CNET Editors' review
Nuance's first free PDF reader is a strong entry to the growing field of zero-cost Adobe Reader alternatives. It has a reasonable set of features, including free document conversion via the Nuance Web site, and a crisp interface that should be accessible to anybody.
Nuance comes with two toolbars. The one at the top of the program is loaded with big icons, but avoids clutter by hiding most of the secondary tools behind drop-down arrows. The toolbar at the bottom contains PDF-relevant details, such page number, zoom percentage, and viewing format. It's bigger than in most competitors, though, and it looks good on larger screens. Editing is limited in the free version to highlighting, underlining, and crossing out, and although you can view comments that have been made, you can't add any of your own.
The document conversion feature, which jumps you from the Nuance PDF reader interface to the Nuance Web site, does a good job of converting to Microsoft Word's DOCX. That's a big win, however, lesser formats such as RTF don't convert as cleanly. Still, the successful free conversion to DOCX is a major coup for Nuance. There's also a lack of tabbed viewing, which means that each open PDF lives in a separate window, and Nuance uses about a third more RAM when running than competitor Foxit Reader does. Nonetheless, Nuance is much more nimble in use than Adobe Reader, and has enough features to appeal to casual PDF users.
Editors' note: This review has changed to reflect the now-functional conversion feature.
Publisher's Description
From Nuance Communications:
The free Nuance PDF Reader is an alternative to Adobe Reader that is smaller, more secure, and for the first time connects desktop PDF with cloud-based PDF-to-Microsoft Office conversion services. The Nuance PDF Reader also enables PDF form save, annotations and Microsoft SharePoint features not available in alternatives.
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All versions:
3.4 starsout of 43 votes
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Current version:
3.5 starsout of 22 votes
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My rating:
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"Disappointing"
Version: Nuance PDF Reader 6.0
Pros
Nice looks. It's free.
Cons
Seven day Nag, asking for registration or upgrade.
Horrible bloaty MSI installation. Not sure what it done to my registry.
It's a S-L-O-W loader. All the other free pdf viewers load much faster.Summary
Avoid if possible.
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"So far, so good"
Version: Nuance PDF Reader 6.0
Pros
Appears to be light on the system,and works well within my Firefox browser.Although the Set feature was a little confusing, at first, I liked its capability of capturing images from a PDF document, similar to the "Snipping" feature in Vista and Win7.
Cons
Not being a high demand PDF user, I can't find anything about the Nuance reader I dislike. Of course, it only took me about five years to find a problem with Foxit. I haven't tried Nuance with the proprietary Adobe forms, yet.
Summary
My reason for switching from the Foxit reader was the crashes it caused in my Firefox browser. I started searching for a new PDF reader, and found Nuance, so I tried it. Overall, I like the Foxit and Nuance readers more than the resource hungry Adobe reader. I was just noticing in my event log, the Foxit reader would occasionally crash my Firefox browser. When that would happen, I would just download the document and open it outside the browser. So far, the Nuance reader has worked well within my browser. I'm a big believer in having a choice, and I hope that Foxit hangs around and makes improvements, in case I need to go back to their product.
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"Better than Adobe for a reader, conversion not the best"
Version: Nuance PDF Reader 6.0
Pros
Very good reader; used it for months with no problems. If you're not in a hurry, conversion through the Nuance website is OK. I use a Omnipage ($$ from Nuance) if I really want to convert a PDF. Older versions of OP may work and are not as dear.
Cons
It's advertised as a converter and it's not. You end up going to on-line service and have to wait for a response.
Summary
It's a good reader and it's free. I prefer it to Adobe, and there aren't a million updates and problems. I wouldn't get it for conversion unless you only need it infrequently and are not in a hurry.
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"Convert option didn't work a all for me"
Version: Nuance PDF Reader 6.0
Pros
Looksl like there is some decent functionality there - but I didn't try it as I had downloaded this for its conversion capabilities.
Cons
I realy needed thsi to convert a pdf to word. The convert pdf button simply took me to th nuance website with a link to download pdf reader. I already had pdf reader - I could never find a link to the conversion capability on the website.
Summary
Didn't do what I needed it to do. Frustrating, as it appears it had for others. No support option - just a link to user guides.
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"Nice, but not there yet."
Version: Nuance PDF Reader 6.0
Pros
Opened all my PDFs with no problems. Has some good features.
Cons
Cluttered interface. Slower start up, and a little slow opening documents.
Summary
Although the program is basically sound, there is nothing that sets it uniquely apart from other readers. It isn't small and fast, like Foxit Reader, yet it doesn't have the features and polish of Nitro PDF Reader. Nitro sort of makes you go, "Wow!" Nuance just doesn't have that quality to it.
I ran into one minor glitch: specifying Nuance as the default PDF reader did not apply the Nuance icon to PDFs (remained Foxit icon). I had to manually associate the PDF with Nuance in Windows to get the icon to change. This happened in both XP and 7. Not a big deal, but an extra step that shouldn't be required. -
"Waiting a day renders it useless to me"
Version: Nuance PDF Reader 6.0
Pros
Nothing at all
Cons
I used this once. When the CNET reviewer wrote that one has to use the Internet to get the translation, I thought he meant seconds or a few minutes. Instead one has to wait for a day. The rest of it doesn't seem to match Foxit Reader.
Summary
It's better than Adobe Reader. Ta Taa
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"A good product but needs improvement."
Version: Nuance PDF Reader 6.0
Pros
Wasy to use
Cons
Not better than similar systems.
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"A good enough PDF reader, as far as that goes"
Version: Nuance PDF Reader 6.0
Pros
Nothing spectacular, but it works
Cons
No particular cons
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"A fast install and it works well"
Version: Nuance PDF Reader 6.0
Pros
A fast install and it works well
Cons
None at this time
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"Does not work for OpenOffice.org writer"
Version: Nuance PDF Reader 6.0
Pros
Great idea. Saves added content to PDFs that already allow entry.
Cons
Does not allow entry into PDFs not created for data entry.
Summary
I attempted to convert a very simple PDF into doc format, but nuance only allows for docx and other xml types of documents. I have the latest version of OpenOffice.org writer and got a very poorly rendered version of the original document. Since I had downloaded the free version, there was absolutely no way to contact Nuance tech support. The addresses they gave on the "converted document reply" only ended up as Postmaster Returned Mail. I tried support@nuancepdf.com as well as a couple of others. No luck. I wouldn't recommend buying this product. It's a good idea, but doesn't support the nuances of non-Microsoft products. BTW, I also tried to download the document as a DOCX, but for whatever reason, the document could only be saved as a DOC on my PC. A little tech support from Nuance would go a long way here, in case it was my fault.
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