, you will get a message stating “The selected cycle will run and might take several minutes to finish” click OK, then close the windows we opened. Wait for about 1 minute, then go to the Software Center (steps below under “Installing the Software – Accessing Software Center”)


Installing the Software – Accessing Software Center

  • On Windows 10: Click Start (windows symbol) – Search the list of programs for – Microsoft System Center – Software Center
  • Under the Available Software tab (the default screen when you open Software Center), you should see “Adobe Acrobat” listed. Please click in the box to the left of “Adobe Acrobat”, which places a checkmark in the box.
  • Towards the bottom right hand corner of the window, click the “Install Selected” button. This will start the install process. The Status will turn to downloading and once the files are “downloaded”, the status will turn to “installing”. The process will take about 5 - 20 minutes. When it is done, the status will indicate “installed”
  • Please note that the status does not automatically update on Windows 10, you can press the “F5” key at the top your keyboard every once and a while to refresh the actual status of the install
  • If the install fails, first try installing again, and if that fails, please notify us, as something is up and not allowing the installation to take place
  • When complete, the “Adobe Acrobat” icon will appear on the desktop


Adobe Acrobat not showing as a Program to install in Software Center

Sometimes Adobe does not uninstall all it's files from the computer, so the Software Center thinks it is still installed.

  • While in Software Center, click the "Installed Software" tab
  • Check to see if Adobe Acrobat is still listed
  • If it is, click the program to select it, this should turn the "Uninstall" button in the lower right hand corner Blue
  • Click the "Uninstall" Button, wait about 15 seconds
  • Press the "F5" key on the keyboard to refresh the screen, Adobe Acrobat should now be removed from the "Installed Software" screen
  • Go back to the "Available Software" tab, press "F5" to refresh the screen, if Adobe Acrobat does not show up, close Software Center and repeat the "Updating Software Center" step from above


Open Adobe Acrobat and see if you can use the program

  • On Launch, the user will be asked to either "Skip" sign in, or "Sign in".  If you have an Adobe Id you can click on Sign In.  If you do not have an Adobe Id, you can click Sign In and follow prompts to create an ID.  Or you can click Skip and continue launching the program