Adobe Reader Reviews

Strength:
According to some users', this program is very easy to use. Through this tool, we could read PDF files, fill PDF forms, and check for information of PDF files; we could also print by this tool. The stability as well as compatibility is pretty good. Furthermore, there are 2 plug-ins added in this latest version: Acrobat Search and AutoIndx, which could search from hard disks, CD disk and LAN.

Weakness:
It takes up much space--compared with Foxit PDF Reader, the taken space by this app is as triple as the former one. The startup takes a few more seconds since its big size.

Benefits
PDF is increasingly more and more popular now--it could deal with multiple tasks and it supports hypertext markup Language. Thus we could comment PDF as a powerful document and no wonder more and more people like it. Sometimes we might meet some unidentified codes in Word documents while PDF could reduce such condition to some extent; while this format could not be recognized unless the particular tools.

As I mentioned above, there are several apps designed for reading PDF files, during which there are two outstanding tools for it--Adobe Reader and Foxit PDF Reader; they excel at different parts--Adobe Reader adds more features, and it has a bigger size. Foxit startups very fast, yet the features are not as many as Adobe.

 A very nice feature you have available in Adobe Reader when adding comments is the ability to paste any information you copy to the clipboard as a Stamp comment. You can copy a body of text, an image, or take screen shot. The screen shot option is particularly helpful if you need to get some tech support from an IT department. On Windows just press the Shift key or maybe the Function key and the Prt Scr key on your keyboard when a dialog box opens to take a screen shot. If you want just the dialog box without the background, add the Alt key. Computers vary so the key combinations may be a little different on your system. On the Mac press Command + Option + 4, then press the Spacebar and click on a dialog box. The Mac doesn't copy the file to the clipboard so you need to use another step. The file is saved to your desktop after clicking on the dialog box. Open the file in Acrobat and click the Snapshot tool. Drag around the image and release the mouse button. The image is then copied to the clipboard.

If we want to print some pages from PDF files, this tool could help us and make the pages as a simple booklet, such as 2-up and saddle-stitched ones.
The new version provides us an adjustable setting of zoom, pan and loupe; thereupon we could adjust things more conveniently.

 

Setup
It takes several seconds to wait for the installation wizard. This tool could be seen as a heavyweight one in accordance with its size. Yet it is a clean tool which carries nothing nasty, so we could install it with ease and do not uncheck anything in its installation process.

Should you decide to remove this heavy guy, is there a way to uninstall? Sorry to inform you that there is no such a way to do it. What we could do is to come to "Control Panel" and select this program then it would remove.

Interface
There would be a heuristic interface before the formal one--it lets us know the latest improvement of this version. If you do not want to see it next time, there is a considerate selection on the top--just choose it and you will come to the main interface. The buttons on it are easy to recognize therefore it is not hard to operate. There are also several tabs--when you move mouse to each of them, there will be an explanation of its use; even a beginner could not miss since its concise and clear words.

The completely redesigned interface in this latest version feels more intuitive and offers tools for viewing information more efficiently. Another welcome addition is Acrobat Reader's integration with Adobe Connect, which lets users instantly comment and collaborate on projects with online presentations and live online meetings.
System Requirements
Adobe Reader gets well along with Windows 2000, XP as well as Vista. It's quite good for Window Vista users to find the match tool. The download file is about 32MB and it doesn't take long to download by Orbit Downloader. After installation, I found the total file size become 128MB, which could be a little resource hog. The RAM is not clear in its specification yet I recommend 128MB or above which could fit its large size and make it more stable.

Conclusion
This app is very useful for PDF fanatics, as PDF is created by Adobe. This app is very considerate for users; while the Help file is not a traditional one, which is full of information and there are some separate parts in the "Help" button. You have to choose your needs; for example, if you want to learn how to operate this app, click "Help" and select "How to" then you would learn the way. Some users would like this design while other might prefer a traditional one.

My mind is the same as other users'--"I get very frustrated with this program because I've really no idea why it uses so much RAM just to view a PDF file. Can't even shut down the automatic update, so it annoys me a lot"--a user says so. Couldn't it be a little smaller? If it doesn't revise this deficiency, more users would turn to Foxit PDF Reader, as the latter one is smaller and smarter.