Perform the steps outlined in this document to manually remove Adobe Acrobat. Before you proceed, back up all important PDF documents, digital signature files, and eBooks.
Note: This procedure doesn't remove shared files that may have installed with Acrobat, including color management files (.icc and .csf files).
To manually remove Acrobat or Adobe Reader:
1. Quit Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
2. Log into Mac OS X as an administrator.
3. Move any files you want to keep (for example, PDF documents) from the Adobe Acrobat application folder to another location.
4. Drag the following files and folders, if present, to the Trash:
Note: If there are multiple user accounts on the system, remove files that appear in a [user] folder from each account.
Applications/[Acrobat 6.0 or 7.0 Professional, Acrobat 6.0 or 7.0 Standard, or Adobe Reader 6.0 or 7.0]
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Application Support/AdobePDF
[user]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat
[user]/Library/Acrobat User Data
Note: If you've stored any files (for example, eBooks or digital signature files) in the above folder, save them to a different location before you remove it.
[user]/Library/preferences/com.adobe.Acrobat.Pro6.0.plist or com.adobe.Acrobat.Pro7.0.plist
[user]/Library/preferences/com.adobe.Acrobat.Pro.plist
[user]/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.Acrobat6.0.plist (Acrobat Standard 6.0 only)
[user]/Library/Receipts/com.adobe.Acrobat.Pro
[user]/Library/Receipts/com.adobe.Acrobat (Acrobat Standard 6.0 only)
[user]/Library/Receipts/com.adobe.distiller
[user]/Library/Preferences/Acrobat Distiller Prefs
[user]/Library/Preferences/Acrobat
[user]/Library/Preferences/Acrobat WebCapture Cookies
[user]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/TypeSpt/AdobeFnt07.lst
Applications/Microsoft Office [version]/Office/Startup/Excel/ PDFMaker.xla
Applications/Microsoft Office [version]/Office/Startup/Powerpoint/ PDFMaker.ppa
Applications/Microsoft Office [version]/Office/Startup/Word/PDFMaker.dot
Applications/Microsoft Office [version]/PDFMakerLib
Users/Shared/Adobe PDF 6.0
Note: If you've stored any settings files (for example, custom job options) in the above folder, save them to a different location before you remove it.
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Printers/PPD Plugins/AdobePDFPDE.plugin
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/en.lproj/ADPDF6.PPD
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/zh_CN.lproj/ADPDF6CS.PPD
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/zh_TW.lproj/ADPDF6CT.PPD
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/ja.lproj/ADPDF6J.PPD
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/ko.lproj/ADPDF6K.PPD
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.distiller.plist
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Preferences/EFI/
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Frameworks/PrintMeSSL.framework
5. If present, delete the hidden file usr/libexec/cups/backend/pdf:
On Mac OS X v10.3.x:
a. In the Finder, choose File > Find.
b. Choose Specific Places from the Search In menu, and choose the hard disk on which Mac OS X is installed.
c. Using the Search For Items Whose menus, set Visibility to Invisible Items, choose Name Is, and then type PDF.
d. Click Search.
e. Choose PDF, and then choose File > Move To Trash. Enter your password if you are prompted.
On Mac OS X v10.4.x:
a. In the Finder, choose File > Find.
b. For location, select Computer.
c. From the Kind menu, choose Other.
d. Select Visibility from the search attribute list.
e. Select Add To Favorites and click OK.
f. From the Kind menu, choose Visibility.
g. From the Visible Or Invisible menu, choose Invisible Items.
h. In the Search field, type PDF.
i. Click Search.
j. Choose PDF, and then choose File > Move To Trash. Enter your password if you are prompted.
6. Remove the Adobe PDF printer:
a. Start the Printer Setup Utility (Mac OS 10.3.x - 10.4.x) or Print Center (Mac OS 10.2.x).
b. Choose Adobe PDF Printer and then click Delete.
7. If you're removing Adobe Reader, drag the following files or folders to the Trash:
Applications/Adobe Reader
[user]/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.Reader6.0.plist or com.adobe.Reader7.0.plist
[user]/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.Reader.plist
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Preferences/EFI
[Macintosh HD]/Library/Frameworks/PrintMeSSL.framework
8. Empty the Trash.
