Requesting Adobe Acrobat — License, Install, and Setup Process

⚠️ Adobe Acrobat (Pro or Standard) requires a paid license and is installed/configured with IT involvement. It is NOT a self-service installation. The process below typically takes up to 3 business days from manager approval to fully working software.

ℹ️ Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) comes pre-installed on all Argus staff workstations. You can use it immediately to open, view, and print PDFs — no request needed. This article is only for Acrobat Pro or Standard, which allows you to edit, combine, compress, redact, fill, sign, and export PDFs.

This article walks you through requesting and getting Adobe Acrobat set up at Argus. The process has several steps, some of which involve you, some of which involve IT, and one of which requires coordinated time between both. Please read through the whole article before starting.

What You'll Need

1. Approval from your manager or GM. Adobe Acrobat is a paid license — request approval before submitting a ticket.
2. A valid company email address (this will become your Adobe ID).
3. A scheduled time with IT for the installation and sign-in (~30 minutes).
4. Patience — once manager approval is granted, the full process takes up to 3 business days. Please plan ahead and don't wait until you urgently need Acrobat.

The Process — Overview

Step 1: Get Approval From Your Manager or GM

Adobe Acrobat is a paid license, so all new requests require management approval. Before submitting an IT ticket:

1. Talk to your manager or GM.
2. Explain what you need Acrobat for (editing PDFs, redacting documents, combining files, etc.).
3. Get explicit approval — confirm by email is ideal so you can include it in your ticket.

Tickets submitted without approval will be held while we contact your manager — this can add days to the process. Please get approval first.

Step 2: Submit an IT Ticket

Submit a ticket with the following information. Copy the block below and fill it in:

ADOBE ACROBAT LICENSE REQUEST
=============================

Requester name:
company email address:
Job title:
Property / department:

APPROVED BY (manager / GM):
Approval date:
(If approval was via email, please attach or paste it.)

LICENSE TYPE
[ ] Acrobat Pro (full feature set — recommended for most users)
[ ] Acrobat Standard (basic editing only)
[ ] Unsure — please advise

REASON FOR REQUEST
(Briefly describe what you need Acrobat for — e.g., "redacting guest records before sharing,"
"combining vendor invoices for accounting," "filling forms from suppliers," etc.)


URGENCY
When do you need this by:
Is this for a specific project or deadline:

Step 3: Create Your Adobe ID

⚠️ You must complete this step before IT can assign you a license. Without an Adobe ID, your license has nowhere to go.

An Adobe ID is a free account on Adobe's website. It's how Adobe tracks who is licensed to use their software. Your Adobe ID must be created using your company email address — IT can only assign licenses to company email accounts.

How to create your Adobe ID

1. Open a web browser and go to https://account.adobe.com.
2. Click Create an account.
3. Fill in:
   • Email address: your company email address (e.g., yourname@argusproperties.ca, yourname@eldoradoresort.ca, yourname@fourpointskelowna.com)
   • First and last name: as you'd like them to appear on Adobe correspondence
   • Password: create a strong password (this is separate from your Argus password)
   • Date of birth: as required
4. Click Create account.
5. Adobe will send a verification email to your company inbox. Open it and click the verification link.
6. Confirm to IT (via reply to your ticket) that you've created your Adobe ID and verified your email.

💡 Tip: Write down your Adobe ID password somewhere safe (a password manager is best). You'll need it during the install session, and Adobe accounts are separate from your Argus login.

Step 4: IT Purchases the License

Once we have your approved request and you've confirmed your Adobe ID is created, IT will:

1. Purchase an Acrobat license on the Argus Adobe account.
2. Assign the license to your Adobe ID.
3. Reply to your ticket once the license is active on your account.

This step takes up to 3 business days depending on Adobe's processing time. There is nothing to do during this period — we'll update the ticket when the license is ready.

Step 5: Schedule an Install Session With IT

Once IT confirms your license is active, the next step is the installation session. This is required for proper setup — please don't try to install Acrobat yourself. There are several specific steps during installation where IT needs to be present to ensure things are configured correctly.

How scheduling works:

1. IT will reply to your ticket with several available time windows.
2. You pick the window that works best for you from the options provided.
3. If none of the offered windows fit your schedule, reply explaining your constraints (meetings, shifts, off-site work, etc.) and IT will work with you to find a time that accommodates your daily workflow.
4. Once a time is confirmed, make sure you'll be at your assigned Argus workstation at the scheduled time — not on a personal device, in a meeting, or travelling. Each install session takes about 30 minutes of focused attention.

Step 6: The Install Session — What Happens

The session typically takes 20–30 minutes. During this time, IT will be at your workstation (in person or via remote support):

1. Download and install the Adobe Acrobat application.
2. Walk you through the first launch.
3. Have you sign in to Adobe Acrobat using your Adobe ID (your company email + the password you set in Step 3).
4. Verify the license is active and Acrobat is fully functional.
5. Configure standard preferences (PDF default behaviour, etc.).
6. Confirm with you that everything is working before closing the ticket.

Why IT needs to be present: the installation and sign-in process has a few specific configuration steps that need to be set correctly to avoid licensing errors and to ensure Acrobat works with the rest of your Argus profile. Doing it yourself often results in a follow-up ticket to fix it — which adds delay.

After Installation

You're ready to use Adobe Acrobat. A few notes:

• Your license is tied to your Adobe ID, not your computer. If you switch workstations, you'll need to sign in with your Adobe ID on the new device.
• Don't share your Adobe ID with other staff. Licenses are per-user, not per-property. Sharing violates Adobe's terms.
• If you leave Argus, your Adobe license will be reclaimed and reassigned. Your personal data in Adobe (preferences, sign-in history) will go with the account.
• Adobe Acrobat updates automatically — you may occasionally see update prompts. Approve them; they keep the software secure.

Common Questions

"Why can't I just download it myself?"

Adobe Acrobat downloads from Adobe's site, but without an assigned license, the install will only give you a 7-day trial. After that, the software stops working. The license assignment (done by IT to your Adobe ID) is what makes it permanent.

"Why does the request take so long?"

The longest portion is Adobe's license processing on their end (up to 3 business days). IT processes the local steps within hours of having what we need. Submitting early in the week, with manager approval already secured, gives the best chance of having everything ready within the same week.

"Can I have a temporary license?"

There is no "temporary" Adobe license available through Argus IT. If you need to edit a one-off PDF, free alternatives exist:

• Microsoft Word can open and edit many PDFs directly (Open → choose PDF).
• Online PDF editors (use cautiously and never with confidential Argus documents).
• Print, edit by hand, scan — old-school but effective for some workflows.

"Can someone else use my license while I'm not?"

No. Adobe licenses are tied to individual Adobe IDs. Sharing logins is a violation of Adobe's terms and may result in the license being deactivated.

"Do I need Acrobat Pro or Standard?"

For most Argus use cases, Pro is recommended — it includes redaction, advanced editing, OCR (text recognition in scanned documents), form creation, and more. Standard is missing some of those features but is slightly cheaper. If you're unsure, IT can advise based on what you described in your request.

When to Submit a Ticket

This article describes the request process. Submit a ticket if:

• You want to request Adobe Acrobat for the first time (use this article's steps).
• You already have Acrobat but it's stopped working (sign-in failure, license expired warning, etc.).
• You've changed workstations and need help signing into Acrobat on the new device.
• You need to upgrade from Acrobat Standard to Pro (or vice versa).

What to Include in Your Ticket

For new requests, see Step 2 above for the full template. For Acrobat-related troubleshooting tickets, please include:

1. Your company email address.
2. Your Adobe ID (the email you used to set it up — should be the same as your company email).
3. Your workstation's asset tag (the small Argus IT label).
4. The error message you're seeing, if any. Screenshot is ideal.
5. When you last successfully used Acrobat, if applicable.

Related Articles

• New User Onboarding Request — What to Include (KB-3001) — for new staff who need Acrobat from day one
• How to Request New Hardware (KB-200001) — separate from software requests
• Outlook Keeps Prompting for Password — First Steps (KB-130008) — for Argus password issues

KB-200002 | Created: May 20, 2026