Pdf Reader/Flash Player In Chrome

maplichen · 02. Apr 2011, 09:45 PM

Since firefox4 and IE9 are now in stable release I started trying them out a little bit, but almost immediately, I ran into their lack of integrated pdf/flash resources. (If there is an easy way to get similar functionality in these other browsers without downloading the adobe products and I'm just being stupid feel free to let me know.) I then started thinking about how nice it has been to just use chrome as my online or offline pdf reader and not needing to check for updates on the external flash program. Does anyone else do this, or are there advantages I have not come across for having a stand alone pdf reader?

Further, I remember reading in this site's browser review about one of the main disadvantages of chrome being it's large size on your hard disk but I think that if you consider that this size includes a pdf reader and flash player it is actually relatively light on disk space.

That said, I find IE9 to have missed the mark somewhat with their UI design, all the sharp edges and color contrast being visibly jarring and detracting from the advantages of greater screen real estate. Firefox looks beautiful.

J_L · 03. Apr 2011, 04:12 AM

There are addons that allow you to open the pdf using Google Docs, but that has several caveats.

I don't think any other browser has a built-in pdf reader.

Native PDF readers are usually lighter and contain more features than Chrome's. They also display PDF files better and are more compatible.

As for Flash, the plugin Chrome uses should be the same as all other browsers, except for Internet Explorer. It may be more convenient letting Chrome update it for you, but not by much.

Chrome's size is huge compared with other browsers. Look at Opera and SeaMonkey, they contain far more features and yet are smaller in size.

maplichen · 03. Apr 2011, 06:38 PM

Thanks JL. That firefox addon does about half of what I was looking for so it will be very helpful in my experiments with that browser. I hadn't run into those compatibility issues yet but its good to be warned about that potentially coming up so thanks a lot.

As for the size issue, if you get a chance could you let me know how I need to adjust these calculations for HD space used(I used minimum system requirements listed by manufacturers as a guide):

Google Chrome: 100mb (browser w/pdf reader & full flash player) + 52mb (added Thunderbird, although I don't use a separate mail client, to make a fair comparison w/ others) = 150mb

Opera: 100mb (browser w/ mail client) + 52mb (foxit pdf reader) + ~50mb (Adobe Flash Player) = 202mb

Seamonkey: 50mb (browser w/ mail client) + 52mb (foxit pdf reader) + ~50mb (Adobe Flash Player) = 152mb

Just curious. I definitely admire and have used Opera in the past. And while I haven't used Seamonkey, I can't imagine Mozilla putting out a less than exemplary product. I doubt too many people are really strapped for disk space as it is.

J_L · 03. Apr 2011, 10:15 PM

I was talking about installer size.

Where did you get those information on installed sizes? They're completely different from what I got by installing the programs on my virtual machine.

Chrome: 173 mb
Opera: 17.6 mb
SeaMonkey: 39.4 mb
Thunderbird: 33.3 mb
Foxit PDF Reader: 11.5 mb
Adobe Flash: 6.01 mb

By the way, SeaMonkey includes IRC Chat, and Opera includes a BitTorrent Client as well.

maplichen · 04. Apr 2011, 04:32 PM

Thanks JL, and I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to have to do all that work. I probably should have just set them all up myself to compare since I was curious. For installer size of course you are right and I was just taking numbers from the minimum system requirements for hard drive size listed by each maker on their website. Your numbers are obviously far more accurate and I forgot to consider the value of the bittorrent application, only rarely downloading torrents myself, although I can't think of any useful application of an IRC client. Thank you for clarifying this for me.

J_L · 05. Apr 2011, 12:24 AM

No need to be sorry, I was pretty curious myself.

What really surprised me is the size of Google Chrome installed.
87.2mb of the size is an Installer folder within the Application folder. It's necessary for uninstallation.
Without that folder, Chrome is still a bloated 85.8 mb.

02. Apr 2011, 09:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
maplichen Full Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 36	Pdf Reader/Flash Player In Chrome Since firefox4 and IE9 are now in stable release I started trying them out a little bit, but almost immediately, I ran into their lack of integrated pdf/flash resources. (If there is an easy way to get similar functionality in these other browsers without downloading the adobe products and I'm just being stupid feel free to let me know.) I then started thinking about how nice it has been to just use chrome as my online or offline pdf reader and not needing to check for updates on the external flash program. Does anyone else do this, or are there advantages I have not come across for having a stand alone pdf reader? Further, I remember reading in this site's browser review about one of the main disadvantages of chrome being it's large size on your hard disk but I think that if you consider that this size includes a pdf reader and flash player it is actually relatively light on disk space. That said, I find IE9 to have missed the mark somewhat with their UI design, all the sharp edges and color contrast being visibly jarring and detracting from the advantages of greater screen real estate. Firefox looks beautiful. __________________ The big yellow one is the sun

03. Apr 2011, 06:38 PM	#3 (permalink)
maplichen Full Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 36	Thanks JL. That firefox addon does about half of what I was looking for so it will be very helpful in my experiments with that browser. I hadn't run into those compatibility issues yet but its good to be warned about that potentially coming up so thanks a lot. As for the size issue, if you get a chance could you let me know how I need to adjust these calculations for HD space used(I used minimum system requirements listed by manufacturers as a guide): Google Chrome: 100mb (browser w/pdf reader & full flash player) + 52mb (added Thunderbird, although I don't use a separate mail client, to make a fair comparison w/ others) = 150mb Opera: 100mb (browser w/ mail client) + 52mb (foxit pdf reader) + ~50mb (Adobe Flash Player) = 202mb Seamonkey: 50mb (browser w/ mail client) + 52mb (foxit pdf reader) + ~50mb (Adobe Flash Player) = 152mb Just curious. I definitely admire and have used Opera in the past. And while I haven't used Seamonkey, I can't imagine Mozilla putting out a less than exemplary product. I doubt too many people are really strapped for disk space as it is. __________________ The big yellow one is the sun

04. Apr 2011, 04:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
maplichen Full Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 36	Thanks JL, and I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to have to do all that work. I probably should have just set them all up myself to compare since I was curious. For installer size of course you are right and I was just taking numbers from the minimum system requirements for hard drive size listed by each maker on their website. Your numbers are obviously far more accurate and I forgot to consider the value of the bittorrent application, only rarely downloading torrents myself, although I can't think of any useful application of an IRC client. Thank you for clarifying this for me. __________________ The big yellow one is the sun

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03. Apr 2011, 04:12 AM	#2 (permalink)
J_L Co-Author, Best Free Security List Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,475	There are addons that allow you to open the pdf using Google Docs, but that has several caveats. I don't think any other browser has a built-in pdf reader. Native PDF readers are usually lighter and contain more features than Chrome's. They also display PDF files better and are more compatible. As for Flash, the plugin Chrome uses should be the same as all other browsers, except for Internet Explorer. It may be more convenient letting Chrome update it for you, but not by much. Chrome's size is huge compared with other browsers. Look at Opera and SeaMonkey, they contain far more features and yet are smaller in size.

03. Apr 2011, 10:15 PM	#4 (permalink)
J_L Co-Author, Best Free Security List Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,475	I was talking about installer size. Where did you get those information on installed sizes? They're completely different from what I got by installing the programs on my virtual machine. Chrome: 173 mb Opera: 17.6 mb SeaMonkey: 39.4 mb Thunderbird: 33.3 mb Foxit PDF Reader: 11.5 mb Adobe Flash: 6.01 mb By the way, SeaMonkey includes IRC Chat, and Opera includes a BitTorrent Client as well.

05. Apr 2011, 12:24 AM	#6 (permalink)
J_L Co-Author, Best Free Security List Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,475	No need to be sorry, I was pretty curious myself. What really surprised me is the size of Google Chrome installed. 87.2mb of the size is an Installer folder within the Application folder. It's necessary for uninstallation. Without that folder, Chrome is still a bloated 85.8 mb.