Need A Pdf Reader

can anyone recommend a reader for me? since MS retired their reader application i haven't decided on what 3rd party program i would install....however as you already that Microsoft is directing users to open PDF documents in their Edge Browser...i just wouldn't feel confident to open them with quite a bit of personal info in a browser,but i do not see a problem using it for online PDF's.
i used to use adobe and foxit but if someone has a reader they're satisfied with please point me to a link.

Mj

 

I use PDF-XChange Viewer.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/pdf_xchange_viewer.html

 

thanks Eldon,
will give it a try,looks like what i needed for a small HD(120GB)
appreciate the suggestion.
Mj

 

Thanks, I'm going to try it as well. Currently using Foxit PhantomPDF and I just can't warm up to it.

 

I'm doing a new Win7 install 'cause 10 just sucks and I too am looking for a pdf viewer other than the viewer in Firefox and that awful Adobe Reader. I noticed the support for Sumatra PDF on MajorGeeks and downloaded that but I also found 'PDF Reader' from PDFLogic Corp at http://www.pdfseven.com/reader.html yet couldn't find any comment on this one at MajorGeeks and their app discription seems to be the better tool. Can anyone comment on these apps please? I will test run these in a VBox VM and report my findings as soon as I can

 

I gave it a quick test: very slow opening an 8MB A3 plan cf. Sumatra, popups on close promoting upgrades/other products. Uninstalled.

 

I have been using the 64 bit Nitro Reader for quite a while and find it really good. It allows creation of pdf documents and also editing of pdfs including government pdf forms that are often difficult to edit and it is freeware.
Previously I used Foxit Pro because it came free with a HP desktop but after 6 months it wanted me to pay for an upgrade I didn't want or need and it kept emailing several daily reminders so I blacklisted Foxit on my mail server and deleted it from my systems. Previously we used Acrobat Professional but it became too expensive and the constant upgrades were really tiresome so I haven't used Adobe Acrobat or reader for 5 years and don't miss it at all.
So far Nitro has been really good and just does the job. Highly reccommend. Rating 5 Geek o-licious

MGs page on Nitro Reader https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/nitro_pdf_reader.html
32 bit from MGs https://www.majorgeeks.com/mg/getmirror/nitro_pdf_reader,1.html
64 bit from author's site https://www.majorgeeks.com/mg/get/nitro_pdf_reader,2.html

 

I'm going to give that Nitro 64 bit a shot joffa, thanks.

 

Happy to help and please let us know what you think....... and if you like it give it a Geek o-licious rating on MGs

Something I find really handy that I didn't add is that I use it to combine pictures off my scanner or from my camera or my phone into a single pdf file so if I want all the related pictures from some event I just have to find one pdf file (file is called the event) and I have all the related pictures in one location. I save each picture in the highest resolution and each picture is a separate page in the pdf document to make retrieving the pictures simple..........works for me

 

I have used Foxit free version for about 10 years now and it has always been fine (XP, Win7). Quick to open and small footprint.

Good Luck

 

I want to thank pistol for starting this thread and everyone since for their posts.
These 3 apps cleared COMODO's (comodo.com) anti-virus scan and were listed as Trusted but any one of them could easily contain a hidden event trap to do something unexpected. All 3 loaded a 200 page doc super quick running in a 32bit Windows 7 Pro VBox VM under a Debian 9.4/xfce host.
And now, my reviews:

1) PDF Reader v1.2.2 by PDFLogic Corp.
occupies 6MB disk space
CONS:
- only one doc can be open at a time
- continuous page view / bookmarks and other options only work in the Pro version
- very clunky "slide show" mode
- no form field editing
- few preference settings
- always? displays an upgrade reminder on close

PROS:
* didn't try to access the internet without permission


2) SumatraPDF v3.1.2 (portable) by Krzysztof Kowalczyk and others
occupies 6MB disk space
CONS:
- no form field editing
- no first/last page toolbar icons (must use home/end keys)
- online manual
- makes continuous read/writes to the hard drive

PROS:
* doesn't try to access the internet without permission
* a stand-alone open source program (no msi)
* handles multiple open docs
* bookmarks/search/goto/zoom tools work
* several page viewing options
* very clean GUI
* multi-language support


3) Nitro Reader v5.5.9.2 by Nitro Software
occupies 94MB disk space
CONS:
- tries to access the internet without permission
- EULA! (do not install while online) Must click on 'configuration' button on EULA screen BEFORE
installation and uncheck all boxes to disable default setup.
- Must edit ALL preference settings at first run prior to using
- funky 'drop-down' menu GUI
- installs a 'DriverCreatorReadSpool' service which should be stopped and set to Manual Start
in AdminTools>Services
- bookmarks kinda/sorta work, depending on the doc
- no jump-to page tool

PROS:
* form field editor WITH spell/value checking
* extensive settings editor
* multi-language support
* really good screen rendering
* navigation/search/bookmark pane
* slider zoom control is awesome
* better page viewing options than the others
* handles multiple open docs
* full user guide
note: 9 unexpected extra features were not tested


SUMMARY:
Nitro Reader is the better pdf viewer to use providing its access to the internet is blocked at all times and the app is closed when not needed. Its pricey pro version isn't for normal use. Thanks joffa for mentioning this.

SumatraPDF (portable) would be a really good tool if the constant read/writes to the hard drive were eliminated and form field editing was supported.

PDF Reader was the poorest work of these 3 apps and now I know why it's not mentioned/supported by MajorGeeks!

 

Great review!
But you omitted the first one recommended.
PDF-XChange Viewer.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/pdf_xchange_viewer.html

 

Sorry 'bout that Eldon but you have the most experience with it so I'll leave it to you write one

-guess I should check it out for myself too

 

That'll be great.

Note:
Tracker Software has posted on their site that PDF-XChange Viewer has been replaced by PDF-XChange Editor. Two years later... and the viewer is still available!
The last time I installed the 'free' editor most of the features were only available in the Pro version. And the editor is a huge 142 MB download.

 

You worried about 142MB yeesh.Don't download GTA 5 then lol that's 75gigabyte download.

 

I have used Foxit be for as well.Worked well for what i needed it for.

 

Thanks Eldon! You just saved me valuable time comparing the two versions. The screenshots I saw of the viewer version leads me to believe it will be the better of all of them but now I see two positive posts for Foxit which has me curious...

because I hadn't seen anything else about it that peaked my interest so maybe I'll post a comparison of those two(?) Curious to hear what pistol has to say about PDF-XChange

 

I've not used the Portable but my checks on W7 with the x64 installer version suggest no such reads/writes once a pdf has loaded. It might be something specific to the Portable but I suspect it's probably more to to with the subsystems/libraries used by your distro, or the VM.

 

It will take me some time to get used to it. Seems OK though but I may uninstall it and follow El Steve-o's instructions...

" EULA! (do not install while online) Must click on 'configuration' button on EULA screen BEFORE installation and uncheck all boxes to disable default setup."

 

Thanks satrow, I'll test it too. Meanwhile, for anyone still interested, I located a review on techradar.com titled The best free PDF reader 2018 by Mark Wycislik-Wilson from April 25, 2018 at:
https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-free-pdf-reader
where Foxit, Nitro, XChange, and SlimPDF are featured.

 

Yo, kilo! There are only two default settings on the install configuration screen:
1) set as default viewer
2) add a plugin to your internet brower
You don't need to uninstall and re-install to change those settings. The real settings change you should make is to the 'DriverCreatorReadSpool' service which you will find at:
Control Panel > Administration Tools > Services
and 'Stop' that service from running then change it to a 'Manual' start instead of 'Automatic' from the properties screen of that service. Do this to help secure your system as that service has no business running in the background and should only be started when needed. And don't forget to block Nitro's access to the internet as it tries to call home and tell on you - and who knows what else.

 

Officially PDF-XChange Viewer has been discontinued.

https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer
However, it's still available for download from Tracker Software's site (and sites like MajorGeeks), and was updated 4 July 2018.

Worth noting:
The download, both 32-bit & 64-bit, is just 17 MB, whereas the portable version is 8 MB.
Windows XP to 10 are supported.
The manual is a separate download @ 7 MB.
The OCR feature is second to none. (Sometimes a PDF file is actually an image in a "PDF wrapper" making searching and/or selecting text for copying impossible. Using the OCR feature overcomes that.)
While the PRO features can be used (leaving a watermark on every page), they can be hidden.

All these PDF viewers get the job done. The additional features offered will depend on each user's needs.

 

Thanks, but I cannot find anything labeled as 'DriverCreatorReadSpool' in services?

 

I did install it. Read farther back.

 

I just found it...it's called "NitroReaderDriverReadSpool5". I stopped it and, in properties, changed the startup type to manual.

Thanks.

 

KG - look for anything with Nitro in the name in Services. It was listed close to the top in my install. I have deleted that VM so I can't go back to it for further study

 

That's all I had listed.

 

The list of features is impressive with lots of good reviews behind it and seems to be the best replacement for Adobe Reader. The manual download is at:
http://help.tracker-software.com/EUM/default.aspx?pageid=pdf-xchange_v4_products
I haven't tested it yet but I will shortly.

 

Very interesting because that is what it was named when I first spotted it and then when I looked again for it to name in my review, the name was changed! I suggest a periodic check should be made to see if any changes occur, like resetting to Automatic Start or duplicating the service itself. Nobody needs malware.

 

Thanks but, everything can be downloaded by clicking the arrow head and selecting what you want/need.

 

There's the Portable version download link! I was looking for that

 

WOW!!! That Portable PSF-XChange Viewer v2.5 IS THE Bomb!!! Just what I was looking for!

I created a folder to unzip the downloaded file into (incase it didn't make its own) and created a link for the exe on the desktop and there it is. Fully installed occuping 27MB of disk space. The customizeable toolbar is perfect. Editing the preferences was easy. Has all the features needed in a viewer and then some. Gets 5 Geek-o-licious stars from me guys - even though it tries to access the internet through explorer.exe by way of svchost.exe without permission (I keep that door closed at all times because many apps try to do that)

So much for Foxit or Nitro and their screen cluttered MS Office style menu. Who uses MS Office? As for SumatraPDF, well, it's just a little too lite on the features.

Hope this review and all the former posts satifies everyone in search of a pdf viewer. This trek has been fun for me. Thanks Everyone!

 

yes, I know... my fingers and eyes don't work all the time and a 10 minute limit to edit a post is too quick for my brain

 

OK, PDF-XChange Viewer v2.x is the regular program for PC's I take it? Portable being for Iphones and such?

So far, I don't care for Nitro's layout...too much menu and too darned bright.

This is where I DL'd it from: http://help.tracker-software.com/EUM/default.aspx?pageid=pdf-xchange_v4_products

 

You can download the latest PDF-XChange Viewer from MajorGeeks.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/pdf_xchange_viewer.html

The portable version is for PCs.

 

So, what's the difference between that and the one I DL'ed (PDF-XChange Viewer v2.x)?

 

I'm still very satisfied PDF-XChange, it is my default reader. very easy to manage, opens up quickly with even larger sized pdf books & illustrations.
and the tabs are very clear,orderly and easy to manage.
no nag pop-ups, just straight up simple on demand functionality.
closes quick and clean.
very happy with Eldons brilliant suggestion.

 

So glad we could help.

 

The one you downloaded is the regular version that installs.
plodr uses the portable version that can be run from a flash drive or a folder on the PC.

 

Hi my fellow , i am using

https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/stdu_viewer.html

it's very good

 

Are you using it in Windows 10?

 

Your post tells me absolutely nothing. How is it very good? Compared to what?
The portable STDU viewer v1.6 is more useful than SumatraPDF and only occupies 9.4MB but it does not support form field editing like the PDF-XChange viewer for example. I like the icons on the STDU toolbar but the portable PDF-XChange version does everything STDU does and much more. Here's a screenshot...

 

I would like to add a sidenote about the portable PDF-XChange viewer - this app has not tried to access the internet since my first run and there are no Ad banners other than the button in the top right corner to download more tools. I see the PDF-XChange viewer as the best app available, free or otherwise!

 

As per the website...
STDU Viewer supports Windows 2000 to 7. And was last updated 27 April 2015.
http://stdutility.com/stduviewer.html

 

I a

I am using Windows 7 32 bit

 

Hi my friend , i was using Foxit reader but wasn't good because my cpu was full during Foxit reader started up , i don't compare PDF-XChange to STDU , simply i write my experience , even i was working with Sumatra Pdf , was good and light Pdf reader , thank you for the information about PDF-XChange