View PDF documents quickly without Adobe Reader

Do you need to view a PDF document? PDF is a very popular file format these days and you probably will need to view one at some point in time. Most people think that you NEED Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view PDF files. That thinking is incorrect! I have a strong dislike for the Adobe Acrobat Reader for a number of reasons. The software package footprint is unnecessarily large, it is slow to load, it tends to maximum computer system resources such as CPU and memory, causing computer freezing and the install now attempts to sneak additional garbage on to your computer system such as the Yahoo Toolbar.

fiSo if Adobe Acrobat Reader is so bad, what should you do in order to read PDF documents? The answer is FoxIt Reader! FoxIt has a much smaller install footprint than Adobe Reader. FoxIt Reader is only 1.5 MB compared to Adobe Reader, which takes over 20 MB of your harddrive. FoxIt loads PDF documents much quicker than Adobe Reader and it does not freeze up your computer system. FoxIt is 100% free and well worth the quick download. Try it out and save yourself from PDF headaches.

UPDATE: After you download FoxIt reader, make sure to run the software right away. When you do this, you’ll receive a pop-up prompt asking you if you would like to use FoxIt as your default PDF reader. Choose yes and all of your PDF documents will open with FoxIt in the future.

About Wes Novack

Wesley Novack is a Technologist working in the software industry, with extensive experience building and managing highly available applications, services, and systems in the public cloud. He has a breadth of experience in online publishing, the consumer electronics industry, and building internet communities. Wes enjoys hanging with his family, skateboarding, hiking, the vegan lifestyle, and a good cup of tea. You can find him on Twitter @WesleyTech.

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4 Comments on “View PDF documents quickly without Adobe Reader”

  1. It’s also worth noting that FoxIt Reader 2.0 is now out. It resolves a few issues were PDF’s created with newer software crash FoxIt. Update it today, it’s still free!

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