Adobe Reader - How hard can it be?

Does anyone else share my frustration that for the past god knows how many years, Adobe Reader is still far from bug-free.

Of course, the latest bug would have to be the fact if you scroll a PDF document in a web browser using the scroll wheel or the scroll button for the mouse scrolling... the scroll bar at the side just stays where it is.

How irritating going through a document when you don't know how far you are through it.

It's absolutely pathetic that they release software which is not really fit for purpose.

I noticed this too. Very annoying, but in fairness to Adobe, it's a free product. Easy to moan, but not from a position of having lost money.

As soon as you move the mouse pointer over any part of the scroll bar (or away from it if it was already on it) it will jump to the right position. A little inconvenient, but hardly a major problem. I wouldn't say this minor quirk makes the software "not really fit for purpose".

Reader is only free so that they can sell Acrobat.

I know. Generally the users of Acrobat are commercial in nature.

In reply to a post by camieabz:

I noticed this too. Very annoying, but in fairness to Adobe, it's a free product. Easy to moan, but not from a position of having lost money.

I have to disagree there, the product is free but their format is forced on us and also they gain money from the people who create documents using their paid for version. Such a huge company with such a huge customer base should not be making silly gaffs like this.

There are a significant majority of personal home users who have no intention of ever purchasing Acrobat...

The "not fit for purpose" also factors in the fact it still will freeze and not recover if the server you are downloading a document from stops sending you the information. This is obvious fault tolerance that should be built into the program.

I guess they did get their act together starting with v9, before that there was always the cringe moment when you click a link and realise its taken you to a PDF and there is a 50% chance it will crash and you will lose all your open tabs.

You expect micky mouse faults like scroll bar not working from programs developed by individuals, not huge companies like Adobe.

Before anyone makes any reference to MS, they are nowhere near as bad!!!

Edited by Pipexer (Wed 25-May-11 23:25:01)

Foxit have a free pdf reader which you can download here its only 8 Mb ish. Careful with options that you select during install, otherwise quite ok

I did use foxit in the past but because it didn't (at the time) integrate into browsers and stream PDFs I decided to go back to Adobe once v9 came out.

Certainly a very good product and I may give it another go. Overall, their product is much less buggy and far faster and reliable compared to the mighty Adobe effort, just lacks the features mentiond above (or at least it did when I tried).

If a small company like Foxit can do it (whilst maintaining the PDF security features as well as offering a fully fledged version with features to match Acrobat.. then Adobe have no excuse for their sloppy program)

Rant over off to bed

It's specifically a bug which relates to viewing .pdf files within the browser. Some report browser specific, while I have tested it on FF4, IE9, Opera, Chrome and Safari, and get the same results. Perhaps it's a PC-specific issue (in that some PCs get it, and some don't).

One option with FF is to open pdfs with reader, rather than within the browser. Other browsers might have similar options, but can't be sure. It's certainly a stopgap if it bothers you more than what app opens the pdf file.

Some reading:

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/759963

http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=7...


I have a feeling the Adobe X web plugin is not ready for the latest browsers. Be interesting to see if IE8 or FF3 gets the same results.


I tried:

http://forums.adobe.com/message/3618117 (post 3)

and it locked up my browser. Had to disable the plugins in the task manager. Deffo a plugin issue.

I have both installed on my main machine and just Reader X on other machines. Foxit says the plugin will not be installed but it is and it also overrides the Adobe plugin so probably why I haven't seen the scroll issue in FF4. I did notice the odd crash on other machines with just Adobe X when the on screen toolbar was used so quickly switched to the top menu bar instead and all was ok.

Edit: Tried a PDF on other machine and Adobe X scroll problem is apparent.

Edited by Banger (Thu 26-May-11 02:42:01)

My frustration is with the way it insists on dumping an icon on my desktop every time it updates. Is there anything more utterly useless than an Adobe Acrobat reader icon on your desktop?

I went past their HQ in San Jose several years ago on the bus. Even back then I hated them - I almost wish I'd had the gumption to get off and throw a brick through their window. Then again there's a lot of other companies on that street so I'd probably have run out of bricks :-/

It also dumps a line or two in your startup processes when first installed. Java is worse. It reactivates said line evertime it updates.

I tried foxit and other variants, there was issues that made me go back to adobe tho, cant remember specifics other than I do remember some pdf's didnt display right.

The problem I see with adobe is they will never just concentrate on bug fixing, they will always be adding new features which in turn means new bugs and trying to make more money. How easy is it now to download adobe without their DLM?

I tried foxit 5,, now up to 12mb.
I found it very slow, so gone back to v4

I just updated to Foxit 5 and it seems as fast as 4 to me. Like the skin option too.

In reply to a post by Banger:

I just updated to Foxit 5 and it seems as fast as 4 to me. Like the skin option too.

Strange, it took about 20 secs for mine to open in 5, same PDF in 4 was instance.

Might give it a another go in a month or so.

The reason Reader is free is because Adobe figured out that if they didn't provide it freely to everyone, nobody would buy Acrobat. If you wrote 100 letters to 100 people and 98 of them asked you to send it in another format because they couldn't afford the grand or whatever for Acrobat to read it, would you continue to use Acrobat? Judging by the price of it's programs, I'm guessing Adobe doesn't do free software because they like being nice.

Another gift from our U.S. Supreme Court to the People. Manufacturers can disclaim warranties of fitness, merchantibility, etc. I guess the SC was afraid enforcing a good faith law that required a company to deliver a working product would have a chilling effect on their friends corporate profits. Basically, as long as the company lets you know they're doing it, and there are no State laws prohibiting disclaimer, they can sell you a program with 20,000+ bugs in it. That was the number that Windows 98 purportedly had at release. Bill Gates didn't introduce the concept of selling junk for real money but he certainly seemed to embrace the concept. Too bad. Corporations will kill us someday if we let the SC continue to give them a higher standing than human beings.

From Adobe End User License Agreement
4. No Warranty. The Software is being delivered to you AS IS and Adobe makes no warranty as to its use or performance. ADOBE AND ITS SUPPLIERS DO NOT AND CANNOT WARRANT THE PERFORMANCE OR RESULTS YOU MAY OBTAIN BY USING THE SOFTWARE OR DOCUMENTATION. ADOBE AND ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL ADOBE OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST SAVINGS, EVEN IF AN ADOBE REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY THIRD PARTY. Some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental, consequential or special damages, or the exclusion of implied warranties or limitations on how long an implied warranty may last, so the above limitations may not apply to you.

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

I'm guessing Adobe doesn't do free software because they like being nice.

No business does anything to be nice (possible expection of 'Nice Biscuits' makers).

Well, that's tough for you in the US, but we have different laws in the UK.

Adobe are no different from any other corporation in that respect. Why on earth do you suppose any company gives away freebies?