PDF Reader

[viking33]

Can anyone recommend a simple ( without all the bells, gongs and whistles ) freebie PDF Reader?
I have LibreOffice and have tried Nitro Reader and a few others but they all stuff too many other things in along with the reader. Just want to click on a PDF file and read it, that's all.

[HansV]

I myself use Foxit Reader. It started out as a small and simple PDF reader, but it has lots of extra features now, so it's not very small anymore, but it's still fast. Look out for offers of extra software if you install it.

For a lightweight reader, you might try Sumatra PDF or Slim PDF Reader.

[JoeP]

I've tried several PDF readers and have at various times had printing problems. Most at work have reverted to Adobe Reader in spite of its heft because it is the bible when it comes to handling PDFs. I am currently testing PDF-Xchange viewer. So far so good.

Joe

[Roderunner]

I've used the portable version of PDF Xchange Viewer as in Joe's post for a year or more, highly recommended.

[Rudi]

Is there any reason why Adobe Reader is not mentioned?

[John Gray]

SumatraPDF is very small (the portable version is about 6.5 MB). The new version 3 is recently available. The vile/violent/virulent yellow background can be changed...

[HansV]

Is there any reason why Adobe Reader is not mentioned?

Adobe Reader is an excellent PDF reader, but it is huge - it takes up about 400 MB of disk space.
In the past, many users turned away from Adobe Reader because it was very slow and installed all kinds of stuff they didn't want/need. It also had many security problems. Recent versions are much better in those respects, though.

[John Gray]

A further downside is that Adobe Reader seems to require an update about once every fortnight!

[Leif]

I myself use Foxit Reader.

We do too on most of our PC's, mainly because from within Outlook you can preview and do an instaneous 'Quick print' of PDF's. With Adobe reader, you can go and cook a family meal in the time in takes to load, and after it insists on remaining as a running process.

(One slight bug unfortunately crept in with a recent Foxit update - Quick print leaves Foxit open - Foxit Corporation Forums )

[DaveA]

We have just stuck with Adobe Reader and have not had any issues. The updates are not any more common than the Windows updates, but it does pay to install them.
Adobe Reader is a very good, stable and safe program.

[viking33]

SumatraPDF is very small (the portable version is about 6.5 MB). The new version 3 is recently available. The vile/violent/virulent yellow background can be changed...

I think I have tried the other ones mentioned, Adobe, Foxit, etc. and find them bloated and slow for just a simple reading of a file.
I'll give Sumatra a shot and post back.

[viking33]

SumatraPDF is very small (the portable version is about 6.5 MB). The new version 3 is recently available. The vile/violent/virulent yellow background can be changed...

I think I have tried the other ones mentioned, Adobe, Foxit, etc. and find them bloated and slow for just a simple reading of a file.
I'll give Sumatra a shot and post back.

UPDATE:
Installed Sumatra, opened a few PDF files and it seems to work great. Thanks, John.

[John Gray]

Glad you like it, Bob!

[hlewton]

Is there any reason why Adobe Reader is not mentioned?

I posted this in another thread and was linked to this thread so thought I'd post it here as well. Adobe Reader causes WinPatrol to issue warnings every time your computer is rebooted. This seems to be something new with its latest update. Here is an article that explains it much better than I could. http://www.winpatrol.com/adobe.html

[ChrisGreaves]

I myself use Foxit Reader.

Me too.

[Rudi]

Is there any reason why Adobe Reader is not mentioned?

I posted this in another thread and was linked to this thread so thought I'd post it here as well. Adobe Reader causes WinPatrol to issue warnings every time your computer is rebooted. This seems to be something new with its latest update. Here is an article that explains it much better than I could. http://www.winpatrol.com/adobe.html

TX for the info...