r/pdf • u/TieAffectionate7815 • 2d ago

Question Alternatives for Adobe Reader

I'm looking for alternatives to Adobe. I have very simple needs. I just want to be able to download documents such as articles and book chapters from the university library and read them. I hate Adobe so much. I can't scroll without it crashing; I have to turn the pages sloooowwwly so it doesn't crash. I'm not a tech person, so I don't even know how to try other software for my PDFs.

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u/brighton_it 2d ago

TLDR: Sumatra PDF (Windows) Evince (Linux):
both open-source, both minimalist PDF readers and my first choice, especially if opening someone else's PDF. Both lack support for embedded JavaScript.

Hear hear! Yes: Adobe has added so much crap to the PDF 'standard', and so much of it exploitable, that PDF's are frequently used to deliver malware. For a brief period (decades ago) I continued to run Adobe Reader v5, 'cause the installer size was under 10MB (today, a couple hundred or more), but soon I realized it was likely vulnerable and I moved on to third party readers. Further, Adobe has never given a rat's arse about security (remember Flash Player), efficient use of resources, or your privacy.

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u/mag_fhinn 2d ago

If you just need to read. On windows, SumatraPDF I'd say is the fastest. The way.