Reliable Adobe alternative pdf Reader?

i8change

I like using VLC, ImgBurn and other alternatives, but have so far been reluctant to dump Adobe Reader.

Can anyone who has tried alternatives, like Foxit or PDF-XChange Viewer, recommend them? Is it worth changing from Adobe, or are they problematic?

Just want to read pdf files (manuals etc) and be able to open/save them from the web.

I don't care much about bloat/file size, but need something reliable that won't crash Windows 7 (32-bit) or cause problems for Firefox with its "add-on."

Many thanks for any replies.

weegie.geek

Foxit is fine, yep.

DCFC79

Second vote for foxit

spud17

Used to recommend Foxit, but didn't like the way it always tried to install its toolbar etc.

Moved to PDF-XChange, and it's been fine, apart from reading PDFs I don't use it much but get the impression it has more working functions than Foxit.

Not crashed yet on Win7 64bit. Fingers crossed.

Extract from Gizmos site

Like Foxit, it allows PDF annotation; but in this case, it thankfully leaves the annotated copy free of validation marks. It also allows you to fill and save Adobe PDF forms, extract text and images, magnify text and export PDF pages or documents to BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PNG formats and has excelent image/text clarity. The only downside is the program size; at 15.91 MB. However, there is a portable version available that is only 6.18MB.

spud17

Warning about Foxit.

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/29/foxit-updates-free-pdf-reader-to-v4-but-watch-out-for-adware

i8change

Thanks for all the replies.

Am I right in thinking that if I want to open/save pdf files from the web I must include the Firefox add-on when installing these readers?

Or are they not necessary?

turbobob

If you want to open them in your browser then yes you need the appropriate plug in. If you are happy to have documents open in a seperate window then you can set Firefox to do this rather than use the plug in. In Firefox click Tools, Options, choose the Applications tab and for content type Adobe Acrobat Document, instead of the browser plug in choose Foxit Reader or whatever you choose to use.

BTW I've had some problems with the Foxit Firefox plug in with Windows 7 (apparently also affects Vista). Theres a known bug which causes it to hang, and they don't appear to have fixed it yet.

shaun40400

im using adobe and dont have a great deal of problems with it,,,however editing was,,,
freind gave me this tonite,works well

im saving pdf with snapashot its a page at a time, but leaves me free to alter catalogues / photos to my requirements
http://nicekit.com/screen-capture/best-free-snapshot.htm
v3.5 is best

spenderdave

Only those who use the installer version of Foxit get all the nasty toolbars. Download the .zip version from http://www.foxitsoftware.com/downloads/ then just extract the program to a suitable folder and run it. Then select the options not to show the ads and to turn off the ASK button by the search box.

Foxit. PDFXchange and Sumatra are all excellent, there is NEVER any need to use the Adobe bloat.

weegie.geek

spenderdave wrote: »

Only those who use the installer version of Foxit get all the nasty toolbars

And even then, only those unable to read.

spud17

spenderdave and weegie.geek

Not sure if you both read the link in post#5, but the point is, with the latest version, and choosing custom install, still leads to the Ask toolbar being installed despite opting to leave it out.

Hence the accusation of adware.