Adobe Acrobat reader is a software package that is almost synonymous with PDF itself. While this application is full of useful features, unfortunately it has also developed a reputation for being a difficult application to learn and use.
Let's zoom into some of the differences between Adobe Acrobat and Drawboard PDF.
Adobe and Drawboard are both set up in a similar way when it comes to top level navigation. Both apps have the concept of a dashboard, a place to view all documents that have been recently worked on. The dashboard view then leads to a canvas workspace that allows users to work on a single document.
The Dashboard level is where operations are done at a document or inter-document level, like searching for a document, or exporting a document for example. The Canvas is where changes to the content within the individual documents are made.
The Adobe dashboard offers many options for where the user can go next. This may present a somewhat cluttered experience for users which could make the dashboard a more difficult space to learn. In contrast the Drawboard dashboard offers curated interactions which lead through to deeper functionality. This is the key difference in design philosophy between drawboard PDF and Adobe Acrobat.
The Adobe Acrobat canvas view prioritizes immediate access to the functions and tools Adobe Acrobat has to offer. This of course comes at the expense of clutter, screen space and workspace for the PDF itself
The advantages of less visual noise and a bigger workspace are clear - with Adobe Acrobat having less of both, which has been shown to lower productivity.
When it comes to comparing features between Acrobat and Drawboard PDF the reader must first understand where the applications came from.
Adobe Acrobat has been around for 30 years and for much of this time was the only option available for working with PDFs.
Adobe has been in a non-competitive environment with very little feedback from end users for a long time.
Drawboard PDF on the other hand was born in an Adobe-dominated world.
To compete in an Adobe arena Drawboard PDF had to offer the best tools with the best UI and open communication between users and developers. Drawboard PDF also chose the ‘one-bite-at-a-time’ approach to compete by chipping off niches within the wide variety of PDF use cases.
The first of which was the new emergent technology of Touch Screens. Drawboard delivered an ideal experience for touch screen users, particularly in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industries.The Drawboard PDF team understand this space, with founders and developers having stemmed from these industries.
The constrained UI and large touch-targets necessary for such use cases helped to elevate the UX design from the approach Adobe Acrobat was taking. Gaining a strong following with Touch and Non Touch users who were seeking market leading user experience and design, Drawboard enjoys strong product market fit in this area.
Visit our Drawboard v. Acrobat page. This is a deep dive into functionality offered and extends beyond what is generally shown on feature pages on Adobe.com
Note: This is the long tail of features not mentioned by either product because they are simply generally expected. E.g the ability to select and drag an annotation.
There is a significant apples and oranges comparison problem here where each platform describes a solution to a problem which might be a different approach or done to a different degree.
An example would be the feature Drawboard calls “Signatures Unlimited”. This feature offers the ability to build and store a bank of signatures which can be placed on a document for signing. Adobe offers only a single signature in Acrobat, with limited functionality in creating that single signature.
Depending on how you work with PDFs, having a clear outline of features offered will give you the insight to choose the best solution for you.
If you’re a technical user, say an architect or construction manager, who needs to do a lot of markups then Drawboard PDF would be the clear winner.
Our advice to customers appraising the Drawboard PDF and Adobe Acrobat products would be to take the following approach:
Now, consider that user experience matters (of course it always does). In cases where both Adobe Acrobat and Drawboard PDF commonly offer the same feature, compare the user experience of these features.
We’ve covered features, then user experience, last but not least, one must consider the direction the platform is going. While PDF has been around a long time, innovation in this space continues to accelerate.
Here are some examples of technologies that are changing the game:
Each of the above subjects are catalyzing more and more innovation and functionality.
Here’s how PDF solutions are generally handling this:
Group A) Not innovating quickly. This is generally an incumbent with large market share.
Group B) Some innovation but new functionality is stacked on old and UX suffers
Group C) Fast innovation with improving UX.
Obviously group C is a rarity here, however Drawboard sits proudly in this group. Where is your current solution in these options?
Adobe Acrobat reader is a software package that is almost synonymous with PDF itself. While this application is full of useful features, unfortunately it has also developed a reputation for being a difficult application to learn and use.
Let's zoom into some of the differences between Adobe Acrobat and Drawboard PDF.
Adobe and Drawboard are both set up in a similar way when it comes to top level navigation. Both apps have the concept of a dashboard, a place to view all documents that have been recently worked on. The dashboard view then leads to a canvas workspace that allows users to work on a single document.
The Dashboard level is where operations are done at a document or inter-document level, like searching for a document, or exporting a document for example. The Canvas is where changes to the content within the individual documents are made.
The Adobe dashboard offers many options for where the user can go next. This may present a somewhat cluttered experience for users which could make the dashboard a more difficult space to learn. In contrast the Drawboard dashboard offers curated interactions which lead through to deeper functionality. This is the key difference in design philosophy between drawboard PDF and Adobe Acrobat.
The Adobe Acrobat canvas view prioritizes immediate access to the functions and tools Adobe Acrobat has to offer. This of course comes at the expense of clutter, screen space and workspace for the PDF itself
The advantages of less visual noise and a bigger workspace are clear - with Adobe Acrobat having less of both, which has been shown to lower productivity.
When it comes to comparing features between Acrobat and Drawboard PDF the reader must first understand where the applications came from.
Adobe Acrobat has been around for 30 years and for much of this time was the only option available for working with PDFs.
Adobe has been in a non-competitive environment with very little feedback from end users for a long time.
Drawboard PDF on the other hand was born in an Adobe-dominated world.
To compete in an Adobe arena Drawboard PDF had to offer the best tools with the best UI and open communication between users and developers. Drawboard PDF also chose the ‘one-bite-at-a-time’ approach to compete by chipping off niches within the wide variety of PDF use cases.
The first of which was the new emergent technology of Touch Screens. Drawboard delivered an ideal experience for touch screen users, particularly in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industries.The Drawboard PDF team understand this space, with founders and developers having stemmed from these industries.
The constrained UI and large touch-targets necessary for such use cases helped to elevate the UX design from the approach Adobe Acrobat was taking. Gaining a strong following with Touch and Non Touch users who were seeking market leading user experience and design, Drawboard enjoys strong product market fit in this area.
Visit our Drawboard v. Acrobat page. This is a deep dive into functionality offered and extends beyond what is generally shown on feature pages on Adobe.com
Note: This is the long tail of features not mentioned by either product because they are simply generally expected. E.g the ability to select and drag an annotation.
There is a significant apples and oranges comparison problem here where each platform describes a solution to a problem which might be a different approach or done to a different degree.
An example would be the feature Drawboard calls “Signatures Unlimited”. This feature offers the ability to build and store a bank of signatures which can be placed on a document for signing. Adobe offers only a single signature in Acrobat, with limited functionality in creating that single signature.
Depending on how you work with PDFs, having a clear outline of features offered will give you the insight to choose the best solution for you.
If you’re a technical user, say an architect or construction manager, who needs to do a lot of markups then Drawboard PDF would be the clear winner.
Our advice to customers appraising the Drawboard PDF and Adobe Acrobat products would be to take the following approach:
Now, consider that user experience matters (of course it always does). In cases where both Adobe Acrobat and Drawboard PDF commonly offer the same feature, compare the user experience of these features.
We’ve covered features, then user experience, last but not least, one must consider the direction the platform is going. While PDF has been around a long time, innovation in this space continues to accelerate.
Here are some examples of technologies that are changing the game:
Each of the above subjects are catalyzing more and more innovation and functionality.
Here’s how PDF solutions are generally handling this:
Group A) Not innovating quickly. This is generally an incumbent with large market share.
Group B) Some innovation but new functionality is stacked on old and UX suffers
Group C) Fast innovation with improving UX.
Obviously group C is a rarity here, however Drawboard sits proudly in this group. Where is your current solution in these options?
We are a PDF and collaboration company. We believe that creating more effective connections between people reduces waste.
Our best work has been overtaken by busywork. That’s why we’ve created ways to help people get back to working wonders without any paper in sight.
Drawboard PDF lets you mark up and share with ease, and Drawboard Projects brings collaborative design review to architecture and engineering teams.
At Drawboard, we work our magic so our customers can get back to working theirs.
We are a PDF and collaboration company. We believe that creating more effective connections between people reduces waste.
Our best work has been overtaken by busywork. That’s why we’ve created ways to help people get back to working wonders without any paper in sight.
Drawboard PDF lets you mark up and share with ease, and Drawboard Projects brings collaborative design review to architecture and engineering teams.
At Drawboard, we work our magic so our customers can get back to working theirs.
