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Adobe releases Acrobat 7

Stephen Shankland CNET News.com

Published: 06 Jan 2005 15:10 GMT

Adobe Systems has released version 7 of its Acrobat software for creating PDF files, with upgraded collaboration features and a beta version of its free Adobe Reader 7 for Linux.

Acrobat Version 7, released on Wednesday, comes in two versions, the £245 (+ VAT) Standard edition for most people who want to create a PDF, or portable document format, files, and the £395 (+ VAT) Professional edition (see ZDNet UK's review here) with some higher-end features. In addition, Adobe changed the name of Acrobat Reader to Adobe Reader.

With version 7, the free Adobe Reader software can be used to add comments and make modifications to PDF files -- as long as the original PDF creator permits it and uses the Professional version. The idea is to make Adobe's software a more useful tool for exchanging electronic documents such as forms or purchase orders.

Acrobat 7 Professional also includes upgrades for publishing technical documents such as architectural and engineering documents. That's an area where the company faces a challenge from drafting-software maker Autodesk.

Also on Wednesday, Adobe released its LiveCycle Policy Server software, which lets organisations govern which users may read, modify, print, save or email PDF files.

The Linux beta version for Adobe Reader 7 isn't a surprise. Adobe is becoming more active in desktop Linux. The company had released a version of Acrobat Reader 5 for Linux but skipped version 6.

Adobe said it addressed one major Adobe Reader complaint: the long delay loading PDF files within Web browsers. "It does load significantly faster than Adobe Reader 6 did," within one to two seconds for most people, spokesman John Cristofano said.

Adobe Reader 7 now comes with a new Adobe-branded version of the Yahoo toolbar that blocks pop-up ads and offers a search option to users of Internet Explorer. Adobe and Yahoo announced their partnership in October.

The full version of Acrobat Reader 7 is a 19.8MB download. The Yahoo Toolbar adds another 0.5MB, and an option to download Adobe's Photoshop Album 2.0 Starter Edition for organising digital photos adds another 6.5MB.