Foxit Reader remains running in the background

[Z_L]

Hi, I am using Linux Mint 20.3 Una Xfce 4.16.0 on my laptop. Everything was running just fine until I have run an update, which spoiled some things that were OK before.

One issue is that if I open any pdf file with Foxit Reader and close it, then it remains running in the background. This would not disturb me, but when I want to shut the PC down, it waits for few minutes. When I open the Task Manager it is visible that the Foxit Reader is still running and preventing the shut-down. After I terminate the process, the system shuts down immediately.

Is there anything I can do to fix this problem?

There is another issue with the audio as well, but let’s focus here only on the Foxit Reader problem. Thanks for any help in advance.

Zoltan

[shedyed]

I am guessing that it has adopted the practice that most Windows programs do -- stay idle in the background so that if you decide to view another pdf, it has already been through the necessary 'housekeeping' or initialization functions and it can directly go to its main purpose -- showing you the PDF. It "appears" faster compared to a cold start. It is up to you now to decide how you want to deal with this. At this point, you figure out how many times a day you open PDFs. Once a year, during tax season? Or you work where they are the lifeblood of your business, and Foxit is a godsend. What about browser extensions, can they be an effective substitute? It's different for each individual; I can live with a killall one liner that nukes those idle apps, but that's just me. Are there too many instances that your framerate starts getting bogged down?

[Z_L]

Thanks shedyed for the input. I am not happy with programs I close to only hide themselves instead of closing. Even if this is the case and I can't do anything about it, still Linux Mint supposed to know that when I click the shut-down button, then I mean it, and all running programs should be closed automatically. Why would I need to do a manual shutdown of programs (especially those I don't even see running) before I dare to click the shut-down button? Makes no sense, therefore I consider this to be a system bug that needs to be fixed.

Originally I have installed LM 20.2 Xfce and this issue did not exist. I don't know if Foxit Reader was still running in the background back then or not, but even if it did, the old LM version did not get stuck when I wanted to shut it down. Only after I initiated an auto upgrade to this latest version did this new problem manifest.

I guess I will just have to tolerate this bug until a new LM version comes out, and then do a clean install. Those usually work quite well, but any later upgrades are very risky, often whack things that were working well before. This is why I always disable auto updates. But now I think I will never do an update. Only clean install new versions, that is the safest.

[pdc_2]

we find "Document Viewer" works well for pdf: have you tried it instead?

[wallyUSA]

Okular works well for me and it has a nice tool set! Install from Software Manager.

PDF_3458.JPG (26.09 KiB) Viewed 1806 times

[Z_L]

@shedyed To me the current Foxit Reader startup with multiple unclosed instances in the background doesn’t look any faster than a cold start. If that was the intent then it failed. If I open and close 66 pdfs, there remain 66 instances running in the background. This is yet another indication that it is a bug, because so many instances would not be needed to speed up the opening of a new pdf as compared to a cold start. I can open pdfs in Firefox browser as well without any extension, but I prefer to use dedicated software for this purpose, and Foxit Reader worked just fine earlier.

@pdc_2 Good idea, "Document Viewer" indeed works, but it does not have all the features Foxit Reader had, especially for form testing and annotations. I use it sometimes for simple viewing.

@wallyUSA Thanks for the tip. I have just installed Okular and it looks like a decent substitute for Foxit Reader at least for now.

So basically we got around the issue by not using Foxit Reader, but this is not a real solution. The problem is caused by a system bug, and fixing that will be the real solution. Therefore, I think the original post should not be marked as <SOLVED>.

Thanks for all the great suggestions to all.

[MikeNovember]

Hi, I am using Linux Mint 20.3 Una Xfce 4.16.0 on my laptop. Everything was running just fine until I have run an update, which spoiled some things that were OK before.

One issue is that if I open any pdf file with Foxit Reader and close it, then it remains running in the background. This would not disturb me, but when I want to shut the PC down, it waits for few minutes. When I open the Task Manager it is visible that the Foxit Reader is still running and preventing the shut-down. After I terminate the process, the system shuts down immediately.

Is there anything I can do to fix this problem?

There is another issue with the audio as well, but let’s focus here only on the Foxit Reader problem. Thanks for any help in advance.

Zoltan

Hi,

This is not a normal functioning of Foxit Reader.

Just try to uninstall it and install it again.

Regards,

MN

[Z_L]

@MikeNovember Uninstalling and reinstalling did not fix the problem, the issue still persists. But, thanks for the input.

[Moem]

Does the program have a setting that toggles whether it keeps running or actually closes?

[Z_L]

@Moem I have not found any such option in the "Preferences" settings.

[Cosmo.]

Does the problem persist, if you launch Foxit without any document?

[Moem]

@Moem I have not found any such option in the "Preferences" settings.

Well, if it really has no such setting, then that is a very rude way to write a program, rather than a bug in Mint.

[Z_L]

@Cosmo Yes, multiple unclosed Foxit Readers remain running in the background even if I only start the program, without opening any pdf.

[Z_L]

Well, if it really has no such setting, then that is a very rude way to write a program, rather than a bug in Mint.

Foxit Reader is definitely not perfect, but it was working just fine on LM 20.2 and all previous versions.

This problem appeared only after I have initiated the new auto-upgrade to LM 20.3 (which is a new LM feature that does more than the usual updates). This means that it is most probably a LM system (or update) bug.

Except if some weird virus would have caused it, that attacks only pdf readers when opening an infected pdf. I highly doubt this would be the case though.

[Cosmo.]

This problem appeared only after I have initiated the new auto-upgrade to LM 20.3 (which is a new LM feature that does more than the usual updates). This means that it is most probably a LM system (or update) bug.

The upgrade option from one minor version to the next is a function, which exists since far more then 5 years, there is nothing new. An auto-upgrade option does not exist, you are in error.

Next step for analyzing:
Open the login window settings and activate the guest account. Reboot and log into it. Still the same?

[Z_L]

The upgrade option from one minor version to the next is a function, which exists since far more then 5 years, there is nothing new. An auto-upgrade option does not exist, you are in error.

Next step for analyzing:
Open the login window settings and activate the guest account. Reboot and log into it. Still the same?

On this page https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=4216 dated January 7, 2022 it is stated that:
“It is now possible to upgrade Linux Mint 20, 20.1 and 20.2 to version 20.3.
If you’ve been waiting for this we’d like to thank you for your patience.”

Form this I assumed that it was not possible before, it is only possible “now”, and some people were eagerly waiting for this. With other words, I assumed this to be a new feature or function or whatever you want to call it. But, it does not matter if this is new or it existed for x years. What matters is that I used it for the first time (since I am not a Linux geek, I use LM only as a tool and not interested in getting lost in details, or getting a PhD in it).

Regarding starting Foxit Reader from a guest account, it is not possible in an easy straightforward manner. When I have installed the software it did the installation only for the main administrator account, so it is not available in the guest account. I have downloaded the install package again on the guest account and attempted to install it there, but it was not possible, because the guest has got no access privileges. There is no setting in the installer where I could install it for all users.

So, it looks like I supposed to implement some geek tricks to get his done, which I would be even willing to do if I would be sure it fixes the problem. But I highly doubt this would fix anything, so I will stop this here and just use the alternative pdf reader until a new LM version comes out and it will be worth doing a clean installation.

[Cosmo.]

Regarding the upgrade:
I see now the cause for your misunderstanding. What the blog wants to say is, that the possibility to upgrade to 20.3 is now open. Before 7th January you needed to install 20.3 (beta at that time).
Upgrading in principle was available since LM 17, if I remember correctly.