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matteo
Asked: 2014-06-16 10:04:10 +0800 CST

How do I get Adobe Reader to work in Ubuntu 14.04?

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I downloaded Adobe Reader from here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

By default, it recognizes my system as Linux and lets me download a .bin file which turns out to be an executable installer.

There are no installation instructions at all (shame on Adobe) but it was pretty easy to figure out I had to add execution permissions to the file and run it as root. It installed Adobe Reader under /opt.

Now I have a beautiful Adobe Reader icon on the desktop which does nothing when double clicked. NOTHING (not even an error message).

Also, if I write "Adobe" in the Dash, the same icon shows up, and it still does nothing.

By right-clicking on a pdf file's icon on the Desktop or in Nautilus, there's no "open in Adobe Reader" option either.

Is there a non-broken Adobe Reader available for Ubuntu? Where do I get it?

pdf

4 Answers

  1. As of February 2015, the only solution that worked for me is the following:

    sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ precise partner"
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install acroread

    I found it here: http://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2014/10/install-adobe-reader-ubuntu-14-10/

    I tried all other solutions I had found by googling, and none of them worked for an updated install of Ubuntu 14.04.1.

    To make it work well with Nautilus, run:

    sudo -e /usr/share/applications/acroread.desktop

    then fix the Exec line to Exec=acroread %u. (If the editor is nano, type Ctrl+O, <enter> to save, then Ctrl+X to exit. Finally, nautilus -q to restart.)

    Important: Please test it with a fresh install of Ubuntu 14.04.1, from a newly-created user account, after installing all the updates.

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  2. To install that version of Adobe I would put it in your desktop, go to the terminal, type cd Desktop; sudo chmod +x AdbeRdr9.5.5-1_i486linux_enu.bin; sudo ./AdbeRdr9.5.5-1_i486linux_enu.bin; This should start the installation process and it should finish successfully.

    An easier way to install it via a software manager is:

    sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ $(lsb_release -sc) partner"
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install acroread

    Or you can download the deb file here: Adobe site select linux and choose deb for Ubuntu.

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  3. An alternative, available in Ubuntu Software Center

    qpdfview 0.4.7
qpdfview is a tabbed document viewer using Qt.
This version includes:
PDF support using Poppler
PS support using libspectre
DjVu support using DjVuLibre
Printing support using CUPS
See launchpad.net/qpdfview for more information

    ... now if this works for you might depend a bit on what you throw at it.

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  4. Having trouble using Adobe Reader?

    Why don't you install it using Ubuntu Software Center?

    Installing programs in ubuntu by manually downloading files from internet is no easy feat (at least for beginners like me).

    Ubuntu Software Center is the easiest way to install software in ubuntu.

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