PDF (Portable Document Format) files are an excellent means of producing documents which display consistently across various computers and operating systems, but for many people, they can be a hassle. Even if you don’t work with PDF files all that often, chances are, you’ve probably used Adobe Reader (formerly known as Acrobat Reader) before; this program, released by Adobe Systems (the company that came up with the PDF format) allows you to open and view PDF files, which are generally incompatible with typical office software.

It’s nice that Adobe Reader is free software that can be downloaded from the internet. However, before you rush off to download from Adobe’s website, there’s an alternative to consider.

Introducing Foxit Reader

Foxit Reader is another free PDF reader that can be downloaded online. While it doesn’t really boast any extra features, it does have one major advantage over Adobe Reader: speed. When launched, it’s likely that Foxit Reader will load 2-3 times faster than Adobe reader, which can provide a nice little boost to your productivity, and it doesn’t hog your system memory. Furthermore, Foxit Reader takes less time to install, uses much less hard disk space than Adobe Reader and, because it is so lightweight, it’s also portable—you can carry it with you on a thumb drive in case you may need it on a computer without a PDF reader installed. Overall, Foxit Reader is secure, reliable and above all, quick.

One caveat: There is one thing I don’t like about Foxit Reader, and that’s the developer’s sneaky ways of trying to make money. To be fair, they have to make profit somehow, but it can nonetheless be frustrating to see such a wonderful piece of software push commercial products. For example, you will notice that the installer tries to get you to add the Ask.com toolbar to your browser, as well as some eBay desktop icons, and that some advanced/premium features of the program can only be accessed if you jump through some hoops. It’s not spyware, so you don’t need to worry, but I wouldn’t recommend checking any unnecessary boxes (especially when it comes to things like toolbars, which can slow down your computer).

So, maybe Foxit isn’t perfect, but the performance you’ll get out of it will likely be a nice improvement over your experience with Adobe Reader. To download the free viewer or to read more, visit its page on Foxit Software’s website.

In my next post, I’ll be showing off another PDF-related piece of software, but this one allows Windows users to quickly and easily convert their Word, Excel, and other documents to the PDF format, thus enabling them to share and publish their documents without worrying about how it will look on different computers.

Possibly Related Posts:

1. How to Create PDF Files…For Free