Foxit PDF Reader 12.0 released

Foxit Software released Foxit PDF Reader 12.0 and Foxit PDF Editor 12.0, new major versions of two of the company's PDF flagship products.

Foxit PDF Reader 12.0 is a free program to read and print PDF documents. It comes with limited support for additional functionality, such as the signing of PDF documents.

Our first review of Foxit Reader dates back to 2006, when Foxit Reader 2.0 was released. The then lightweight program was a popular alternative to Adobe's heavier Adobe Reader application.

Over the years, Foxit Software tried several monetization options, including shipping the free product with toolbars, and the launching of new paid applications.

Foxit PDF Reader 12.0

Foxit PDF Reader 12.0 is still available for free, but it comes as  a hefty 160 Megabyte installation package that users need to download. The application itself requires more than 500 Megabytes of free disk space. The installer includes everything that is needed to run a Foxit PDF Editor trial, which may explain the size.

As a comparison, Foxit Reader 9.0 had an installer size of 51 Megabytes.

Some may prefer to view PDF documents in a web browser or true lightweight applications, such as Sumatra.

Foxit PDF Reader opens quickly, which is quite good. Version 12.0 of the PDF reader introduces several changes, including several security and stability issues according to the release notes.

As far as changes in the new version are concerned, there are a couple that users may like. One of the changes introduces support for viewing two PDF documents side-by-side in the same Foxit window, which improves comparisons and reviews. Another feature introduces support for reverting PDF files to previously saved versions.

Commenting and reviewing supports several new features. Comments may be exported as FDF or XFDF files, and there is an option to import XDFD comments. Other commenting options include filtering and sorting comments by color, and the ability to edit and reply to comments from the Comments panel.

Preferences include a search field now for quickly finding options without having to click through the various subsections.

Foxit notes that it has improved the user interface in the new version:

Offer improved user interface for better usability with new fonts, distinct colors for icons and backgrounds, and more, and better software accessibility for users using keyboard controls and screen readers.

The program's EUTL certificate verification provides the qualified information of EUTL certificates in the new version.

Foxit PDF Editor 12.0 changes

Foxit PDF Editor 12.0 includes major changes, some of which are shared with the free version. Highlights include:

• Integration of a calculator " to do calculations and add electronic calculator tapes to PDFs as annotations".
• Page management improvements, including inserting web pages into a PDF or customing PDF page sizes.
• Use the logged in user's username in watermarks.
• Option to edit images outside of Foxit PDF Editor using other applications.
• Enhanced ECM integration.
• PDF optimization improvements.

You can check out the full change history here.

Now You: which PDF reader do you use?

Foxit PDF Reader 12.0 released

Frontpaged:   Foxit Reader 12.0.0.12394