Product Review: PDF-XChange Viewer, Free But Powerful

When Adobe invents PDF format and encourages people to use this format, the reference is available for free. Now you can also download this document from Adobe website. As a result, there are so many PDF related products around the market.

After trying some of PDF readers, I go back to Adobe’s Acrobat Reader. Although this free reader is large and feature-limited, it is official and user-friendly. Don’t say Foxit is small, it is no longer free (I hate those evaluation marks).

So now I switch to Tracker Software Products’ PDF-XChange Viewer which is free and powerful. It contains important features that only available in Adobe Acrobat Standard/Professional, such as commenting and editing. I finally find I can mark the PDF books to insert comments.

The only issue I see is that PDF-XChange Viewer icon. That icon is so complex that seems ugly IMHO. I prefer a much simpler and clearer icon. That’s why I think Adobe Reader wins.

BTW, future version of PDF-XChange Viewer may support Ribbon UI. So let’s see how a free PDF viewer (and simple editor) can evolve (hope it does not follow Foxit).