How do I uninstall Adobe Reader 9 for Mac?

Adobe Reader spews files everywhere plus it hijacks Safari.

I can't believe there is no uninstaller for this app?

Google shows no good info.

Corey Floyd

Posted 2009-08-01T03:49:58.253

Reputation: 957

Answers

You should be able to just delete the application and its associated files. This thread has a list of things and discussion of what to delete. Make sure to remove /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/AdobePDFViewer.plugin if you've installed the Safari in-browser viewer from Adobe.

jtbandes

Posted 2009-08-01T03:49:58.253

Reputation: 8 350

Thanks. I did see that, but I wasn't sure what changed from version 8 to version 9. I imagine since it was a major revision, at least some of that list will be out of date. – Corey Floyd – 2009-08-01T17:43:51.683

1I followed these instructions with a spotlight search open looking for anything "adobe", "acrobat", or "reader". Seems to be fine. – Corey Floyd – 2009-08-18T18:11:20.693

For most applications, OS X doesn't have installers, or uninstallers, per se. Usually, you simply drag the application Icon to the Trash Can. The app icon (Something.app) is a whole directory. However, this doesn't work for every program.

To remove all traces of a program, if it littered the OS with other files, you might need a program like AppCleaner.app or you can follow this guide for more information.

jtimberman

Posted 2009-08-01T03:49:58.253

Reputation: 20 109

1Reader spews files everywhere plus it hijacks Safari. It also didn't come with an uninstaller. – Corey Floyd – 2009-08-01T17:42:31.997

Also App Cleaner and App Zapper don't find all of the files. They just search the preferences folcer and application support folder. They miss everything else. – Corey Floyd – 2009-08-01T18:02:50.513

Adobe's site

To uninstall Acrobat 9 in Mac OS

Double-click the Acrobat Uninstaller file, located in the Adobe Acrobat 9 folder.
Follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall Acrobat.
In the Authenticate dialog, type the user name and password for an administrator account and click OK. Note: The uninstaller removes only Adobe Acrobat 9 and 9.1 files from the system. It does not remove Adobe Reader files, Acrobat user data, or files that are shared with other Adobe applications.

benc

Posted 2009-08-01T03:49:58.253

Reputation: 1 272

1There is no uninstaller with Reader, which is strange. but I scoured my system for it before I posted. – Corey Floyd – 2009-08-01T17:01:08.087

1I also reinstalled reader to see if it would install the "uninstaller", but it did not, I just ended up with 2 copies of reader. – Corey Floyd – 2009-08-01T18:01:25.273

Corey - hmm, so much for RTM, I'll see if I can contact adobe. – benc – 2009-08-02T08:36:01.013

I created an account on their website, posted a comment (with a link to this site) and down-voted their article. Anyone else want to do the same? – benc – 2009-08-05T01:23:30.767

Thanks, didn't know you could even do that! I will vote it down also – Corey Floyd – 2009-08-11T09:02:41.777

It gets better. Check out: http://forums.adobe.com/message/2176089#2176089

they made me create an adobe account, I commented about this discussion.
they "approved" my post, which actually deleted it.
I went to the forum in the "approval" email they gave me, and found that thread, where nobody has answered the question (posted in April).

Can I say... WEAK!

– benc – 2009-08-13T17:20:03.690

Easy solution. Use App Cleaner. First- Drag Adobe Reader from your applications folder into App Cleaner. Next- press "others" tab in App Cleaner- this will display Adobe Reader plug in(s). Delete any plug ins shown- then go to "applications" tab and delete all files shown.

jon

Posted 2009-08-01T03:49:58.253

Reputation: 1