Moonrise2473My PDF reader REALLY HAD to add a permanent "AI assistant" button that floats on every single file i open
Maybe use Sumatra PDF instead?
This is the way.
i need n-up, booklet, zoom control, a preview and batch printing. Sumatra PDF just invokes the standard barebones print dialog with no extra frills. It’s ok for viewing but not for printing
DojanDoesn’t the standard print dialogue have the option to just make X copies or is that not the same as batch printing?
no i mean open 50 PDF files and print them with a single click
Oooh, yeah. That’s not quite the same.
Nitro Reader has a lot of features too.
I moved to Sumatra from Foxit years ago. No idea what Foxit did anymore to make me change, but this just confirms that decision.
I still use Foxit 9.72 on my pc (which I don’t have open ATM, so I can’t check to be certain I gave the right version). I have tried newer versions, but there always was some kind of enshittyfication change that annoyed me and I always reverted back to that last good version.
I never had that floating over the document I was viewing, just in the home tab of the menu, but I did find a way to switch it off.
‘File > Preferences > General’ has an option to ‘disable all features which require an internet connection’.
There are also options in there to disable that opening splash screen if you don’t want that.
yes! it fixed it
thanks
Linux PDF readers don’t have this bullshit in the first place
BizarrolandI love Linux and I use it quite a bit but I've not really found a Linux software that is good at editing PDFs.
If you have recommendations I would love to hear them though
HolzkohlenI know it’s kind of a meme to call some software bloated, but foxit reader is bloated AF
The sad thing is that foxit used to be the great alternative, back in the day.
I’ve gotten so used to being able to just use the zapper in ublock origin that I forget that in apps outside of the web browser you can’t just get rid of unwanted bits of the UI. That sucks man.
I kinda just use Firefox’s pdf editing tools. I don’t need anything complicated, signatures, text editing, and highlighting is all I need.
DaveWait, can I sign a PDF contract using Firefox?
kingthrillgoreUse SumatraPDF or Okular
Another good option on Windows is PDF XChange Editor, though I’m using an old version so I can’t vouch for how much or little enshitification has happened in newer versions
This has been my favourite for pdfs so far, really easy to use. Wish there was an app version.
☂️-It seems like you are using Windows. I think SumatraPDF is still good on Windows.
Is Okular OK?
Okular is fantastic
An adblocker that allows you to select and remove elements can be critical in helping to declutter websites, including those annoying floating windows.
This is software, not a website. And it’s a “feature” not an ad
Oh, god. I’d switch to something else without a second thought.
Just use Firefox for reading PDFs
🇸🇵🇪🇨🇺🇱🇦🇹🇪🇷Wait, what, seriously?! Firefox keeps on giving and I only switched back recently.
Yeap you can even add text and draw on PDF now. If you really need to “edit” pdf, like moving existing text around, I heard libre office draw can edit pdf.
It gets buried in my pile of Firefox tabs, so I usually use edge. I could probably set up a different user or something to keep them separate, but I’ve been to lazy so far.
jonHey this name is familiar… these guys sent me all their app telemetry for a couple weeks because they hardcoded AWS LB IPs into their software, and I got lucky enough to get one of those recycled IPs.
That sounds like a huge privacy concern?
Because the above commenter didn’t pay them for the data?
Sounds like a data leak that should be reported…
Acrobat also added an unclosable floating menu. It’s a massive pain in my ass.
That’s why I use edge (I know ugh) when I don’t need to comment sign or edit PDFs. I don’t want to use Firefox so it doesn’t get mixed up with all my other open tabs.
Firefox Nightly to the rescue!
The reader in Edge is good tho, because it uses Microsoft Azure’s TTS.
At least in a browser I can delete elements when it gets bad enough
Okular.
No ADS, FOSS, and Free (As in beer and speech!)
This. Also, If you need to manipulate PDFs, then try:
- LibreOffice
- Inkscape
- StirlingPDF
Nice that Stirling PDF!
Tomorrow I’ll try to configure it in a docker container
Possibly linuxwww.sumatrapdfreader.org For business and windows
Free (As in beer and speech!)
Do you live in a utopia where you get as much beer as you want without having to pay for it, or do you live in a dystopia where you have to pay to be able to speak your mind and only in limited quantities?
I live in mixed world where companies are making proprietary software and paywalling everything. Yet, there’s independent open source programs where I can get a copy, share, and expand as I want without worring about legal issues.
Free as in beer means I got a beer for free (gratis, “No Price”), whereas speech is I can say what I want (without being silenced).*
In this context, Okular is a free (As in price) and free (As in libre software). I can copy, share, modify, and share modification as I please. There is no subscription, paywall, or proprietary licsense that prohibits this.
- = This may be inaccurate, wrong, misleading, and varying amoung countries and states.
There is no good PDF reader. All of them suck in different ways.
bfg9kI just use Firefox to open pdfs. If I have to sign it I’ll just use an online signer.
I do the same, except jump to adobe reader if I have to sign. But come on, this doesn’t satisfies either of us.
As a Linux user, I was rather surprised to learn that Windows doesn’t have a good pdf viewer. (Sumatra was the closest I could get.) Scientific software I can understand, but pdf viewer? Wtf?
FrenLivesMatterI’m on Windows 11 and it opens PDF files in Edge by default. While I find it kind of silly to use a web browser for that purpose, the built-in PDF reader is actually fairly good, it can even read your documents out loud using text-to-speech.
Edge’s reader is decent I agree. But in what kind of bizarro world do one use a browser to read PDFs.
It pains me to say, but this is one area where Apple beats everyone. Their default PDF reader can do a LOT, it’s free, it’s already there and crucially it’s lightweight and not bogged down with shitty functionality no one needs, nor bristling with upsell towards premium features.
Indeed, Preview really is excellent. Does almost everything you need and nothing you don’t.
vikingI swear by SumatraPDF. The most lightweight reader I ever used. Opens in seconds, is tiny in size, comes with zero bloat.
Also, they added the ability to edit PDFs not too long ago.
FireWire400You can turn it off under Preferences > General (it’s right at the bottom “Disable AI Assistant”)
I’d be more interested if you can disable the forced-on tablet mode… the menu bar is huge
Just use your browser.
ReginaPhalangeOnly seen it (FoxIt) installed in a corporate environment, because for some reason businesses cannot stop using “Interactive editable PDFs”.
I wonder if there are FOSS alternatives adressing that niche.
I wonder if there are FOSS alternatives adressing that niche.
I use libreDraw for editing pdf
I hate everytime anybody even mentions AI as it, to me, translates directly to “massive waste of time for gimmicks and hype.” They added some kind of AI prompt button to my main browser a while back and I spent the next several hours searching how to disable it completely.