Battle of the alternative PDF Reader (Foxit Reader vs Nitro Reader vs PDF-XChange Viewer)

Taken from my blog post at http://my.opera.com/wikipedian/blog/2011/08/24/battle-of-the-alternative-pdf-reader-foxit-reader-vs-pdf-xchange-vs-nitro-reade

PDF stands for portable document format. It is the most widely used format on the net for distributing time tables, manuals, etc. It was invented by Adobe in 1993 to represent documents in a way that is independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. In order words, so that the document published looks the same everywhere. Adobe produces <a href="http://get.adobe.com/reader/">Adobe Reader</a> to read this file format. But Adobe Reader is known to be too bulky and prone to virus attacks. In addition, Adobe Reader is simply a reader with no option to edit the PDF document (unless you pay). For that reason, many users use alternative PDF readers like <a href="http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/">Foxit Reader</a>, <a href="http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer">PDF-XChange Viewer</a>, and <a href=http://www.nitroreader.com/">Nitro Reader</a>, just to name a few. I will be focusing on these three readers in this review.

Foxit Reader

One of the most popular readers out there is the Foxit reader. Foxit is able to write to the PDF documents, but it leaves a watermark on it. The watermark can only be removed by a "paid" version.

Foxit is touted to be the smallest PDF reader in the market! While that is certainly true since it has the tiniest footprint, Foxit has sneakily bundled a bunch of possible unwanted programs with the installer. You can read more about it at <a href="http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/06/29/foxit-updates-free-pdf-reader-to-v4-but-watch-out-for-adware/">Downloadsquid.com's post "Foxit updates free PDF reader to v4, but watch out for adware"</a>.

Another problem with Foxit is that it does not have a proper text selector. Pressing the text select tool will bring up an "I", which will draw squares around the text you want to select. This can result in chopped off texts. In addition, the copied tests tend to display as it was in the document. That means if the text is

Tall and
Skiny like
this


It will display like that in the document. That means that the text will break off at odd intervals and you will have to spend most of your time fixing the wrong breaks.

For these reasons, I do not recoment Foxit.

Nitro Reader

Another popular PDF reader is Nitro reader. Like Foxit and PDF Xchange Viewer, Nitro Reader allows you to edit PDF documents. Nitro reader (non embeded) uses a similiar Ribbon interface to the popular Microsoft Office Suite. While it certainly is easier to use, in terms of user friendliness, the embeded version of Nitro reader does not render properly. The embeded version's display is similiar to Chrome's included PDF reader. The embeded version display texts WAY too small. There is no way to zoom via conventional means (ctrl+middle scroll wheel on the mouse). The only way to zoom in is to hover the mouse near the bottom of the screen and press the zoom buttons that appear there. Because of this glaring bug, I cannot recommend Nitro reader.

On a plus side, Nitro reader does not come bundled with any apps and the installer is straight forward.

PDF-XChange Viewer

Another well known PDF reader is PDF-XChange Viewer by Tracker software. It is the PDF user I am currently using. Like Foxit and Nitro reader, PDF Xchange allows you to edit PDF documents. However, unlike Nitro reader, the embeded version renders the texts properly and allows the use of conventional "zoom in". Also, it has a proper "select" tool (unlike Foxit). In addition, it have a <a href="http://youtu.be/QvCKXU1MfGA">"snap shot" tool to extract images</a> (URL links to YouTube video demostrating the tool. However, the user interface is a little tricky to use but there are plenty of help out there.

On a downside, the installer comes bundle with Ask toolbar. However, the installer is straight forward unlike Foxit, which tries to trick you into downloading and installing the toolbar. If you don't want the toolbar, simply uncheck the option that you "agree" to ask terms and conditions. In addition, the option to change your homepage to Ask.com is uncheck by default.

Conclusion
<a href="http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer">PDF-XChange Viewer</a> is my recommended PDF viewer of choice. That is because it have a nice balance of editing tools and does not have glaring problems (or ethical issues) as the other PDF viewers I have tried.

I agree with your conclusion. So...you wanna have a pdf party

Originally posted by Muttsfan:

I agree with your conclusion. So...you wanna have a pdf party

Do you do a nice egyptian dance?

To consolidate threads, please post all comments to http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=1111992

Originally posted by wikipedian:

To consolidate threads, please post all comments to http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=1111992

The circle is now complete.

Originally posted by Muttsfan:

Originally posted by wikipedian:

To consolidate threads, please post all comments to http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=1111992

The circle is now complete.

The Circle of Life?

LOL! Did you know the Lion King is RERELEASED in 3D to cinemas? Same plot, same everything. Only difference, 3D

Yep, Its called finding ways to make you pay for it over and over and over.

Originally posted by wikipedian:

Another problem with Foxit is that it does not have a proper text selector. Pressing the text select tool will bring up an "I", which will draw squares around the text you want to select.

Sorry, I have to disagree with this (using Foxit 5).
There are two ways to select text - depending on how you do it.
If you click on a blank area and drag - then you activate the "select area" as you describe.
However, if you click on actual text, then the "text select highlight" is activated.

Not sure what you mean by copying "Tall/thin text" - are you implying that it should NOT preserve line breaks??

Its not a battle, though the developers of the different viewers might be competing for users. For users, its a simple question of weighing up the pros and cons of each viewer.

Originally posted by TbGbe:

Originally posted by wikipedian:

Another problem with Foxit is that it does not have a proper text selector. Pressing the text select tool will bring up an "I", which will draw squares around the text you want to select.

Sorry, I have to disagree with this (using Foxit 5).
There are two ways to select text - depending on how you do it.
If you click on a blank area and drag - then you activate the "select area" as you describe.
However, if you click on actual text, then the "text select highlight" is activated.

Well I wrote this review with an older version of Foxit , so it MAYBE outdated...

One of the biggest reason I averted Foxit is the dubious technique it uses to install Ask toolbar.

Nitro doesn't integrate into Opera browser.

I think using Google Chrome's included PDF viewer is now the best choice on Windows for most users.

Not sure if that feature is included in Chromium or not...