Best Free Non-Adobe PDF Reader

I used Foxit Reader for a long time and I have been happy with it until about few months ago when I noticed some display problems. The symptoms are always the same: pages otherwise displayed correctly in other PDF readers, are displayed incompletely or not displayed at all (white pages or, even worse, empty gray frames). Initially, I assumed that the problem only happens only with certain files (usually large files with lots of graphics). The reality is that Foxit fails to display pages mostly when the whole system is heavily loaded (for example, when Firefox, which is a memory hog, is running and multiple windows or tabs are active). This does not have anything to do with the lack of memory (I have 4GB of RAM, and using anywhere between 0.7 to 1.2GB). Nor it has problems with graphical resources or desktop heap space (that I increased anyway). However, it seems to be something else that fixes as soon as I reboot the system; then Foxit Reader works just fine for about one to three days, then I starts failing again more and more often. Closing programs or running memory optimizers seems to help briefly (few hours maybe) but then the problem returns. Other programs seem to run fine.

I have a PC equipped with an Intel Quad Core CPU at 2.4 GHz, 4GB RAM, 2x1TB HDD, Nvidia 8600 GT (256MB), dual monitor (one in Portrait mode, one in Landscape mode) and Windows XP Pro SP3. Not a gamer system - mostly office work.

Did anybody experience similar problems? Maybe using other programs as well. I need some clues...

Thanks

Unfortunately, none of the viewers presented here have the same text clarity and readability as the original Adobe Acrobat Reader.

I don't see much of a point in changing from Adobe, from that basic and vital starting point.

If there is an alternative to Adobe Reader which can produce the same text quality and readability, let's hear about it, I'll be the first one to install...

PDFill has printer driver that works great
PDF Xchange viewer is best in my opinion.
So use both to have the complete functionality most people need

+1 for the unwanted installation of stuff by foxit

i am going to switch to another prog, bye bye foxit

A new free PDF reader, SlimPDF Reader is out.Check it out!
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Office-tools/PDF/Slim-PDF-Reader.shtml

foxit reader pro is free now! very good!

What do I do to open/read PDF files that I download, or attempt to download, which won't (apparently) let me use a reader other than Adobe Reader?

Thanks very much for your help! Chuck

I'm a civil engineer, and recommend STDU Viewer. I've tried Foxit, Adobe Reader and Sumatra, but they cannot compare.

If you're reading scientific pdfs, give STDU Viewer a try!

Just tried STDU viewer.
It is unable to change the background color of the PDF file while reading.
For me,it is important that the background color can be changed to another color instead of the default snow white.

I recently found a very good and light PDF viewer - evince.

It is one of the main document viewer in linux but also work on xp.
try it.

For users of Foxit Reader, a must read :

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/29/foxit-updates-free-pdf-reader-to...

PDF-XChange Viewer is IMO the best "copy" of Adobe Reader ever, and it seems to be the only one that comes in a 64bit version too. A++++

Just wanted to say thanks for your compilation. I have used a few of the programs you covered and your summaries are great.

using sumatra long time ago and no complains...
its just TOO fast, i love it.

Have to dump Nitro for PDF-XChange... Nitro fails too often to display pdfs, usually when zooming or page tabing (using win7)

foxit is no.1 then nitro

Adobe probs again, incl flash.

'Adobe warns over unpatched PDF peril'

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/07/adobe_0day/
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/advisories/apsa10-01.html

Is there any downside to the portable version of PDF-XChange Viewer?

I'm gonna stay with PDF-xchange simply b/c it is a smaller download and is the bomb!

Nitro PDF Reader seems pretty good, but I'll stick with PDF X-Change Viewer because:
1, No "ribbon" interface;
2, Lower resource usage (about half as much as Nitro according to Sysinternals Process Explorer);
3, Smaller;
4, It looks like the sales crew from Nitro has started piling on the posts much like the Puran crowd did in the disk defragmenter section.
"Lack of browser integration"...browser integration or lack thereof is an option in most if not all PDF readers so that is not an issue.
Regarding the option to print pdf's without having to install a separate PDF printer, so what? the Nitro setup program installs a pdf printer just like Bullzip or PDF Creator etc, they just include it in the same download.

Sorry about the last post. I don't know why it lost all the formating and smashed all the paragraphs together. I'll check the FAQ to see if can find a solution for it, but if someone knows what I'm doing wrong please let me know. Thanks.

Nitro PDF Reader is without question the new king of PDF Readers! With PDF creator/printer included, and editing tools that all the other readers want $$ for it's a winner hands down. Full 64 bit support is great even if the PDF printer is the only part that is native 64 bit. Also the PDF printer/creator is the best I've seen for available options other then the very expensive Adobe PDF Distiller that you only get with Adobe Pro.

I was a diehard Foxit PDF Reader user. I even purchased a Pro license from Foxit so I could use it's editing features. Now Foxit is off my PC because I get the editing for free with Nitro, and Nitro does it better to boot.

Also you have to check out Windows Explorer Preview after you install Nitro PDF Reader. You can browse though pages or see all the pages in the Explorer Preview window. It's an incredible feature that makes managing a large number of PDF documents a total snap.

As for browser support, why would you even want it? All you get is the PDF open in window with most of your PDF tools missing. With every reader I disable disable in the browser and tell whatever web browser I'm using you open PDF links with the full reader. Then when you click a PDF link the full reader will automaticly open up and display the PDF. From there you can do whatever you want with the PDF file. Maybe it's a slow Internet connection thing but I don't understand why anyone would want their PDF doc to open in the browser. I hate it and go out of my way to disable it with every PDF reader I have used. If Nitro doesn't have browser intergration I think it's great and another selling point for using it.

STDU Viewer is the best free PDF reader. We can see many documents in just one window, and it's very small also.

The new Nitro PDF Reader has been killed as a PDF-XChange Killer:
http://www.nitroreader.com/

I am very satisfied with the free and fast foxit PDF Reader.
.. expect of the ads in the free version, which seemed to be usal:
http://www.webutation.org/en/review/foxitsoftware.com

I had the Adobe Reader before and have to say especially the loadtime to quickview a pdf is massive overkill.

Thank you for your list of pdf reader!

Does anyone know if PDF-Xchange is more secure than adobe or foxit. I keep reading about these pdf exploits?

I am facing a problem while using PDF-Xchange Viewer on my Win7 64 bit laptop.

The program is using over 100 MB of memory while running. Is it normal or have I set some wrong settings.

I just tried to download PDFXVwer V2-050both the msi and the exe installers from the site you point to. I got a page with the message: "Not Found;The requested URL /f9bffe7798354d5ccfb7a3d7a8c9e55d was not found on this server. ". I went over to Download.com and was able to pull the zip file. The portable file seemed to dload OK though.

Foxit Reader is not very secure:
http://blog.didierstevens.com/2010/03/29/escape-from-pdf/

Sumatra, PDF-XChange Viewer, or even Adobe Reader are better at security

Ref:
http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/hacker-finds-way-exploit-pdf-files-wit...

As a former Foxit user, my hands down favorite for the past year and a half is PDF-Xchange. I don't find it any slower than Foxit (even on old PIIIs), love the annotation tools, and don't have the on-screen and print rendering problems I've had with Adobe or Foxit. It will also detect and resave PDFs with errors, which has fixed some PDFs Adobe didn't like. Use it at home, use it at work even on A1/A0 Plotters. The size can be pared down by deleting unused languages, and the EXE can be compressed to at least 50% the size by using UPX. Memory usage may appear high, but it is simply caching pages so it won't re-render them if you scroll back. This is configurable in options. I also enjoy the variety of keyboard shortcuts (such as F11 to hide toolbars). A downside to PDF-X is the toolbars by default are a mess, and give it a cluttered appearance. The space wasting "upgrade" ad can be reduced by editing the exe with a resource editor.

I keep Foxit around for one very useful reason. It can add bookmarks to PDFs for free. Between the dozens of free pdf printers, PDFTK (builder) to split and merge PDFs, PDF-X to annotate, and Foxit to add bookmarks, there's a lot of free PDF work that can be done for free, for commercial use.

For web browsing personally I do not want PDFs to open automatically in the browser. I prefer it to launch in the separate viewer window, as I can maximize it easier. As well, given that recently Adobe Reader is a major source of security flaws, I do not want my PDF viewer launching unsolicited in the web browser. As well, for all viewers, Javascript should be disabled.

From the terrible installer, to the unexplained waste of 200MB of hard drive space, to the security exploits, to the Explorer plug-in bogging down the computer, to sneaking on garbage browser toolbars, any of these options are winners compared to Adobe reader.

Here is another with an impressive list of features

Nuance Free PDF Reader

http://www.nuance.com/imaging/products/pdf-reader.asp

Moderator's Comment:Thanks for your contribution. Feature list removed as people can check this website for themselves :)

By the way, thanks for researching and writing this article. I have used all the programs you recommended and feel you did a very good job of summarizing the pros and cons of each. Another big thank you for enabling comments so that we could all share our experiences and comments. Altogether an excellent and useful article.