Recommendation for pdf viewer/reader

[yorkshirelad1]

Finally had enough of Acrobat Reader (it's simply bloatware now).
What are the group's recommendations for a pdf reader/viewer (the ability to do basic edits is not obligatory, but might be nice)
I've heard good things about Foxit.
TIA
Allan

[tjh290633]

Firefox comes with a PDF viewer, js.exe I think. I much prefer Acrobat Reader.

TJH

[JonE]

Finally had enough of Acrobat Reader

I happen to prefer PDF-Xchange Reader (haven't yet migrated to their Editor) for my purposes. Small and quick with bags of utility.

One of the many benefits I find with portable applications is that you can evaluate candidate software without having to formally install it so can quickly and cleanly get rid of it should you wish. Both of the PDF-XChange programs plus Foxit and Sumatra are available in portable form from here:
https://portableapps.com/apps

Cheers!

[Watis]

Another recommendation for Foxit Reader from me.

As well as enabling you to read pdf documents (obviously!), it has the additional functionality of form filling in suitably enabled documents and save the result.

Watis

[Slarti]

On the advice of somebody at the previous place, I decided to try SumatraPDF https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/free-pdf-reader.html

As a straightforward reader it is simple and small.

Slarti

[kiloran]

Foxit Reader Portable for me.
https://portableapps.com/apps/office/fo ... r_portable

Used it for many years without any problems

--kiloran

[Infrasonic]

If you mainly need the reader capability rather than editing then a browser extension might work out OK.
In Chrome I use PDF viewer...https://chrome.google.com/webstore/deta ... e-ntp-icon

If you have Outlook.com/Office Online or Office 365 you can read PDF (+Word/Excel/PP) attachments in preview online.
In the free Gmail you get the option to download or save attachments to Google Drive (where you can view online with the built in PDF facility), so not quite as flexible.

I prefer to look at all email attachments, random PDF web links et al online first, once I'm happy they seem legit and clean I'll send them somewhere for storage if needed, generally a cloud folder, which if I need offline access to I'll mark as such for PC/phone download.

[Watis]

For really basic pdf viewing, printing and saving, don't forget the Edge browser.

Edge will be your default pdf viewer if you're running Windows 10, until you install something else.

Watis

[Infrasonic]

Firefox browser extension options here, including online viewing/editing https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefo ... ppver=65.0

[UncleEbenezer]

I tend to use whatever comes as default on a system: for example, xv, xpdf or ghostview work nicely.

Adobe's reader is far too heavyweight, and sometimes plays sillybuggers with basic functions like selecting text for cut&paste (apparently that's when a document marks itself as in some way protected, but whatever the reason it's not a risk I want to take). Those bundled with office suites and image editors are also options I don't really favour, unless perhaps my need to view a PDF arises from work using them.

The one I actively avoid is the web-browser-based javascript crap, that tends not only to be brittle but also grinds everything to a halt. When I say actively, that means I sometimes have to take the trouble to reconfigure a browser that comes configured to use JS when I click a PDF link.

[panamagold]

Add me to the Foxit count.

[fourtwentyfour]

I use foxit with windows 10 but find that when I think I have set my printer and the foxit settings to print double sided it still prints on two sheets, not always but mostly.

[yorkshirelad1]

Finally had enough of Acrobat Reader (it's simply bloatware now).
What are the group's recommendations for a pdf reader/viewer (the ability to do basic edits is not obligatory, but might be nice)
I've heard good things about Foxit.
TIA
Allan

Thanks for all the recommendations. Am going with Foxit.

[superFoolish]

On the advice of somebody at the previous place, I decided to try SumatraPDF https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/free-pdf-reader.html

As a straightforward reader it is simple and small.

I used and recommended SumatraPDF for over a decade, but I tend to use Chrome as my PDF reader these days.

[syrio]

Just use your web browser. No need for a separate pdf viewer these days.

[Slarti]

Just use your web browser. No need for a separate pdf viewer these days.

Surely the whole point is to not use the web browser, so as to limit the maliciously crafted pdf's access to your system?

Slarti

[neversay]

I detest bloatware but last year actually moved back to Adobe PDF on the basis of security. In the past Adobe have produced some shockingly insecure software and had their servers hacked but they have tightened up as a response. While Sumatra, Nitro etc are fast and lightweight, I don't have the same confidence that any security holes are being publicised or fixed. Just my personal view.

[Slarti]

I detest bloatware but last year actually moved back to Adobe PDF on the basis of security. In the past Adobe have produced some shockingly insecure software and had their servers hacked but they have tightened up as a response. While Sumatra, Nitro etc are fast and lightweight, I don't have the same confidence that any security holes are being publicised or fixed. Just my personal view.

Security is the reason I won't have any Adobe products on my computers. Their reputation is just too bad.

Slarti

[syrio]

Surely the whole point is to not use the web browser, so as to limit the maliciously crafted pdf's access to your system?
Slarti

No, I don't think so. A PDF viewer will have the same access to your system as a web browser.

Generally I would prefer to have as little extra software installed on my system to limit the attack surface, so I wouldn't install a separate viewer unless there is some feature I need, like editing PDFs that the browser doesn't offer.

I also think that is likely that security problems in the popular browsers will get fixed and updated more quickly than standalone PDF readers.

[Infrasonic]

In Chrome there is a global setting for turning off local PDF viewing, and in the extension I use there is also a similar setting, as well as telemetry being switched off and a host of other more granular settings.

Firefox also has preview only as the global PDF setting for me, download is an option.

I have Edge as the W10 default PDF viewer, so any offline local client copies would open with that.
I never use it in that capacity though, I store my PDF's online in the cloud and view there. The vast majority get previewed in Office Online first via email attachments.

Some of them like timetables, maps et al I have saved for offline use on my phone (if there's no signal) and I use the default PDF viewer there.