Where Them
Logs AppWTLA-01

Adobe Acrobat Reader

7 log locations · Windows, macOS

Adobe Systems, Inc.

Where Adobe Acrobat Reader keeps its logs

Adobe Acrobat Reader logs to %TEMP%\Acrobat_Diagnostics\Output\ on Windows. 2 other Windows log locations are recorded below.

Adobe Acrobat Reader logs to ~/Library/AcrobatDiagnostics/Output/ on macOS. 3 other macOS log locations are recorded below.

Paths are printed exactly as Adobe Acrobat Reader writes them. Environment variables like %LOCALAPPDATA% and $XDG_STATE_HOME are never expanded, so a path can be pasted straight into a shell. Where a path differs between installer types or shipping flavours, each one is racked as its own card below - why that happens.

Finding your way around Windows and macOS.

WIN

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Adobe Systems, Inc.
diagnostics output%TEMP%\Acrobat_Diagnostics\Output\
crash dumps%LOCALAPPDATA%\CrashDumps
install logs (64-bit Windows)C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Installers
Wrong path? Add a variant
MAC

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Adobe Systems, Inc.
diagnostics output~/Library/AcrobatDiagnostics/Output/
crash reports~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/
licensing logs, e.g. acroNGLLog.txt~/Library/Logs/
install logs/Library/Logs/Adobe/Installers/
Wrong path? Add a variant

How to turn on debug logging for Adobe Acrobat Reader

  1. Windows: For verbose updater logging on 64-bit Windows, add the REG_DWORD iLogLevel with value 1 under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Adobe\Adobe ARM\1.0\ARM.
  2. Windows: On 32-bit Windows, add the same value under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe ARM\1.0\ARM instead.
  3. Windows: For a Protected Mode log, open Preferences > Security (Enhanced) and tick Create Protected Mode log file.
  4. Windows: Select View Log in the same pane to open the Protected Mode log.
  5. Windows: To choose where the Protected Mode log is written, set the REG_SZ tBrokerLogfilePath under the HKCU Privileged key to a full path and log file name.
  6. Windows: To log an MSI install, run msiexec /i AcroRead.msi /L*v <logfile>.

How to collect Adobe Acrobat Reader logs

  1. Open Help > Troubleshoot Acrobat (on Windows, Help is in the hamburger menu).
  2. If the option is missing, turn on Preferences > General > Enable troubleshooting.
  3. Optionally tick Advanced logs to add Acrobat process monitor and system app information.
  4. Select Start diagnostics, reproduce the problem, then select Stop diagnostics.
  5. Select Share logs and give the log ID to support, or open the output folder.
  6. Windows: The output is in %temp%\Acrobat_Diagnostics\Output\.
  7. macOS: The output is in ~/Library/AcrobatDiagnostics/Output/.
  8. Run the diagnostics on a physical machine, not a virtual machine; the tool is English only.
  9. Windows: For a freeze, open Task Manager, right-click the process and choose Create dump file.
  10. macOS: For a freeze, sample the process in Activity Monitor; for a crash, check Console or ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/.