Acrobat 2020 is the latest perpetual desktop version of Acrobat. It simplifies everyday PDF tasks and includes many productivity enhancements when working with PDFs from your desktop.

Acrobat DC is the latest subscription version of Acrobat. With Acrobat DC, you always have the most recent version of Acrobat software with the newest product innovations and tools for desktop and mobile. It includes all the functionality of Acrobat 2020, plus you never have to purchase upgrades again.

When you subscribe to Acrobat DC enhanced with Document Cloud services, you pay a low monthly fee to get ongoing access to the latest PDF tools across desktop, browser, and mobile devices to help you accomplish more when working with documents in the office or on the go:

• Get a consistent user experience across desktop, browser, and mobile devices.
• Fill and sign forms on the go from your browser or iOS device.
• Create, combine, and export PDFs from your browser or mobile device.
• Send documents for signature from your desktop, browser, or mobile device.
• Send, track, and confirm delivery of documents sent electronically.
• Combine multiple files to PDF, and organize pages from your browser.
• Sync preferences across computers.
• Add or edit text on a tablet or mobile device.
• Reorder, delete, or rotate pages on an iOS or Android device.
• Store and access files securely online with 100GB of storage.

What’s new in Acrobat 2020

New Home view

Acrobat Pro and Standard

The new Home view helps you stay organized and productive – it’s a single place for you to organize, manage, and search for all your PDFs.

• Recent Files list: Displays your recent files opened for viewing from your computer, Document Cloud storage, or third-party storage like OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, and SharePoint.
• Recommended tools: Helps you discover top Acrobat tools like Edit PDF, Create PDF, Combine PDFs, and more.
• Search box: Lets you search all your Document Cloud files and the files sent or received for viewing, reviewing, or signing.
• Context pane: Helps you take actions on files across all Home view with context-sensitive menus, and check the status of participants and history of activities for shared documents.

View MIP-protected PDFs in Acrobat 2020 and Reader 2020

Acrobat Pro and Standard

Now you can use Adobe Acrobat 2020 and Acrobat Reader 2020 Windows and Mac desktop applications to open files protected with MIP (Microsoft Information Protection) solutions including Azure Information Protection (AIP) and Information Protection using Office 365.

Acrobat 2020 and Acrobat Reader 2020 auto-detect a MIP-protected file and prompts you to download the corresponding plug-in from the plug-in download page. Once you download and install the plug-in, the protected files open like any other PDF in Acrobat or Reader.

Color customization capability in the Fill & Sign tool

Acrobat Pro and Standard

You can now choose your desired color to fill the PDF form and sign it using the Fill and Sign tool in Acrobat 2020. To change the color, click the Color button in the Fill & Sign toolbar.

With Acrobat 2020, you can run OCR on a scanned PDF that contains images with live text on them.

1. Open the scanned PDF in Acrobat 2020.
2. Go to Tools > Enhance Scan > Recognizable Text > In This File.
3. Click Settings in the toolbar. The Recognize Text dialog box is displayed.
4. In the Output drop-down list, choose Searchable Image or Searchable Image (exact) and click OK.
5. Click Recognize Text in the toolbar.

Preflight enhancements and PDF/UA validation in preflight

Acrobat Pro only feature

• Preflight Libraries: Preflight Profiles, Fixups, and Checks are now well organized in Libraries.
  For more information, see Preflight Libraries (PDF | 711 KB).
• Preflight Variables: Variables allow you to dynamically adjust Profiles, Checks, and Fixups when they are applied. Variables can be used when editing Profiles, Checks, or Fixups wherever the orange triangle shows up. It is also possible to filter for existing objects using Variables.
• Preflight supports the new Ghent PDF Workgroup Specification 2015: The new GWG specifications are based on PDF/X-4, and support native transparency as well as media neutral RGB workflows.
• PDF/UA validation in Preflight: Preflight now makes it possible to fix common accessibility problems and to validate against the international standard for Universal Accessibility PDF/UA.

Improved Accessibility feature updates and workflows

Acrobat Pro only feature

Improved Accessibility features in Acrobat 2020 make it easier for people with disabilities to use PDF documents and forms, with and without the aid of assistive technology software and devices.

Improved experience with DirectInk

Acrobat Pro and Standard

Improved Pen tool leveraging DirectInk technology allows you to write and draw more smoothly and accurately directly on the document without selecting a tool.

Sign PDF files with DirectInk

Acrobat Pro and Standard

New support for DirectInk in the Signatures Panel of the Certificates app offers a more natural experience and gives you more control of how your signature looks when signing on Windows 10 devices.