Author Topic: Foxit Reader (fast pdf reader alternative) (Read 36,980 times)

superboyac · « **on:** March 29, 2006, 04:36 PM »

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/foxitreader/

For those of you that find Acrobat reader bulky and slow, try this baby out. It's fast! I just found out about it, so I don't know if it's old news or what, but I like it.

f0dder · « **Reply #1 on:** March 29, 2006, 04:45 PM »

I've been using Foxit Reader for a while (included on my unattended set up CD, and default handler for .pdf). It's certainly a lot smaller and leaner than Acrobat (Reader), unfortunately it crashes with a few PDFs (especially when trying to print), and it is *VERY* slow when rendering more complex files (like PC magazine or whatever) - plus it does no page caching, so if you flip back/forth between two pages... eek

But all in all, it's pretty nice.

lanux128 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 30, 2006, 01:03 AM »

yes, i'm having the same problems as f0dder but with each updates it is becoming more robust eventhough now & then it chokes on pdf files with embedded quicktime movies but credit to the author, he's constantly upgrading the program despite having other commercial programs on his hands...

in short, worth a shot...

Rover · « **Reply #3 on:** March 30, 2006, 06:04 AM »

agreed... I tried Foxit for a while and thought it was great at first. It works well for small, NORMAL pdf. Unfortunately, if you view a lot of pdfs, you'll hit a lot of abnormal ones that kill the fox. Bummer, it'd be nice to have a solid alternative to the BLOATED, updated every 45 days, SLOW Adobe reader.

AbteriX · « **Reply #4 on:** March 30, 2006, 07:23 AM »

On my standard PCs i have AR installed.
FoxitReader cames to work on test-pcs just to read manuals, and for that issue FR works great.

JoTo · « **Reply #5 on:** March 30, 2006, 01:21 PM »

The best feature of FoxIt-Reader for me is, that it has not being installed in any way. Just copy the files somewhere and start it.

I carry it with me on my thumb drive and I'am always prepared to read a PDF Manual or sth. like this when i'm on a foreign pc.

CU
JoTo

f0dder · « **Reply #6 on:** March 30, 2006, 06:46 PM »

Hm, how can I tell when FR is updated? The page always seems the same, and I haven't been able to find a "news" or "changelog" anywhere. Might just be me who's dull.

Darwin · « **Reply #7 on:** March 30, 2006, 07:35 PM »

What I like about it is that it is solid when used as the default reader in your webbrowser. Acrobat Reader 7 locks up often when used to view pdfs on-line.... I haven't encountered this problem in a month of using FR, and I frequent a lot of academic journals on-line and read the content from within my browser.

Black Mamba · « **Reply #8 on:** March 30, 2006, 08:24 PM »

# Off topic

You could also try the switchless installer (works in normal way, too) of Adobe Reader made by RyanVM: it has all updates integrated and the size is "only" 21.1 MB.

http://www.ryanvm.net/msfn/

f0dder · « **Reply #9 on:** March 30, 2006, 08:27 PM »

The switchless installer still needs *insstall* though, and it's large - eek

I hope Foxit will have performance & compatibility bugs ironed out with time.

mrainey · « **Reply #10 on:** March 30, 2006, 08:34 PM »

Quote

Hm, how can I tell when FR is updated? The page always seems the same, and I haven't been able to find a "news" or "changelog" anywhere. Might just be me who's dull.

I usually see a notice on alt.comp.freeware or fileforum.betanews.com

lanux128 · « **Reply #11 on:** April 04, 2006, 01:31 AM »

Quote from: mrainey on March 30, 2006, 08:34 PM

I usually see a notice on alt.comp.freeware or fileforum.betanews.com

or you can also check at filehippo.com

btw, i observed something about the downloads at foxit's homepage. there are two versions of the download:

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/foxitreader/foxitreader.zip -> Zip version
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/foxitreader/foxitreader_setup.exe -> Installer version

one is the no-install version which isn't updated regularly while the other is an installer version which is updated frequently as seen on filehippo's foxit page.

[edit]fixed links to the installer[/edit]

Betsy · « **Reply #12 on:** April 04, 2006, 03:14 AM »

So which one is the "install" version? It's probably obvious, but I'm not real savvy.

I have Adobe Professional, but it almost always locks up when trying to read PDF's online, so I'm definitely going to give Foxit a try.

Quote from: lanux128 on April 04, 2006, 01:31 AM

Quote from: mrainey on March 30, 2006, 08:34 PM
I usually see a notice on alt.comp.freeware or fileforum.betanews.com

or you can also check at filehippo.com

btw, i observed something about the downloads at foxit's homepage. there are two versions of the download:

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/pdfrd.zip
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/foxitreader/foxitreader.zip

one is the no-install version which isn't updated regularly while the other is an installer version which is updated frequently as seen on filehippo's foxit page.

lanux128 · « **Reply #13 on:** April 04, 2006, 03:40 AM »

Quote from: Betsy on April 04, 2006, 03:14 AM

So which one is the "install" version? It's probably obvious, but I'm not real savvy.

my mistake,

i've changed the url to point to the installer version...

Betsy · « **Reply #14 on:** April 04, 2006, 04:27 AM »

I've downloaded Foxit, but the instructions weren't clear on how to make it my default PDF reader. Can anyone tell me how to do that? (I use Firefox, Outlook, Windows XP)

Thanks again,

moerl · « **Reply #15 on:** April 04, 2006, 04:36 AM »

Quote from: Betsy on April 04, 2006, 04:27 AM

I've downloaded Foxit, but the instructions weren't clear on how to make it my default PDF reader. Can anyone tell me how to do that? (I use Firefox, Outlook, Windows XP)

Thanks again,

Click HELP on the file menu, and you'll see it right away.

* moerl loves FoxIt. He dropped Adobe Reader a LONG time ago because of FoxIt Reader.

Betsy · « **Reply #16 on:** April 04, 2006, 04:42 AM »

I guess I didn't explain my problem very clearly. I have checked the "Make Foxit the default" option in the Foxit help menu, but Adobe is still coming up when I try to open PDF files. What could I have done wrong?

Quote from: moerl on April 04, 2006, 04:36 AM

Quote from: Betsy on April 04, 2006, 04:27 AM
I've downloaded Foxit, but the instructions weren't clear on how to make it my default PDF reader. Can anyone tell me how to do that? (I use Firefox, Outlook, Windows XP)

Thanks again,
Click HELP on the file menu, and you'll see it right away.
* moerl loves FoxIt. He dropped Adobe Reader a LONG time ago because of FoxIt Reader.

lanux128 · « **Reply #17 on:** April 04, 2006, 04:59 AM »

Quote

I guess I didn't explain my problem very clearly. I have checked the "Make Foxit the default" option in the Foxit help menu, but Adobe is still coming up when I try to open PDF files. What could I have done wrong?

try to uncheck this option in Adobe: "Display PDF in Browser". then your browser will prompt you to open or d/l the pdf, you can choose 'Open' to view the file.

Adobe preference window:

Betsy · « **Reply #18 on:** April 04, 2006, 05:19 AM »

I'm afraid that didn't work. Maybe I need an exorcist to get rid of this thing...

Quote from: lanux128 on April 04, 2006, 04:59 AM

Quote
I guess I didn't explain my problem very clearly. I have checked the "Make Foxit the default" option in the Foxit help menu, but Adobe is still coming up when I try to open PDF files. What could I have done wrong?

try to uncheck this option in Adobe: "Display PDF in Browser". then your browser will prompt you to open or d/l the pdf, you can choose 'Open' to view the file.

Adobe preference window:

noth(a)nk.you · « **Reply #19 on:** April 04, 2006, 05:33 AM »

I have the answer.

I exclusively use Adobe's Acrobat Reader, and I am not at all concerned about the load time. The reason? PDF Speedup.

It's freeware, you can get it here (about half-way down the page). It works by preventing features you wouldn't use (customizable) from loading.

The only problem (small!) is a nag screen when you close the program (which you only need to run once).

Check it out!
noth(a)nk.you

lanux128 · « **Reply #20 on:** April 04, 2006, 05:35 AM »

Quote from: Betsy on April 04, 2006, 05:19 AM

I'm afraid that didn't work. Maybe I need an exorcist to get rid of this thing...

what browser do you use? if you're using Firefox, try this extension: PDF Download

btw, if you don't need Adobe Reader then try uninstalling it and see if that solves your problem...

Betsy · « **Reply #21 on:** April 04, 2006, 06:00 AM »

Thanks. I downloaded the extension, restarted Firefox, went to the extension options and told it to use Foxit to open PDF's. Adobe still opens them. I may have to uninstall Adobe after all.

Quote from: lanux128 on April 04, 2006, 05:35 AM

Quote from: Betsy on April 04, 2006, 05:19 AM
I'm afraid that didn't work. Maybe I need an exorcist to get rid of this thing...

what browser do you use? if you're using Firefox, try this extension: PDF Download

btw, if you don't need Adobe Reader then try uninstalling it and see if that solves your problem...

lanux128 · « **Reply #22 on:** April 04, 2006, 06:21 AM »

Quote

Thanks. I downloaded the extension, restarted Firefox, went to the extension options and told it to use Foxit to open PDF's. Adobe still opens them. I may have to uninstall Adobe after all.

i think you ought to uninstall Adobe after all... man, these guys are fast becoming the MSIE of online documents... one can't even make a simple switch of pdf readers.

f0dder · « **Reply #23 on:** April 04, 2006, 06:42 AM »

So, what's the better? filehippo, betanews, (...insert other services here). I think somebody should start a mini-review thread where people can chip in with their experiences.

Betsy · « **Reply #24 on:** April 04, 2006, 06:44 AM »

AHA! Here's what finally worked.
In Firefox, click Tools>Options>Dowloads>View&Edit Actions, hilight PDF and click Change.

Now I can go to bed. Gee, do you think? It's only 12:45 a.m.!

What did insomniacs do before computers?

Quote from: lanux128 on April 04, 2006, 06:21 AM

Quote
Thanks. I downloaded the extension, restarted Firefox, went to the extension options and told it to use Foxit to open PDF's. Adobe still opens them. I may have to uninstall Adobe after all.

i think you ought to uninstall Adobe after all... man, these guys are fast becoming the MSIE of online documents... one can't even make a simple switch of pdf readers.