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Simple software to use with Firefox when you need to read a document in pdf

Simple software to use with Firefox when you need to read a document in pdf

Vote: (410 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Foxit Corporation

Version: 12.1.3.15356

Works under: Windows

Also available for Mac

Vote:

Program license

(410 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Foxit Corporation

12.1.3.15356

Works under:

Also available for

Windows

Mac

Pros

  • Allows you to open, edit, sign and create PDF files
  • Includes many tools for working with Office programs and editing PDFs
  • Extremely lightweight program that works very quickly

Cons

  • User interface is complex and messy
  • PDF creation is slow until you figure out the tools

Foxit Reader is a PDF reader that can also edit and annotate these files. Not only that, but this program is considered quite flexible because it can integrate with Office programs as well. It can also work with scanned documents and is noted for its high security.

Versatile Program

Foxit Reader is a consistently updated program that is always getting new features. Because of this, it has become quite versatile and has many tools and features not found with similar PDF readers. The basic version of Foxit Reader allows you to view, edit, sign and print PDFs. You can even create your own with ease. If you would like to use all the tools with this program, then you have to purchase the premium license to unlock more features.

Since it can connect directly with Office tools, you can easily insert spreadsheets, presentations and text documents into your PDF. You can also turn your PDF into nearly any Office file type. You'll have no problem working with scanned documents as well. You can immediately turn the scanned file into a PDF and you can even edit the file from there.

Security is a big deal with PDFs, especially for contracts or other files that must be signed. Foxit Reader has JavaScript security so that you can prevent unauthorized people from viewing the PDF. You can also prevent data being transmitted from the file unless an authorized person has opened it.

Sometimes you need people to interact with a PDF. This is most easily done by adding text fields and checkboxes to the file. This allows anyone with the PDF to select an answer or to type in a response. These are easy to add with this program and it will ensure that you get the data you're looking for when sharing this document with others.

Lightweight Program

Despite having so many tools and features, this program is incredibly small and should fit on any computer with ease. The program is only 12MB in size, which your hard drive can easily accommodate. It installs very quickly and opening documents should only take a few seconds. The design is very straightforward so as to reduce the overall memory footprint. You don't get fancy menus and designs. This was intentional as it keeps the program light and fast.

Every button and toolbar is there for a specific reason. The design is utilitarian, which is useful but not impressive to look at. You'll quickly find the tools for searching through documents, zooming in or out, changing the document's view, selecting text, making a snapshot and more. Nothing is hidden behind menus because that would require more memory to create.

Annotations are simple with this program. Simply select some text and then select the Annotate tool. You'll then be able to add a comment and highlight, strike or underline the selected text. The same goes for exporting the document as a different file type. Simply select the Export feature and then choose the proper file type. In a few seconds the PDF with be transformed into a different type of file.

Portable Version

Most people who download this program will fully install it. Since it's so small there's no reason not to install it. At the same time, you can use this as a portable program and never install it on your hard drive. This allows you to run the program from the cloud, in a local folder, from an external drive or even from a USB stick. The program is so light and fast that you shouldn't notice any significant drops in performance.

Not only that, but most of the features are still available with the portable version. This can be a useful program to carry around if you want to use it with other computers.

Problematic Interface

While Foxit Reader is straightforward in that all the tools are immediately available to you, this also gives you many buttons that are packed together and difficult to discern between. The program can be overwhelming at first. This is especially true if you haven't worked with previous PDF makers or Office programs. It actually takes on the ribbon toolbar aesthetic from Office, but even still the tools looked too packed together. You'll need to play around with the tools to see what they all do.

Once you understand what everything does, this becomes a simple program to use. You can also reduce the ribbon to make the interface easier to wield. Another option is changing to fullscreen mode so that you can see more of the PDF and less of the interface.

You'll also find that there is a toolbar for opening several PDFs simultaneously. This allows you to work with multiple PDFs whether they're related or not. This multitasking is useful if you need to work with many PDFs at the same time. If the PDF has a table of contents, then this program makes it even easier to navigate through the section to find exactly what you need.

The PDF creation process is hard the first time since the tools are difficult to understand. It gets much easier after understanding them and you should be able to make detailed PDFs quickly after getting used to the program. This is especially true with PDFs that have many features like textboxes, checkboxes, multimedia files and more.

Pros

  • Allows you to open, edit, sign and create PDF files
  • Includes many tools for working with Office programs and editing PDFs
  • Extremely lightweight program that works very quickly

Cons

  • User interface is complex and messy
  • PDF creation is slow until you figure out the tools

Pros

  • Small App
  • Document Annotation
  • Beats Adobe Reader's Speed

Cons

  • Online-Only User Manual
  • Can't Edit Files

Foxit Reader is a piece of software that was designed to let you view PDF, or Portable Document Format, files. This format is exceptionally common online since it can be read by apps across all operating systems, and it is often thought of as a sort of digital fax or printout of the original document. Many other PDF readers are available online, but perhaps the most well-known is Adobe Reader. Of course, Foxit Reader is slimmer and more agile than that slow, bulky piece of professional-grade software.

It only takes a brief period of time using Foxit Reader for you to realize how fast and resource-light the software truly is compared to Adobe Reader or any other benchmark PDF reader. This small piece of software is installed from a single file that only takes up 12MB of space. Compared to the over 320MB of the Adobe installation software, Foxit is an easy choice. It will open PDF files almost instantly, even when the app itself isn't already open. One of the main complaints with Adobe Reader, and all the other Adobe digital products, is that they employ irritating pop-up screens during the launch process that shows loaded plugins, app development credits, and other details about the software itself. This can be a bit annoying for those who want to get started with their content as quickly as possible.

It's easy to discern one of the main focuses of the user interface is intuitive utility. Surrounding the workspace are a number of toolbars that hold all the functions available in the software. You can choose to show or hide any of these toolbars with a click of your mouse. Some of the functions you'll find in the toolbars include image rotation, snapshot, text selection, zoom, document search, fullscreen mode, and many more. In the upper right-hand corner of the software window is a single tiny ad, but the software includes something quite unusual for apps that include ads. You can actually turn off the ad from inside the software by unchecking the Advertisement option from the View menu.

Foxit Reader also includes some advanced annotation functionality as well. With these tools, you can underline text fragments, highlight them, add your own comments or opinions, and strike out text that needs to be removed. This is great for helping a team collaborate over a single document since everyone can make notes before the document author makes any changes to the original. Unfortunately, Foxit Reader doesn't include any tools that allow you to edit the actual content of the PDF files.

Adobe Reader might be the industry benchmark for PDF readers, but Foxit Reader is an ideal alternative that's reliable, small, and faster than Adobe Reader. Few other apps in the category are as complete and succinct as Foxit Reader.

Pros

  • Small App
  • Document Annotation
  • Beats Adobe Reader's Speed

Cons

  • Online-Only User Manual
  • Can't Edit Files