If you didn’t read my previous article, here’s what you need to know:

• Adobe DLM is a “download manager” plugin that is installed in your browser by default when trying to install some Adobe products such as Flash player and Reader.  This software simply performs the download (just like your browser normally would), and has no real added benefit.
• These products will run just the same whether you use Adobe DLM to download them or use the standard installer directly.
• The standard installer is not the default method to install these products, so you’ll want to follow this procedure whenever installing Adobe products to avoid extra software.

Update 10/6/2010

As noted in the comments, Adobe has now changed their website so the Reader installer is even harder to find.  By default, you are now required to download Adobe DLM, then cancel the download, click a secondary link, then remove Adobe DLM.

Not fun, right?  Don’t worry, here’s the solution:

Step 1: Open Adobe’s FTP server in your browser and select your operating system (“win”, “mac”, or “unix”).

Step 2: Select the most recent core version of the software.  In my case, this was “9.x”.

Step 3: Select the newest version listed again.  In my case, this was “9.4.0”.

Step 4: Select your language from the list.  United States English is “en_US”.

Step 5: Download the .exe installer and install Adobe Reader as usual.  That’s it, you’re done!

Removing Adobe DLM

If you’re using Firefox and have installed Adobe products in the past, you can check to see if Adobe DLM was installed by going to Tools –> Add-ons and locating it in the list.  From this menu it can be disabled and/or removed.

The post How to Install Adobe Reader Without Installing Adobe DLM (Download Manager) Browser Plugin first appeared on Techerator.

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t mind Flash.  What I dislike is when Adobe starts forcing me to install an intermediary application, Adobe DLM, to install Flash instead of directly installing the software.  For those of you that have been on the internet for a while and remember “download manager” applications, when was the last time you needed one in the age of high speed internet?

I’m sure Adobe has plenty of reasons for wanting you to download and install two applications instead of just one, but I’m not having it.  And unfortunately for all of us, the default (and only obvious) way to install Flash is to install the Adobe DLM plugin to your browser.  You’ll probably notice this little yellow bar at the top of your browser when you try to install Flash:

Even I am tempted to quickly grant access to Adobe DLM so I can get my Flash fix on.  But you can install Flash without Adobe DLM with just a few steps:

Installing Adobe Flash Player without Adobe DLM

Step 1: Instead of installing Flash from the normal installation page, head to the Flash troubleshooting page.  You can alternatively get to this location from the normal installation page by clicking the link “click here for troubleshooting information” as shown below.

Step 2: On the troubleshooting page, click the link that says “Troubleshoot Flash Player installation”.  I haven’t tested this in other operating systems, but I was presented with a specific Windows link.  Please post in the comments if you’re using another OS and see something different.

Step 3: Skip all the steps presented on this page and instead click the link that says “Download Flash Player with the manual installer”.

Step 4: Select the correct file for the browser you are using.  One file is for Internet Explorer, the other is for all other browsers.

Now just install Flash as usual.  It was a little more work, but now you are only installing the software you wanted to use in the first place.  Hooray!

If you’re using Firefox and have installed Flash in the past, you can check to see if Adobe DLM was installed by going to Tools –> Add-ons and locating it in the list.  From this menu it can be disabled and/or removed.

The post How to Install Adobe Flash Player Without Installing Adobe’s DLM (Download Manager) Browser Plugin first appeared on Techerator.