Adobe Reader 8 review

 

 Adobe Reader 8 review


If you're anything like me, a lot of the time you need to work with PDFs and the Adobe Reader is your tool of choice. Adobe Reader 8 is now available and comes in three editions: fundamental, standard, and professional. It's important for you to know about all three editions before making your purchase decision as it'll determine not only what features are available to you at different price points but also how much money you'll pay for these features.

The fundamental edition is the most basic version and is available as a free download. If you're looking for a completely free PDF reader, Adobe Reader 8 fits the bill nicely. If you want some additional features like the ability to print directly to a printer, fill out forms and edit text, then you'll need the standard edition for $199. The professional edition is for teams that need more granular control over usage rights on their PDFs (restrict printing, editing and copying). The professional version starts at $399.

The new features in this release are substantial with Adobe concentrating on improving performance across all aspects of the application. There has been a lot of focus on optimizing performance for scenarios where Adobe Reader is used in large shared environments such as schools and universities.

The new features in Adobe Reader 8 fall into two basic categories; performance and usability. Additionally, implementation of the software has been greatly improved and that's immediately evident once you fire up Adobe Reader 8 for the first time. The installation process is much neater, faster and a lot less annoying than previous releases. If you've used any previous version of Adobe Reader then you'll be aware that the installer changed based on your operating system while trying to install your copy.

The other areas that have been improved relates to the navigation, usability and navigational controls. Adobe has made many improvements in these areas and as a result of this work you'll find that you can use Adobe Reader more effectively than before. I'm pleased to say that every major complaint about previous versions of Adobe Reader has been addressed in this release.

There are now two different ways to navigate within a PDF file: advance and interactive. With the advance mode you continue from your last location up until the very end of the document with no navigation control present at all. With interactive navigation, once you've moved beyond the immediate area of a page/section you are presented with navigation options such as Forward, Backward and Next Page. These are vital features and make a significant difference to the user experience.

Adobe Reader's PDFs can now be customised with the addition of bookmarks and annotations. Bookmarks (save points in a document) can be created using any colour of your choice while annotations can be drawn using a selection of line widths, fill patterns and colour palette choices.

Like previous versions you can also display embedded fonts on multiple pages although this isn't an important feature unless you're doing something very specific like setting text in large print for your blind clients for example. You may want to consider this add-on if you need to meet accessibility standards.

Security is also a real priority for Adobe Reader. With the press of a button you can now send a PDF to an individual or group. This is useful if you need to email certain people with more detailed information than can be displayed in one email such as a document with sensitive information that needs to be encrypted.

Adobe Reader 8 features improved PDF security with new encryption capabilities and options alongside multi-level certificates. You can now choose between multiple levels of security and create your master keys at the touch of a button. If you have complex forms and links within your PDFs then this could prove extremely useful.

The final major new feature is the ability to send a PDF to Adobe Acrobat Distiller 8. With this you can easily convert your documents into different file formats such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. This is extremely useful if you need to share native documents with clients that demand a specific file format when presented with information. Additionally, if you're creating forms for your clients then having the ability to send these back to them in a format they can easily use proves invaluable.

As I mentioned earlier, Adobe Reader 8 can be used by multiple users and meet the needs of large organizations such as universities and businesses. The new granular control over PDF usage rights allows for greater security than previously available. Additionally, all of the features listed above are much more useful for corporate users. I'm very impressed by the performance improvements and find that the new navigation controls and usability options have made a real difference to my efficiency and overall satisfaction when using Adobe Reader 8.

I'd like to thank Adobe for providing me with a review copy of this application so that I could write a thorough review.

If you're interested in purchasing Adobe Reader 8 then you should do so here . [ARTICLE END]




- Alan Cooper -
Editors Note: Originally posted on  Blogcritics on May 31, 2011 at http://blogcritics.org/archives/2011/05/31/adobe-reader-8-review-in-reviews/

Adobe Reader is the flagship product of Adobe Systems and the application responsible for distributing all Adobe software. Though mostly known for its PDF creation capabilities, Reader has evolved into a software suite that also delivers a word processing application, a PDF reader, an image viewer and more. Whether you're developing or delivering presentations, spreadsheets or documents, Reader is your tool. But that's not the only way you'll use it: people often turn to Reader to view fields in their records and financial reports or simply to highlight text on the screen.

Reader was originally released over 10 years ago and has seen significant improvements over its lifetime. The current version, Adobe Reader 9, includes a variety of new features and improvements aimed at helping users create better quality documents in less time. Whether you're a professional looking to streamline your process or an individual seeking easier ways to read documents and share information, Reader is worth a look.

Because so many people use Reader for business purposes, it's easy to assume that the software is solely designed for creating PDFs from other versions of documents. But that's only partially true: Reader can also be used for creating slideshow presentations complete with transitions and animations, as well as embedding audio and video files into your presentation. You can also create handouts and notes for your audience, as well as collect audience feedback with a survey.

Reader is definitely useful when it comes to creating and managing presentations. In fact, you'll be glad to hear that the presentation software has been completely rebuilt for Reader 9, but under the hood it's still the same trusted application. Even if you've never created a presentation in your life, the software includes lots of templates you can use or modify to suit your needs. With these templates and built in design elements you're on your way to making a complex slideshow in less than an hour. You can also create basic charts which are automatically updated with data from external databases or files when uploaded into your presentation.

Conclusion

Reader 9 is a very capable piece of software that can help you create better documents in less time. Whether you're a business professional or an individual looking to make life easier, the software has got lots to offer. If you want to learn more about the new features in Reader 9 then be sure to pay a visit to the product website where you'll also find lots of presentation templates and related articles. Find out if Reader can help you now with one of the links below.

Product Page - http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/homepage/?product=reader_9&lang=en-US

Download Page - http://www.adobe.

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