What?
A question that keeps coming up is ‘What can I use instead of Adobe Acrobat?’
The Problem:
1) Adobe Acrobat is a resource hog at times.
2) Adobe Acrobat keeps a copy of it’s setup files in the install directory. (This can make the install requirement as high as 400megs+ in OS X.
3) It doesn’t always play nice with Linux.
4) You have to pay for some basic functionality and pay for a Pro version if you want certain features. Features which 99% of the people I talk to feel should be free.
The solution:
Don’t use it unless you need to create or develop a PDF. In fact, if you plan on doing detailed forms or complex PDF tasks then I recommend you only use Adobe Acrobat. I won’t even quantify that statement unless I’m pressed. In which case I’ll make it a blog entry.
The Links:
[MAC (using OSX)]:
OSX has built in Print-To functionality.
It also has a built in viewer.
[Windows (Using XP)]:
CutePDF Writer (Print to PDF)
FoxIT PDF (Reader with a few advanced options)
PDFMerge (Merge PDF Documents)
[Linux (Using Ubuntu)]:
Document Viewer (Default in Ubuntu? Haven’t had an install that didn’t have it.)
xPDF (Basic reader)
Open Office (Print to PDF)
ePDFViewer (Light weight and simple)
[Rant]:
Ubuntu [read: linux] wins. I only listed a few of the packages I found. However, it doesn’t win because there are a ton of options. It wins because finding these software packages was as simple as doing a search in ‘Add/Remove…’. Once you get into you realize that whether you want light weight or robust, Linux has a solution for you.
Windows and Mac required that I Google myself into a fit. I’ll say it again, if you want to develop and distribute complex PDFs or forms then use Acrobat. Otherwise something in the list above may help you. Or, search Planet PDF for different software titles.
You can also find a nice list at Wikipedia.
