Foxit Reader keeps pushing the PDF reader alternative with its latest major-point update, version 3. Although there are some long-awaited minor changes, such as auto-scrolling via the center mouse-button or annotating images and highlighted text, there are three major changes as well.
Foxit Reader's interface hasn't changed much, but its features have.
(Credit: Foxit Software)Multimedia content is now fully supported, which means that you can embed video and audio into a PDF and play them back from within Foxit. Although the competition from Adobe has had this capability for a while, this is one that's been long missing from Foxit and ensures that it's not left behind as multimedia embeds become as essential as communicating through the written word.
To add video or audio, there's a filmstrip icon and a speaker icon that you can add to the Toolbar, or you can access them through the Menubar under Tools, Advanced Editing Tools, and choose either the Movie tool or the Sound tool. Most major formats that I tested, including AVI, MOV, MPEG, MP3, WMV, and WAV were supported.
Another new tool is a plug-in that lets Firefox users open PDFs in a Firefox tab. I've never been a big fan of doing this, since it can slow down the browser considerably. Foxit is also such a nimble PDF reader that it opens downloaded PDFs almost instantaneously. However, I'm sure that there are some users that prefer it.
The third major new tool is a plug-in for Foxit itself. Called the OnDemand Content Management, it lets you organize, share, and edit content from within Foxit with other Foxit users. It makes Foxit competitive with Google Docs, Zoho, and other Web-based collaborative tools. Once the add-on has been installed, users should check out the program's OnDemand instructions on the Menubar under Advanced and then OnDemand. The service requires registration to use it, but thankfully, it's free. Otherwise, there'd be little point in trying to compete with Webware solutions.
Additional changes include introducing a somewhat bland landing page when you run the program without opening a PDF, and support for PDF layers. Foxit Reader 3.0 doesn't contain anything revolutionary, but it's still a marked improvement on a program that never fails to put some zip into the slothful PDF.
It's time to replace that bloated, sluggish PDF reader everybody on the planet has been using with something leaner, faster, and--no, really--easier to use. Join Seth Rosenblatt as he takes a First Look at the freeware Foxit PDF Reader.
Fast to load and yet possessing robust features, Foxit PDF Reader is a strong freeware alternative to the dominance of the Adobe Reader. The new features in version 2.3 include two notable improvements, a slew of minor ones, and small tweak that goes a long way to put Foxit on nearly equal footing with its better-known competitors.
Foxit PDF Reader 2.3 adds tabbed PDFs, multimedia support, and more.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Foxit now supports tabbed PDF reading, porting the feature from Web browsers into the world of documents. This is a no-brainer, and makes it much easier for having multiple PDFs open simultaneously.
The other important improvement is that Foxit now supports multimedia embeds in PDFs. Although PDFs are an effective way to compile lengthy text documents, they are not paper and shouldn't be treated as mere digitalizations of print products. Being able to watch video or listen to an audio track in PDFs is a long-needed feature.
Other improvements in this version include permanent bookmarks--as long as the PDF's security settings allow them--automatic mouse-free scrolling, a magnifying tool, rulers and guides for PDF creation, commenting tools and call-out boxes, and the capability to print a selected area from within Foxit.
Oh, and that small tweak? Finally, Foxit Reader lets users click on hyperlinks. It's hard to believe that this feature didn't exist in previous editions, but it's here now. Along with multimedia support, Foxit looks like it's positioned itself as one of the top alternatives to the bloated Adobe Reader.
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