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PDF - Readers (10)

PDF-XChange Editor v10.4.3.391 Updated

Ennovy on 16 Oct 2024
  • 150MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 15 Oct 2024
  • Suggested by Midas

PDF-XChange Editor is a fast, feature-rich PDF viewer and editor with a tabbed interface. The program includes edition of text-based PDFs, OCR of images to fully text-searchable, full document spellchecking, rotate/crop, comments/annotations, QR codes and more. You can apply custom stamps from any image/PDF file/Windows clipboard, mark-up pages with text and objects and add/edit hyperlinks.

The program supports import and export to text or image (BMP/JPEG/TIFF/PNG etc.).

Note: The free PDF-XChange Editor lacks some features present in the registered version (payware). Some "Pro" features can be used, but will add a watermark upon saving.

Category:
Runs on:Win7 / Win8 / Win10 / Win11
Writes settings to: Application folder
Stealth: ? Yes
Unicode support: Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the "Portable Version" ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch PDFXEdit.exe.

Optionally:
  • Disable most available "Pro" features via the File menu, select Preferences and choose Registration. Check the box "Hide all licensed features from toolbars and menus".
  • Additional language packs are available from the OCR language page. Extract these files to a temporary folder, launch the setup process and, when prompted, select the application folder (the same folder location as the PDFXEdit.exe).
Similar/alternative apps: Foxit Reader, PDF XChange Viewer
Xelitan PDF Reader (8MB)
What's new? See: https://www.pdf-xchange.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor/history
Latest comments
Cornflower on 2024-05-15 06:37

Technically it falls under the category of shareware; however, the freeware viewer/annotation and some basic editing is not time limited. If you "hide" the licensed features (either in File, Preferences, Registration, or under Help, License Key), then everything you see in the menus or context menus is free, indefinitely. I've been using this version for many years now without incident or watermarks showing up.

Midas on 2024-05-16 09:12

@dekahog & Cornflower: So have I... (y)

vubogia82 on 2024-05-16 13:59

more than 70% free functions for basic tasks without any ads, the software is really great, can edit text without watermark, if you just need basic viewing and editing then it wins For you, advanced functions need to purchase a license.

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Portable PDF2EXE v1.0.0.64

lwc on 14 Jul 2024
  • 1MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 13 Oct 2006
  • Suggested by Andrew Lee

PDF2EXE converts any PDF file to EXE, making PDF readable on any computer without PDF reading software. The conversion from PDF to EXE preserves the look and feel of the original document and includes optional compression. Note that PDF2EXE is based on Cool PDF Reader, which has attracted some comments disparaging the quality of its rendering engine. If you don't like Cool PDF Reader, you will probably want to give this a miss as well.

PDF2EXE also contains security features such as encryption of the shared PDF to help prevent modification, as well as disabling printing and image conversion.

Note: linking to the last portable (and also non shareware) version.

Category:
Runs on:Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP
Writes settings to: None
Unicode support: No
License: Freeware
How to extract:
  1. Download the installer and extract its contents to a folder of your choice
  2. Launch PDF2EXE.exe
Latest comments
BruceW on 2006-11-14 06:45

Free PDF readers (Adobe's or otherwise) are so common and easy to obtain that I'm wondering how necessary it is to offer an alternative format, especially one that wouldn't work on Macs or Linux systems. If I knew for sure that my audience were all Windows users, I guess I might consider distributing .EXE files, but if it were up to me I'd prefer that everyone just had some kind of PDF reader.

decomp on 2009-01-12 04:50

12/01/09: PDF2EXE is shareware (not freeware) as states the website.

Wolfghost on 2010-05-20 23:17

Here is download link to Portable PDF2EXE 1.0.0.128
http://tinyurl.com/2u9srqe

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Foxit Reader Portable v2024.2.2

Stephen Leibowitz on 26 May 2024
  • 452MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 25 May 2024
  • Suggested by ekin_116

Foxit Reader is a fast PDF viewer that includes annotation capabilities, Javascript support, interactive form filler and built-in text converter. The interface includes text reading, two page view, rotation, autoscroll, text view, skins, measuring, text and background color replacement and supports drag-and-drop. Annotation tools include text "sticky notes" and standard text boxes, as well as form data import and export. Can insert images, bookmarks and files (including audio and video).

Includes PDF Standard 1.7 compatibility, support for the Adobe Portfolio format, Sharepoint integration, as well as command-line features and various signing tools (for both physical signatures and digital via DocuSign). Cross platform (Mac, iOS, and Android).

Version note: Foxit Reader Portable is the PortableApps.com version of the program. The standard installer version of this program from the Foxit website is bundleware, adding a hard-to-remove browser toolbar. A pro version is available with additional features.

Functional in 64-bit.

Category:
Runs on:Win7 / Win8 / Win10 / Win11 / Wine
Writes settings to: Application folder
Stealth: ? Yes
Unicode support: Yes
Path portability: Automatic relative path (eg. ..\..\personal\work.doc)
License: Adware (rotates pro features in top right corner)
How to extract: Download the self-extracting EXE and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch FoxitReaderPortable.exe. Optionally, delete unnecessary language files from App\Foxit Reader\Lang\.
Similar/alternative apps: PDF-XChange Editor, PDF-XChange Viewer
Xelitan PDF Reader (8MB)
What's new? See: https://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf-reader/version-history.html
Latest comments
juverax on 2024-03-15 10:24

@Cornflower: It is true that the first duckduck.go links point to pages that actually do not host the "desired" version. But further down in the list of pages, I could download the file from https://en.taiwebs.com/windows/download-foxit-reader-portable-3493.html

I noticed that the page mentions a "password" which was not needed for accessing or running the app.

I checked on virustotal FoxitReaderPortable_2023.2.0.21408.paf.exe (what you download) and FoxitReaderPortable.exe (after uniextracting the paf file), and both came up clean.
But I did not check the "multitude" of DLLs ...

I could launch the app, and did not go further, since I have no use for this app.

JohnTHaller on 2024-03-15 10:37

I added 2023.2 as a legacy download for you: https://portableapps.com/apps/office/foxit_reader_portable#download_details

juverax on 2024-03-15 11:52

@JohnTHaller : Thank you for posting this earlier version. I deleted the one I got from my "unknown potentially unreliable web page".
Relief !!!!

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SumatraPDF v3.5.2

Ennovy on 25 Oct 2023
  • 12MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 25 Oct 2023
  • Suggested by Darkbee

SumatraPDF is a lightweight, tabbed document reader for a variety of formats. Includes a wide variety of views including table of contents, rotation, facing pages, book view (2 pages side-by-side), full screen and presentation mode. Includes support for bookmarks, command-line arguments, hotkeys, and more. Additionally, SumatraPDF can function as a portable browser plugin. Supported formats include PDF, eBooks (EPUB, MOBI, FB2/FB2Z, PDB, TCR), Comic Books (CBZ/CBR/CBT/CB7Z), DJVU, CHM, XPS, TXT, images (JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, J2K, WEBP, TGA) and PostScript documents (PS/EPS, AI, PRN - requires Ghostscript).

Alternatively, Sumatra Portable adjusts recently used and most used file paths.

Category:
Runs on:Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Stealth: ? Yes
Unicode support: Yes
License: GNU GPLv3
How to extract: Download the "Portable version" ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch SumatraPDF.exe.
Similar/alternative apps: STDU Viewer
What's new? See: https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/docs/Version-history
Latest comments
jenss on 2022-06-03 05:15

sumatra cannot read certain edited pdf documents
instead use sumatra prerelease :
https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/prerelease
or use another reader : ex adobe reader

jenss on 2022-06-03 05:19

older sumatra as 3.4.1 also with read problem
note : prerelease is not recommended as default reader !

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Xelitan PDF Reader v1.9

Ennovy on 8 Sep 2023
  • 8MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 8 Sep 2023
  • Suggested by tomxe

Xelitan PDF Reader is a small and fast PDF viewer. It lets users export embedded images, extract pages to PDF, remove pages from PDF documents and convert to PNG images.

Category:
Runs on:Win7 / Win8 / Win10 / Win11
Writes settings to: Application folder
Stealth: ? Yes
Unicode support: Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch XelitanPDF.exe.
Similar/alternative apps: SumatraPDF
What's new? Full changelog at https://xelitan.com/help/xelitan-pdf-reader#history.
Latest comments
__philippe on 2023-06-21 12:48

Thanks for including a changelog in pdf_reader_v16.zip !

Ennovy on 2023-06-28 14:57

The changelog is also available at the bottom of this site: http://xelitan.com/help/xelitan-pdf-reader

Tomxe on 2023-09-09 05:42

Thanks for updating the listing!

Biggest changes:
- can read: PDF, CBZ, CBT, JPEG, TXT
- everything it can read it can save to: PDF, TXT, PNG, HTML

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Cool PDF Reader 3.5.0.550

lwc on 14 Jul 2024
  • 3MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 12 Feb 2021
  • Suggested by Fluffy

Cool PDF Reader is a small and fast PDF viewer that enables printing, convert to image, slideshow, crop PDF, and more.

NOTE: This program is being re-evaluated in forums as adware/nagware.

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8
Writes settings to: Registry
Stealth: ? No
Unicode support: No
License: Freeware for personal use only
How to extract: Download the standalone EXE to a folder of your choice. Launch CoolPDFReader.exe.
Similar/alternative apps: SumatraPDF
What's new?
  1. Snip text and graphics out of PDF.
  2. Support Windows 10.
Latest comments
z on 2009-08-25 21:03

oneof the wirst readers i used

smaragdus on 2015-02-02 12:01

This PDF reader is of very poor quality and besides it shows ads it has a nag screen on program's exit ("Do you need...", "Do you want...", etc).

__philippe on 2021-07-29 07:47

CoolPdfReader v3.5.0.550, a commendably compact (3Mb) PDF utility,
unfortunately creates about 16 objectionable registry entries,
instead of a distinct settings file...:-(

Redeeming feature:
It does print PDF docs without fuss (under XP yet...),
an elementary operation my currently installed Adobe Reader XI v11.0.18 stubbornly refuses to perform

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PDF-XChange Viewer v2.5.322.10

webfork on 19 Dec 2020
  • 20MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 16 Dec 2018
  • Suggested by Myles

NOTE: This program has mostly been replaced by PDF-XChange Editor (also portable), which is actively updated and contains additional features.

---

PDF-XChange Viewer is a feature-rich program that displays multiple PDF documents within a tabbed interface. Edit features include the ability to rotate documents, add comments/annotations to any PDF file, apply custom stamps from any image/PDF file/Windows clipboard, mark-up pages with text and objects, and type directly on any PDF page in "Typewriter" mode.

The program supports exporting to BMP/JPEG/TIFF/PNG etc., or extracting text from a PDF page/file. Additional features include capturing the document with the snapshot tool (copies an area to clipboard), measuring tools for distance, area and perimeter, and more. A recommended picture-to-text OCR plugin is available (thanks Bruce) as is a PDF help file.

Reported as functional on Mac/Linux under WINE. Alternatively, PDF-XChange Viewer Portable adjusts paths, with an OCR plugin and help file available from the website as separate downloads.

For 64-bit, see forum post

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10 / Wine
Writes settings to: Application folder
Stealth: ? Yes
Unicode support: Yes
Path portability: No
License: Freeware
How to extract:
  1. Download the portable ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice
  2. Optionally, delete unnecessary language files and install OCR plugin
  3. Launch PDFXCview.exe
Similar/alternative apps: SumatraPDF, PDF-XChange Editor, STDU Viewer
What's new? See:
https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer/history
Latest comments
Midas on 2016-03-27 20:32

FYI, additional languages OCR downloads are available from http://www.tracker-software.com/pdf-xchange-viewer-ocr ...

Mixture on 2017-02-07 16:30

@zorro:
I updated my default PDF viewer (PDF-XChange Viewer 2.5.320) today. Tracker Software still updates the Viewer.
Why don't I use the PDF-XChange Editor? Simple, I need a PDF viewer, not an editor.

PAFuser on 2017-06-30 15:11

Mixture is correct. Only need as viewer with able to add text comment (download utility bills and mark date paid, less paper stored).

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STDU Viewer v1.6.375

Checker on 27 Apr 2015
  • 9MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 27 Apr 2015
  • Suggested by joby_toss

STDU (Scientific and Technical Documentation Utility) Viewer is intended to combine a variety of document, text, and graphics format viewers into one. The program includes a modern tabbed interface, search, rotate, thumbnail view, etc. The program can also export pages to an image file, create bookmarks, and more.

Primarily supporting formats used (as the program name suggests) for scientific/technical docs (TIFF, PDF, DjVu, XPS, and JBIG2), the program also supports a variety of others including FB2, Comic Book Archive (CBR or CBZ), TCR, PalmDoc(PDB), MOBI, AZW, EPub, DCX and both standard and specialized image formats (PCX, WMF, EMF, PSD).

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7
Writes settings to: Application folder
Dependencies: GDIPLUS.DLL only on Windows 2000
Stealth: ? Yes
Unicode support: Yes
License: Freeware for private or educational use -- commercial users must register.
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch STDUViewerApp.exe.
What's new?
  • Fix minor bugs.
Latest comments
hamasaki on 2015-04-28 03:10

Doesn`t work half the time, keeps saying the epub file is corrupt. Yet, they open in Sumatra and just about any other epub viewer with no issues.

Specular on 2017-11-15 14:16

Anyone know security-wise if this is still worth using? It's now been more than two years without an update and I wonder what the risk to using it is, vs say Adobe Reader with its never-ending vulnerabilities.

webfork on 2017-11-19 18:17

@Specular: I think if you're asking a question like that, it's probably wise to use an updated viewer. There have been a few PDF vulnerabilities over the past year, but I think you have to enable various Adobe-only extras that I don't think STDU has in it's program.

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Universal Viewer Free v5.7.2.0

billon on 8 Dec 2020
  • 10MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 26 Jan 2015
  • Suggested by dasfx

Universal Viewer can open many different formats including text, binary, rich text, images (including Photoshop), videos, audio, etc. Many office formats including PDF, DJVU, and MS Word / Excel. The program can open large text files, such as log files, very quickly and without eating memory.

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Stealth: ? Yes
Unicode support: Yes
License: Liteware
How to extract:
  1. Download the Portable ZIP package to a folder of your choice
  2. Create empty text file and name it Portable.ini in that folder
  3. Launch Viewer.exe
What's new?
  • Added support for CHM + 5 e-book formats
  • Added Unicode filelist handling
Latest comments
Midas on 2015-07-07 12:43

@Checker: fair enough, let the discrepancy between releases stand... :)

ripu on 2015-12-24 06:22

This is the fastest PDF viewer. Awesome for high graphics magagine kind of PDFs. I have a lower mid range laptop. Universal viewer throws sumatra, pdfxcange, foxit out of water when it comes to speed of loading one after another high graphics page. And it's the lightest of all the PDF viewers I have tested, uses minimal CPU unlike others I have mentioned.

ripu on 2015-12-24 06:46

Ignore my previous comment. I am an idiot. It actually uses an old version of Sumatra, which was faster and lighter.

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GSview v5.0

billon on 8 Nov 2018
  • 34MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 4 May 2012
  • Suggested by payneCheng

GSview is a graphical interface for Ghostscript, an interpreter for the PostScript page description language used by laser printers. For documents following the Adobe PostScript Document Structuring Conventions, GSview allows selected pages to be viewed, printed and converted.

  • Display, print and convert PostScript (PS, EPS) and PDF files
  • Extract selected pages to another file
  • Add or extract preview images
  • Graphically select and show bounding boxes
  • Supports English, Catalan, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish and Swedish languages
  • And more
Note: Only the 32-bit version has been successfully tested for portability.

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Stealth: ? Yes
Unicode support: Yes
License: Freeware/Open Source
How to extract:
  1. Download self-extracting archive and extract to a folder of your choice
  2. Download Ghostscript (32-bit AGPL version) and extract to the same folder (overwrite files if asked)
  3. Delete the following files:

    - Any files starting with setp32
    - filelist.txt
    - setup.exe
    - gsview\uninstgs.exe

  4. Launch GSviewPortable.exe
What's new?
  • Minor bug fixes.
  • Use HTML help on Windows because Microsoft removed WinHelp.
  • Fix problems with saving registration number on Windows 7.
  • Fixes for Windows 7 x64 to correctly find language files and 64-bit Ghostscript.
Latest comments
Fergus on 2010-09-29 13:45

I've done this, but I still get the "Register Now" nag. Pressing clears the nag, but it's awfully irritating. Is there a way of disabling it?

Fergus on 2010-09-29 19:46

OK managed to get a register code; use it once and hey presto away you go. BUT the code is written o a local gsview.ini which also incorporates named drive letters. Move your USB stick to another host machine where it will very likely be named differently and gsview.ini is suddenly broken -- you have to supply the reg code again. Very VERY annoying; not true portable freeware, at all ...

Ascend4nt on 2012-01-24 22:37

Setup is a bit more tricky then running a self-extracting executable, and dumping Ghostscript in the same folder. Here's what I had to do:
1. Download the GSView self-extracting exe and the associated Ghostscript exe
2. Open the GSView self-extracting exe with 7-zip or other archive software and extract everything except the files indicated in 'How to Extract'. (RUNNING the exe will install a non-portable version!!)
3. Create a 'gs9.04' subfolder in the folder that GSviewPortable is in. (it seems the name is usually 'gs' followed by the version #).
4. Open the Ghostscript exe with an archive utility, go to $_OUTDIR, and extract all the files from that folder into the subfolder just created (in this case, gs9.04)
5. Now you can run GSviewPortable

*Note: I can verify what Fergus says - Registration screen pops up on run. Not a huge deal for me

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