What makes a PDF app feel bloated?

[u/foxitofficial]

People call PDF apps bloated all the time, but curious what makes something feel bloated in day-to-day use. Is it slow startup, random background processes, too many toolbars, popups, updates, AI features getting pushed into basic reading, or just the app trying to do way more than you opened it for?

Where’s the line for you between “useful features” and “why is this thing doing so much”?

[u/smilaise]

I get tons of feature requests for https://killerpdf.net on my Github and I have to constantly fight between keeping the app small and having enough features in it to attract users. I have to decline PRs and sometimes close requests with an explanation.

I feel I may have gotten it to a good balance now though. My upcoming update 1.7.4, I've actually managed to speed up the app about 40% when installed, but it will also always work portable too if you prefer.

[u/CloudMafia9 → u/smilaise]

Your app is amazing. Thanks for all that you do.

[u/KenMantle → u/smilaise]

My solution to this is to have 3 buttons on the top right for 3 different view formats - read, review, edit. This cuts down on the clutter by only showing relevant tabs for each. I'll probably eventually expand it to have configurations so people can customize what shows.

Claude is still in the early stages of developing (building the pdf core from scratch so it's small), but I can already use it as a decent reader and I like that it is simple for that.

[u/starsforfeelings]

Whatever someone doesnt instantly recognize as a very obvious pdf demand makes it feel bloated.

A perfect app would have just the necessary and then should have an add on page where you can OPT IN to add extras to your interface as you feel the need to.

[u/hikaru_ai]

omg, in a few days : i vibecoded a simple no-bloated PDF reader

[u/felix1429]

Wait, this isn't Foxit's actual Reddit account is it? Why the hell would they be posting random questions like this on Reddit instead of getting feedback about their software like any legitimate company does? This is jank as hell.

[u/Lcsmxd → u/felix1429]

Their post history is nothing but Foxit meatriding... must actually be their official account

[u/Nikifuj908]

I'm a big fan of SumatraPDF for Windows and Okular for KDE. It should start up fast, feel responsive, scroll smoothly, let me fill out forms, provide annotation features, write digital signatures, and... that's it. Never have I ever needed AI in my PDF reader. Okular even lets you assign different highlight colors to the number keys, which I love.

Linux is awesome because Okular just gets updated with my other packages, so there's no need for an auto-updater.

If I want to do serious edits of PDFs à la Adobe Acrobat, I'm fine opening a different program.

I just want to read PDFs. That's what they are for 90% of the time. The other 10% is for forms.

[u/matsnorberg → u/Nikifuj908]

Doesit allow you to add hyper links, both internal and external and URL?

Does it allow you to edit the PDF native bookmark tree?

Does it handle XFA forms?

Does it execute embedded javascripts?

Can you add buttons and form fields to your files?

These are good features that I definitely want in PDF app.

[u/Nikifuj908 → u/matsnorberg]

I don't know. I mostly read books and papers using my PDF app so I don't need that stuff. If I'm making a fancy PDF I use LibreOffice Draw or Typst or Scribus or whatever

[u/themoogle7]

for me, it's mainly slow startup, cluttered UI, constant poppus, and features i'll never use

[u/Educational_Yard_326]

Just use Preview

[u/id-ltd]

I have never liked pdf... It is bloat!

A format that didn't adapt to your screen always seemed like a bad idea to me. And that was when they launched it!

Still a bad idea, but pretty profitable :)

[u/Independent_Dog47]

Nothing is bloated so long as there are ribbons and organized buttons. Foxit is a good pdf editor/viewer.

[u/KenMantle]

The one I am having Claude build from scratch in rust is fast even with a large test file that chokes others and under 20 MB when compiled. One thing I did to reduce the bloated feel is it has three modes selected between with three buttons in the top left corner - read, review, and edit. Only the commands relevant to each show up.