What's happened to Acrobat Reader?

vhawk

Posts: 176   +0
time was when i could search a pdf for a word by using edit/search, but they seem to have removed that.

when i try it i get please re-install acrobat, which i don't know how to do that. i need it as a freebie and can't afford to pay. i suppose the moneybags have taken over, shrug, there's nothing i can do about that i guess.
 
Depends on the .pdf file. If its scanned in then you can't search for words (at least not without OCR software). If its a document someone converted to pdf you should be able to search.

I recommend Foxit Reader over Adobe for reading pdfs.
 
thank you for taking the time and trouble to try to help me, i appreciate it.no it's regular typing i think, i always used to be able to find particular words in the book i had in mind.(i guess they musyt have changed it, if i'm told to re-install it. can you do such as search with foxit an is that free?
 
Think like a fox

Sometimes it helps to think laterally and creatively rather than persist along the established path. Furthermore, better solutions can often be found by re-defining the problem in a more general sense. I explain:

You might think: How do I get Acrobat Reader do this?
But if instead you think more broadly: How do I get a good PDF reader do it?
You might even proceed further: How do I get Acrobat Reader to work efficiently and securely, sparing start time, computer resources and infection from manipulated documents?

Well, it seems you hit the answers to these questions and incidentally also solved the re-installation issue, by invoking Foxit reader.

Yes, it is free and yes, you can find words (subject to SNGX's comment) searching forward or backward, by using
Edit > Find Text…

But its important advantages are in being far lighter than Acrobat, quick to start, resource sparing and much less vulnerably to malware infection. Plus, you don’t have to keep updating it all the time to keep up with attackers exploiting its holes. Just be careful to avoid installing any toolbar it may offer, that’s of negative value.
 
do you think i should ninstall acrobat then? and if i did would i lose all my pdfs? as you can see i'm very thick about these things. i just assumed as most do that only acrobat reads pdfs.

what does 'lighter' mean in this context? yes i don't like toolbars that i don't want being sneaked onto my computer by stealth, that annoys me
 
If your PDF has images only, just use OCR software like ABBYY Finereader to convert it to text. Then you will be able to search
 
no the pdf is a book, a very very long one. i just can't understand why adobe changed acrobat, edit/search was really useful
 
i always 'used' to be able to search for a given word, now it says i have to re-install it, but does not say how. clearly 'something' has changed without my knowing it, lord alone knows why, it can't be just to annoy me.
 
Try hitting Ctrl-F - should give you a little pop up window for text search. You can also copy the highlighted text and paste in another application.
 
thanks it did but it's nothing like the old edit search which listed every incidence of that word and took you to the right page, so they've definitely changed something, i wonder why.
 
Agree, definitely don't like the direction that Adobe is heading. I picked up a copy of PDF Converter Professional for $50 and can do pretty much anything you can think of to a PDF document.
 
i can't afford $50, it always used to be free. i wonder if Foxit will automatically detect that i'm trying to read a pdf?
 
Well, it seems you hit the answers to these questions and incidentally also solved the re-installation issue, by invoking Foxit reader.

Yes, it is free and yes, you can find words (subject to SNGX's comment) searching forward or backward, by using
Edit > Find Text…

But its important advantages are in being far lighter than Acrobat, quick to start, resource sparing and much less vulnerably to malware infection. Plus, you don’t have to keep updating it all the time to keep up with attackers exploiting its holes. Just be careful to avoid installing any toolbar it may offer, that’s of negative value.

Most, if not all toolbars are of negative value. The topic of "Foxit" came up the other day, and I think the conclusion was reached that you may not be able to opt of of the toolbars included. Just a word to the wise. I have a one year old installer, and I'm hanging on to that for dear life as a result.
do you think i should ninstall acrobat then? and if i did would i lose all my pdfs? as you can see i'm very thick about these things. i just assumed as most do that only acrobat reads pdfs.
You certainly won't lose all your PDFs, at least if you're controlling where there being stored. The program (AR) and the files are 2 separate entities

what does 'lighter' mean in this context? yes i don't like toolbars that i don't want being sneaked onto my computer by stealth, that annoys me
"Lighter" in this case, refers to the amount of space required to install the program, as well as the size of the installer package as well.

As I said earlier, approach the newest versions of Foxit with extreme caution, some say you can't opt out of the toolbars, and then can't get rid of them after it's been installed.

Agree, definitely don't like the direction that Adobe is heading. I picked up a copy of PDF Converter Professional for $50 and can do pretty much anything you can think of to a PDF document.
Adobe is heading down a path that will make them the most money, with the least amount of man-hour interventions as possible. Photoshop Elements has pretty much turned into a scandal.

And Adobe's becoming obnoxious. They seem to believe that they're the only company that can program to current video driver standards.

In any event, if our OP is that heavily invested in PDF storage, then your approach of paid 3rd party software might be the best option.

I am taking the liberty of linking your product suggestion; http://www.nuance.com/for-individuals/by-product/pdf/index.htm

I notice they have a free version also. Can you tell us anything about that?
 
i was just wondering, not understanding these things at all, if, if i install Foxit, it will know all my pdfs and let me read them when i want to? as it is i can read them with acrobat just not search as i used to be able to, which is a relatively minor inconvenience. i expect adobe are just being bloody minded and trying to squeeze out the last penny ; clearly the moneybags rule, which is ad considering how generally kind and helpful the internet is. i wrote to team viewr offering to pay and they said no worries mate, if it's just you using it domestically it's a freebie, which was kind. the people on tech spot, e.g. your good self have been so kind, patient and helpful to me that they put those moneybags to shame. apart from the odd sarcastic remark like"it's broken"(from a miggy chap) the experts out there have been the very embodiment of higher humanity.
 
And Adobe's becoming obnoxious. They seem to believe that they're the only company that can program to current video driver standards.

I am taking the liberty of linking your product suggestion; http://www.nuance.com/for-individuals/by-product/pdf/index.htm

I notice they have a free version also. Can you tell us anything about that?

Think we can add arrogant to obnoxious to even better describe Adobe's belief in their self.

If you buy directly from Nuance I believe the normal retail is $99 but it's available from Amazon for about half of that amount. Got my copy through a partnership deal that Nuance has with Winzip for $50. Here's the link I received from Winzip, assume it will work but not 100% sure of that.

The only free version of Pro 7 that I'm aware of is for a 30 day trial ... you can download a copy at cnet downloads.

I purchased the product primarily for it's ability to convert to and from Office documents since my company makes fairly extensive use of pdf's, just for viewing needs I would follow SNGX1275's recommendation.
 
TThe only free version of Pro 7 that I'm aware of is for a 30 day trial ... you can download a copy at cnet downloads.

No, I'm referring to a free, reader only, (Nuance PDF Reader), that they show at the home site I linked above, not the "Pro" version. Leave your Email, get the download, are the terms.

One guesses they'll try and step you up to "Pro" via Email from time to time. But hey, it gets a lot worse than receiving a bit of sanctioned spam from time to time.
 
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