Alternative to Adobe reader?

[gonzo]

I find adobe royally irritating as it is overly complex for what is esentially a piece of viewing software.

Is it possible to get something that will open pdfs that does not:
- take up far too many of my system rescources. If it's not running, it should not take up any at all
- continually tell me that I can upgrade to expand the functionality and "Don't worry we're already downloaded the stuff for your convenience"
- Load without taking a sufficiently long time that I can go and make a cup of coffee
- make me swear every time I have to open something in PDF format

Thanks in advance!

[pcolbeck]

Try Foxit reader. It's only 2Mb in size and like Adobe the reader is free you only pay if you want the PDF creation tools etc.

[francisbarton]

I have heard good things about Foxit Reader.
I haven't used it yet myself, Acrobat Reader is behaving well for me so far.

[francisbarton]

Damn

[pcolbeck]

I forgot about Sumatra which is open source and very light weight. I use it as part of the PortableApps suite on my memory sticks. Its not as fully featured as Acroread or Foxit but it does the job if size and speed are a premium.

One caveat is that I tend to use Acroread when I want to actually print stuff out as I have had some strange results with the others.

[Ian H]

I found Foxit less capable with more complex stuff.

[Woofage]

Disabling the plug-ins you don't use speeds Adobe Reader up no end. I did this manually but apparently there's also some software called Adobe Reader SpeedUp that can do it automatically.

+1

[gonzo]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Disabling the plug-ins you don't use speeds Adobe Reader up no end. I did this manually but apparently there's also some software called Adobe Reader SpeedUp that can do it automatically.

I seem to remember having used this some time ago and it did the job really well so I'll go for this I think as then I don't have to deal with compatability issues.

[JohnP]

I used SpeedUp in the past and played with Foxit for a while.  Since upping to A-RDR 8 I don't seem to notice the start delay.  Just been comparing (visually only) Adobe RDR 8 and Foxit to open a 100 page pdf parts list and seee no difference.

[Greenbank]

I just start (and close down) Acrobat Reader 8 when I first start up the machine. Whenever I need to view a PDF I don't notice the start time at all, a 6MB PDF opens in under a second.

Having lots of free memory is useful.

Also, since this is a work laptop, I'm expected to install any appropriate updates. If it wants to update then I let it, and get on with something else whilst it does. That way I'm not constantly badgered by update boxes.

[alecstilleyedye]

if you're on the mac then preview can open and view pdfs.

[Jaded]

is there only one mac?