Upgrading Adobe Acrobat From 2017/2020 to Current Acrobat Pro Version

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This article guides Staff and Faculty (with or without an IT technician) through migrating a Dartmouth-managed Windows machine from Adobe Acrobat 2017 or 2020 (perpetual license) to Acrobat Pro via the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app. Following these steps in order is critical to avoiding licensing errors and broken installations.

Before You Begin

Complete all prep steps.

Step 1: Uninstall the Existing Version

Do not skip this step. Installing Acrobat Pro over an existing perpetual license version (2017 or 2020) is the leading cause of licensing errors and broken installs on Windows.

Uninstall Adobe Acrobat

  1. Open Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features
  2. Locate Adobe Acrobat 2017 or Adobe Acrobat 2020 (whichever is installed)
  3. Right-click and select Uninstall, then follow all prompts to completion
  4. After uninstall, check for and delete any remaining Adobe Acrobat folders:
    1. Open File Explorer > This PC > C: to get to the below locations
      • C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat 20XX\
      • C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 20XX\
  5. Reboot the machine before proceeding to Step 2

Step 2: Install the Creative Cloud Desktop App

Install and Sign In

  1. Run the Creative Cloud installer downloaded during prep
  2. At the sign-in prompt, enter dartmouth.edu (not a full email address) to trigger Dartmouth's SSO
  3. Enter NetID credentials and complete Duo authentication if prompted
  4. If prompted to choose between two Adobe accounts, select Company or School Account (Federated)

Step 3: Install Acrobat Pro via Creative Cloud

Install from the Creative Cloud App

  1. Once signed into Creative Cloud, go to Apps in the left navigation
  2. Locate Adobe Acrobat Pro under "Available in your plan"
  3. Click Install and wait for the installation to complete
  4. Launch Acrobat Pro and confirm it opens without a licensing error

Step 4: Post-Install Checks

Verify the following before closing out the ticket:

  • Acrobat Pro launches successfully
  • No "you do not have a license" error appears
  •  You can open, edit, and save a PDF
  • Optional: Change default save location to local via File Handling > Default File Location: On your computer

Common Issues and Fixes

Issue Likely Cause Fix

"You do not have a license" error

 SSO not used at login Sign out, relaunch Creative Cloud, sign in using dartmouth.edu only

Two account prompt appears

 Personal Adobe ID exists on same email   Select Company or School Account (Federated)

Acrobat still behaves like the old version  

 Old version not fully removed Re-run uninstall, delete residual folders, reboot, then reinstall

NO_SIGN_USER error in Acrobat

 User attempted to access Adobe Sign Expected behavior -- Adobe Sign is not included in Dartmouth's license

Sign in prompt every time
Acrobat Pro/Creative Cloud is opened

 Known issue with Adobe Let us know at help@dartmouth.edu
This will help provide us more instances to report to Adobe for resolution

Creative Cloud shows no apps available

 License not yet provisioned Contact ITC to confirm license assignment

Notes

  • Adobe Sign / Request Signatures is not available under Dartmouth's current license. Users will see a NO_SIGN_USER error if they attempt to use it. PDFs can still be sent for signature via email as a workaround.
  • Adobe Firefly AI image generation is limited to standard models only (Firefly Image 3/4). Premium models and video generation are not available under the education license.
  • Users who leave Dartmouth have approximately 90 days post-separation to download any assets stored in Adobe Creative Cloud Storage.

External Resources

See Related Articles to the right for more information.

Details

Details

Article ID: 170856
Created
Wed 3/11/26 4:45 PM
Modified
Mon 3/16/26 7:15 AM