History of Adobe Acrobat in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: March 27, 2026

Adobe Acrobat is a software suite developed by Adobe Inc. primarily for creating, viewing, manipulating, printing, and managing PDF files. It offers functionalities like PDF creation, editing, conversion to various formats, signing documents digitally, and collaborating with others. Acrobat exists in desktop and web versions, enabling users to work with PDFs across multiple devices. Its core function revolves around the Portable Document Format, a standard for document exchange, making it essential for various professional and personal uses.

1993: Adobe Acrobat Launched

In 1993, Adobe Acrobat was launched and faced competition from other products and proprietary formats aiming to create digital documents.

1999: Acrobat.com service introduced

In 1999, the Acrobat.com service was launched, introducing several web services with names starting with "Acrobat". Later, Acrobat.com was downgraded from the name of the family of services to one of those services.

September 13, 2006: JavaScript Vulnerabilities Demonstrated

On September 13, 2006, David Kierznowski provided sample PDF files illustrating JavaScript vulnerabilities in Acrobat. Since at least version 6, JavaScript can be disabled and embedded URLs are intercepted by a security warning.

February 19, 2009: Security Bulletin Released for JavaScript Vulnerabilities

On February 19, 2009, Adobe released a Security Bulletin announcing JavaScript vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions 9 and earlier. US-CERT recommended disabling JavaScript, canceling integration with Windows shell and web browsers, deactivating Adobe indexing services, and avoiding PDF files from external sources as a workaround.

2009: Adobe Applications Targeted by Attackers

During the last quarter of 2009, Adobe applications became the most popular client-software targets for attackers, with Acrobat programs being used to distribute malicious code via JavaScript vulnerabilities.

April 2015: Adobe Introduces Document Cloud Branding

In April 2015, Adobe introduced the "Document Cloud" branding alongside Creative Cloud to signify its adoption of cloud storage and the software as a service model. Programs received a "DC" suffix and "Reader" was renamed back to "Acrobat Reader". Acrobat.com was discontinued, with its features integrated into desktop programs and mobile apps.

2015: Acrobat DC Introduction and GUI Changes

In 2015, Acrobat DC was introduced, featuring major GUI changes and supporting Windows 7 and later, and OS X 10.9 and later. Version numbers were identified by the last two digits of the year of major release, with examples like DC June 2016 and DC Classic January 2016. The Acrobat family became available in two tracks: Classic and Continuous.