New features summary | August 2020 release of Acrobat

We are introducing the Protected Mode (sandbox) feature in Acrobat Pro 2020 and Acrobat Standard 2020. Earlier, it was only available in Acrobat and Acrobat Reader.

The Protected Mode (sandbox) is a core architecture change and covers all the features and workflows in Acrobat. By default, the Protected Mode is turned off.

To enable Protected Mode in Acrobat:

1. On the menu, go to Edit > Preferences.
2. From the Categories, click Security (Enhanced), and then select Enable Protected Mode at Startup (Preview).
3. Quit Acrobat and relaunch.

How to verify whether the Protected Mode is enabled?

• Open Windows Task Manager. If you see two instances of Acrobat.exe, then Protected Mode is enabled for Acrobat.

Set the default zoom level for bookmarks

Set default zoom level in the bookmark options

The Set Default Bookmark Zoom Level menu item is now added to the PDF bookmark options. While creating a new bookmark, you can easily use this option to set the default zoom level. By default, the Inherit Zoom option is selected.

Keep page number unchanged while adjusting the zoom level of multiple bookmarks

Acrobat now provides an option in the bookmark properties to retain the destination page number when you adjust the zoom level of multiple bookmarks.

For more information, see Change the page number while adjusting the zoom level of multiple bookmarks.

Sign contextual tips

Acrobat now displays contextual tips in case you want to get your document signed after performing any of the following operations:

• Create PDF
• Combine Files
• Edit PDF
• Organize Pages

The tool tips will be visble for the first few times on performing any of the above operations.

Request signatures prompt when you attach an unsigned PDF to email

Acrobat now detects the signature in a PDF document, and displays request signatures contextual tip when you attach the unsigned PDF to an email.

Adding Bates number to existing file names

You can now prefix or suffix Bates number range with the filename. To add the Bates number to a filename, enter %BATES_NUMBER_KEY% in the Insert Before or Insert After fields as desired in the Output Options dialog of Bates Numbering.

For more information, see Add Bates number to existing file names.

Increased precision of the placement of form fields and other elements in a PDF form

The precision to place form fields and other form elements in a PDF form is now increased from two decimal points to 10,000th of an inch. This helps place the form fields accurately at the desired location without having to recreate the form otherwise.

Improved experience while pasting the copied annotations

If you copy a form field, link, or any other annotation and paste it on another page or document, the copied annotation gets placed at exactly the same location as the copied annotation on the new page. If an annotation is already present at the location, then the copied annotation is pasted in the center of the page. For example, if you copy a hyperlink present in the footer of a page and paste it on a new page, the hyperlink gets pasted to the footer section of the new page too. It is especially useful in the scenarios where you need to copy and paste on construction drawing sets, PDF form fields, and more.

New Request Signatures option in the File menu

Apart from the Sign menu, the Request Signatures option is now added to the File menu for easy access and discoverability.

Option to use filename as document title

A new document preference is added to let you use the filename as the document title. By default, the preference is disabled. To enable the preference, go to Acrobat preferences, and click Documents in the left pane. Under Open Settings, select Always Use Filename As Document Title.

Simplified 1-click share experience in Acrobat Reader

Sharing files is now simpler in Acrobat Reader than before. Now, the three separate icons in the upper-right corner of the toolbar represent Share a link, Send by email, and Invite people to your PDF file. You can use these tools to share a link to your file with others, send a PDF by email, or invite people to view or review your shared files.

For more information, see Sharing PDFs.

Other enhancements and bug fixes

Set default property in the Measure tool

Acrobat now retains the default start and end of the Line properties you set in the Dimension line Properties dialog.

You can also set the default line start and end properties in Acrobat preferences.

Screen reader fails to interpret mouse actions to position sticky notes with the keyboard

Assistive technology, like screen readers, used to fail to interpret mouse actions and provide corresponding instructions to be done using a keyboard. For example, repositioning a sticky note comment in a PDF using a keyboard is not possible. This bug is now fixed. Users dependent on assistive technology can now reposition a sticky comment using keyboard actions like tab, space, up, down, left, right arrow keys.

Accessibility enhancements

Acrobat now conveys the progress statuses like generating review, open review, and download operations to the screen readers.

Print dialog accessibility using a keyboard in macOS

All the options in the Print dialog are now accessible using a keyboard. You can now use the keyboard to navigate across the options in the Print dialog of Acrobat in macOS.

Vulnerability fixes for invalid UTF16/8 strings

Enhancements to the core infrastructure are made where vulnerabilities related to UTF-16 string in JavaScript functions are fixed.

Performance improvements in sandbox implementation

Multiple performance improvements and enhancements are made to the protected mode:

• Added support for the virtual environment and AMT. Sandboxing is now supported in all environments.
• The application launch time is now improved by 16%.