I was recently using a PDF file that had started out as a Word document. Update May 7, 2008: I just stumbled across a feature in the Adobe Reader that is missing from the Foxit Reader - the ability to copy images. The Foxit PDF Reader runs on Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, 2003 and Vista. Version rather than the setup file for the normally installed version. This tells me at a glance the version/release, the date it was released and that it is the portable If you do run the portable version of the Foxit PDF Reader, let me suggest changing the file name. Normally-installed software requires certain file names, but this is not true of portable software. Still, I will use and recommend version 2.3 because of the bug fixes it contains, but be sure to check for updates (Help -> Check for Updates Now. While elsewhere on CNET, new features are considered a good thing, they scare me - new code is more likely to be buggy than older, established code. According to Brian Krebs, writing for the Washington Post, critical security bugs were fixed in this release. The current version, 2.3, was released at the end of April.Īccording to Foxit Software, many new features have been added. The Adobe Acrobat Reader could not be un-installed, and the new version 8 could not be installed. The portable version of Foxit saved me on one computer where the old version 7 of This downloads a Zip file consisting of a single file, FoxitReader.exe. To get the portable version, simply download the 2.9MB 'ZIP Package' from Foxit Software. It is not mentioned on either the Foxit download page,

On the other end, they are less likely to cause problems for the host copy of Windows.įor whatever reason, the fact that there is a portable copy of the Foxit Reader seems to be a secret. First, they insulate you from problems with Windows or the registry. I'm a huge fan of portable applications and use them whenever possible, running them both offīy distancing themselves from the host copy of Windows, portable applications offer twoĪdvantages. Portable applications are those that can be run without being installed. At, the CNET review gave it 5 stars out of 5.īut there is another big advantage, the Foxit Reader is portable. Then too, it's free and much smaller than the Adobe Reader. The big claim to fame for the Foxit PDF Reader has always been speed - it opens PDF files much faster than Adobe's own Acrobat Reader.

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