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December 06, 2006
The Adobe Synchronizer
Adobe Acrobat 8 and Reader 8 ship with a helper application called the Adobe Synchronizer. Synchronizer is a small application that runs in the background, providing synchronization of document reviews and Tracker subscriptions so that your data is available when you need it. On OS X, the process is called AdobeResourceSynchronizer and on Windows, it's called AdobeCollabSync.exe.
| Platform | Process Name | Startup Method |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | AdobeCollabSync.exe | Startup Menu |
| OS X | AdobeResourceSynchronizer | Login Item |
UPDATE: Removing the OS X Login Item is a little tricky because the Self Heal code that repairs the Reader install puts it back. See the note at the bottom of this post about how to disable self heal for this part of the install.
When does it run?
One of the design goals of Synchronizer was to make it as unobtrusive as possible for users especially when it is not needed.
- Synchronizer runs briefly on user login - if there is nothing to synchronize then it will exit immediatly.
- Synchronizer will run in the background if you are participating in a Shared Review or add a subscription to the Tracker.
- Synchronizer runs while Acrobat or Reader runs if you participate in a Shared Review or use specific features such as the Reviewing preferences panel or Tracker.
- Synchronizer will not run if you remove all Shared Reviews and subscriptions from the Tracker.
What does it do?
The Adobe Synchronizer is a networking agent that is used to build disconnection tolerant applications. The Synchronizer provides a local copy of data on a server so that applications can utilize it regardless of network connectivity. As data changes on the server, Synchronizer updates the local copy and as the user publishes changes made locally, Synchronizer makes the modifications to the server. If the client is disconnected from the network, Synchronizer will continue trying.
- Shared Review Workflows - Synchronizer sends and receives document comments and metadata in an XML file format (RSS 2.0 with some extensions) to a shared review location - either a Network Folder, a Sharepoint workspace, or WebDAV server.
- Review Tracker Subscriptions - The Synchronizer fetches any RSS / ATOM subscriptions that you add through the Review Tracker including attachments (such as in a PDFCast).
Where is the Synchronizer data stored?
Synchronizer stores a local copy of the data in your Acrobat user data directoryusing a combination of a small database (SQLite) and the filesystem.
On Windows, data is stored here:
C:\Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\Application Data\Adobe\Acrobat\8.0\Synchronizer
On OS X, this is:
~/Library/Acrobat User Data/8.0_<ppc or x86>/Synchronizer
How do I make the Synchronizer Stop Synchronizing?
Synchronizer will no longer synchronize shared reviews or subscriptions once they are removed from Tracker. Once there is nothing to synchronize, it will no longer run in the background.
Stop Tracking Shared Reviews
To stop tracking a Shared Review, open the Review Tracker ("Comments->Review Tracker" menu). Click on the first tab item in the left-hand tab pane. Right click on the document that you no longer wish to track and select "Remove From Review Tracker". If you want to resume tracking the review, just open the shared review document again.
Removing a Subscription
To remove a subscription, open the Review Tracker ("Comments->Review Tracker" menu). Click on the "RSS" tab in the left pane. Right click on the feed you'd like to unsubscribe from and choose "Remove"
Remember, removing all RSS feeds and Reviews from the Review Tracker will cause Synchronizer to stop the next time you quit Acrobat or Reader. Alternatively, you can delete all of the folders described above to accomplish the same thing. IMPORTANT - this DELETES all of your local Review and RSS data. It is a permanent operation that cannot be undone.
UPDATE - Removing the OS X LoginItem permanently
Things are a bit more complicated than we initially thought - if you remove the LoginItem the code that repairs the Reader install will put it back. Until this is fixed, here's how you can work around the issue. Note that this will prevent all synchronization of RSS and Review data using Synchronizer while Reader is not running. Also note that this is an unsupported work-around, so you're mileage may vary. Please backup the file we're modifying before you edit it!
- Close Reader
- Navigate to /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat/ on your boot drive
- Back up the RdrENU80SelfHeal.xml file to some other place. (ENU refers to the English version of Reader so it may be a different name if you are using a non-english version)
- Open the RdrENU80SelfHeal.xml file in a text editor
- Search for AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app. You should see a section that looks like:
<key>from</key>
<string>Contents/Support/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app</string>
<key>isappassociated</key>
<false/>
<key>iscolorprofile</key>
<false/>
<key>isinstalled</key>
<true/>
<key>isloginitem</key>
<true/>
- On the line after <key>isloginitem</key>, change <true/> to <false/>.
- Save the file
- Remove the login item from the Accounts System Preferences
- Launch Reader. You should no longer have the login item added on restart of Adobe Reader.
This post was written by the Adobe Synchronizer team - Steve Dakin, Barnaby James and Pat Wibbeler
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Comments
How do I prevent this from being re-created in the Login Items list (Mac OS X)? It always comes back there whenever I launch Adobe Reader 8.
The problem on the Mac is that the installation repair feature keeps re-adding the Login Item. We've updated the original article to indicate how to work around this - thanks for the feedback.
this does not work - not only does the self-heal create a background process it recreates unwanted helper apps every time it is launched. WARNING: CANNOT BE DISABLED
Thanks for this great write up, I have posted a summary on the Sharepoint BUZZ site.
Visit http://www.sharepointbuzz.com
Bob - are you saying that the startup item keeps being added or Synchronizer is running all the time or something else? Maybe you can email me directly at barnaby.james at adobe.com and we can try to sort out the problem.
I want to get rid of it, too. Contrary to the description of it as unobtrusive, this thing showing up in Login Items is creepy and disturbing -- like getting windows viruses all over again.
Even if you remove it from Login Items, it keeps showing up.
If you Open Package Contents and actually delete the file, Adobe Reader refuses to run.
I had a copy of Adobe Reader 7, so I started using it again.
I've updated the post to make it a little clearer that there is a procedure for disabling the SelfHeal mechanism. If you are trying to remove the login item on OS X make sure you follow the directions at the end of the post.
I am really disappointed that Adobe has added yet another item at startup and even more disappointed that even the company didn't fully understand it, as your comment about it being "more complicated than we thought" indicates. I have been disabling the reader speed launch (either through The Ultimate Troubleshooter or Windows Defender) every time it is added back when installing a new version. If you haven't seen this on the task list program listings of Answers that Work, I agree with their comments completely. Please stop adding startup items (Adobe seems to be among the few mainstream software companies that still is so aggressive about adding stuff without asking users' permission.) If you think they are useful, make them optional and tell users how to activate them if they agree that its something they want. Thanks for allowing the rant.
http://www.answersthatwork.com/
Adobe Acrobat Reader Speed Launch. Windows 2000/XP startup item created when you install Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.
Recommendation :
Delete immediately from the Startups tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter ! When will software companies learn that speed launch programs are utterly useless ?! This one is no better. In this day and age of fast computers with good amounts of memory, the performance gains in having such pre-launcher programs so that the main program loads faster, Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 in this case, are negligible if not totally unnoticeable – all you are doing is lengthening your start-up time unnecessarily. Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 works perfectly well without this startup item, and you will never notice the difference !
John - I'm sure that you don't like "trust me" as an answer, but it really does nothing "creepy". It's as simple as start, check to see if it has any data to synchronize, if not, stop. The fact that it is re-added when it is removed is incorrect and unfortunate behavior, but can be worked around as described in the edits to this blog entry.
Thumbs down guys. This is not a proper Mac application, and I'm surprised because Adobe should be far more experienced about this.
A download manager in /Applications/Utilities, an updater that runs weekly and has no immediately discoverable means of being disabled (yes I found it), and a login item that requires advanced user skills to remove.
Not cool.
To add another voice -- PLEASE stop adding all that junk without asking. I don't want your startup helpers. I don't use collaboration. I have my own launch links and don't want yours on my desktop. I don't want Google toolbars or anything else you may think of forcing or defaulting in. I've started using Foxit PDF Reader solely because it doesn't load on all that junk. But I need Adobe Reader for certain extra features, and it galls me that you've driven me away for no good reason, except that you think you're omniscient and omnipotent. GO FOXIT READER!
From the website I listed in the URL field above:
"Like some sort of zombie it keeps coming back because Adobe thinks they can modify your computer without your permission."
...
"To remove AdobeResourceSynchronizer, first go into the System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items tab; highlight AdobeResourceSynchronizer and click the minus button to remove it.
Next, go into your Applications folder and find the folder called Adobe Reader 8. Drag this folder to the trash. Empty the trash. From now on use the Mac OS X built-in Preview application to read PDF files."
I stumbled onto this blog because I was wondering what the heck the Synchronizer was.
I concur with John about Adobe adding a plethora of unnecessary items to my list of startup applications.
Acrobat has gotten so incredibly bloated and invasive I really don't like using it anymore. The Acrobat 8 Professional installation was over a gigabyte (1.15GB in WinXP), and added FOUR startup programs. That's so incredibly annoying. Acrobat Reader 8 is over 27MB... that's HUGE considering most people just want to view and maybe print a PDF. Can't Adobe make a simple lightweight plugin?
Most people I know don't use the new advanced features of Acrobat 8 (or ever 7 for that matter). I'd like a small, non-bloated PDF creation tool.
And regarding features like the Synchronizer, I had no idea what it was, I will never use it at work, and wish Adobe had given me the OPTION of using this feature instead of forcing its will on me.
You're testing my limits, Adobe, and I've been a loyal customer since the early 90s! Please don't make me find an alternative.
Ditto Phillip's comments.
This is supposed to be a Reader, not a creator. I know a lot of people that use the Reader but they have absolutely no interest in collaborating or tracking. Like me, they just read and print PDF docs. This is a feature of people that participate in a lot of production of pdf docs. Default is off, and give the user the option of turning it on if needed.
And while I am at it, get rid of that annoying blinking feedback button on the Adobe.com web pages. Talk about irratating!!!!
@Philip, @RogerB:
Same thoughts here. Maybe Windows users are used to this type of bloatware.
Installing unwanted stuff all over your system is NOT Mac-like!
Uninstalling of the whole Adobe Reader package is almost impossible!
That program is a nightmare come true!
I will never ever install any version of Adobe Reader!
After installation of Adobe Reader 8.0 on my windows XP Homeedition, sporadicilly I got the Windows-Message in german "No memory device in the cartridge. Insert a memory device". After switching off the program Adobecollabsync.exe in the systemstart the systemstart runs perfect without the obove message.
What is wrong with the synchronizerprogram? Did you hear allready from this effect?
It didn't work on my Mac, I also had to modify AcroEFGPro80SelfHeal.xml file as well.
I should also also mention that I am absolutely furious about this behavior. It feels like somebody is raping my dear Mac! I would definitely uninstall the application if I had a choice but currently my work requires it.
I reflect the same sentiments as everyone else. I would consider myself to be a pretty heavy computer user, yet I never use any of the advanced features the newer versions of Acrobat have. I liken it to installing one of the newer printers, with all their junk programs which are supposed to add value. I'm tired of "value added" junk! I just want something that gets the job done, and doesn't drag down my system. At the very least, Adobe should have an advanced install option that allows the user to pick-and-choose which parts to install.
God i am not the only one who thinks this way.
All the companies think they are the only ones and its ok to take some 2 or 3 % of system ressources for stuff noone needs. But hey softwaredevelopers: the customers have several softwarepackages, so they all have to be slim and only install what is needed!
Well said everyone!! I hope more people will post how they feel. Isn't it telling that no one yet has defended the new reader?
Come on Adobe, the overwhelming majority of people just need a quick light reader and occasional printer. Please make your "features" optional not forced. Or just make a separate light reader/printer. It's only common sense.
Your practices make me stay away from all of your products.
Add my voice to the dissenters! Adobe should (1) make these startup items optional and (2) respect the settings when upgrading, i.e. don't add them back in if they have been removed!
Dear mr. James,
can you tell us how it is that Adobe can create such great software and still not understand what users DON'T want?
I'm talking about the startup items, My eBooks fiasco and other unwanted folders in My Documents, and of course the unforgiving activation of Creative Suite 2 (no I do not like to be on the phone with Adobe twice a year, not even once).
Is it management that requires these 'features'? Perhaps you should tell them the story of Real and how far they got by annoying their customers.
Here's a feature that I actually WANT: a way to disable plug-ins in Adobe Reader, so I don't need Speed Launch because all I want is to read some documents. Perhaps the time has come for Adobe Reader Light?
Thank you!
As you might guess, I don't run Acrobat but rest assured that I am relying the feedback from this post to the product managers and engineering managers.
The Good:
- This blog is the first hit for "adobe reader synchronizer" in Google.
- About Plug-ins actually explains what each plug-in does and its filename. Wow - a program that actually explains in English what its parts does!!! Not even IE's plug-in manager goes that far.
- You can disable plug-ins by moving them to the Optional folder (at least in Windows) No Registry editing! Wow!
- Those startup items are in the Startup folder, which is what it is designed for. No registry editing! Wow!
The Bad:
- No explaination of startup items. Do I have to RTFM to find out what they do? Please put them in the About Plug-Ins menu.
- No way to disable Startup items or Plug-ins without moving files around in Explorer. IMHO not terribly bad, because I'm used to hacking the Registry to disable things from *&(^*%*&^( vendors who think they know better...
- Reader 8 won't install on Vista without AppCompat hacks. Get rid of Neptosystems already!
Ok, here is a small UPDATE for the MAC OS problem:
In addition to the file in file in
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat/RdrENU80SelfHeal.xml
you need to apply the same changes from this mod to the READER Application itself (Show Package Contents):
./Contents/MacOS/RdrENU80SelfHeal.xml
This fixed it all for me. No more additions to LoginItems
There is also another amazing assumptoid... in the same Adobe folder, go to Updater5 and look at AdobeESDGlobalApps.xml with an editor of your choice. Please note the IsEnabled key, which stands TRUE (1), and I just assume this is meant to be an indication to update said application(s). Want to bet you can disable it by setting it to FALSE (0)? Just a thought.
Unfortunately, there is some use to Reader, even if I can't think of any first hand. Adobe follows in the footsteps of HP with their incessant helper tool(s), and it all reeks of methods used by Realplayer. I hope Leopard nixes the use for full fledged READER needs.
So let me see if I have this straight - more junk loaded onto our systems without permission, without warning, without even being told what it does, and without need or usefulness for most people? Un-freaking-believeble.
"Features" installing behind my back that I need to Google search and find a developer blog to figure out what they are? Un-freaking-believable.
Here's a stop on the cluetrain for you, Adobe: Users don't want more crap loaded into the Startup folder! What in the world is it going to take for Adobe to understand that bloatware is bad? Acrobat Reader download is up to 21MB (!) and 2 startup items. The entire Firefox browser is 5.7MB and NO startup items. Acrobat 4 times the size of the browser with even more extra startup bloat? Un-freaking-believable.
We don't want download managers. We don't want unneeded/irremovable startup items. We don't want bundled toolbars. We don't want incessant "update" popups. In fact, we don't want any popups at all. Un-freaking-believable.
Acrobat 4 was the last decent version - small download, easy installation, no junk. Acrobat 8? Un-freaking-believable.
I have changed the XML document both in Application Support and inside the application package, but this thing keeps reinstalling itself in my login items. I can't find any Adobe daemon running, but this thing is automagically trampling my login items. One negative side effect is that I installed iScrobbler as a login item but every time Adobe reinstalls itself, it removes iScrobbler from the login items as well. Bad bad bad mojo. Not only is there no customer friendly way of uninstalling it, I think it is presumptuous of Adobe to install it without the user's permission. This is no less annoying than the MS Office PDF Creator plugin (why?!?!) and other marginally useful self-healing Acrobat related apps.
Another voice to join the chorus of criticism of these stupid unnecessary and downright annoying startup items.
Why don't you make them all OPTIONAL for gods sake !!! This product is ridiculously bloated. PDF Writer 8 takes up 1.15GB on my hard disk. My Office 2003 Professional directory is 389MB (contains Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, Access, Publisher and Visio - and there are NO stupid startup items).
And I thought Microsoft were supposed to be the king of bloat. It appears we have a new champion. Nice work Adobe.
I recently downloaded Acrobat Reader 8 to my Windows XP machine. Every time I run it, an EMPTY folder called Updater5 appears in my "My Documents" folder. I delete it, but it just comes back. This is the only site that popped up when I did a search to find out why. I wasn't even aware of the start-up items (though there they are). I deleted Adobe Synchronizer from the Startup list, though I gather this is far from all I have to do. If anyone could post a solution to this annoyance I would be most grateful.
yeap.. i have same problem, afetr install..ohm.. Reader 8 Stinks my machine
Click here to download Adobe Reader! Oh, but wait, it's only the downloader program to get the Reader, something I'll have to uninstall when I'm done.
What's this Updater5 directory in My Documents folder? Thinking it's part of some automatic update checker, I go through all the Reader menus to try and turn it off. Can't find it anywhere. After some research, I find it's under the Help-> Check for Updates menu. Only AFTER checking for updates I get a "Preferences" button where I can disable update checking. Obviously Adobe is trying to hide it.
I think I'm done with this bloatware, when I notice a new "reader_sl.exe" in my process list. I search for this on Adobe's support web site and no hits! A Google search tells me it's Speed Launch, runs from the startup group, and is supposed to make the Reader start faster. I don't want yet another resource sucker on my fast PC! (If the Reader wasn't so bloated, maybe it wouldn't need Speed Launch)?
I go to the Startup group to delete Speed Launch and there I also find Adobe Reader Synchronizer. When will this madness end??? A Google search for Adobe Reader Synchronizer brings me here. Why in the heck would I need this "feature"? Thanks Adobe for wasting my time.
I only want to read and print PDFs, not donate my computer to Adobe! The installation of all these extras without notification or my consent is ridiculous. So ridiculous, that the people who decided to do things this way should be punished!
ADOBE PLEASE STOP adding programs to out startup items without asking! It reminds me of using windows again and how programs can just do whatever they please without any interaction from the user. I dont care if you tell me that it is harmless... If it is truly harmless, let us decide weher or not to use its services. Dont become Microsoft Adobe. RESPECT your users Adobe.
I'm going to agree with sentiments of other comments. Even if it's harmless I don't want this stuff in my startup items without explicitly enabling it, especially since it's related to an Acrobat feature I don't care about and will probably never use.
However, it's a relatively simple fix, and hope it works and keeps it out of my login items.
... sigh...
like others, I found this odd "Adobe Reader Synchronizer" link in my startup folder. Naturally, I asked Google what it was, and the first link brings me here.
What a f'n mess this is. Why must you follow the herd that says more bloatware is good? Why must you add 837454823 features that 1% of your user base is going to find mildly useful? Why can't you keep your basic "PDF reader" basic?
Reader versions 3 and 4 were the last ones worth using. I'm saddened that the newer ones are required by 'the office' for my new installs. Yes, I've got plenty of disk space and processor speed to spare, but that doesn't mean you are entitled to gobble it all up...
Please, please, please - just make a basic reader available. That's all most of us want and need. It's a document *reader*, not an OS or office suite - can you please make the app reflect it's purpose?
I too stumbled on this from a google search for Synchronizer. It's also a bonus that I found mention of the "Updater5" directory. I thought my freshly reinstalled windows got a virus or trojan of some sort because I was slow in reinstalling anti-virus. And to think I'd thought to give Reader 8 a try. I'm going back to Reader 7 and will probably stay there. Maybe I'll try looking for alternatives. Reader 8 simply pushed it over the edge.
121MB in /programs/adobe
9MB more in /programs/shared files/adobe.
2 startup programs.
3 files added to /windows/prefetch
All this to be able to view a simple pdf document.
And yes, the synchronizer does something nasty.
It's a networking agent, and as all such it's a security issue. Which, with Adobe's security track record, is quite scary.
My philosophy: if I don't know what it does, I delete it. If I can't see any difference at restart and I can still use the features I need I empty Recycle Bin. What's not there can't harm you.
How supposedly clever companies can miss the point about users wanting simple products for simple needs? Beats me. They could easily market all the extras as bonus features, instead of bloating the default install: 1) the new features would become more apparent and possibly attract more users 2) they would keep those who don't want them happy. Sounds like a win-win to me...
After all Google didn't become Google by adding dozens of fancy tabs and Ajax features to its search page, it's just as white as 5 years ago. It's so obvious, what can't MS and Adobe get it?
I've got to agree with the Adobe haters here. The program is bloated, slow, and unfortunately, ubiquitous. I'd love to never have to install it again. Nice that you don't need to on a Mac, but I'm on a PC most of the day.
Adobe: Nobody loves you but you. We don't need your download manager, we use Reader because we're forced to, and keep your crap out of my Startup folder. I don't care what it does--if I didn't put it there, it doesn't belong there.
On my new MacBook Pro running 10.4.9, this turd becomes completely useless by crashing hard at every login. Great job, Adobe.
I do enjoy insisting to Adobe apps that Preview open all PDFs, and using the PDF print option to generate them on OS X. These apps are vastly superior to Adobe's own for 95% of the userbase of this doc format.
I feel that Adobe, having absorbed the design software world, thinks that it is now Microsoft, and can enforce its hegemony with its fist. The net result will be earnest and ultimately successful efforts to bypass it at least in the realm of document standards.
Used to like Adobe in the old days of Reader 3 & 4. Ever since then its been on a Super Size Me featuritis curve, gobbling up memory and cpu resources and getting slower by the minute (perhaps the programmers get paid by the number of lines of code they write...) After my XP kept hanging because some Acrobat 7 background process didn't want to quit and I didn't want to install the umpteenth update I've now deleted it, installed Foxit reader and freed up a ton of disk space in the process.
It's a reader of simple PDFs for goodness sake, so why does its fat a*se hog more space than a whole M$oft Office install ?
I'll add to the chorus:
Acrobat Reader is a document viewer. It is not an enterprise-level RDBMS or a clustered application server. It does not need installation management utilities, as if its business domain were highly-complex and resource-intensive.
Acrobat Reader has long been quite buggy on Windows, into the bargain. The latest version is better than past ones in this regard, but it features an incredibly annoying tendency of zooming in to a high magnification when you use the grabber hand to move around.
Like many, I have joined the exodus to Foxit, because the Foxit Reader is what a PDF viewer should be: simple, fast, stable, and with all the basic features of a document reader and nothing else to clutter up your machine. No bugs, muss, nor fuss. I wish all software were written to this level of quality. If I ever need a PDF-authoring tool, you can bet I will try theirs out first.