Foxit Reader – The easy companion to manage PDF Documents

Dr. Anthony Vipin

Portable Document Format or PDF is a very popular open standard of document exchange used today. It was created by Adobe in 1993. Many a time we have to work between PDF documents and other platforms such as Microsoft Word and Excel. There are quite a number of PDF readers available on the Internet today. I have decided to share the Foxit PDF reader with you all to list the handiest features for use in JOURNAL CLUB Powerpoint Presentations. The reason for the review is that most of the best functions are available in the FREE version as well.

Foxit Reader

FREE for Download
Current Version: 5.02
Download Size – 12 MB, Installation Size – 52 MB
Operating Systems
* Microsoft Windows® XP
* Windows Vista®
* Windows 7

Recommended Minimum Hardware for Better Performance
* 1.3 GHz or faster processor.
* 64 MB RAM (Recommended: 128 MB RAM or greater).
* 800x600 screen resolution.

Features

Viewing PDF Files

- There are 3 different ways for you to read PDF files:
Multi-tab browsing - enables you to open multiple files in a single instance
Single document interface mode - enables you to open multiple instances of Foxit Reader
Multiple document interface mode - sets multiple documents under a single parent window

- At the start of the Application the History is conveniently displayed to the bottom left for fast access of recent documents.

- Add Image and Add Video are convenient functions to add Media to an existing PDF document.

Comments Tool

There are various tools to use to enhance our presentations. The colors for the following tools including the opacity level can be changed by clicking the color icons. The following functions are found in the Comments Drop Down.

- Highlight Text Tool

This helps to highlight various texts in the document. The text can be selected and the desired color chosen.

- Underline Tool

This tool helps to Underline the Text in various colors.

- Strike out tool

This tool enable us to strikeout the text in a chosen color in the PDF document.

- Squiggly Tool

This tool enables us to add a Squiggly line below the text in chose colors for spelling errors.

Apart from the above functions there are a range of other interesting tools to comment on the PDF document. Functions like Drawing, Measuring Distances, Areas and Perimeters, Typerwriter to fill forms, Callout boxes, Textboxes enable us to enhance the PDF during a Study Analysis for a Journal Club.

The reader also supports basic skins and allows the user to customize their shortcut keys as well for faster, more efficient work. Files can also be pinned on a Page.

I have only tried to highlight the extra newer functions that are available on this Free Version. I have also added below a sample PPT slide I use in my Journal Club presentations. Happy Foxit reading!

FREE Download available at - http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/

The Author has no financial interest in the product described in this article.