Install the program for pdf files. How to open a pdf file on any device - all methods and links to applications

If you had to download books, reports or other text documents from the Internet, then you probably came across files that have the pdf extension. Once in such a situation, users often do not know how to open a PDF file. As a rule, programs for working with PDF are simply installed on the computer, which baffles many. In this article, we will take a short look at a number of popular programs that allow you to open PDF files.

One of the most popular programs is definitely Adobe (Acrobat) Reader. This software is developed by Adobe. Adobe Reader provides the user with a complete set of basic functions for reading and viewing PDF documents. If this is the first time you come across this type of document, and do not know how to open a PDF file, then Adobe Reader is the perfect choice for you.

In addition to Adobe Reader, Adobe produces software for creating PDF documents. This is Adobe Acrobat software. This program is a paid program and comes in two flavors, Acrobat Standard and Acrobat Pro.

Screenshot of Adobe (Acrobat) Reader:

You can learn more about Adobe Reader from the official website.

Another fairly popular program for working with PDF documents. Foxit Reader has gained its popularity due to its simplicity and low system resource requirements. Foxit Reader can be used without any problems even on the weakest computers. For a long time this program was distributed without an installer, just as an EXE file ready to work.

At the same time, Foxit Reader is practically in no way inferior to Adobe Reader. It has all the functions you need to fully work with PDF files. When I am asked how to open a pdf file, I recommend this particular program.

It should be noted that Foxit Reader is a cross-platform solution. Now there are versions of this program for such operating systems as: Microsoft Windows, Windows Mobile, Linux, iOS, Android and Symbian.

Screenshot of Foxit Reader:

To learn more about this software, visit the official website.

Another light and fast program for reading pdf documents. In addition to simple reading pdf documents, Cool PDF Reader is equipped with a number of other functions that distinguish it from competitors.

Let's take a closer look at the main features of Cool PDF Reader:

• View and print PDF documents;
• Convert PDF documents to such formats as: TXT, BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, WMF, EMF and EPS;
• Extract text from PDF format to TXT;
• Support for all versions of PDF format;
• Support for 68 different languages;
• View PDF files as a slideshow;

At the same time, the program has a size of only 808 kilobytes and is not very demanding on computer resources.

Screenshot of Cool PDF Reader:

You can find out more about Cool PDF Reader on the official website.

Sumatra PDF is open source software. In addition to PDF files, it can also work with files in ePub, XPS, MOBI, CHM, DjVu, CBZ and CBR formats. This program is available both as an installer and in a portable version.

Other features of the Sumatra PDF program include:

• Simple and intuitive interface;
• Support for over 60 languages;
• Correct anti-aliasing of images when scaling a document;
• Regular updates;

Screenshot of Sumatra PDF program:

You can find out more about the program on the official website.

STDU Viewer is a universal program for viewing electronic documents. STDU Viewer supports a large number of formats and is equipped with all the necessary functions to work with them. By installing this program, you will no longer have any questions about how to open a PDF file, or a document in another format. STDU Viewer will solve all your problems.

Let's take a closer look at the main features of the STDU Viewer program:

• View documents in formats: PDF, Comic Book Archive (CBR or CBZ), DjVu, FB2, XPS, TCR, ePub, multipage TIFF, TXT, EMF, WMF, PalmDoc, BMP, JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PCX, DCX , PSD, MOBI and AZW;
• Simple and intuitive tabbed interface;
• Ability to customize document display parameters (brightness, contrast, etc.);
• View thumbnails of pages;
• Creation of custom bookmarks;
• For text documents, the user can control the size and color of fonts;
• Powerful search in text documents;
• Support for several languages, including Russian;
• The ability to print documents;

STDU Viewer is a fairly young program. The first version of STDU Viewer appeared in 2007. Then the program supported only three formats: PDF, DjVu and TIFF. As you can see, the program has come a long way during its development and now allows you to open a large number of different formats.

Screenshot of STDU Viewer program:

You can find out more about this program on the official website.

A few words about the PFD format

PDF or Portable Document Format is one of the most common electronic document formats. This format was developed by Adobe Systems. The first version of the format appeared back in 1993. Since then, the format has been actively developing. Almost every year it added support for new features. So, during the development in Portable Document Format, such features were added as: password protection, Unicode support, interactive elements, links, digital signatures, transparency, text layers, forms, encryption and much more.

The main purpose of PDF is to publish printed products in electronic form. Most professional printing equipment supports the format, and can print such documents without additional processing or conversion.

At the beginning of its journey, the PDF format was not very popular. And there were objective reasons for this:

• The software required to work with the format was paid;
• The format did not have support for external links, which did not allow its full use on the World Wide Web;
• PDF files weighed significantly more than regular text documents. It also created barriers to its use on the Internet;
• Processing documents in this format required significant system resources, which led to slow display of the document on weak computers:
• In addition, there were other formats that created competition.

Now, none of these problems are relevant for PDF format anymore. Adobe has released a free version of the program for viewing PDF files, and programs from other manufacturers have also appeared.

For more than 10 years of existence, the format has come a long way of development and at the moment it is a very powerful and flexible tool for creating documents.

For convenience, we distinguish four types of programs: viewers (for reading and annotating), editors (for editing text and other content), managers (for splitting, compressing and other file manipulations) and converters (for converting PDF to other formats).

Most applications can be classified into several types at once.

• Type of: viewer, editor, converter, manager.
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.

A very intuitive and user-friendly program with an impressive number of functions. When you launch Sejda PDF, you will immediately see all the tools grouped by category. Select the desired one, drag the required file into the program window and start manipulating. Most of this application can be done in a few seconds, even if this is your first time using it.

What you can do in Sejda PDF:

• edit text, add images and shapes;
• convert PDF to Excel, JPG (and vice versa), Word (and vice versa);
• combine and split files by pages, compress their size;
• protect documents with a password;
• add watermarks;
• discolor documents;
• crop the page area;
• sign documents.

There are restrictions in the free version of the program. For example, files should not exceed 200 pages and exceed 50 MB. In addition, you cannot perform more than three operations with documents during the day. The full version of Sejda PDF is priced at $ 5.25 per month.

• Type of: manager, converter, editor.
• Platforms: Windows, macOS,.

PDFsam cannot boast of a polished to perfection, user-friendly interface. In addition, the program does not allow you to convert PDF and edit document content for free. But it has several useful managerial functions available to everyone without payment or any restrictions.

What you can do in PDFsam:

• combine PDF in several modes (glue in parts or shuffle page by page);
• split PDF by pages, bookmarks (in places with specified words) and size into separate documents;
• rotate pages (if some of them were scanned upside down);
• extract pages with specified numbers;
• convert Excel, Word, PowerPoint formats to PDF;
• Convert PDF to Excel, Word and PowerPoint ($ 10);
• edit text and other content of files ($ 30).

• Type of
• Platforms: Windows.

A very functional program with a classic interface in the style of Microsoft office applications. PDF-XChange Editor is not very beginner friendly. To master all the features of the program, you need to spend some time. Fortunately, all internal descriptions and tips have been translated into Russian.

What you can do in PDF-XChange Editor:

• add annotations and highlight text;
• edit text and other content;
• recognize text using OCR;
• extract pages from documents;
• encrypt documents (paid);
• convert PDF to Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats and vice versa (paid);
• compress files (paid);
• sort pages in any order (paid).

These are just a few of the features you can find in PDF-XChange Editor. The program is available in several versions with a different number of possibilities. Paid versions start at $ 43.5.

• Type of: viewer, manager, converter, editor.
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS.

Popular universal program for working with PDF from the company. The free version is a very convenient document viewer, the rest of the functions are available by subscription at a price of 149 rubles per month.

What you can do in Adobe Acrobat Reader:

• view documents, highlight and comment on text, search for words and phrases;
• sign documents (paid);
• edit text and other content (paid);
• combine documents into one file (paid);
• compress files (paid);
• convert PDF to Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats (paid);
• Convert JPG, JPEG, TIF and BMP images to PDF (paid).

All of these and other features are available in the desktop versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The mobile versions of the program only allow you to view and annotate documents, as well as - after subscribing - to convert them into different formats.

• Type of: viewer, converter.
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS.

Fast and convenient PDF reader with different viewing modes. Ideal for users looking for a simple document reader without a plethora of advanced features. The program is available on all major platforms.

Adobe Reader is the most popular PDF reader application. An important factor in the distribution of Adobe Reader is its presence on many discs with drivers, games and other applications. The developer has attached PDF documentation to his product, but standard Windows tools do not allow reading it. You need to add a special program to the disk. Her choice in the overwhelming majority of cases is not original - it is Adobe Reader.

New versions of applications, the development of which began a long time ago, often acquire a mass of secondary functions, the interface becomes more complicated, and the speed of work slows down. And now more progressive and nimble competitors are slowly pushing the old man out of the market. But this has nothing to do with Adobe Reader. On the contrary, the latest versions of the program are much easier to learn than their older brothers. The program is developing, first of all, towards support of new PDF standards, allowing to display more complex documents using the latest visualization technologies.

The working window of Adobe Reader contains a toolbar with a small number of buttons (nothing superfluous), as well as a small sidebar from which the main service modes of the application are called. There is no status line in its usual sense.

Toolbars are flexibly customizable. You can add or remove buttons on them, move them, block changes.

Ease of reading documents is provided by a powerful scaling system. You can show the entire page on the screen, snap its scale horizontally or vertically. The latter option is not found in other applications. In addition, you can bind relative to the page content. The document is shown a little larger due to the exclusion of fields.

Full screen viewing is supported. Unlike some competitors, this mode lives up to its name one hundred percent. There are no controls left on the screen, only the pages of the open document. There is also a second, less radical regime. It hides all panels, except for the window title and the main menu. Again, there is a big saving of free space on the screen.

The program has a powerful search engine. You can search for text not only in the open document, but also in all PDFs inside the specified folder. Full word search is supported, case sensitive. You can search not only directly in the text of the document, but also in bookmarks and in comments.

Adobe Reader has support for working with forms. With its help, you can enter, save and send information. There is support for bar codes. You can customize the rules for automatic form filling. If you have permission, you can add comments to the forms. And, the main thing that distinguishes Adobe Reader from other applications is the ability to check spelling in text input fields.

There is support for document authentication, viewing protection. You can specify trusted persons, certificates. Accessibility Assistant allows you to change the rules for displaying the current document, if its protection does not prohibit such actions. This is necessary, for example, for visually impaired users. Adobe Reader makes it easier for people with disabilities to view and navigate PDF documents. Advanced features include automatic text scrolling, PDF reflow, keyboard-only control, and text reading aloud.

A separate panel allows you to view a list of document comments. You can search them for text. It is possible to sort them by type, status, reviewers. All changes made to the document are monitored by the revision inspector. You can view your own adjustments, history of changes, a list of what needs to be done.

The program contains an RSS news reader. You can subscribe to channels, read them in a separate dialog box. To be honest, it's not entirely clear why the PDF reader also needed an RSS reader. Network functions are not limited to this. You can also organize online conferences using Adobe Reader, as well as carry out joint viewing of documents.

You can work with digital signatures. For this, certificates are used. By configuring directory servers, you can determine the location of certificates, store them.

The latest version of Adobe Reader supports all modern standards used in PDF documents. For this reason, a hardware accelerated 3D viewer is included in the product. A special panel of models allows you to view their list, open, rotate, scale.

The program has a fairly detailed local help system. But the most complete information is provided online, on the official page of the application. It is already in English.

If there are no specific requirements for the application, then Adobe Reader is by far the best choice for reading PDF documents. Support for all standards allows you not to worry about whether any complex file will display correctly. In addition, the program is built into modern browsers, which makes it possible to quickly view online documents downloaded from the Web.

The only point where an alternative application can be at its best is system requirements. Adobe Reader has a fairly large distribution size, takes up quite a lot of RAM space, and runs a little slower than some of its competitors. However, the program was tested on a fairly old machine, and even opening the electronic versions of magazines, books with a volume of tens of megabytes did not lead to noticeable slowdowns in the work of Adobe Reader.

How to open a pdf file? What is the best program to use?

PDF Is a portable document display format created by Adobe.

The main feature of this type of files is that all elements of the document are displayed the same, regardless of the device on which you open the file.

In PDF tables, there is no "run-down" line formatting, problems with displaying fonts, and accidental deletion of data from an important cell.

There are sometimes problems with opening this format, for example, if the appropriate software is not installed on the computer, this will be discussed in the article.

The main functions of the format:

• support for hyperlinks;
• the ability to edit only in special programs;
• free software to open pdf files.

Let's consider how you can quickly open PDF format in modern computer and mobile operating systems, as well as using online services.

Best Online Services

If a program for opening pdf files is not installed on your computer, and you need to open the file immediately, you can use free online services.

An indisputable plus of such sites is that they can be used on any device that has access to the global network.

KAKVSE

The first site, KAKVSE, is one of the simplest and fastest online tools to view PDF, Doc or PostScript files.

You can view the file for free by uploading it to the site from your computer. Also, the user can enter an active link to the document in the appropriate line.

Let's open the document by uploading it to the service:

After clicking the View button, wait a few seconds before the file is uploaded to the service. Then it will open in a new site window.

To navigate the document, use the toolbar on the left side of the page. You can also use hotkey combinations to navigate:

• Alt + N - next page;
• Alt + P - previous page.

To return to the start page, press the Viewer Home button.

Pdf Online Reader

The next good site for displaying PDF documents is the Pdf Online Reader. The service is distinguished by a well-designed toolbar and wide functionality.

To open the file, on the main page, click Upload a PDF... Then your device's file browser window will open.

Select the desired file and wait for it to finish uploading to the site.

Navigation is carried out using the up-down arrows located at the top of the toolbar.

You can also go to the specified page, change the window scale and page width.

In addition to the standard viewing functions, users can make some edits to documents:

• adding annotations;
• text selection. The text is highlighted automatically after the user has selected the fragment of interest;
• adding external or internal hyperlinks.

The functionality of the service is demonstrated in more detail in the video.

Google docs

To open a PDF document, go to the repository home page and click the Create icon (on the left of the toolbar). In the drop-down menu, click Upload Files.

In the window that opens, you just need to drag the desired document.

In a few seconds the file will open in a new window of the online viewer.

Opening PDF in Windows

There are a huge number of PDF viewing utilities in the Windows operating system. Let's take a closer look at the best programs for different versions of this OS.

Windows 7

STDU Viewer

STDU Viewer is one of the best free software for working with electronic documents and books for the Windows 7 operating system.

The main goal of the application is to replace a huge number of viewers with one simple utility. The installation file is only 3 MB in size.

Among the features of the application, one can single out a convenient user interface, support for more than 40 languages, and a convenient file navigation system.

Adobe Reader DC

Another good program for opening pdf files for free is the well-known Adobe Reader - the official PDF viewer from the Adobe corporation.

With the help of the utility, users can do standard procedures with documents - open them, print and send them.

Windows 8/10

In the eighth and tenth versions of the Windows operating system, there is a standard program for viewing PDF files - Adobe reader touch.

You can find the Reader through the search on the taskbar or through the Start menu (All Programs tab).

The functionality of the program is minimal. The user can only view the document, adjust the zoom and print the files. There are paid advanced versions.

In addition to standard utilities, Windows 8/10 users can install third-party software, for example, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Reader DC, STDU Viewer, Cool PDF and others.

Advice: Do not forget , that most browsers in Windows can open PDFs in view mode without problems: Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Tor, Orbitum, Opera and others. To do this, right-click on the documents and select one of the available browsers in the "Open With" tab.

PDF files on Mac OS

PDF Reader X

PDF Reader X for Mac OS allows you to quickly open files and easily organize all the documents on your computer associated with pdf.

Immediately after opening the program, the last viewed files (up to 10) are displayed on the left side of the main window.

The program has a convenient search in the PC file system - it is easy to find other documents. On the pages of the file that opens, you can add your own notes and save them.

Skim is a simple yet functional program for opening pdf files.

The main task of the application is to comfortably display text and graphic data in one document.

If you do not want to reboot your PC with bulky programs for viewing e-books and files, install Skim.

In addition to the viewing function, users can select fragments of text, add notes, create bookmarks, save images and text.

Android Apps

On Android, you cannot view electronic documents without special software. You need to download it yourself, because the device does not have standard readers and file editors.

The key feature of the program is the presence of three modes of reading documents (page by page, two pages on the screen and a "scroll").

Users can quickly navigate the file by searching for keywords.

Creating personal notes, highlighting text with colored markers and flipping gestures make PocketBook one of the best mobile readers today.

ezPDF Reader

In this program, I would like to highlight the quality of displaying files. All graphic elements (pictures, graphs, tables, notes) are highlighted in different colors.

Pages are turned over using flips (a gesture imitating turning over a paper edition). In general, users get the impression of reading a real magazine.

PDF is one of the most common formats for documentation, e-books, and how-tos. You can save information in PDF format in any form, and it will be displayed everywhere the same, i.e. the formatting and markup of the document will always be the same. This is why the PDF format has earned its recognition.

To begin with, I want to make it clear right away that the programs in question open PDF files only FOR VIEWING, i.e. it is IMPOSSIBLE to change something in the document with their help. Some programs only allow or modify the text, but not the content. The PDF format itself is quite specific, and even with the help of editors, the process of editing it is not at all like working with a Word document.

In the simplest case, the file can be read in any modern browser: Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, Edge. The functionality will be limited: only content viewing and printing. To do this, just drag the file to an empty browser tab. But if this does not open the PDF file, then try installing one of the programs.

Uncompromising Acrobat

In order not to have any problems with displaying PDF files, it is best to install the program of the format developer itself - Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Just select the language of the program "Russian" if the download page itself did not correctly determine. The installation process is trivial, click "Next" all the time.

Adobe has a complete package for working with PDF documents, including creating and editing - but it is paid.

Acrobat Reader provides a good set of features and customization flexibility for ease of use. It is completely free, both for home use and for commercial use, is on my list. At the first start, you will need to confirm the use of the free license. Most likely, you won't even have to go into the settings, because the program works great by default.

In the latest versions of Adobe Reader, there is still a very small opportunity to change the file. These are tools for highlighting text and inserting comments. The title "Text Highlighting" is probably not a very good Russian translation, since "Text Highlighting" is more suitable. To highlight the text, click on the icon in the toolbar and select the text, and the add comment icon is located immediately to the left.

By default, the text is highlighted in yellow. You can only change the highlight color after highlighting with the default color. To do this, double-click on the selection and in the window click on the icon and select "Properties". From there, you can remove the highlight and add or change a comment.

Alternative programs for PDF

Acrobat Reader, of course, is far from the only PDF reader. The developers have managed to make the usual viewer a relatively heavy product. Basically, there are no problems, but the program takes a long time to install and sometimes slows down.

Foxit Reader

The program is lightweight and has a simple interface. As a result, Foxit Reader launches quickly and is less demanding on computer resources.

Particular attention is paid to security, namely, at the first start, it is proposed to set the safe mode, in which attachments in the document do not open and scripts do not run. Foxit Reader allows you to select text, insert comments, graphics, multimedia files (video and audio), but you can edit text only in the paid Foxit PDF Editor package.

However, over time, Foxit Reader also got heavier, so I advise you to run its portable version.

The portable versions differ in that they are lighter and the installation is very quick or not required at all. At the first start, a window with two buttons will pop up, select "Not Now". For the program to become in Russian, you need to go to the menu "File -> Preferences -> Language -> select Russian"

And restart the program with the "Restart Now" button.

Lightest - Sumatra PDF

This is already an open source project, the program is the lightest and not at all resource-intensive. Can open not only PDF, but also CHM, XPS, DjVu, CBZ and CBR files.

There are two versions available: for installation and portable (works without installation). Since Sumatra PDF is already very lightweight, I advise you to download the full version, so you can immediately install the program to open all PDF files by default.

The program has practically no settings, everything is easy and simple.