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.