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[Release] Adobe Reader 9.1 Corporate/Lite


Guest XhmikosR

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- About the installer size:

I agree with Shark007, we are in 2009 with 1TB hdd at less than 99$ and DSL connection at 10$/month ;)

Most of people don't care about file sizes anymore so it's useless to care about saving 3MB.

For example I don't care if I have to download a file of 10MB or 100MB, it's the same for me (I can wait a few minutes more without problems)

So XhmikosR, there are no needs to worry about that ;)

- About the lite installer:

As I said before, I really appreciate the work behind the repackings and I'm used to use lite versions of official installers (I use iTunes lite, Quicktime and Real alternatives, Nero lite, etc).

They are lighter than original package and work with no issues :D

But this is the main point, "with no issues" :(

If I use iTunes Lite, I'm sure I can do all the tasks I can perform with official iTunes and I can open all kinds of media files the program supports.

If I use Nero Lite, I'm sure I can burn all kinds of disks with no limitations compared to bloated full version.

And so on.

If I find a file that cannot be opened with lite version of a tool (and works fine with full), there's something wrong :(

This is what is happening with Adobe Reader Lite.

I'm a computer specialist and, in my personal experience, Adobe Reader Lite is not reliable enough.

I cannot risk to have a lot of customers calling me back for assistance because they are not able to open a 3D PDF file or fill a particular kind of form.

Lite versions are good and I love them, but we need to keep in mind the main target.

We can remove all extra and unnecessary features / plugins, but that has not to interfere with the ability of program to manage the files it has been created for.

P.S.

I checked several pcs with full Adobe Reader 9.1 installed and I didn't find any process in background when the application is closed :D

The only step I performed was removing the shortcut in startup folder ;)

Edited by provolino
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Hi again, everyone.

I just wanted to give my opinion on a few things that have been mentioned.

Firstly, with regards to the comment made by Shark007 about the availability of large hard disks. While this is true for most modern machines, the issue is really about how much space is to be used and is the use justified. As Shark007 pointed out, saving 3 MB might not be really something to worry about. Its better to spend time eliminating real space hogs. Like the setup folder in Adobe Acrobat Reader's case. Is it really justified to use 100 MB just to save a copy of the decompressed installer files? In my opinion, no. Adobe Acrobat Reader isn't some vital system component (vital being necessary to the booting up of the operating system). If there's a problem, I will simply reinstall it.

So although its noble for XhmikosR to try to reduce as much as possible, sometimes its also about finding the optimal solution.

Having said that, I still do like the idea of someone actually putting in the effort to "cut out the fat", instead of the increasingly prevalent attitude of "let's just put everything on the hard disk, I'm sure the end users won't mind buying more Hard Disks".

As for the second point made by Provolino and facing "no issues", I totally understand where you're coming from. Everyone wants reliability. But reliability is also just another metric for the measurement of how good a piece of software is. Speed, efficiency and many other metrics are also possible to determine the "goodness" of software. In the end though, there's no perfect software. The best we can hope for is one that measures up best against a set of metrics in accordance to our priorities.

So what am I really saying here? As I understand it, Provolino has expressed his opinion that Adobe Reader Lite is not reliable enough. And the reason he gave was very fair indeed. However, for the purposes of this project, we must determine whether the cited example, the functionality for 3D PDFs, is REALLY a priority metric for determining if Adobe Reader Lite is "good" or reliable enough.

I can only speak of my own opinion based on my own experiences and the experiences of others using Adobe Reader software. In my opinion, 3D PDF functionality is so specific and niche, that for me and everyone I have known, that if it were missing from Adobe Reader Lite, it would not be missed. To myself, the ability to see 3D in PDFs is completely unnecessary and I feel it is a wise decision indeed to be removed from the package.

As I mentioned in my previous post, perhaps a solution might be a separate package for 3D PDFs that can be "added on" to the base Adobe Reader Lite installation. I leave this to XhmikosR to decide. However, I would like to reiterate that I completely stand by the current decision by both XhmikosR and Shark007 before him that 3D PDFs are superflous.

Finally, just to point out to Provolino about background processes run by Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 (full versions). I believe the talk of a background process is with regards to "AcroRd32Info.exe".

You can easily see for yourself this behavior using either the Task Manager or the excellent piece of software, "Process Explorer" by Mark Russinovich (offered now under Microsoft's Windows Sysinternals).

Just navigate in Windows Explorer to any folder containing PDFs and click each PDF in turn (not double click). Just by browsing PDFs, this process is launched and consumes resources - RAM and CPU time. Again, it is my opinion that this process is wholly and entirely unnecessary and represents a terrible policy in software development. This policy being of course the sheer arrogance that "my software is so important, I should put in unneeded functionality and not give the end user any option to disable".

That's all I have to say for now. I'd like to clarify that I mean no disrespect to anyone (except perhaps the terribly hubris-filled management at Adobe). I would like to reiterate my support for the decisions made within this project so far by XhmikosR, and before him Shark007. XhmikosR, you have nothing but my complete admiration for putting in so much effort and coming up with so many test versions.

Kudos to you.

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Guest XhmikosR

RogerDB, thank you for your support. :)

Actually, I don't think that there are any more stuff that can be removed, if we want form filling to be fully functional.

It's all a matter of taste. I mean, some people like Foxit Reader or Sumatra PDF. I prefer Adobe Reader, but without some stuff.

Edited by XhmikosR
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I agree with your preference to use Adobe Reader.

I have tried Foxit Reader. And the main reason I'm not using it is because it renders PDFs slightly differently (an in my opinion, a little bit worse).

Its still a good piece of software.

And I'm not expecting much more stuff to be removed. As it it, its looking good. So does it look likely that 9.1.0.26 will be your 'final' release?

Thanks again!

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Hi and thanks to you and shark007 for this great guide. Based on the guide as of Yesterday, 18.03.2009 06:12 PM I made a German version.

Download is here (Rapidshare): http://rapidshare.com/files/211107631/Adbe...E_lite.exe.html

Mirror (MegaUpload): http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NXMGKUOO

Mirror (uploaded.to): http://uploaded.to/?id=v00sax

Mirror (FileFactory): http://www.filefactory.com/file/af6g8hb/n/..._de_DE_lite_exe

In my humble opinion this version works even better than sereby's effort at creating a (lite) German version, but obviously is a bit bigger because of more plugins.. :sneaky:

Oh, and as this is my first post here: I don't guarantee, that this version works for you or anyone else. If you don't take precaution, you might suffer diarrhea, hair loss, loss of girlfriend or loss of sanity.. at least, my virus scanner didn't detect anything :angel

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Finally, just to point out to Provolino about background processes run by Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 (full versions). I believe the talk of a background process is with regards to "AcroRd32Info.exe".

You can easily see for yourself this behavior using either the Task Manager or the excellent piece of software, "Process Explorer" by Mark Russinovich (offered now under Microsoft's Windows Sysinternals).

Just navigate in Windows Explorer to any folder containing PDFs and click each PDF in turn (not double click). Just by browsing PDFs, this process is launched and consumes resources - RAM and CPU time. Again, it is my opinion that this process is wholly and entirely unnecessary and represents a terrible policy in software development. This policy being of course the sheer arrogance that "my software is so important, I should put in unneeded functionality and not give the end user any option to disable".

Thanks RogerDB for the hints.

I performed some tests with "process explorer" and "Adobe Reader 9.1 full" and I found AcroRd32Info.exe is loaded just when you go in the "PDF" tab under the properties of pdf files.

When you close the file, AcroRd32Info is unloaded correctly.

IMHO, this is normal behaviour and I have no problems accepting it.

I really don't like processes that stay in memory when you are not using them, but if a process is loaded only when I use it, I don't see anything wrong ;)

I can only speak of my own opinion based on my own experiences and the experiences of others using Adobe Reader software. In my opinion, 3D PDF functionality is so specific and niche, that for me and everyone I have known, that if it were missing from Adobe Reader Lite, it would not be missed. To myself, the ability to see 3D in PDFs is completely unnecessary and I feel it is a wise decision indeed to be removed from the package.

As I mentioned in my previous post, perhaps a solution might be a separate package for 3D PDFs that can be "added on" to the base Adobe Reader Lite installation. I leave this to XhmikosR to decide. However, I would like to reiterate that I completely stand by the current decision by both XhmikosR and Shark007 before him that 3D PDFs are superflous.

3D PDF files are just an example.

There are also other files with problems (like the forms reported by cybpsych in previous post).

The problem is not the single file, but the reliability.

We cannot be sure there are no other particular files with problems (just because we need to wait someone reports them) and this is, for me, a more than valid reason to not install lite version of Adobe Reader :(

I really prefer to sacrifice the lightness of a program if I have in exchange the sureness it will not give me issues opening all files I can find surfing the web.

That doesn't mean I don't appreciate the work under its creation, it's just a different point of view ;)

Edited by puntoMX
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The suggestion for a "Corporate Version" sounds like a splendid one.

In my opinion, software development begins to suffer once it loses focus. Once there is a trend to try to add more functions to satisfy "everyone", development starts down the road of bloatware.

I think, as it is, the "Lite" version package is excellent in terms of what it aims to do - to cut out the bloatware of the original Adobe Acrobat Reader, while still maintaining excellent capabilities that are useful to most end users. Its my sincere hope that the spirit of the "Lite" version stay true to this singular purpose.

I also have to wonder if creating another version for corporate deployment is the best use of XhmikosR's time. This is in light of the fact that Adobe already provides a tool for IT professionals to customize the full version for corporate deployment, the Adobe Customization Wizard 9 that can be found here: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3993

There are just so many considerations from enterprise to enterprise with regards to policies. I can list just a few variations:

- Are internet updates allowed?

- Does the enterprise allow participation in the Adobe product improvement program?

- Does the enterprise allow access to Acrobat.com for PDF uploads, etc.?

- For security reasons, are PDFs allowed to be viewed in the browser?

And many more permutations.

Its likely that these customizations are better provided for by each enterprise IT department.

In summary, the "Lite" version serves excellently end-users that do not share such enterprise level needs.

Thanks.

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Guest XhmikosR

I like the idea of a corporate version. Give me some time, and I think almost everyone would be happy. :)

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Guest XhmikosR

Yes, this is how I've been thinking to do it. I'll post here, when I finish the corporate version.

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Guest XhmikosR

I don't want to open a new topic, since I don't know in which subforum I should post and it's relevant to AR Lite.

Anyway, I've created a batch file to call Resource Hacker and automate the SFX exe creation, but I'm not able to change the version info via the script. I saved a version info as .rc file, from an exe I've created, but it doesn't work with the script. I'm getting an error like invalid resource file, or I don't get any errors but the version info is not added.

[FILENAMES]
Exe=ARtemp_Lite.exe
SaveAs=AdbeRdr_Lite-NEW.exe

[COMMANDS]
-delete ICONGROUP,101,0
-delete VERSIONINFO,1,0
-add ar9installer.ico, ICONGROUP,101,0
-add 1.rc, VERSIONINFO,1,0

I renamed the extension to .res but again it doesn't work. I would really appreciate it, if someone has any solution for this.:)

EDIT:

Released v.01 of Adobe Reader Corporate. I haven't removed any features or plugins of AR, only some unneeded stuff, which have no impact on the features of AR, and did some tweaks. I want to hear other people's opinion.:)

Edited by XhmikosR
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Guest XhmikosR

The tutorial is not fully up-to-date regarding languages other than English. I'll update it tomorrow. Nevertheless, glad to see someone else is willing to create the Lite version of the other languages. :)

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