This simple tutorial shows how to install Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.5.5 in all current Ubuntu releases and other Linux.

Adobe has discontinued Linux support for its Acrobat PDF reader for many years! I don’t know why people is still needing this software application, but some one has made it as Flatpak package which is available to install in most Linux.

NOTE: Adobe Reader 9.5.5 discontinued in 2013, it may have bugs and security issues! Install and use it at your own risk!

Install Abode Reader 9.5.5

1. (Ubuntu 16.04|18.04 only) For the old Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 18.04, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. And, run command to add the Flatpak official PPA.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:flatpak/stable

Then, update system package cache via:

sudo apt update

2. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When terminal opens, run command to enable Flatpak support:

sudo apt install flatpak

3. Finally, install Adobe Reader as Flatpak package by running command:

flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/com.adobe.Reader.flatpakref

Flatpak runs in sandbox. Though, the PDF reader itself only takes 59 MB, it needs also download & install hundred of MB run-time libraries.

Once installed, either right-click on your PDF file and select “Open With Other Application” to choose Adobe Reader, or just search for and launch it from the overview screen.

Uninstall Adobe Reader

To remove the software package, also open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data com.adobe.Reader

You may also run command to remove unused runtime libraries to free up disk space.

flatpak uninstall --unused