Adobe Detection, version .20399 Adobe seems to have gone to a unified installer

[l_seitz]

With version .20399 Adobe seems to have gone to a unified installer.  This is causing issues with the deployment of the former Adobe Acrobat Reader.  See last paragraph.  Looks like .20399 was published last Friday.

I have a handful of devices with the Adobe Acrobat (full version) installed. The SCAPackageLevel on those devices in HKLM\Software\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Install = 3

I am trying to install the former Adobe Acrobat Reader on those devices and it's failing.  Since the detection is using the name of Adobe Acrobat (64-bit), detection sees the full installs and fails to complete the Reader install on those devices.  The SCAPackageLevel for Reader on that key = 1

"Adobe has fortunately provided a method to determine the specific version of Acrobat (64-bit) installed on a device, and this can be accessed through the "SCAPackageLevel" value. By leveraging this value, we can distinguish whether Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat is present on the device. If the value is equal to 1, it confirms the presence of Adobe Reader, while a value greater than 1 indicates the installation of Adobe Acrobat."

[Kristee (Patch My PC)]

Hello! Are you trying to replace Adobe Acrobat with Reader? You can't have both Acrobat and Reader installed on the same device.

 

[l_seitz]

Thank you I get that, I am concerned about updates.  The underlying problem is that Adobe has transitioned to a single installation approach for Acrobat, which creates complications during updates (blog excerpt below).  Are the updates configurable in Publisher still doing detection by Application Name?  Is Patch My PC going to address this Adobe issue so we can be assured that our updates will still run as desired?

"Herein lies the problem. Adobe has transitioned to a one-size-fits-all installation approach for Acrobat, which creates complications during updates. For instance, on a device where Adobe Acrobat Standard is installed, Winget still identifies it as "Adobe.Acrobat.Reader.64-bit." Consequently, when attempting to update, the system mistakenly tries to upgrade Adobe Reader, resulting in a failure because Standard or Pro editions are actually installed on the device."

https://blog.intunepckgr.com/2024/01/03/intune-using-a-requirement-rule-to-detect-adobe-acrobat-reader/

[Kristee (Patch My PC)]

Thank you for the clarification. We support both (Pro) Adobe Acrobat DC Continuous and Adobe Acrobat DC Continuous (x64) as updates (not as base apps).

When you sign into an account with a license for Acrobat Standard/Pro, Acrobat Reader will offer to upgrade the application, which (as long as the user has admin rights) will completely replace the Reader MSI with one that supports the full application. The name will still look the same in add/remove programs, but it has a different ProductCode, plus the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Installer\SCAPackageLevel will be bumped from 1 to 2.

Our updates for both Reader and Pro are deployed as MSP files, with requirements set on them so that they will target the appropriate base install.