Adobe Reader and the Portable Document Format (PDF) were a boon to Internet communications when first introduced. Finally, there was a way of sharing documents while preserving the formatting, regardless of the word processor software you used to create it. As time went on and PDF popularity increased, for some reason the Adobe Reader seemed to become bloatware. It went from a download size of 2 MB to as high as 32 MB, with version 9.0. The installed size of the program is around 133 MB and it can seem to take forever to load. Have you ever clicked on a PDF link just to give yourself time to get some coffee?Sure, the latest version of Reader has more bells and whistles, but you just want to read the flubsy PDF! Just open it like a web page and read it like a web page. Well, I went a-searching and here are some light alternatives to the hefty Adobe Reader.
FoxIt Reader
Installed Size: 7.14 MB
The FoxIt layout is very similar to Adobe Reader and has a lot of the same functionality. You can add notes, zoom, search on text, view the document without images and more. It opens so quickly though!
Some of the more advanced functions are only available if you opt-in to FoxIt’s updates and eBay toolbar. The bills have got to get paid somehow I suppose. Overall, a fine piece of software backed by over 50 million downloads of it so far.
PDF Xchange Viewer
Installed Size: 25.5 MB
When you open PDF-Xchange Viewer, it is readily apparent that it is more than just a PDF reader. You’ll find all of the functions you would in FoxIt without having to sign up for updates or the eBay toolbar. That’s always a plus to me. Yes, the download is larger and it does take up more space when installed than FoxIt, however it also offers you the ability to customize its appearance and how it functions. You can set the threads to use for image rendering, amount of RAM to utilize, and text and image rendering quality amongst other things.
Perfect PDF Reader
Installed Size: 14.6 MB
Yes, there seems to be a discrepancy there, doesn’t it? The download package contains some additional software that isn’t necessary for the base functions of Perfect PDF writer. That fact alone leads me to believe that the name Perfect is, yet again, a misnomer. Why do companies insist on claiming perfection?
Perfect PDF Reader has a limited tool set, making it essentially just a PDF reader. The one option I really don’t understand is the Open in Reader shortcut. Isn’t the point of this to take Adobe Reader out of the equation? Overall, I wouldn’t recommend Perfect PDF Reader.
Cool PDF Reader
Installed Size: 632 KB (No coincidence here.)
Cool PDF Reader is a straight-forward executable to read PDF’s with. Open it up, navigate to the PDF you wish to read and boom, there it is. You can zoom in, zoom out, page forward and backward and well, that’s about all. If the name of the game is something small and fast to simply read a PDF, this is the winner. If you download the standalone version, you can also run it without permissions or from a USB drive.
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