# Adobe Reader alternative?



## azdood (Aug 24, 2004)

Hello -

Is there a good alternative for Adobe Reader? Something that will let me open all pdf documents? Thanks.


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## WhitPhil (Oct 4, 2000)

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/download.htm


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## azdood (Aug 24, 2004)

Thank you. Would you suggest the PDF Reader or the Foxit PDF Reader?


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## azdood (Aug 24, 2004)

Nevermind. I just noticed that the Foxit version wasn't free. Thanks for your help.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Just curious, whats wrong with Adobe Reader?


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## azdood (Aug 24, 2004)

It's large and bulky and I really don't use anything but the reader. I also don't like the way they do updates. At one time, in order to get one of the updates you have to install the Yahoo toolbar.


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## TOGG (Apr 2, 2002)

The version of Foxit reader that I use was free and the website suggests that it still is;http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php


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## azdood (Aug 24, 2004)

Thanks Togg - 

I guess it's free (?). Here's their legal eagle spiel:

Grant of License: Foxit Software company hereby grants to Evaluator, within the 30-day Evaluation Period, following the execution of this Agreement, a limited, nontransferable, nonexclusive, nonsublicensable, revocable, worldwide license to use one (1) copy of the Software on one (1) computer for the sole purpose of internal evaluation and testing for suitability for commercial licensing by Evaluator only. Title to the Software shall remain with Foxit Software company at all times. 

If not, I'll find out in 30 days. Thanks for the link.


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## TOGG (Apr 2, 2002)

I got my version (1.3.0.909) last November and haven't been bothered since (and I think I had 1.2 before then). At this stage I can't remember being asked for an email address when I did the download and, if they didn't, I don't know how they will find me!

I did notice that the d/l was 1.08 MB, slightly more than the figure given in the blurb, but I expect that's just a failure to update the wording. 

I don't use a lot of pdf documents but, for those I do, Foxit has worked as well for me as Adobe did.


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## azdood (Aug 24, 2004)

Hey, come to think of it, they didn't ask for my email address either. Go figure. 

I'm glad to hear you like the program. I really didn't like Adobe Reader. It was just too big and bulky. Perhaps if I did more with it that just read documents I'd like it better, but for my needs it was like asking a Nobel Prize Winning Genius to read a children's book for me. And the way it opened was annoying. All those patent numbers going by so fast a fly couldn't read them (if flies could read). I wasn't trying to get into Fort Knox, I was just trying to read a little document. 

I look forward to using Foxit. Thank you again for the great link.

David


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## Michel Merlin (Jun 25, 2006)

For a week now, my PC (Uniwill 223ei0 12.1 inch Laptop, Pentium M760 2.0GHz, 2GB, Win XP Pro) has been sometimes extremely slow, so that I couldn't any more do anything on it. I suspected NYT and Google News (for their unsollicited periodic refreshes), MS (Windows updates, IE, OE, etc), closed dozens IE windows, tried everything... no avail. I restarted Windows a dozen times in a week; each time it worked again... and slowed again down to death after a while.

Today I discover a tiny white icon in my Systray, saying nothing but "1%". Clicking it brings a window proposing to stop "it". Stop what? I don't know. I stop it... and discover it is an update to Adobe Reader 8.1.2, that probably has awkwardly tried for a week to find a moment when my Internet Connection was idle. In addition that update is 32MB. Yes, I am not kidding, _thirty-two megaBytes_ of aggravating for the _Painful Document Format_ reader!!! launched _*without my authorization*_, and even _*without notifying me*_!!! in 2008!! Did ever Adobe think where would be Microsoft if acting this dumb and violating users' property this bad?

Since this is not the 1st time it happens to me, I uninstalled Adobe reader 8.1.1 at once: sure I can NOT do without a PC that works, but I can do without PDF documents - and in case I need, I probably can find good alternative programs to just _read_ painful documents; so I googled for "Alternative Adobe Reader", hence my return here - and my thanks for the useful info above, as well as my account in return. I will probably install Foxit Reader next time I need to read a PDF document.

Versailles, Wed 6 Feb 2008 19:55:40 +0100


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

PDF Xchange Viewer
Foxit PDF Reader


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## Michel Merlin (Jun 25, 2006)

Thx. Yes I had also seen the DLsquad page for PDF-XChange.

What do you think about these two - and eventual other ones?

Versailles, Wed 6 Feb 2008 20:35:45 +0100


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## walters4 (Feb 4, 2008)

Also sumatra pdf reader is amazing and really fast..
a few days back came across adoba acrobat reader "lite" version..
you might wanna give these two a shot ?


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## Michel Merlin (Jun 25, 2006)

The main alternatives seem to be, sorted from the most powerful to the fastest:

Adobe Reader 
Adobe Reader 8.1.1 Lite 
PDF-XChange Viewer 
Foxit Reader 
Sumatra PDF
More about them with Google "Sumatra, PDF-XChange, Foxit, Adobe Reader Lite".

An user who tried the 3 last ones (3 Free Fast Alternative PDF Viewers) concludes:
_I have all of them installed on my pc (except for Sumatra as it doesnt need installing), to be honest I prefer PDF XChange viewer. It depends on your needs but as they are such small applications why not try each one and then decide._​Apparently a couple users tend to find _Adobe Reader_ too heavy, _Sumatra_ too limited, _Adobe Reader Lite_ too borderline on the legal side (and still rather heavy), hence most often use _PDF-XChange Viewer_, or _Foxit_ with keeping a shortcut to the heavier _PDF-XChange Viewer_ for the few cases when _Foxit_ isn't enough.

Versailles, Thu 7 Feb 2008 19:14:10 +0100


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

PDFX lets you do some minor editing, to add notes and tags to content so it is very handy.


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## calvin-c (May 17, 2006)

FWIW, Foxit looks more like shareware than free software. Shareware is 'free' in the sense that you can use it while deciding whether or not to buy it (evaluation period). Sometimes that period is explicitly limited (as it appears it is with Foxit). There's often no technical enforcement of the evaluation period but, if you've decided to continue using it then you should support it, i.e. pay for it. OTOH few people do everything they 'should' do which is why so many people think that if they can get away with something it's right. (IOW, it's only wrong if you get caught.)

There is, BTW, no limit that I've seen to the number of times you can evaluate a product. I've extended the evaluation for some products for years-finding them to be the closest to what I want to use, but not quite there yet, and trying & retrying each new incremental version hoping they've come closer. Some do, some don't. Those that do I eventually buy.


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## lister (Aug 10, 2004)

Michel Merlin said:


> For a week now, my PC has been sometimes extremely slow, so that I couldn't any more do anything on it....
> 
> Today I discover a tiny white icon in my Systray....


Took you a week?


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

calvin-c said:


> FWIW, Foxit looks more like shareware than free software. Shareware is 'free' in the sense that you can use it while deciding whether or not to buy it (evaluation period). Sometimes that period is explicitly limited (as it appears it is with Foxit). There's often no technical enforcement of the evaluation period but, if you've decided to continue using it then you should support it, i.e. pay for it. OTOH few people do everything they 'should' do which is why so many people think that if they can get away with something it's right. (IOW, it's only wrong if you get caught.)
> 
> There is, BTW, no limit that I've seen to the number of times you can evaluate a product. I've extended the evaluation for some products for years-finding them to be the closest to what I want to use, but not quite there yet, and trying & retrying each new incremental version hoping they've come closer. Some do, some don't. Those that do I eventually buy.


Having used the Foxit Reader for quite a long time. I can assure you that it is not shareware and there are no prompts to buy anything at any time, nor does it expire. But there are quite a few different options on their site and it is easy to assume that one of their shareware apps is the free reader.

It's sometimes easier to find the free reader off-site:

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/foxitpdf.html


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## Michel Merlin (Jun 25, 2006)

Thx *Elvandil* for the SnapFiles link. I knew, but not everyone knows it, since the main link, Foxit Reader, is unclear, having on the same line a "Price" sub-link saying "$39.00 per user", and a "Get it for free!" sub-link.

However this last one makes clear that, at least for this "*One-time offer*", the "Standard Price","_$39.00_", is replaced with "*$0.00*".

Versailles, Thu 7 Feb 2008 21:40:00 +0100


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## letchworth (Jul 2, 2005)

Elvandil said:


> PDF Xchange Viewer
> Foxit PDF Reader


Thanks for the info on PCXchange-- I really like it- However, it is slower loading than Foxit- So, I use Foxit as my default (lightning fast) viewer--- and PCXchange for times when I want to do more editing/annotation than Foxit allows. I have also had better success copying text from PCXchange than Foxit.

But for quick and easy viewing- you just can't beat Foxit.
letchworth


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## Tommymc51 (Feb 8, 2008)

I've used Foxit Reader for over a year and found it to be excellent. It is my understanding that it is Freeware. There are a few upgrades available that allow editing and form filling to save, but the basic reader is free with no nag screens. The only thing I've run into where Foxit doesn't work is trying to print Click-n-Ship labels from usps.com For this, I leave Adobe installed but not my default reader.


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## caraewilton (Nov 7, 2007)

Just want to thank you guys for the PDF xchange link. I hate adobe 8. For years I stuck with the adobe 5 the full version, but it is now so out of date... Foxit is not enough for what I need for most of my work. PDF xchange is perfect. Only down side is the long load time, but it is no worse than adobe 8 and with the added edit tools worth it. Particularly like the fact that I can set the dpi of snapshots as the poor quality snapsots in adobe 8 was most annoying.


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