« Even if you don't like it, it's still a problem | Main | Talking with Sysadmins, a programmer's primer »

Okay, so you've tried the sane, normal methods to get Acrobat 7 to stop putting the pretty much useless Print To File buttons it likes to install in Office, but they KEEP COMING BACK.

Or you really don't want to use the Acrobat plugin, because, oh, it kinda takes a dogs age to display a one page document.

Well, here's how you really make it stop, and you can do both at once.

Leave Office alone

Open up the Adobe Acrobat application bundle, and navigate to the MacOS folder.

Open up the AcroENUProSelfHeal.xml file in BBEdit, SubEthaEdit, or <text editor>

Look for this section:

<dict>
     <key>type</key>
     <string>PDFMaker</string>
     <key>install</key>
     <string>YES</string>
     <key>isdisplayedinprefdialog</key><true/>
</dict>

Change the YES to NO and save.

To stop it from reinstalling the Safari plugin, in the same file, find the section with:

<dict>
     <key>type</key>
     <string>PDFViewer</string>
     <key>install</key>
     <string>YES</string>
     <key>installmode</key><string>Browser</string>
     <key>isdisplayedinprefdialog</key><true/>
     <key>minsystemversion</key>
     <array>
          <integer>10</integer>
          <integer>3</integer>
          <integer>0</integer>
     </array>
</dict>

Again, change the YES to NO and save.

If it already installed the plugin in Safari, you have to pull the plugin out of /Library/Internet Plug-ins/ and the "Frameworks" directory out of the Safari bundle. But that should stop it from reinstalling it.

Doing this has been the only way I've gotten Acrobat to calm down about installing crap everywhere.

Technorati Tags: Mac OS X, Acrobat, Adobe, TEH STOOPUD, Troubleshooting

Comments