A good PDF reader?

[superninja1981]

Hi you all,

I used Foxit in Windows, and now I realised that the PDF readers available on Linux Mint aren't as good, particularly with heavy PDFs.

Which ones do you recommend me? And why not Foxit isn't available in Linux?

Thanks in advance.

[WinterTroubles]

This page on the foxit website lists a version for linux desktop http://www.foxitsoftware.com/downloads/ as available for download. However I couldn't easily find any installation instructions for linux, which would suggest they don't rate linux support very highly.

[kurotsugi]

what did you use? in my case evince is more than enough but some people said acroread is better for them.

[superninja1981]

Thanks you all!

I found that Okular is better than Evince. Still Foxit is better than those two.

Okular runs perfectly with almost all the PDF I have. There a couple of PDF that they were scanned and the files are heavy. In Windows 7 with Foxit I have no issues, but in Linux it takes a little to charge each page. Anyway, Okular it seems to work better.

[Alley Oop]

In the Foxit link posted above you select Linux then select Deb which is easy to install.

[eanfrid]

It depends on what you are really expecting. mupdf is a fast and very good PDF reader too.

[nomko]

what did you use? in my case evince is more than enough but some people said acroread is better for them.

Acroread is an Adobe application. The problem with Adobe Acroread is, it is as much unsafe under Linux as it is under Windows. Any leak/bug found in the Windows version exist in most cases also in the Linux version if not all leaks/bugs. Beside that Acroread has turned out from a fast PDF reader, in the early days, to a heavy running PDF reader, nowadays, with all kinds of unnecessary ballast.

Foxit reader is still a good alternative, and available for Linux. And it even provides a few add-on's.

[eanfrid]

In the Foxit link posted above you select Linux then select Deb which is easy to install.

I do not see any other release than an outdated & unsecure downloadable file from 2009 here. Foxit is crapware for Linux.

[nomko]

In the Foxit link posted above you select Linux then select Deb which is easy to install.

I do not see any other release than an outdated & unsecure downloadable file from 2009 here. Foxit is crapware for Linux.

You're right. Just sended an email to Foxit. Awaiting their response.

But i won't say unsecured immediately. Outdated, yes. Security depends on so much more than an outdated release only...

[eanfrid]

Did you seriously think that a software unmaintained since almost 5 years would be bulletproof and secure regarding pdf threats and exploits which pop up many times a year ?

[nomko]

Did you seriously think that a software unmaintained since almost 5 years would be bulletproof and secure regarding pdf threats and exploits which pop up many times a year ?

I had a mail conversation the last few days with Foxit and these are their statement:

• No plans yet to release a new version, in the future it might happen.
• The program didn't had any security updates the last 5 years so it's not to tell how secure the program really is.
• Foxit reader is smaller than Adobe Reader/Acroread and therefore a lesser target for any kind of breaches.
• Also Foxit reader doesn't had any major security breaches unlike Adobe reader/Acroread.

They made a point about the security breaches. Since most, if not all, users are using Adobe Reader for opening/reading PDF files, it is more prone to security attacks since the attackers know how Adobe Reader works as a program and how to exploit the program. And it is a widely spread program. Any bug founded in the PDF file format and/or Adobe Reader is a worldwide spread bug, they only have to write 1 malicious software or hide a few lines of code in a PDF file, distribute it over the internet and there will be a huge amount of Adobe users infected by it. If some other PDF reader is installed, it does not mean that it functions exactly the same way as Adobe reader/Acroread. That other program might have most of Adobe Reader's options and tools, but it also depends on how it is written and in which programming language it is written. So, as a "hacker", why aiming for a small, maybe somehow unknown, application of which you don't know how it functions rather than aiming for an application which is commonly spread and works the same under Windows as under Linux or Mac-OS? It is the same as with all Windows viruses, go for the big mass!

[Riko]

IF (big if here:) it has to be Foxit Reader: the latest windows version runs fine under wine or at least under Codeweavers crossover version. I use it if I have to make annotation or comments to a pdf file.

Cheers!

[eanfrid]

I had a mail conversation the last few days with Foxit and these are their statement:

• No plans yet to release a new version, in the future it might happen.
• The program didn't had any security updates the last 5 years so it's not to tell how secure the program really is.
• Foxit reader is smaller than Adobe Reader/Acroread and therefore a lesser target for any kind of breaches.
• Also Foxit reader doesn't had any major security breaches unlike Adobe reader/Acroread.

1/ no plans => never again... don't even think about a 64bit release
2/ 5 years without security review is kind of never, too
3/ maybe smaller, but this does not make it impervious to PDF format flaws
4/ probably nobody reported breaches to them because nobody cares, but no news is not necessarily good news... considering the 3 previous points, this does really not ensure (*) anything

So my own opinion is still that it is closed-source crapware for Linux, even if it is otherwise a good PDF reader in the Windows world.

Edit: (*) replaced "warranty" with "ensure"...

[nomko]

this does really not warranty anything

I never said anything about warranty.

So my own opinion is still that it is closed-source crapware for Linux, /quote]
Crapware maybe not, closed-source: yes. But that doesn't make this program inferior to Adobe Reader. I find Adobe reader crapware/bloatware, it grew too big and too heavy for the regular user.

even if it is otherwise a good PDF reader in the Windows world.

Did you used it under Windows? Have you even tried Foxit?

It seems that you have some kind of aversion to everything, in your eyes, does not comply with the rules of open source. You have a point by saying it's outdated, but to stand on it's head and kick it.......

[eanfrid]

Did you used it under Windows? Have you even tried Foxit?

Yes. This is a very good PDF reader there.

I never said anything about warranty.

Sorry, it is a bad english translation on my side. I meant: "it does not ensure anything"

[nomko]

Sorry, it is a bad english translation on my side. I meant: "it does not ensure that..."

[austin.texas]

"does really not warranty anything" is not "bad English", it is simply not a common usage, but it is still correct.

[superninja1981]

After I few days trying different programs, I think the best PDF readers (so far) are:

Okular in Linux (it also reads Epub, CBR, etc.). Fast and responsive.
Foxit in Windows. Unfortunately is outdated in Linux as you have mentioned above.

Thanks you all for all the comments. I had no idea about the security part.

[Habitual]

pdf viewer addon for firefox?

[Walrus_Sealord]

This page on the foxit website lists a version for linux desktop http://www.foxitsoftware.com/downloads/ as available for download. However I couldn't easily find any installation instructions for linux, which would suggest they don't rate linux support very highly.

Ried Foxit on mint xcfe 17.1. Failed to run