Troubleshooting and Support

Logging

There are two primary logs: one for the installer application and one for the Updater which is responsible for detecting and downloading updates as well as invoking the installer.

Install log

Apple’s Installer.app creates an install log that should contain all basic success and failure details. The file is located at /private/var/log/install.log created by Apple’s Installer.app.

By default, the installer logs only necessary information in installer log. However, it is possible to configure the log to provide debug output for 10.x and later products.

To set this preference, do the following:

1. Go to Users/<user name>/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat/(version), or create it if it doesn’t exist.

2. Open com.adobe.acrobat.InstallerOverrides.plist, or create it if it doesn’t exist.

3. Create following key-value pair: AcroPatchLogLevel:debug

debug logging

<key>AcroPatchLogLevel</key>
<value>debug</value>

4. Save and close the file.

Updater log

The Updater creates a log at Users/<user name>/Library/Logs/Adobe/{application name} Updater.log. By default, it provides non-verbose output. To change the default:

1. Go to Users/<user name>/Library/Preferences.

2. Open to com.adobe.ARM.plist.

Note

Create the file if it does not exist. The file will not exist unless the Updater has run at least once.

3. Create a new key if it does not exist: LogLevel.

4. Set LogLevel:

   • Brief: -int 0

   • Verbose: -int 1

5. Save and close the file.

The log size limit is as follows: If an existing log is bigger than 1 MB, the Updater truncates the log. Old log files are backed up once as Adobe Acrobat/Reader Updater-old.log and overwrites any existing old.log.

The following sample should be modified to suit your environment.

Log collector tool

Use the log collector utility to access all the log files.

List of log files

Log files

Log File	Purpose	Path
acroNGLLog.txt	next generation licensing (2019)	~/Library/Logs
NGLClient_defaults.log	next generation licensing (2019)	~/Library/Logs
NGLClient_AcrobatDC112.0.log	next generation licensing (2019)	~/Library/Logs
amt3.log (old location)	licensing	/tmp
amt3.log (new location)	licensing	~/Library/Logs
PDApp.log	licensing	/Users/<User_name>/Library/Logs
oobelib.log	AAMEE and serial number	/tmp
oobelib.log (location updated)		~/Library/Logs
swtag.log		/tmp
Installer Logs		/private/var/log/install.log
Updater Logs		~/Library/Logs/Adobe/Acrobat Updater DC.log and Acrobat Updater Helper DC.log
LBS.log		~/Library/Logs/AdobeDownload/
DLM.log		~/Library/Logs/AdobeDownload/
DLM_Native.log		~/Library/Logs/AdobeDownload/
ACC.log		~/Library/Logs/
CoreSync.log		~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CoreSync/
CERServiceManager_native.log		~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEPServiceManager4/logs/
NELog.log		~/Library/Logs/
Vulcan.log		~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEPServiceManager4/logs/
AdobeIPCBroker.log		~/Library/Logs/

FAQs

Where can I get Acrobat installers?

If you no longer have the Acrobat installation media, you can download replacement installers from the Licensing Web Site (LWS). If you don’t have access, get recent and legacy versions from the Download Page.

Can I downgrade my product or install an older Acrobat version?

Yes. In enterprise environments that require a legacy product version, contact Support for details about buying a current volume license for discontinued products.

I deployed in my enterprise, and end users are still be asked to sign in. Why?

When a product is licensed correctly, end users should not need to sign in. There are several ways to license/activate Acrobat:

• Use the Wizard to grant an offline activation exception and disable registration.

• For imaged deployments, use APTEE.

• Follow the supported licensing methods.

Can I mix and match installs with serial numbers and named users?

Yes. On both Macintosh and Windows.

Where can I get legacy product installers for Acrobat?

See https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/acrobat-downloads.html

Why don’t my plist preferences take effect?

After you’ve modified setting in a plist, restart the machine or run killall cfprefsd.

Are there conflicting processes during installs?

Installs should take place on machines where there are no instances of an Acrobat product or plugin running.

Why does my serial number not validate?

If validation occurs through an authenticating proxy, the Adobe Provisioning Tool may fail to validate a serial number.

Contacting support

If you need to contact Adobe Technical Support, please prepare answers to the following questions:

• Server software:

  • Operating system:

  • Service Packs:

  • Are the system requirements met?

• Client software:

  • Operating system:

  • Service Packs:

  • Adobe product

  • Are the system requirements met?

• Problem details:

  • Type of problem:

  • Error message (if any):

  • Logged on as administrator or user?

  • Problem persists as administrator?

  • Can you reproduce the problem when you test the problem on the server?

Deployment details

If you are having deployment problems, also record the following:

• Base version

• Any patching/chaining?

• Using the Wizard?

• Installing over other products?

• Did you attempt to install any third-party scripts or application programming interfaces (APIs) with Acrobat during deployment? If so, does the problem reside with these elements? (To find out, create a test package containing only Acrobat.)

• How did you create the package?