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The Adobe Acrobat is a sophisticated software that specifically supports the PDF or Portable Document Format files, which is also created by the Adobe Systems. Within the Adobe Acrobat Family, there are two other distinct types of programs, the Adobe Acrobat Reader, and the commercial Acrobat programs.

The Adobe Acrobat Reader, better known as Adobe Reader, is a free software. A person may download it from the official website of Adobe without paying any fee. This free software will enable anyone to view, read and print the PDF files.

The commercial Acrobat programs, on the other hand, can be obtained for a certain reasonable fee. There are several of these commercial programs, depending on the Acrobat version. And since these are paid, the commercial Acrobat programs can do more than the Adobe Reader.

These paid Acrobat programs will enable a person to edit and add features to the PDF files. There are also additional modules, such as the printer driver, so that the Acrobat user can produce his own PDF files using either Macintosh or Microsoft Windows.

The type of service provided by the Adobe Acrobat, however, is not unique. This is why the software is facing several competitions. Some of them are the following: “AnyView” created by Binar Graphics, “Common Ground” created by No Hands Software, “Envoy” created by WordPerfect Corporation, “Folio” created by NextPage, and “Microsoft Reader” created by Microsoft. There are also other programs that can be used to produce and edit PDF documents. These are “Ghostscript” and “Nitro PDF”.

Despite the competition, the Adobe Acrobat continuously revolutionizes itself. And this is why, today, there are seven versions. Here are the major and unique features of each version.

Version 1

• The Acrobat Reader 1.0 was created for DOS, Macintosh and Windows 3.1. This was originally a commercial program but later became free due to the IRS, which purchased the right to distribute it.
• The Acrobat Exchange 1.0 is accompanied with a PDFWriter printer driver and an Acrobat Exchange application

Version 2

• The Acrobat Reader 2.0 released for both Macintosh and Windows can be obtained for free
• Another program, called Acrobat Professional 2.0, incorporates the Acrobat Exchange and a Distiller
• A whole new program, the Acrobat Catalog, can create indexes of PDF files. These indexes can be searched using a higher version of Acrobat Reader, which is not free

Version 3

• The Acrobat Reader 3.0 was the earliest program that has the ability to show PDF files in-browser. This software can also support form filling
• There is a free version of the Reader that can be used to search PDF files
• The Acrobat 3.0 superseded the Acrobat Professional of version 2.

Version 4

• This version includes the Acrobat Reader 4.0 and the Acrobat 4.0
• A newer version of Distiller, the Distiller Server 4.0, is now licensed for several users, such as Windows, Linux, and Solaris
• The Acrobat Business Tools 4.0 was produced, which is similar to the Acrobat 4.0 but with lesser features.

Version 5

• This version includes the Acrobat Reader 5.0, but the PDFWriter for Macintosh was taken out. It also includes the Acrobat Reader 7.0 for Windows XP
• The Acrobat Approval 5.0 is similar to the Acrobat Reader 5.0, but with lesser features again. This particular software caters to clients who wanted to sign digitally or save the fill-in forms

Version 6

• The Acrobat Professional 6.0 took over the Acrobat 5.0. This software has new features. Its Distiller was now called Adobe PDF and the Catalog is a new version which is incompatible with the earlier ones.
• The limited version of the Acrobat Professional is called the Acrobat Standard 6.0. But this limited version is still accompanied with a Distiller
• A unique program, Acrobat Elements 6.0, was designed to create PDF files only. This program aimed to cater to the corporate market

Version 7

• The usual programs of Adobe Reader 7.0, Acrobat standard 7.0, and Acrobat Elements 7.0, are included in this version
• The Acrobat Professional 7.0 was enhanced and now comes with an Adobe LiveCycle Designer. This version also has the capability to take three-dimensional objects from a u3d (or Universal 3D) format. This version is also the first software that requires “product activation”
• The Adobe Acrobat 3D has the ability to change CAD documents to PDF files.
• Integrated with the Acrobat program are plug-ins that will be utilized for other functions

The Adobe Acrobat has come a long way, from a relatively simple software that supports its own documents to a sophisticated program with many seemingly unrelated functions.