Note
May 14, 2019 Fortunately, the exact registry key that stores your Adobe Acrobat serial number is well known, as is a database file that stores it. If you're comfortable in the Windows Registry, your Adobe Acrobat serial is located in HKEYLOCALMACHINE.
Mac users should refer to the Admin Guide for Macintosh.
Administrators typically configure installers before deployment via preferences and properties so that machines under their control share the requisite settings. Both Acrobat and Reader share a common set of preferences and are similar in their configuration details. Since per-machine user interface configuration is not scalable, Adobe provides two key resources to help you configure Acrobat and Reader prior to deployment:
- Customization Wizard: A free utility for configuring the installer prior to deployment. It is offered in both Windows and Mac versions.
- Preference Reference: A dictionary of registry and plist preferences.
Note
Adobe strongly recommends that you do not make changes to the registry unless you are knowledgeable about editing and troubleshooting application settings. Improper use of this feature can result in the corruption of critical system files Before modifying the registry, make sure you understand what product versions are supported, what the default settings are, and how to create new keys.
Fundamentals¶
Before continuing, you should know that:
The tables and examples in most documents use the Windows registry. Naming conventions and paths are relatively similar on Macintosh, Unix, and Linux systems.
The Preference Reference describes 500+ settings.
HKCU settings are end user settings. Most user interface settings have a corresponding HKCU preference.
HKLM preferences will lock a feature and require administrator privileges to modify.
Preference names are case sensitive.
Just because you don’t see the preference doesn’t mean it’s not there and/or cannot be used:
- Some preferences exist internally and are not visually apparent in the registry until after a feature is used. Subdirectories may also appear as the code is exercised.
- Many features are not enabled by default and their related preferences must be manually created.
- Many preferences cannot be set thought the UI and must be manually created.
- The easiest way to configure the product is to exercise the UI and then manually massage the preferences which don’t have a corresponding UI.
Preference locations¶
- Settings for the currently logged-in user:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareAdobe(productname)(version) - Lockable keys (32 bit):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesAdobe(productname)(version)FeatureLockDown - Lockable keys (64 bit):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeAdobe(productname)(version)FeatureLockdown - Non lockable machine keys:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREAdobe(productname)(version)
Note
DC products use the track name as the version. Thus, the Continuous track will always use “DC” and the Classic track will always use a year such as 2015 or 2017.
Acrobat DC preferences: Classic track
Data types¶
When adding new keys to the registry it is critical that you get the Value data and Name fields correct as shown below. Most preferences have a data type prefix. These need to be added in the format that the application can recognize.
Adobe Reader Registry Keys Replacement
| Prefix | Data Type | Registry type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | atom | REG_SZ | The string may be UTF-8 and can therefore include Unicode. The Value Data field is typically entered as text. For example, a value for cHandlers:aPrivKey could be Adobe.PPKLite. |
| b | bool | REG_DWORD | 0 (false) or 1 (true). |
| c | cab | N/A | Containers that hold keys are preceded by a “c” on Windows. |
| i | int | REG_DWORD | An integer. |
| s | string | REG_BINARY | ASCII only. |
| t | text | REG_SZ | The string may be UTF-8 and can include Unicode. The Value Data field is entered as text. For example, a value for cEDC:tLastServerURL could be https://aps.serv.com:123. Note: 7.x and earlier use REG_BINARY and tValue. |
| a, s, or t | ASPath | See a, s, and t above. | ASPath objects require three components:
|
Administrator locking¶
Many preferences may be locked so that end users cannot change them via the product’s user interface. To do so, set them in the location described above. Some preferences only reside in the lockdown location and do not have a counterpart in the user preference area. For details about specific preferences, refer to the Preference Reference.
Sample use case¶
Modifying existing or creating custom preferences requires some knowledge of the supported naming conventions and data types. In general:
- “Hives” are usually the top-level HKCU, HKLM, and other directories, but it’s also common to refer to subdirectories by the same name.
- Folders/directories that contain the actual preferences (keys), appear in the left-hand window, these often are the home for sub containers.
- Some keys are containers called “cabs” (Windows) or “dictionaries” (Mac). These names are always prepended by a “c” on Windows. For example,
cAdobe_ChainBuilderandcAcceptablePolicyOIDs. The lowest level key container is an array. Item names are always “c” + <index number>. Thus, an array undercAcceptablePolicyOIDscould be c0, c1, c2, c3, and so on. The subkey structure has a dependency on the data type of the parent container. Cabs at the c0, c1, c2, etc. level use a subdirectory namedcValuethat contain the actual key data. For all other data types, store the value directly at the c0, c1, c2, etc. level - The lowest key level defines the actual preference. It is always a name/value pair.
To create a new preference on Windows for example:
- Open the registry editor.
- Look up the preference you want to set in the Preference Reference or the pertinent document. You’ll need to know the path, name, and value.
- Navigate to the required location.
- Create any container keys you might need on the left-hand side of the editor.
- Highlight that containing key and in the right hand side, right click and choose New > <some data value>.
- Enter a name.
- Right click on the preference name and enter a value.
APIs and the SDK¶
Many preferences are exposed in the API. The plugins use the cross platform ASCab preference mechanism supported by all Acrobat products. This mechanism uses calls such as AVAppGetPrefCab and AVAppSetPrefCab, that were introduced in Acrobat 5.0. Refer to the Acrobat and PDF Library API Reference for details on these calls.
Privileged (Protected Mode)
Sandboxing is a technique for creating a sandbox (confined execution environment) for running untrusted programs. In the context of Adobe Reader, the 'untrusted program' is any PDF and the processes it invokes. When Reader sandboxing is enabled, Reader assumes all PDFs are potentially malicious and confines any processing they invoke to the sandbox.
For additional security-related details, refer to the Application Security Guide.
This preference category contains the following subfeature(s):
Protected Mode
Adobe Acrobat Registry Keys
Protected Mode is one of the Adobe Reader's advanced security features and should be enabled to protect user systems and data.
Summary table
| bProtectedMode | Enableds Protected Mode and thereby sandboxes Reader processes. |
| bUseWhitelistConfigFile | Allows the user of policy whitelist to allow behavior that Protected Mode would otherwise prevent. |
| tBrokerLogfilePath | Specifies the path and log file name for the Protected Mode log. |
| tHostWhiteList | Specifies whether to show an dialog asking whether to navigate to an URL when Protected Mode is enabled. |
| Data type | boolean: DWORD value > REG_DWORD |
| Default | 1 |
| Version # | 10.0+ |
| HKCU Path | Privileged |
| HKLM Path | HKLMSOFTWAREWOW6432NodePoliciesAdobe(product name)(version)FeatureLockdown |
| Summary | Enableds Protected Mode and thereby sandboxes Reader processes. |
| Details | Protected Mode should be enabled to protect user systems and data. Possible values include:
|
| GUI mapping | Preferences > Security (Enhanced) > Sandbox Protections > Enable Protected Mode at startup |
| Data type | text: String value > REG_SZ |
| Default | null |
| Version # | 10.0+ |
| HKCU Path | Privileged |
| HKLM Path | Not lockable |
| Summary | Specifies the path and log file name for the Protected Mode log. |
| Details | The value should be path + log filename. Logging is available for users who need to troubleshoot problems where a workflow or plugin does not work when Protected Mode is enabled. The log may provide guidance as to whether a custom policy file should be used to re-enable broken workflows or plugins.
|
| GUI mapping | Preferences > Security (Enhanced) > Sandbox Protections > Create Protected Mode log file |
| Data type | boolean: DWORD value > REG_DWORD |
| Default | 0 |
| Version # | 10.0+ |
| HKLM Path | HKLMSOFTWAREWOW6432NodePoliciesAdobe(product name)(version)FeatureLockdown |
| Summary | Allows the user of policy whitelist to allow behavior that Protected Mode would otherwise prevent. |
| Details | This preference just toggles the ability of the application to read policy files. For additional security-related details, refer to the Application Security Guide. |
| Data type | text: String value > REG_SZ |
| Default | null |
| Version # | 11.0.03+ |
| HKCU Path | Privileged |
| HKLM Path | HKLMSOFTWAREWOW6432NodePoliciesAdobe(product name)(version)FeatureLockdown |
| Summary | Specifies whether to show an dialog asking whether to navigate to an URL when Protected Mode is enabled. |
| Details | For Reader on Windows only. The security dialog is bypassed when launching an URL whose hostname present in tHostWhiteList when Reader Protected Mode is ON in these workflows: Acrobat.com Webview, authentication in Yahoo and Gmail webmail, and forms-based authentication for Office365 and SharePoint accounts. Possible values include:
|
Adobe Reader Registry Keys Download
AppContainer
Support for AppContainer is a beta Reader on Windows only feature for DC 2017 Continuous and Classic tracks. It is being rolled out over the spring of 2018. The AppContainer requires that Reader's Protected Mode is enabled, and both are designed to be transparent to end users. Together these provide multiple layers of protection from malicious attacks that might try to access your system and data. Like Protected Mode, AppContainer has an HKCU preference as well as an HKLM preference which you can lock.
Summary table
| bEnableProtectedModeAppContainer | Specifies whether to enable the AppContainer sandbox. |
| Data type | boolean: DWORD value > REG_DWORD |
| Default | 0 |
| Version # | Mar., 2018 |
| HKCU Path | Privileged |
| HKLM Path | HKLMSOFTWAREWOW6432NodePoliciesAdobe(product name)(version)FeatureLockdown |
| Summary | Specifies whether to enable the AppContainer sandbox. |
| Details | Possible values include:
|
| GUI mapping | Preferences > Security (Enhanced) > Sandbox Protections > Run in AppContainer |
File migration
This preference is only used during an upgrade from 11.x products to DC products. The preference is used once by the application to determine whether or not the recent files list has been migrated.
Summary table
| bOldRecentFilesMigrated | Indicates whether the recent files list has been migrated. |
| Data type | boolean: DWORD value > REG_DWORD |
| Default | 0 |
| Version # | DC |
| HKCU Path | Privileged |
| HKLM Path | Not lockable |
| Summary | Indicates whether the recent files list has been migrated. |
| Details | Admins should not change the preference value. |
Adobe Reader X Registry Keys
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