Foxit Reader vs. PDF-XChange Viewer

Last edited 2 Oct 2011. 

Tried: Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader, PDF-XChange Viewer, SumatraPDF Portable.

As mentioned in my previous post, I discovered some problems with Foxit Reader and PDF-XChange Viewer. More precisely, Foxit Reader had been criticized heavily because it forces installation of a browser toolbar. However, this was changed in the latest version. On the other hand, the rendering in PDF-XChange is not as good as I previously thought. In summary, you can look at the table below.

For the installation part, both Foxit and XChange allow users to download the complete installers, but Adobe requires users to use a web installer. During installation of Foxit and XChange, you would need to select shell extensions and PDF display in browser for maximum functionality. As you can see from the table, the setup file of Adobe is huge compared to Foxit and XChange.

Functionality wise, all three PDF readers support preview handler in Microsoft Outlook 2011 (you need to install the shell extensions for Foxit and XChange) and also support PDF display in browser (tested using Citibank online banking). PDF preview as thumbnails are available in all three viewers but only XChange has it working correctly in my 64-bit OS. (There is a fix for Adobe.)

Among these three readers, only Adobe lack of picture insertion and typewriter function, and only XChange handles pictures with transparency properly. Pictures inserted in the latest version of Foxit would still include borders. However, only Foxit provides spell checking for typewriting. When you first start typewriting, Foxit will prompt for installation of this function, and you will be able to spell check while you type, similar to the same function in the browsers. I have no idea whether this is intended because Foxit mentioned that spell check function is for registered users only, and that is also a forum post regarding the possibility of disabling it, since you will be prompted for installation every time when you first start typewriting if you did not install it.

There are many reasons I disliked Adobe and tabbed reading is one of them. Adobe only allows each PDF to be opened in a new window, unlike Foxit and XChange. XChange scores better in tab management as it allows users to view all the tabs in list and thumbnails mode. If you would like to search the content of PDF on the internet, XChange is the best. Adobe and Foxit only allow search in Dictionary.com and Ask.com, respectively. The search providers in XChange are plenty and could be added manually, very much like in the browsers. This very much sums up the functions I am looking for, please share with me on other functions that you valued most.

It is the rendering of PDF that leads me to bring back Adobe in this comparison, as you can see in the picture below (click to enlarge), Adobe has the most pleasant viewing experience in my opinion, and X-Change viewer is just bad and erroneous. I have also included a very light and portable PDF viewer, SumatraPDF. The result is surprisingly good.

Next comes the interface. The following pictures the default interface view, Foxit has two skins, which one of them closely resemble the ribbon view found in Microsoft softwares. I would say this is more to a personal preference.

Last but not least, with higher resolution and limited screen areas, I often found myself increasing the screen dpi to enhance the readability. As you can see, both preferences dialog boxes in Adobe and XChange extends beyond my screen area (see the full-screen pictures, except Foxit installation, below). Foxit has a rather mixed experience, the dpi management is bad during the installation (especially when you want to uncheck the option for modifying the browser homepage!) Its preferences dialog box fits nicely within my screen area, but with some words out of margin.