Many people do not like Adobe PDF Reader because it is extreme overkill for the simple task of reading PDF’s. As a result, said people use an ‘alternate’ PDF viewer (such as Foxit Reader), however if you are looking for the ultimate lightweight PDF reader then you need to check out the open source program Sumatra PDF.
To quote their website:
Why another PDF reader?
Sumatra has a minimalistic design. Simplicity has a higher priority than a lot of features.
It’s small and starts up very fast.
It’s designed for portable use: it’s just one file with no external dependencies so you can run it from external USB drive.
For the minimalist, the benefits are obvious. The only problem you may have is reading PDF’s which have ‘newer’ encodings or were geared specifically towards Adobe Reader (which unfortunately is an assumption some people make).
If you are currently using Sumatra PDF, what are your findings on compatibility?
Jason Faulkner is the man who brings you our daily tips. He is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
One reason i like about linux or at least xfce (xubuntu) is it comes with document viewer a univesital light weight viewer that includes pdf
I have been using Foxit for a few years now. Good stuff. Adobe Reader is indeed total bloatware. They also cant seem to stop with the nagging popups that you need to do this or do that.
Adobe Reader is hopelessly bloated but unfortunatley irreplacable. I have tried Foxit Reader, Sumatra reader, Cool PDF Reader and EasyReader. NONE of them can handle complex documents. They especially have problems with spreadsheets and graphics in columns.
On websites, I often have to include a warning to readers, that these programs will not show downloaded files accurately – even annual reports and financial statements come out wrong using these programs.
I keep trying alternatives to Adobe because I hate it, but have not yet found the cure.
Has anyone tried PDF SpeedUp? It’s supposed to make Adobe Reader load faster and react faster by suppressing unneccesary plug-ins. Does it work???
http://download.cnet.com/PDF-SpeedUp/3000-18497_4-10307090.html?tag=mncol