TechNote (Archived)

Speed Launcher in Acrobat 7.0, Adobe Reader 7.0 and Acrobat 3D (Windows)

What's covered

Overview

Running the Speed Launcher

Disabling the Speed Launcher

The Adobe Acrobat Speed Launcher is a program installed by Adobe Acrobat 7.0, Adobe Reader 7.0, and Acrobat 3D to optimize the speed of the programs. The version installed with Adobe Reader 7.0 is called the Adobe Reader Speed Launcher.

Overview

The Speed Launcher is installed into your computer's Common Startup group and runs when your computer starts. The Speed Launcher quickly opens and closes all of the files that Acrobat or Adobe Reader will use when the application starts. Opening and closing the files allows your virus protection software to check these programs and add them to its list of safe files. The application opens more quickly because these checks have been performed.

Note: These files are only opened and closed; they are not executed in any way. The Speed Launcher process does not remain in your computer's memory; it quits as soon as these files have been opened and closed.

Running the Speed Launcher

The Speed Launcher runs automatically when your computer starts. The Speed Launcher is not required in order to use Acrobat 7.0 or Adobe Reader 7.0. However, if you disable the Speed Launcher you may notice an increase in start time when you run Acrobat 7.0, Acrobat 3D or Adobe Reader 7.0.

Disabling the Speed Launcher

To disable the Speed Launcher, remove the Speed Launcher icon from your Startup folder.

Note: If you have both Acrobat 7.0 and Adobe Reader 7.0 installed on the same system, you will see two icons for the Speed Launcher in the Startup folder. You should remove both icons to disable the Speed Launcher for Acrobat 7.0 and Adobe Reader 7.0.