Adobe Acrobat Reader got you down?

Wed, Mar 14, 2007

EDIT: 7/12/07: This apparently breaks Acrobat Reader 8.1 - even removing the accessibility plugin causes Acrobat Reader to complain about an ‘invalid plugin’, then exit out. I put the plugin back in, and 8.1 does not seem to exhibit the same symptoms that 8.0 did (i.e.: no “please wait while the document is being prepared” crap). I’m going to play around a bit, but it seems Adobe fixed this in Reader 8.1

- Cavtroop

I installed Acrobat Reader 8.0, and every single time I open a document, I was presented with a “please wait while the document is being prepared” message, that would sometimes stay for minutes as it indexed the entire document. This presented issues with both usability, and when giving presentations.

To remove this ‘feature’, simply navigate to your %Program Files%\Adobe\Reader 8.0\reader\plug_ins folder, and rename (delete, copy elsewhere) the ‘accessability.api’ file. The same file exists, but in slightly different locations, in older version of Acrobat Reader.

Poof! No more annoying messages preventing you from actually reading the file. Keep in mind, the ‘reader’ functionality will no longer work, but who uses that anyways? Next time you open a file, Acrobat will complain that this version doesn’t have ‘reader’ functionality built in. Check the box, and click OK, and that’s the last you will hear from them on that!

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This post was written by:

cavtroop - who has written 56 posts on ArsGeek.

Cavtroop is a Senior Editor for Arsgeek.com He works for a fairly large software company that you've all heard of, managing networks, systems, and seemingly lots of cranky people. His role at Arsgeek is to be an advocate for change, a catalyst for socioeconomic...nah, too lofty. He's more interesting in chipping in with (not so) relevant news and insights into things that interest him - role playing games, computers, technology, etc.

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9 Comments For This Post

Bill Weaver Says:
May 29th, 2007 at 1:31 pm

Thank you! This works perfectly and makes life just a little more bearable.

Jack Alexander Says:
May 30th, 2007 at 6:48 am

Why not use foxit reader, small, free, and fast. Print to pdf? Use dopdf5, same as the former. Adobe has the bloat, why waste the space?

Henry Says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:01 am

I couldn’t get Acrobat to load after trying this tip. Here is an alternative method:

1. Select Document - Accessibility Setup Assistant….
2. Select “Set all accesibility options”, click Next three times,
3. Select “Only read the currently visible pages”, click Next, and then Done.

cavtroop Says:
July 12th, 2007 at 10:38 am

Henry -

Thanks for the tip - see my edit above, this seems to break Reader 8.1, but I don’t have the same problem with 8.1 that I did with 8.0

THanks!

Alan Says:
November 4th, 2007 at 6:30 am

For creating PDF docs PDF 995 is much faster, free with ad or cheap with no ads. Either way, no footnote ad, so cool. Just use Adobe for more advanced features. Ah, just realised this thread is for Reader, not Full, but useful info anyhow.

Larry Says:
November 29th, 2007 at 12:31 pm

This works for Acrobat 8.0 Pro as well. When renaming the file, you must remove the .api file extension; just changing the filename and leaving the .api does not disable the ‘feature’

Frank Says:
January 29th, 2008 at 4:38 am

You might also try this:

Go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\7.0\Accessibility
and change iReadingMode form 2 to 1. Worked for me with version 8.1.1.

vsync Says:
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:06 am

Where did the bookmarks panel go in v8? Not a useful tool.

Mr. Joe Says:
April 6th, 2009 at 2:04 pm

http://www.example.com

10 Trackbacks For This Post

Speed up Adobe Reader 8.0 - lifehack.org Says:
March 15th, 2007 at 3:34 pm

[...] Adobe Acrobat Reader got you down? - [Arsgeek] digg_url = ‘http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/speed-up-adobe-reader-80.html’; digg_bgcolor = “#”; ( function() { var ds=typeof digg_skin==’string’?digg_skin:”; var h=80; var w=52; if(ds==’compact’) { h=18; w=120; } var u=typeof digg_url==’string’?digg_url:(typeof DIGG_URL==’string’?DIGG_URL:window.location.href); document.write(”"); } )() Author: Kyle Pott Posted: Thursday, March 15th, 2007 at 3:36 pm Tags: adobe, hack, pdf, technology Bookmark/Share This! Leave a Reply [...]

Speed Up Adobe Acrobat Reader by Deleting One File Says:
March 18th, 2007 at 9:59 pm

[...] weblog ArsGeek offers the following tip to speed up Adobe Acrobat reader: ” … simply navigate to your %Program Files%AdobeReader 8.0readerplug_ins folder, [...]

Remove "Please wait while the document is being prepared for reading" Message in Adobe Reader 8 :: the How-To Geek Says:
March 20th, 2007 at 2:06 pm

[...] for this tip goes to ArsGeek, which is a great site for some really geeky content. He’s had some great Ubuntu articles [...]

Watching The Net Says:
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:23 am

Eliminate Adobe Reader 8 "please wait while the document is being prepared" Message

Finally, a fix for this annoying Adobe Acrobat 8 message when opening PDF's which is displayed during the Content Preparation Progress window. Depending on the size of the PDF you are trying to open, the delay is frustrating.
Eliminate the messag…

neÅ¾inau.lt » Perliukai #250 Says:
May 27th, 2007 at 9:00 am

[...] Reader) programa PDF failÅ³ perÅ¾iÅ«rai (nors yra ir spartesniÅ³ alternatyvÅ³), galite Å¾ymiai paspartinti jos krovimÄ… iÅ¡trynÄ™ iÅ¡ Plug_ins aplanko skaitymo balsu priedÄ… accessibility.api. [...]

Speed Up Acrobat Reader, A Lot Says:
May 29th, 2007 at 9:40 pm

[...] ArsGeek: Adobe Acrobat Reader got you down? [...]

What I Learned Today » Blog Archive » Speed up Adobe Reader Says:
August 14th, 2007 at 12:21 am

[...] LifeHacker, I came across this great Adobe Reader tip to reduce the lethargy with which it starts up: To remove this ‘feature’, simply navigate to [...]

Speed Up Adobe Reader 8.0 Says:
September 28th, 2007 at 1:38 pm

[...] ArsGeek has a simple tip for significantly speeding up Adobe Reader 8.0. [...]

131 Applicazione per Email - InstantMessaging - Word - Exel e Altro | INFORMATICANET Says:
October 18th, 2007 at 8:57 am

[...] Adobe Reader 8 Optimization: Get Adobe Reader 8 to boot up faster by following this tutorial. [...]

Speed Up Your Adobe Acrobat Reader For Free Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 8:04 am

[...] Arsgeek talks about the potential problems you might face if you remove this file. You should be aware of this before you try out this trick ! [Editors Note: This post is by Gautam H N is the author of TechBuzz.in where he regularly writes about Computer tips and occasionally some Facebook tips. [...]

Bill Weaver Says:
May 29th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Thank you! This works perfectly and makes life just a little more bearable.
Jack Alexander Says:
May 30th, 2007 at 6:48 am
Why not use foxit reader, small, free, and fast. Print to pdf? Use dopdf5, same as the former. Adobe has the bloat, why waste the space?
Henry Says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:01 am
I couldn’t get Acrobat to load after trying this tip. Here is an alternative method:

1. Select Document - Accessibility Setup Assistant….
2. Select “Set all accesibility options”, click Next three times,
3. Select “Only read the currently visible pages”, click Next, and then Done.
cavtroop Says:
July 12th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Henry -

Thanks for the tip - see my edit above, this seems to break Reader 8.1, but I don’t have the same problem with 8.1 that I did with 8.0

THanks!
Alan Says:
November 4th, 2007 at 6:30 am
For creating PDF docs PDF 995 is much faster, free with ad or cheap with no ads. Either way, no footnote ad, so cool. Just use Adobe for more advanced features. Ah, just realised this thread is for Reader, not Full, but useful info anyhow.
Larry Says:
November 29th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
This works for Acrobat 8.0 Pro as well. When renaming the file, you must remove the .api file extension; just changing the filename and leaving the .api does not disable the ‘feature’
Frank Says:
January 29th, 2008 at 4:38 am
You might also try this:

Go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\7.0\Accessibility
and change iReadingMode form 2 to 1. Worked for me with version 8.1.1.
vsync Says:
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:06 am
Where did the bookmarks panel go in v8? Not a useful tool.
Mr. Joe Says:
April 6th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
http://www.example.com

Speed up Adobe Reader 8.0 - lifehack.org Says:
March 15th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
[...] Adobe Acrobat Reader got you down? - [Arsgeek] digg_url = ‘http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/speed-up-adobe-reader-80.html’; digg_bgcolor = “#”; ( function() { var ds=typeof digg_skin==’string’?digg_skin:”; var h=80; var w=52; if(ds==’compact’) { h=18; w=120; } var u=typeof digg_url==’string’?digg_url:(typeof DIGG_URL==’string’?DIGG_URL:window.location.href); document.write(”"); } )() Author: Kyle Pott Posted: Thursday, March 15th, 2007 at 3:36 pm Tags: adobe, hack, pdf, technology Bookmark/Share This! Leave a Reply [...]
Speed Up Adobe Acrobat Reader by Deleting One File Says:
March 18th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
[...] weblog ArsGeek offers the following tip to speed up Adobe Acrobat reader: ” … simply navigate to your %Program Files%AdobeReader 8.0readerplug_ins folder, [...]
Remove "Please wait while the document is being prepared for reading" Message in Adobe Reader 8 :: the How-To Geek Says:
March 20th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
[...] for this tip goes to ArsGeek, which is a great site for some really geeky content. He’s had some great Ubuntu articles [...]
Watching The Net Says:
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:23 am
Eliminate Adobe Reader 8 "please wait while the document is being prepared" Message

Finally, a fix for this annoying Adobe Acrobat 8 message when opening PDF's which is displayed during the Content Preparation Progress window. Depending on the size of the PDF you are trying to open, the delay is frustrating.
Eliminate the messag…
neÅ¾inau.lt » Perliukai #250 Says:
May 27th, 2007 at 9:00 am
[...] Reader) programa PDF failÅ³ perÅ¾iÅ«rai (nors yra ir spartesniÅ³ alternatyvÅ³), galite Å¾ymiai paspartinti jos krovimÄ… iÅ¡trynÄ™ iÅ¡ Plug_ins aplanko skaitymo balsu priedÄ… accessibility.api. [...]
Speed Up Acrobat Reader, A Lot Says:
May 29th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
[...] ArsGeek: Adobe Acrobat Reader got you down? [...]
What I Learned Today » Blog Archive » Speed up Adobe Reader Says:
August 14th, 2007 at 12:21 am
[...] LifeHacker, I came across this great Adobe Reader tip to reduce the lethargy with which it starts up: To remove this ‘feature’, simply navigate to [...]
Speed Up Adobe Reader 8.0 Says:
September 28th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
[...] ArsGeek has a simple tip for significantly speeding up Adobe Reader 8.0. [...]
131 Applicazione per Email - InstantMessaging - Word - Exel e Altro | INFORMATICANET Says:
October 18th, 2007 at 8:57 am
[...] Adobe Reader 8 Optimization: Get Adobe Reader 8 to boot up faster by following this tutorial. [...]
Speed Up Your Adobe Acrobat Reader For Free Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 8:04 am
[...] Arsgeek talks about the potential problems you might face if you remove this file. You should be aware of this before you try out this trick ! [Editors Note: This post is by Gautam H N is the author of TechBuzz.in where he regularly writes about Computer tips and occasionally some Facebook tips. [...]

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