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Adobe developed the Portable Document Format to standardize electronic document handling. PDF, the file format that carries the business world on its back, is everywhere, from product manuals to legal documents. To open, view, and edit PDFs, you need a PDF reader -- for example, Adobe's free Reader. Despite competition from simpler tools, Reader remains the standard the others are judged against. We looked at the latest version of Reader, Adobe Reader X. With it you can view and annotate all PDF files, sign documents electronically, and access optional Adobe Online subscription services directly from inside its interface.
Reader X's familiar interface opens with a quick-start file manager from which we could open a recent file or log in to an existing Adobe Online account. We clicked Open and browsed to a folder full of PDFs we use for testing. Reader rendered each document with high detail and faithful color reproduction. Clicking the Sign icon on Reader's toolbar let us digitally sign documents by adding text or attaching a signature via a wizard. We could also Print our document or e-mail it as an attachment or via Adobe SendNow. We could highlight text, add Sticky Notes, take a Snapshot, and attach Comments.
Reader has some extras that stripped-down competitors can't match, such as its Read Out Loud tool, which can read documents to you if you have sound capability. A Tracker tool monitors updates to Reviews and Forms. Under the Edit menu, entries labeled Protection, Analysis, and Accessibility let us manage security settings, check document accessibility, and analyze data using the Object Data Tool and Geospatial Location Tool. Reader doesn't lack support, either, starting with the sort of extensive Help file you'd expect from an Adobe product. The optional online services include converting PDFs to Word or Excel documents and creating PDFs using Adobe CreatePDF online. Clicking Tools toggles open the online extras.
As we noted, Adobe Reader X is the standard for freeware PDF readers, none of which can match Reader's capabilities and extras. Lighter, simpler tools are available, but Adobe's free reader remains the one to beat.
Publisher's Description
From Adobe Systems:
Adobe Reader lets you read and print from any system any document created as an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file, with its original appearance preserved. PDF files are compact and can be shared, viewed, navigated, and printed exactly as the author intended by anyone with Adobe Reader.
What's new in this version: Version 11.0 has enhanced Protected Mode now includes data theft prevention capabilities and stores files on Acrobat.com for access from multiple devices.
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All versions:
2.9 starsout of 1,372 votes
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Current version:
2.2 starsout of 6 votes
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My rating:
Write review
Results 1-6 of 6
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"Adobe Reader XI 11.0"
Version: Adobe Reader XI 11.0
Pros
No issues, works great
Cons
The google software that is included. I do not like software that
is not what I am needing.Summary
Leave the unnecessary software out.
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"Sucks. Does not even open up"
Version: Adobe Reader XI 11.0
Pros
none. Does not even start up
Cons
All the way downhill from Acrobat 8. Does not even open up on my system. Stupid government forms are all PDF with scripts on them and cannot access them.
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"The Best PDF Reader"
Version: Adobe Reader XI 11.0
Pros
-displays all PDFs properly without artifacts
-fast
-browser PDF plugins works
-great interface
-can insert commentsCons
-none in my opinion
Summary
Seeing only negative reviews for Adobe Reader I feel the need to present the other side of the story. I read a lot of PDF files at work and I've tried both Foxit and Adobe extensively. While Foxit is slightly faster to load, I've found that it did not display all PDF files properly, some PDF files had artifacts that did not appear in Adobe. The biggest complaint about Adobe was the lack of performance, but I think Adobe has done a lot to improve performance in the latest releases - X and XI, and cut down on the bloat, while Foxit seems to be going in the other direction. I think Adobe is only slightly slower, and it's a small price to pay for the best functionality. I have an SSD and it opens up instantaneously, but even without one it is pretty quick.
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"Screwed everything up"
Version: Adobe Reader XI 11.0
Pros
There are no advantages to upgrading for me.
Cons
Acrobat no longer works, tried uninstalling and reinstalling.
Proceed with caution!Summary
Google Chrome forced me to do an update for the PDF plugin and it was hill downhill from there.
Running Windows XP SP3 -
"Also could not get reader to open"
Version: Adobe Reader XI 11.0
Pros
None so far
Cons
Cannot open any of my .pdf files.
Summary
Pentium 4 plenty ram,memory. It ran reader X well. Restored to earlier time, back to readerX and files will not open with that either. Big problems people!
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"Could Not Get Reader To Open On My System !"
Version: Adobe Reader XI 11.0
Pros
None, as version 11 would not even open on my system (WIN 7 64 bit SP1)
Cons
Tried uninstallng and re-installing from Adobe's website several times with no luck.
Summary
I really liked Adobe Reader 9, but since then each new version has lost more of it's appeal. Perhaps it's a problem with my system - this just happened and I'll have to investigate further, or perhaps it's time to switch to something like Foxit Reader.
In all fairness to Adobe, I just recently re-installed my OS on my laptop which was running version X. I updated it to version XI through Cnet and it's working fine. Whatever the problem was, they seem to have corrected it. Also, I have to admit I prefer Adobe's feature set to Foxit's limited usability.
Updated on Dec 10, 2012
Results 1-6 of 6
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