Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool
The Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool removes a standalone installation of Reader or Acrobat, including any preferences and settings that may be preserved during a standard program uninstall. The tool has both a user interface as well as a command line interface.
| Version | Preview 1 |
|---|---|
| Date | Apr 6, 2012 |
While most installs, uninstalls, updates, and repair operations happen without incident, there are cases where a user may not be able to complete such tasks due to some registry or file conflict on the machine. This is particularly problematic when permissions set on registry entries or files prevent the successful installation of new installs and/or updates. The Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool is designed to fix such issues by cleaning up corrupted installations, including removing or fixing corrupted files, removing or changing permissions registry entries, etc. The tool provides options for removing problematic Acrobat items only while leaving Reader untouched and vice versa.
Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool
This download provides the Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool for Windows.
IMPORTANT: THIS TOOL IS NOT FOR USE WITH ANY CREATIVE SUITE PRODUCTS INCLUDING SUITES THAT CONTAIN ACROBAT. IT CAN ONLY BE USED WITH STANDALONE VERSIONS OF ACROBAT AND ADOBE READER.
English
Download Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool for WindowsUser Instructions
Follow either the User Interface Workflow or the Command Line Usage instructions below to use the Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool. Once you are done, please send us your comments and let us know about your experience.
User Interface Workflow
- Do not proceed if you installed Acrobat or Reader as part of Creative Suite. This tool can only be used with standalone versions of Acrobat and Reader.
- Double click the AdbeArCleaner.exe file.
- Verify you want to continue, and choose Next.
- Accept the EULA and choose Next.
- Choose the standalone product to clean and choose Next.
- If the product to be cleaned is installed on the machine, tool directly proceeds to cleanup.
- If the product is not found, then Acrobat/Reader is cleaned from default installation location at ProgramFilesFolder\Adobe\Acrobat *.* folder. The user is also given an option to select and add any other additional installation.
- If more than one product is detected, choose which product to remove and whether or not to remove any files that may be shared between Adobe Reader and Acrobat.
- Choose Clean Now. Cleanup begins.
- When finished, restart the machine.
Command Line Usage
- Do not proceed if you installed Acrobat or Reader as part of Creative Suite. This tool can only be used with standalone versions of Acrobat and Reader.
- Open a command prompt.
- Run tool with the desired command line parameters as follows:
AdbeArCleaner.exe /silent /product=<ProductId>
/installpath=<InstallPath> /cleanlevel=<CleanLevel>
/scanforothers=<ScanForOthers>
ProductId Identifies the product:
0 = Acrobat (Default)
1 = ReaderInstallPath Specifies the product installation path. Default = the product’s default location; e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 10.0. You must use this parameter when using ScanForOthers = 0. CleanLevel Specifies the level of cleanup; i.e. shared components should be cleaned or not:
0 (Default) = clean only components for the selected product.
1 = clean components for the selected product as well as shared components.ScanForOthers Specifies whether to search for and delete only the installation directory identified by InstallPath or all directories on the machine:
0 = Search for and delete only directories found on the path specified by the InstallPath parameter.
1 (Default) = Search for and delete installation directories system wide. This search includes non-default paths as well as default paths such as C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 10.0./? Invokes the tool’s Help; for example: AdbeArCleaner.exe /?
Frequently Asked Questions
- What products and versions work with the cleaner tool?
- The tool supports both Acrobat and Reader versions 9 and 10.
- Does running the tool write to a log?
- During execution, a log file is created at:
- Windows 7: C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\Temp\RaftLogs\AdbeArCleaner.log
- Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Local Settings\Temp\RaftLogs\AdbeArCleaner.log
- What are the system requirements?
- The tool can be used on any system that is supported by product versions 9.x and 10.x.
- When should the tool be used?
- The tool should only be used when a regular uninstalls fails or when an install fails on a machine where an earlier version of the product was installed.
- How do I uninstall the tool?
- To uninstall the tool, just delete it.
- How do I provide feedback?
- An online form is available for submitting comments.
Known Issues
- If you have both Acrobat and Reader installed, removing the product that is the default PDF viewer can result in the other product failing to become the new default PDF viewer. When this problem occurs, run Repair on the remaining product and reboot the machine to make the remaining product the default PDF handler.
- For Acrobat Pro Extended 9.x, the tool leaves the Acrobat entry in Add Remove Programs. To manually remove this entry, run an uninstallation from the ARP entry or manually remove the following registry entries:
- 32 Bit OS: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Product-Code>
- 64 Bit OS: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Product-Code>
- The product code is language specific. For example, for EFG it would be {AC76BA86-1033-F400-7761-000000000004}
- The Cleaner Tool removes the Reader 9.x or Acrobat 9.x installation even if the user chooses Cancel at the Files in Use dialog during uninstallation. The File in Use dialog appears when you try to uninstall a product that is already running.
Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool
You must check the box above to indicate your agreement to the agreements listed above to activate the download link.
