Getting  Along With Your Computer Column Archive

Alternatives to Adobe Reader

By Cate Eales
Appeared August 23, 2007 on castanet.net

We all need to view documents with a .pdf extension from time to time, and we have all used Adobe Reader. Once the standard for viewing .pdf files, Reader has become an annoying, bloated program. Here are two alternatives that are free, easy to install and use, and do not hog resources.


How many versions do you have?
Several clients and readers commented on a recent column in which I encouraged everyone to visit Secunia.com to find out what software should be updated. This email best sums up the confusion:

My question is in regard to Secunia Software Inspector. The first thing it did was to show me that I have 8 Adobe Acrobat programs. All of them outdated. I chose the first one 4.0 and updated it to 8.0. Now I have 9 Adobe programs.

Am I safe to delete all but the latest?

I notice that some are called Acrobat Reader, and some are not.

Good questions. First of all, the program now called Adobe Reader used to be called Acrobat Reader. Adobe changed the name with version 6. So anything called Acrobat Reader through version 5, can and should be uninstalled. Anything called Adobe Reader version 6 through 8.0 can and should be uninstalled.

As if we weren't confused enough, Adobe has another product called simply Adobe Acrobat. That's not a reader; it's a writer. So it's not the same program, and shouldn't be uninstalled as part of this update process.

You can easily find out how many and what versions you have:

Why so many? Because Reader just lets you install version after version, each in its own folder, and never asks if you want to get rid of previous installations, bless its heart.

Could they have made it any more difficult to install?
I suppose so, but I can't quite see how.

If you want to update or install Adobe Reader, the link is here. Be careful as you click on things during the download and installation process. You might not want the "Photoshop Album Starter Edition" or the "Google Toolbar" that Adobe offers with Reader.

Adobe also insists that you download the Adobe Downloader before you can download the Reader install file! I never did see a chance to decline that. It turns out you can get around that by clicking on the link that says, "if your download doesn't start click here." Downloading the file that way took just over a minute. I never could get the Download Manager to work when I updated a client's computer last weekend. It would take seven minutes to download, fail at 99%, and then start over again...with Download Manager. Wow. What were they thinking?


Other options
If you want an alternative to Adobe Reader, here are two good, free ones:

Foxit Reader, available here, is free. You can pay for add-ons for it that extend its functionality, but the reader is free. It's small, fast, and it works just great.

PDF X-Change Viewer, available here, is free, fast, and small. It also lets you do some editing of .pdf files, which is very unusual for a free program. I've uninstalled Adobe Reader and use PDF X-Change as my default program for .pdf files on my main machine, and I use Foxit as the default on another computer here. I am thrilled to be free of Adobe Reader.

If ever you need to convert a file to .pdf format, that feature is included in OpenOffice applications. Installing and learning OpenOffice can be quite the undertaking, however. If you don't want to go that route, try PrimoPDF, a free program that will let you convert to a .pdf file from just about any application. I've used it for years, and it now includes support for Windows Vista (although I have not tested it with Vista myself). Get it here.

Thank you everyone for all the comments, suggestions, and feedback about Vista. We'll have another Vista-related column soon, I promise. In the meantime, please email cate@rlis.com with your computer/network/internet questions. And don't forget you can look at any of the past columns at any time by pointing your browser here. If you'd like to subscribe to this column by email, please visit this link.  It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the RSS Feed, click here.

Links
Secunia Software Inspector http://secunia.com/software_inspector/
Download Adobe Reader version 8.1 for Windows http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Foxit Reader http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php
PDF X-Change Viewer http://www.docu-track.com/home/prod_user/pdfx_viewer/
PrimoPDF converter http://www.primopdf.com/
OpenOffice http://www.openoffice.org/
Get Cate's column by email http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=20618
RSS Feed: http://rlis.com/rlis.xml
Cate's list of good, free software http://rlis.com/columns/column75list.htm

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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.