Adobe Acrobat is one of the most challenging applications to recognize accurately due to its multiple editions, release channels, deployment methods, and evolving installation technologies. While Adobe was an early adopter of software identification (SWID) tags, changes in deployment and licensing models have introduced recognition complexities that required ongoing adjustments within the Application Recognition Library (ARL).

This article summarizes the key recognition challenges, ARL enhancements, and current Adobe guidance for identifying Acrobat installations.

Recognition Methods Used by Flexera

Flexera uses multiple evidence sources to recognize Adobe Acrobat installations, including:

• Installer evidence
• File evidence
• SWID tag evidence
• WMI evidence generated from SWID tag data

Examples of evidence used for recognition include:

Installer Evidence

• Acrobat XI Pro 1.0

File Evidence

• acrobat.exe
• V6{}AcrobatPro-AS2-Win-GM%.swidtag

WMI Evidence

• FLX_Adobe.SWIDTAG_Product_Version
• FLX_Adobe.SWIDTAG_Product_Title
• FLX_Adobe.SWIDTAG_Serial_Number
• FLX_Adobe.SWIDTAG_Activation_Status

The FlexNet Inventory Agent can collect and parse SWID tag data to generate additional WMI evidence, providing more accurate recognition than installer evidence alone.

Challenges and ARL Updates

Acrobat Reader Recognized as Acrobat DC

Beginning with Acrobat DC 2020, downloaded Acrobat Reader installations could appear as "Acrobat DC" in Add/Remove Programs. This caused large numbers of Acrobat Reader installations to be incorrectly recognized as Acrobat DC.

To address this issue, ARL mappings were updated to improve differentiation between Reader and Acrobat DC installations. Accurate recognition now depends on additional evidence sources such as SWID tags and WMI evidence.

Deployment Method Differences

Recognition behavior can differ based on how Acrobat is deployed:

• Enterprise-packaged installations often provide distinct evidence for Acrobat Reader and Acrobat DC.
• Downloaded installations may expose only "Acrobat DC" installer evidence, creating ambiguity between Reader and licensed Acrobat products.

Due to the potential for false-positive recognition, Acrobat DC installer evidence was ultimately set to Ignored by default. Customers who require this mapping can manually enable the evidence by setting:

• Ignored = No

Future ARL imports will preserve this setting.

Shared SWID Tags Across Versions

Some Adobe SWID tag files are reused across multiple Acrobat versions. For example:

• V6{}AcrobatPro-AS2-Win-GM%.swidtag

Using these files independently can result in false-positive recognition.

To improve accuracy, ARL rules were updated to require multiple pieces of evidence. For example:

• acrobat.exe version information
• Associated SWID tag evidence

This reduces the likelihood of incorrectly identifying older or newer Acrobat versions.

Additional Improvements

Several additional enhancements were implemented to improve Adobe Acrobat recognition:

• Expanded WMI coverage for Acrobat DC Pro Classic and Continuous releases
• Improved recognition consistency across Acrobat DC versions
• Corrections to file-based recognition rules affecting Acrobat DC Continuous (2021)
• Ongoing refinement of recognition logic to reduce false positives and version overlap

Current Status

The combination of these fixes and enhancements resulted in changes to recognized Acrobat installation counts for some customers. While these adjustments may have impacted historical reporting, they were necessary to improve recognition accuracy and reduce false positives.

Flexera continues to evaluate customer feedback and refine recognition rules where necessary.

Ongoing Investigation

Flexera is currently investigating additional improvements, including:

• Reliability issues with SWID tags that may persist after software removal
• Registry-based identification methods that may provide more accurate results than SWID tags for newer Acrobat releases