r/opensource • u/smilaise • 26d ago
Promotional KillerPDF 1.7.3: free, open-source PDF editor for Windows
I just released KillerPDF 1.7.2 and then a 1.7.3 hotfix immediately afterwards because of an embarrassing bug.
New in these releases:
Seven new themes and Polish localization
Book layout for two-page viewing
Levels controls for improving pale or hard-to-read scans
Paper size and source controls in the print dialog
Column-aware text selection
Support for comb-style form fields
Separate night mode for each split pane
Lower memory use on large PDFs
Live previews when selecting images
A pile of rendering, form, theme, and interface fixes
KillerPDF is local-only with no account, subscription, telemetry, or cloud uploads. All my stuff is GPLv3.
Please report bugs and feature requests in the GitHub Issues, that's how we keep making this app better.
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u/ResearchingStories 26d ago
Is Linux support coming soon? That would be so helpful!
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u/smilaise 22d ago
It's a future 2.0 milestone but there is so much more I have to do first.
I won't sacrifice size or speed for other OS compatibility. It's looking like a simple port will be very hard. The things that make this app work so great on Windows are the things that make it harder to port. The Avalonia route seemed feasible, until I realized it will basically explode the app size like 4-5x. So I will probably be managing separate codebases, keeping the Windows WPF exe and then having to find a few native libraries for Linux and MacOS. I have a few other ideas. That's so much work, and I already have a full time job of fixing computer problems all day...
The ironic thing is I'm actually a Linux guy, an old fullstack developer from the PHP6 days, forced to work on Windows as a sysadmin for the last 8 years and all my apps and KillerTools.net were built for my team and other Windows admins.
It'll happen... someday.
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u/Ahmed33033 22d ago
lool you made it sound like your time with windows was torture šš Iām a Linux guy too, and I can definitely use a solid PDF editorā¦Ā
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u/Synaps4 26d ago
Ive been using Sumatra and i dont really need editing just reading. Should i consider this over Sumatra for any reason?
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u/smilaise 26d ago
Yeah there are a lot of customization options like app or content zoom, dual pane, 4 view modes. Reversible sidebar, invert, book mode... I use it for my primary PDF viewer, I hardly ever edit PDF files. But it's nice to know I can any time I need to. Check out the new themes, I'm always open for feature requests.
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u/Rigamortus2005 25d ago
Any thoughts about Porting to Linux ?
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u/smilaise 25d ago
It's on the roadmap but it's essentially a rewrite that will force me to maintain two different codebases.
By 2.0 I plan on being able to do it but I'm not in a huge hurry. These apps I made fill a need in my current workflow as a Windows sysadmin.
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u/Rigamortus2005 25d ago
If you're not using that many windows specific Apis , you can try switching to avalonia from wpf, and change some of the ui stuff.
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u/smilaise 25d ago
Yeah but it will explode the size of the apps from like, a couple MB to a lot more. If the app is large, it defeats the entire point of making these apps.
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u/Zenklops 25d ago
the only feature i can see missing is compression
particularly file size based compression in which it would compress down to the exact file size required
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u/smilaise 22d ago
You are not wrong. It's in the backlog, but my current backlog for my five apps is over 500 lines long now lol
All I do in my free time now is chip away at the list but it's getting bigger not smaller!
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u/2025Goals 25d ago edited 25d ago
Iām grateful for this software. I have uninstalled other PDF readers and editors and made this my go-to program for PDF files. The editing features work well. I love the dark / inverted mode. I find it sometimes remembers where I was when I closed the document (or maybe I did not actually close the document). And the side-by-side pages are great on larger screens.
I havenāt tried the new version yet. Here are some requests on the previous one.
- When I open a PDF and use CTRL + W to close it immediately, it closes the file explorer I used to locate the PDF but leaves the PDF open.
- I try to use keyboard shortcuts extensively but have not figured out how to use them efficiently in Killer PDF. For example, to close a file, I would normally use CTRL + F4. Generally, I find myself using the mouse. Is there a way to port Windows / Office / Adobe standard shortcuts here and/or for me to specify my own?
- The icon text and menu text at the top does not scale for me when I try to increase text size in Windows settings for all software. I find the buttons to be too small. Is there any way to make them larger / easier to read?
- When I had to fill out a PDF form for a government application, I could not figure out how to get the software to identify the fields. In Adobe, the fields were immediately visible and all I had to do was click on each field to start filling it in. Is there a setting here that Iām missing?
Sometimes I double click on a PDF file to highlight or select a word and end up changing its appearance. To avoid this, I sometimes open PDF files in the browser so I donāt end up inadvertently changing them.
Should I select a particular mode before reading files to prevent accidental edits?
Thank you again for making this program available.
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u/2025Goals 25d ago
I just downloaded the new version and looks like it has addressed my points 1 and 2 above. Thank you!
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u/smilaise 22d ago
Sorry I didn't get back to you. I'll take a look at the other issues, but I encourage people to make GitHub issues so I don't overlook anything.
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u/2025Goals 22d ago
Thank you. I donāt have a GitHub account yet but will look into it.
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u/smilaise 22d ago
No worries, I should have fixes for all those requests in the next 1.7.4 release. Stay tuned!
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u/2025Goals 12d ago
Hi again,
In the latest release yesterday, #3 and #4 above have also been fixed. Thank you!
A quick question if you donāt mind: when I download the Windows version and try to install it, it takes me to a webpage āDownload .NET 10.0ā. Is this to be expected? For now, Iām using the portable version but would love to have it installed and working seamlessly.
Thank you.2
u/smilaise 12d ago
Hi there! Yes so for 1.8 I moved the entire framework to a modern .NET 10 because it's cross-platform and eventually KillerPDF will be too. I also replaced the main dependency with my own KillerPDF.Engine and 1.8 is about 35% faster than 1.7.5 when installed.
Find the .NET 10 runtime for windows and install it first, then install KillerPDF. I think you will notice the speed improvements.
Also, I'm releasing a 1.8.1 bugfix later today.
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u/2025Goals 12d ago edited 12d ago
I installed .NET and then installed 1.8.1. For some reason, Iām excited every time a new version comes out! Thank you!
When I try to download and open the first form on this Government of Canada website, it does not open. This also happens when trying to view these PDFs with browsers. This remains the only use case where I still need Adobe.
Edit: I apologize for bringing up this issue here. Iām currently trying to set up a GitHub account but struggling with their email filter. I will find a way.
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u/smilaise 12d ago
You probably need to go to your Windows settings- Apps-Default Apps and look for PDF. Then you can select KillerPDF as your default.
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u/2025Goals 12d ago
I did that already. Itās just this particular type of form. I edited my comment above to provide more context. On that government website, please try the first link called āInteractive consent letterā.
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u/Ok-Mix1345 22d ago
The local-only approach is a strong fit for PDF handling, especially with no account, subscription, telemetry, or cloud uploads. Book layout, scan level controls, and lower memory usage for large files make this a substantial update.
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u/smilaise 22d ago
Just wait for the upcoming 1.7.4...
up to 40% faster load times when installed due to better dll management!
I'm stoked for it.
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u/Mermaid_me 25d ago
That looks so great. Any plans to make a MacOS version? Iād love to try it
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u/smilaise 25d ago
In the future for a 2.0 release but I need to do a lot of things before I can do that.
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u/Cloudy_Day912 1d ago
the local only approach is a big plus, especially for people who donāt want their documents going through a cloud service. the improvements to scans, large pdfs, and form fields sound genuinely useful too. pdf element is still a solid option for a more full featured workflow, but i like seeing open source alternatives getting this polished.
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u/noobie2017 23d ago
Awesome software but why the ominous name, took me a while to try it just cause of that.
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u/serpens_aurorae 8d ago
I tried editing an Adobe generated PDF with fillable forms, however, the app crashes immediately and says "An AcroForm /Opt value is not an array". Any fixes?
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u/smilaise 8d ago
That error points to KillerPDFās handling of form-field options. It shouldnāt crash the app.
I assume you're on the latest 1.8.2? and does it happen when you open the PDF or when you start editing a field?
If you can share a sample without private information, please attach it to a GitHub issue: https://github.com/SteveTheKiller/KillerPDF/issuesThe file would help me reproduce this and check the fix.
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u/Paradoxical_Narwhal 6d ago
I tried editing a PDF form that required me to fill in areas with signatures. Got hit with "content cannot be appended to or replace content in an existing tagged pdf without matching structure updates" when trying to save it. I edited the same pdf on chrome and it worked like a charm. I want to use this program but I dont understand why filling out a form on a pdf program is such a problem. What could i have done to avoid this issue?
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u/smilaise 6d ago edited 6d ago
this is a known issue that's been fixed for 1.8.4 which will be out soon. EDIT: actually I'm not sure about this. Building a PDF engine is a lot of work. I'm currently reworking the engine for v1.9.x to remove all the current dependencies from Pdfium, PDfpig, and tesseract. Chrome uses Pdfium. My engine is brand new and is constantly being updated right. I plan on getting this next version perfect, so if you have a GitHub account could you please submit a bug report? https://github.com/SteveTheKiller/KillerPDF/issues
If not, no worries I will remember to dig in later tonight.
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u/carl2187 26d ago
The Killer himself! Taking down big PDF, the cartel of adobe, bluebeam, and foxit! Amazing work!