Installing Adobe Reader on Linux

Article ID: 2489
Last updated: 08 Jul, 2015

Adobe Reader is not included in Linux builds as most distributions do have a program capable of rendering pdf documents. For instance, Ubuntu ships with Document Viewer and this will display pdf documents created with TaxCalc. However it is possible that some documents may not be rendered by 3rd party programs correctly.

The latest version of Adobe reader available for Linux is 9.x and Adobe have withdrawn support for it, although at the time of writing it was still available from the following location.

ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/unix/9.x/9.5.5/enu/

If it is required, download the correct one for your distribution from the above link.

  • deb is for debian builds including Ubuntu and Mint.
  • rpm is for red hat.
  • tar is a self extracting archive.
  • bin file - a binary executable.

Deb is suitable for Ubuntu, Mint and Debian. RPM covers Redhat, Centos and Fedora.

Installing Adobe Reader on Ubuntu

  1. Download the debian file and double click on it.
  2. The Ubuntu software centre opens and prompts you to install the file if you trust it click install.
  3. Under Ubuntu it may display a warning saying" the package is of bad quality" click Ignore and install to continue.
  4. Authenticate your user credentials if prompted.

Installing Adobe Reader on Mint

  • Download the debian file and double click on it.
  • The Package installer opens, click Install Package.
  • Grant administrative rights if prompted.
  • Close the installer when complete.

Other distributions may need to be installed differently.

Article ID: 2489
Last updated: 08 Jul, 2015
Revision: 5
Views: 555
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