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Add to SafariWhen comparing Adobe Reader vs qpdfview, the Slant community recommends qpdfview for most people. In the question“What are the best PDF readers?” qpdfview is ranked 7th while Adobe Reader is ranked 9th.
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Integrated cloud service
Gives access to a cloud service that allows storage and sharing of PDF files.
Pro Allows comparing two separate PDF files for differences
Reader can compare two versions of a PDF file and highlight differences.
Pro Best in class compatibility with the PDF standard
Since Adobe is the creator of the PDF standard, it stands to reason that Adobe's Acrobat Reader has the best support for it.
Pro Low on resources
Pro Reloads on changes instantly
Pro Outline, properties and thumbnail panes
Pro Open multiple pdfs in tabs
qpdfview is a tabbed document viewer.
Pro Allows for some scripting
Opens files in named instances, open files on designated page.
Calling of userscripts on a document is thus far not possible.
Pro Fast search in all opened files
Pro Dark mode
However only inverted colors.
Pro Scale, rotate and fit
Pro Supports TOC-sidebar
Pro Switch tabs with keyboard shortcuts
Pro Continuous and multiple-page layouts
Pro Add highlights and text annotations
Pro DjVu support
Pro Fullscreen and presentation views
Pro PostScript support
Pro Custom background colors
Pro Multiplatform
It is available on any major computer OS.
Pro Deactivation of GUI elements
e.g.:
toggleMenuBar
toggleToolBars
Pro Supports thumbnail preview
Pro Input forms are editable
Cons
Con No Distribution version of the installer
Adobe only provide exe files and do not provide an msi installer for bulk deployment
Con Lack of support
Adobe support openly admitted to not supporting the product and recommend the use of forums.
Con Proprietary / Monopoly
Con Data Breach in 2013
Con Software feels slow and bloated
Con No way to auto-update for standard users - needs admin credentials to update
Con Deadly slow on complex pdf files
Con File information missing page size
Con No multiple mapping of commands
For example:
moveDown=Down
moveLeft=Shift+Left
moveRight=Shift+Right
moveUp=Up
Having two key mappings to execute the moveUp command doesn't seem to be possible.
Con Configuration intended via GUI
There is no explicit documentation of configuration parameters used in qpdfview.conf and shortcuts.conf (those are the most important ones). However the files are editable conveniently, which is of value.
