Best Free Non-Adobe PDF Reader
Sick to death of Adobe's slow, bloated PDF Reader? If so, then consider one of the excellent free third party viewers that are available.
First there is the Foxit Reader. It's small, loads in a flash, supports bookmarks, has search capability, offers many views and even allows you to annotate PDF files. On top of that it can print PDFs as well. On the downside I find the PDFs look less clear on my PC screen than with the Adobe Reader and the annotation feature leaves validation marks that can only be removed by buying the full version of the reader.
Rather clearer in its rendering is PDF-XChange Viewer. Like Foxit it also allows PDF annotation, but in this case it thankfully leaves the annotated copy free of validation marks. It also allows you fill and save Adobe PDF forms, extract text and images, magnify text and export PDF pages or documents to BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PNG formats. The only downside is the program size; at 13.2MB it's nearly seven times larger than Foxit. There is a lite version available that's half the size but missing most of the features.
If size matters to you then check out the 802KB Sumatra Reader. Yes, the interface is a little cruder than Foxit and no, it hasn't got the features or image clarity of PDF-XChange but 99.9% of the time all most folks want from a PDF reader is to be able to read PDFs. And that's what Sumatra does simply and well. And did I tell you that it's also portable?
Foxit Reader
Website: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/
Download page: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php
Author: Foxit Software
Current version: 2.2 Build 2129
Version date: 29/9/2007
License: Free for basic version, various prices for other versions and add-ons.
Download file size: 3.65 MB
Operating systems supported: Most
Additional software required: None
Portable version available: Yes
Non-English languages supported: Eastern Asian Language support available.
Other relevant information: All available on main website via links.
PDF-XChange Viewer
Website: http://www.docu-track.com/home
Download page: http://www.docu-track.com/home/prod_user/pdfx_viewer/
Author: Tracker Software Products
Current version: 1.0.0034
Version date: 30/1/2008
License: Free
Download file size: 13.2MB
Operating systems supported: Windows 2000-Vista
Additional software required: None
64 bit capable: No
Portable version available: Yes
Other relevant information: Available on website.
Sumatra Reader
Website: http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/index.html
Download page: http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/download.html
Author: Krzysztof Kowalczyk
Current version: 0.8
Version date: 01/01/2008
License: Free
Download file size: 802KB
Operating systems supported: All Windows including Vista
64 bit capable: No
Portable version available: Can be run from USB drive
Non-English languages supported: Many – Instructions on website.
This software category is maintained by volunteer editor Jim Campbell. Registered site visitors can contact Jim by clicking here.
Delicious
Digg
Technorati
I've recently been testing out another free option called eXPert PDF Reader from Visagesoft. The download file is just under 8MB and you can find the download link at http://www.visagesoft.com/products/pdfreader/.
I haven't used it very often, but my impression is that this program loads quickly and displays PDF files cleanly and clearly. It appears to have the same basic tools as most free PDF readers including text and graphic selection tools that allow you to copy and paste content elsewhere, but it also provides options to add comments and attachments to the file. (Serious editing requires buying their eXPert PDF Editor companion program.)
So far it looks like it might be a keeper.
Nitro PDF is also worth a look. It is a bit slow on html conversion but watch for deal pricing and you'll be pleased.
Yes, I have already tried it using the Firefox extension and I like it. The latest versions also produces PDF's online without the need of any aditional software installed, and the quality - comparing with Adobe Pro - is very reasonable; the bandwidth is limited though, I was only able to do 1 multipage PDF at a time.
I've tried Foxit Reader before but didn't find it very stable. I may try PDF-XChange sometime.
As much as I hate the bloat of Adobe Acrobat Reader, I don't believe there are any alternatives out there that perform as well.
One thing that irritates me is how Adobe keep adding unnecessary features to the .pdf standard, forcing you to upgrade to the latest reader in order to properly display the latest files. Is it just me, or has Adobe turned into the Microsoft of the publishing software world? --Igor
Is it just me, or is Adobe Reader 9.0 much faster than 8.0? Seems very quick. Still a very large download though (33.5MB).
Best Free Non-Adobe PDF Reader is Adobe Reader Lite: "This is a bloat-free version of the popular PDF viewer, Adobe Reader, brought to you by Shark007, the creator of Vista Codec Package".
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Office-tools/PDF/Adobe-Reader-Lite.shtml
Adobe Reader Lite as Best Free Non-Adobe PDF Reader, that's classic!
Anyway, these are some pros and cons for me (others' opinions will of course be different):
Pros:
* Opens much faster than normal Adobe Reader
* Good compatibility, renders PDFs correctly where others sometimes fail
* Memory usage is about the same as other contenders
Cons:
* Installer gives no options as to what to install, where to install to, etc.
* Just takes over the system from other PDF reader and when uninstalling it, it does not revert the system back to the way it was, at least it removed all the installed files
* Installed its 50MB in size (and that's just the Reader directory, it installs files in other directories as well)
* There's still a pop-up asking about sending anonymous feedback regarding usage to Adobe, I call that bloat, so not every useless feature is removed
* No portable version
* Does not have some of the added features that other contenders have
Bloat-free and it's still a 16.5 MB download? No thanks!
If the installer size is the only thing it matters to you, don't use it. There's no comparison between Adobe Reader with Foxit or PDF-X in terms of render quality or PDF compatibility.
I used Foxit for about a year and couldn't stand the fact that you couldn't highlight and save without the evaluation marks on the pdf. I've switched to PDF-XChange a few months ago and love the fact that you can highlight and annotate and save without the marks. However, I recently have been noticing that PDF-XChange is somewhat sluggish in rendering pages. I have tried to tweak my settings but this has not yet helped. Opening up the same file in Foxit the page is rendered faster.
For PDF-XChange Viewer the article states: "There is a lite version available that's half the size but missing most of the features." This is untrue.
There is a portable version that is smaller in download size (4.39 MB), but the functions are exactly the same as the normal installer one. In fact, the PDF-XChange Viewer EXE file for both are about 6.4MB in size.
See comments below, I've already said that. The portable version doesn't have the IE/FF plugins, manual, and "live" update. Lite is shareware, maybe it wasn't in the good old days...
http://www.pdf2exe.com/reader.html
Foxit is very good for text documents, but for images and specially for vectorial images is very, very bad - not really an alternative to Adobe free. Recently I couldn't see some images (perfectly displayed in Adobe pro), the program prompted me to upgrade, but there was no new version... I tried to contact their technical support, but they give me no feedback, so I'm willing to try PDF-XChange Viewer. Problem is their site is down...
So I download PDF-XChange Viewer (2.0) from Snap files and must say it renders smothly the file where Foxit (2.3.2923) stuck. The downside is memory usage, with this 4MB pdf crowded of vectorial images it uses 450MB of RAM. On the other hand, opening the 10 MB Acronis manual, it uses 48MB of RAM.
I don't like the GUI, but you can hide all the toolbars including the advertising, shortcuts are easy and common, the app really keeps the saved settings, you get a plugin for IE AND Firefox and it has some advanced features to tweak memory and thread usage. Too bad you cannot change the bookmarks style, they could alow you to hide those intrusive icons. Overall I think its better than Foxit.
Another reason not to use Foxit is that the unninstaller simply doesn't work. I knew this was true in previous versions but can confirm 2.3.2923 has the same problem. After installation of PDF-XChange Viewer, I couldn't set it as my default viewer. The reason? - left over pieces of Foxit in the registry. I had uninstalled with Revo, scanned and cleaned the registry with Ccleaner, but I was able to find and delete 25 KB of Foxit data (a lot!) running regedit. Cleaning the registry manually was the fix, take care!
I've also found that PDFs with lots of vector diagrams are using lots of memory, up to 512MB for me, but it doesn't go higher than that. It will start off low, and for each page opened the memory usage will climb.
I thought it might be a memory leak, so I did a little bit of digging, there is a setting for "Memory usage", with "System memory in percentage points". Set this to a certain level and the memory usage won't go over that.
I think what happens is that it stores all the previous pages in memory, so if you go back it shows up instantly. All pages gets stored until it reaches the allowable memory usage, then it starts releasing some of the pages from memory.
I've uninstalled FoxIt, very much impressed with PDF-XChange Viewer since it also loads very quickly, you can add commenting to files and also fill in forms and save it.
Jim, the Lite version costs $24 for single user and it has more features than the viewer. You are probably talking of the 4MB portable, right?
Foxit reader is great. I use it all the time, however when I try to download Vanguard Funds tax documents, it won't let me. Is there a way? It wants me to use adobe reader. My adobe reader 8.1.2 is corrupted and it won't let me uninstall it.
Search revo in the uninstall section.
I just tried STDU and I am on board... I have been a user of Foxit v1.x for some time now but STDU looks pretty sweet too... thanks for the tip!
PDF-XChange Viewer does not allow you to fill and save forms. I tried it with a pdf with editable text fields and PDF-XChange Viewer only deleted the default text, would not let me fill in new text. Any suggestions on a free viewer that would let me add new text to editable text fields?
Sumatra worked for me on State taxforms.
I tried Foxit first, but it wouldn't work.
Sumatra Reader
Website: http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/index.html
Download page: http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/download.html
Just tried PDF-XChange Viewer with a form and it works perfectly: filled in the fields and saved it. Maybe there's something wrong with the document.
Another vote for STDU Viewer, tabs + bookmarks ... it's excellent !!!
give a try for stduViewer, reads at the same time pdf, djvu and tiff. Perfect combination and supports tabs.
http://www.stdutility.com/stduviewer.html
On a quick test run I liked STDU's rapidity and clean interface but was less impressed by the image clarity: when I tried an article with poor resolution quality both PDF-XChange and Foxit were way clearer (the difference in quality was immediately apparent to the naked eye).
Can you send to us (support at stdutility.com) this article? May be we will can upgrade functionality of our PDF renderer.
Thank you anyway.
STDUtility support team.
I have only ever tried FoxIt, but it works nicely for me, with no complaints. And it's waaaaay faster that Adobe, so you can't go wrong.
Post new comment