Unlike Adobe Acrobat Reader – the mother of all PDF reading tools – Foxit Reader does not simply let you open and read your PDF files, or highlight certain words or paragraphs, add text on top of the existing one or insert annotations.
This free PDF reading tool comes in a nicely crafted interface with customizable toolbars and with support for Windows touch-screen devices. Its clear view and elegant design allow you to view your PDF files neatly and comfortably. When reading your files, you can also ask the program to display thumbnails of all pages on the left-hand side of the screen, view any existing bookmarks, and zoom in and out the pages for a more convenient viewing experience.
The program’s sharing and connection capabilities (ConnectedPDF) allow you to define which users can access, read, and modify your PDF files. You are provided with useful information about who and when your documents were opened and/or modified, thus granting a secure reviewing environment for you and your company. ConnectedPDF comes in various flavors to cover the needs of all IT security standards, from the more flexible ones to the more demanding.
Foxit Reader comes also with interesting protection features, with full integration with Microsoft AIP to encrypt and decrypt Microsoft Active Directory. You can sign your documents electronically with this tool, as well as add and verify any digital signature, not only to make sure that the status of that signature is correct but also to know if any further modifications have taken place after applying an eSignature to the file. An extra security feature will let you know immediately if the PDF document is attempting to running an external command, letting you terminate the execution or allow it.
Surely, there are features present in other PDF readers, such as the one mentioned above, that are not present in this free utility (such as the accessibility section), but it does offer other functionality that not even the more sophisticated competitors can match. If you enjoy using off-the-beaten-track programs with barely the same functionality everyone else uses and then some exclusive features, you may want to download and try Foxit Reader.
Pros
- Create blank PDFs and convert from Office files
- Scan documents and save them as PDF
- Share PDF files for peer reviews
- Highlight text and insert media files
- Sign PDFs electronically
Cons
- Does not include OCR capabilities
I have used the 9.0 version before, and I loved it, because it had the "scan" feature. I thought allowing the program to update will have better features, and skins, but no! All the latest updates don't have that scan feature anymore! so pathetic! I highly recommend this version of this fantastic software :D
So convenient to use.
I used it before on my windows 7 laptop and it was working perfectly. But now on my new one, which is windows 10, the highlight is not working! The important feature for students!