As a follow up to my previous post, that tells how to speed up Adobe Reader I have decided to write about its better alternative Foxit Reader and compare it with Adobe Reader.
Firstly, the latest version of Adobe Reader is about 33.5 Mb while Foxit Reader setup is only about 3.0 MB. Clearly, Foxit Reader has no frills attached and also does not provide all those redundant plugins that are provided by default in Adobe Reader. Also, the startup time varies considerably which is about 10 seconds for Adobe Reader while only 1-2 seconds for Foxt Reader. A primary reason is that adobe loads all the plug-ins which greatly increases its loading time.
Adobe, aside from the waiting time, crashes about 50% of the time I use it; however, Foxit hasn't crashed on me once.
Another great feature of Foxit is that you can highlight text in a PDF as well as leave notes (like post-its) on text - all within the free version of the software. The current version of Foxit Reader is a significant improvement over Adobe Reader, adds useful features, has a small foot print and is easy to use.
Foxit Reader also works brillantly when paired with PDF Download extension of Firefox. Here are the steps needed to integrate Foxit with Firefox’s PDF Download Extension:
* Once PDF Download has been installed a new selection, “PDF Download - Options” will appear in your Tools menu. Select this option.
* On the ‘General Tab’, for Default Action, select ‘Open PDF‘
* On the ‘PDF opening’ Tab, for the PDF File Opening, select ‘Use this viewer‘
* Click ‘Browse’ in Windows Explorer locate the Foxit Reader (FoxitReader.exe) and click ‘OK’
* Click ‘OK’ again to exit out of the PDF Download - Options.
Now whenever you come across a PDF File, Firefox will automatically load in the Foxit Reader, a process which depending on your system speed with be nearly instant to a couple seconds. Note: Firefox downloads the PDF File in order to open it.
All in all, Foxit reader wins the battle being a less stressful PDF reader. Have your say on this topic, if you liked Foxit Reader or Adobe Reader, by commenting.
Download Foxit Reader 2.3
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Nice information about adobe reader. Good info and knowledge for the users who use the .pdf file. firefox 3 have included its very nice.
ReplyDeleteThanks for share information....
Thanks for appreciation my efforts.
ReplyDeleteHope you will continue visiting my blog and continue commenting on the articles.
Expecting the same from other blog readers as well!
This article is really good.
ReplyDeleteWow - sounds like you are still using an old version of Adobe Reader.
ReplyDeleteOn July 1st, 2008, we released Adobe Reader 9 which runs FASTER than FoxIt Reader while still offering you all the same extended functionality it always has (and more!).
I recommend you check out Reader 9 and then report on your experiences. You can download it from http://www.adobe.com/go/reader.
Leonard Rosenthol
Adobe Systems