Looking for a decent free PDF Reader ...

[Korth]

I do most of my stuff in a linux with Okular PDF Reader. It fits my needs perfectly.

But I'm increasingly forced to (reluctantly) use Win10 systems which can't run Okular. (Well, they can emulate it through cygwin or I could run a WinOS instance inside a KVMware hypervisor ... but that's sort of slow, resource intensive, and self-defeating.)

So I need a decent Windows-native PDF reader. Adobe Acrobat is a glacial bloated mess (even with AcroPDF SpeedUp). The PDF extensions built into my Office suites just aren't robust enough. I've found Foxit and Haihaisoft deficient for my needs.

I'm looking for a PDF reader which ticks these boxes:

- free, or at least offers a free demo/trial usage so I'm not stuck paying for something bad I won't like

- can properly display fonts and symbols (external, embedded, extended/unicode)

- can properly display pages, lets you zoom around and resize and scroll through views

- can handle multiple document tabs

- has working search functions for current pdf(s), all pdfs, pdfs in target drives and folders

- doesn't clutter the screen with tons of toolbars and icons

- preferably doesn't look completely primitive and ghetto, cosmetics aren't hugely important but WinXP-era dialog boxes and iconographies are kind of sad

- runs entirely offline, no forced cloud, no forced updates, no internet mothership

It really doesn't seem like too much to ask from software of this decade, lol, there must be options (many options) which fit my splendid requirements.

Thanks in advance to any suggestions. There's so many to pick from that I thought I'd start with the most recommended/popular ones instead of plowing through dozens of installs.

[Korth]

For anyone interested, I quickly ran through 18 pdf readers and finally decided ghostscript is the winner. It ticks all the boxes and more. Default settings are annoyingly obtrusive and had to be reconfigured to user preferences, but this is only a one-time mild annoyance in itself, basically just an addendum to the setup.

PDF-XChange Viewer is actually better. Except that it spams and spies in a tireless effort to sell you other PDF-XChange products - it's easy enough to neuter through firewall, but the very fact I needed to do so just puts me right off the whole brand. "Tracker Software Products" indeed.

Foxit Reader does promise more. And if they actually deliver on those promises then I'll make the switch. But I have no use for software which was mysteriously broken and clunky on two of the five machines I tried using it on, if it wasted my time before it'll waste my time again.

[Korth]

Already replaced OpenOffice with LibreOffice - because several reasons, one being the slightly better pdf support.

The built-in pdf reader is serviceable but, as I mentioned above, it's not quite robust enough for my needs.

[Jb456]

Open office.

https://www.openoffice.org/

[Korth]

Foxit (version 10.0.0.35798) got clunky after too many tabs opened and closed during long sessions, and it lacks any feature to resume all open tabs and marked texts after the app is restarted. So maybe an hour of work, things get choppy, then out comes the notepad to keep track of every document in progress so I could manually reopen each one. Lots of cross-correlating stuff from multiple sources, not having the tabs constantly floating around for visual reference and copypaste is actually slower overall.

It's a known issue, some persistent memory leak they've never fully fixed. These Win10 systems are "high-end" laptops, not what I consider high-end but not entirely gutless, so it's not really hardware issue. Just disrupts workflow and wastes time on these workaround chores, other software must be able to do the job better.

XODO seems pretty good so far. But it's a bit of a memory hog (not much of an issue on laptop/desktop but must be hell on mobile devices). I learned the hard way that closing your laptop lid with open documents is a surefire way to lose all progress ... so I think it's not going to work out for me, lol, my environment is filled with interruptions.

[MotoBey]

I hope this helps you out.

I recently installed the https://www.xodo.com/ app on my Android.

I see they offer apps for other OSes as well.

I like the clean interface and powerful editing tools. 

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Warmly,

D

[CFPartDeux]

@Korth  Oops, had to edit my 1st attempt - just re-read your message, and noticed you said Foxit didn't cut it for you.... oh well, it works great for my needs..... good luck in your search.

Out of curiosity, what doesn't Foxit do, such that it's "deficient for your needs"?