Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Beware if you are upgrading from Version 3
Acrobat is an indispensible but overpriced utility. With the ubiquity of the PDF format, all applications really need to start having "Save as PDF" as a built-in function. Until then, we need Acrobat to save files in a shareable format. I foolishly believed the packaging that states this is an upgrade from version "4.0 and earlier." Don't believe it! I had a full legal version of 3.01, and the 5.0 installer refused to recognize it. Adobe tech support refused to give me a 6 digit key code until I faxed them proof of purchase for both versions 3 and 5! Once they received the fax, they then refused to provide the key code unless I was physically at my PC at home. I wasted a whole week fooling around with Adobe, and their only excuse was "this is company policy." Well, it is not my policy to support companies that treat their customers like suspected criminals... Acrobat is an essential utility and performs as it should, so it is great for that. But its price for what it is mainly used for, it's deceitful packaging, and its terrible customer relations bring it down to a mere 3 on a scale of 1 to 5.
Rating:  - WOW! Convert a Website to PDF! &YES You Can Upgrade from 3.0
I called Adobe (as I was trying to upgrade from 3.0) to verify the allegations of the two previous reviewers and customer service said that Yes you can upgrade from 3.0, but you must call them to have them walk you through the process. Adobe has always been great in the past about upgrades (I mean what other company will sell you a cross platform upgrade for just about every product they make for the same price as the standard upgrade)? Version 5.0 has some slick new features including an enhanced WebCapture feature with the ability to download a web page or an entire site and convert it into a PDF file, retaining all the links. It doesn't retain the Flash or animations. Acrobat now also fully supports transparent objects, allowing further editing in programs such as illustrator. In addition, Acrobat helps the user 'recycle' PDF images, by allowing one to export images to TIFF, JPG, or PNG files. The text part can now be exported to RTF (rich text format). For people that need to prepare documents for the press, Acrobat now uses the ADOBE COLOR ENGINE, the same as that used for Photoshop and Illustrator (for consistency in output). Acrobat 5 also supports intra and internet collaborations, allowing team members to view the document in Web browsers, simultaneously writing notes and striking through and highlighting text. Often touted as 'the best way to share documents online,' the best got even better, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this upgrade.
Rating:  - Absolute Aggravation
I ignored the various warnings by other contributors and bought 5.0 for an upgrade from 4.0. I had wanted (and tried) to load my old 4.0 into my new computer, but gee, what a surprise, macro error messages prevented access to Microsoft Outlook and other M/S programs because (apparently) XP Professional and Adobe Acrobat 4.0 can't quite seem to get along. (Planned incompatibility to force repurchasing?) Hence, I bought the upgrade. It loaded okay once I figured out that the serial number that wanted entered for 5.0 was really my old 4.0 serial number, although they specifically stated to enter the new 5.0 SN (which was rejected). At any rate, I got it loaded. Now, even after trying in vain to adjust preferences to minimize file size, when I create a pdf file from Excel the pdf file is 7.5 times as large as the original Excel file. This negates one of my main reasons for buying the thing in the first place since I want to email smaller pdf files of my Excel reports. I suppose if I were a geek I would chuckle at this problem and make some mystery adjustment somewhere and obtain the desired results. After hours of struggling with this, I tried to contact Adobe. The message stated that all their suppport personnel were in a meeting...Congratulating one another, no doubt, on their fine product. All I want is to be able to send a Word or Excel file as a decent-sized pdf file--which I could easily do with 4.0. I cannot begin to tell you how frustrated I am. I pay for everything, pirate nothing, and get this garbage for my efforts and expense. If you can do without this product, hold your ground. Revised comments added a couple days dater: I did reach a very helpful tech at Adobe who quickly talked me through my problem with wanting smaller pdf files. If you need this info: (1) Select Print, (2) Select Adobe Distiller Document, (3) Select Properties, (4) Select Adobe PDF settings, (5) Select Conversion Settings, and then (6) Select the "Screen" option (assumes you aren't using fancy fonts, etc.) Now why didn't I think of that? Actually, on the 3 different occassions that I did reach techs, my wait proved to be minimal, and they all were helpful. But I still have a grudge against what for me is an over-engineered product that has taken a simple concept and turned it into an expensive and involved effort. If you live and breathe this stuff, then 5.0 will probably satisfy your various whims. But if you are an infrequent user wanting minimal functions, then you'll have to jump through some unwelcomed hoops. With Adobe Acrobat 5.0, one size fits all--and "all" means all those who eat kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes for breakfast, lunch, and supper. Those of us with big fingers and little patience won't be quite as enthused with the product.
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