If you have ever used a computer this last 10 years, then you must have known about PDF. The PDF file format have hosted several medias we all are familiar with, like e-books, software guides and product instruction manuals. Unfortunately they are annoying to deal with, especially if you use Adobe's Acrobat PDF reader solution. Hit the jump for a faster-alternative PDF reader downloads, more PDF tips and creative PDF workarounds.
PDFs Are Slow, How Can I Make Them Faster?
Chances are, around 8 out of 10 computer will have a free PDF reader installed and ready to use right from the start. They are usually Adobe's, called the Adobe Reader and will always show up at the top of the page if you searched for the term, "PDF reader". Unfortunately they are not the best PDF reader around the internet, and I found them to be too slow in rendering full color pages or full color graphics like charts. So it's not really the PDF that are slow, it's your PDF reader that is slow.
A Faster PDF Reader
For a faster PDF reader solution, most of the people I knew (including me) uses the PDF-Xchange Viewer. The PDF-Xchange is a very, very fast PDF reader and full with features you might appreciate later on. It renders pages almost instantly (even with colors!) and allows you to scroll around freely without having to deal with those darned checkerboards.
Editing PDF Files
You might come across 2 or 3 PDFs that you want to edit like a Microsoft Document. They might be some office reports with a data fault or a book with a very obvious grammar mistake. Either way, you can't edit PDF files directly in Adobe Reader because, well, it can't. Most PDF files in the internet is read-only or came file-protected , so unless you made the PDF yourself, you can't do anything besides reading it. This is where the PDF-Xchange come in, because it can "edit" PDF, albeit in a creative workaround.
Adding Notes in PDF
You can't edit PDFs, but at least adding notes is as easy as a right-click and another. From there you can write yourself a note that can remind you of whatever things you want to be reminded about. There are certainly many other uses, but I am sure you can find them for yourselves.
Going Beyond A Fast PDF Reader
The Sumatra PDF is truly the fastest PDF reader I have ever seen, though I don't use it right now since it is missing most of the features PDF X-change offers. The Sumatra PDF is read-only, and is even faster than PDF X-Change (probably everything else too).
PDF Portability, Bring Them Around With You
Even though I said that almost every computer nowadays got Adobe Acrobat Reader installed right from the start, some computers, like the one you made yourself, (How To Build Your Own PC) will not have one installed from the get-go. Fortunately, every PDF reader I recommended above have its own portable versions, which means no more installing every time you want to use it! Just put it into a flashdisk or external hard drives and bring it with you when you want to use it. Keep forgetting to bring them? Then use a cloud service! Refer to my post on, Top 5 Ideas For Your Cloud Services.
For the PDF readers portable version, visit their official download page. Don't worry, they are both free!
The document I used above is the CM Storm Enforcer manual. Give your opinions on this post down below! It will only take a minute and you will give great feedback for me.
