Skim for Mac

User Reviews

• Depends on what you need it for

  anlee2017July 23, 2015

  Pros

  - lots of options to annotate - like that you can choose more than 5 colors (vs. preview)

  Cons

  - for those multi colored highlighter users this can get quite annoying, you cannot just select a color and then highlight. and then choose another color to highlight other areas. Instead you set a default highlight color and every time you want a section of document to be in another color you have to select that individual section and change the color (quite annoying for me as I use ~4 different colors, all mixed interchangeably in the same document, when highlighting to mean different things) - there's no way to mass edit your previous annotations (can't select multiple lines/highlights and change their color or move them to a different location in the document) you have to select each individual line and move/change it one by one (REALLY annoying for the "diagrams" I make to add in the side of the documents I edit)

  Summary

  useful for some people I'm sure, the options seem limitless, but the more you use it the more you realize how annoying little things are that should be simple. Like the fact that you can't select multiple annotations or that you have to click the object and then click the color you want for EVERY line. Tried to write a recommendation about fixing these features and got a seemingly rude response about my suggestion. Overall, I'm not very happy, so I'm on the search for something better.

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• One gem of a software

  souliloquyMarch 8, 2014

  Pros

  1 Skim has by far the best annotation tools&management in the PDF reader/editor spectrum, and this is including the really pricey apps (My work involves a lot of pdf-reading, note-taking, annotation and form-filling, used to do it mostly on PDFPen Pro and still own the latter, but Skim has pretty much become my default reader/editor, unless I need abstruse PDF-creation functions. It is the ONLY mac app that allows dealing with annotations in bulk. Annotation/form filling capabilities have never given me any problem, and I filled a good deal of state/tax etc forms. 2 it is LIGHTNING fast, a lot faster than any of the contenders. 3 I don't know about earlier versions, but the versions I've used on Mac since mid-2013 have all been quite stable and reliable, more so than commercial alternatives 4 The interface though not stunning, it stays out of the way , various sidebars on either side of the screen can be used for practical reasons, or turned off with a click for full-screen reading

  Cons

  Doesn't have detailed PDF creation/bulk-editing tools, not a replacement, say, for pricey publishing-oriented software, but if your PDF-use revolves around reading and typical annotations, that won't be restrictive. All 'core' functions, like printing customization, or dictionary-integration, are there and work like a charm.

  Summary

  I've been using Skim since late 2013 , and in that period it was regularly updated and I never encountered any error, or problem with forms/annotations etc. I'm ever surprised by that Skim hasn't gone immensely popular already, as I can't think of a second software that I could recommend this easily (excepting, maybe, Pythonista on iOS)

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• Copy text correct when Preview can't or give gibberish

  sememaSeptember 28, 2013

  Pros

  Option to Export pdf + notes

  Cons

  Very very limited note formatting

  Summary

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• Does NOT work for 10.5

  spinkatJanuary 19, 2013

  Pros

  Not sure as I am still using 10.5

  Cons

  AS mentioned, it will not load in 10.5. Gives the message "Will not work with this OS version"

  Summary

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• Unreliable: Does NOT save forms

  DiskonautSeptember 21, 2012

  Pros

  Good for annotating etc.

  Cons

  Does NOT save text you have written in forms. No warning is given.

  Summary

  I used to like it for annotating, but it destroyed today's work for me because it didn't save text in forms. There was no warning, nothing. Uninstalling, and will not recommend Skim.

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• useful application for annotating pdf files

  prudd1March 21, 2012

  Pros

  simple useful

  Cons

  no link to filing system limited annotation options

  Summary

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• almost perfect

  peter LJuly 23, 2011

  Pros

  free - shows the pdf exactly as it is. updates are easy

  Cons

  copy paste could be improved, but hey, it's free, who am I to criticize. I can't even write a small app!

  Summary

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• I like it very much

  peter LMay 25, 2011

  Pros

  very fast loading, original formatting kept

  Cons

  copy/paste is a bit cumbersom

  Summary

  you should get it too

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• Bye bye adobe.Welcome Skim.

  peter LFebruary 28, 2011

  Pros

  fast loading - no too steep learning curve - excellent helpfile

  Cons

  not yetfound

  Summary

  Skim is now set as my default app for all PDF's

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• Excellent Application, Hats off to Developers

  ceopawankumarFebruary 11, 2011

  Pros

  Excellent Software Available for free

  Cons

  None, It is just Superb

  Summary

  Thanks for providing this Application

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