If there is something we have learned here at Softonic, it's that a good PDF creator is hard to find. They are either ugly, slow, lack functions or, more often, all three. Will PDF-XChange Viewer be any different?

It is! Viewing PDFs with PDF-XChange Viewer is fast and smooth - you can skip through and back pages, view documents in a variety of layouts, and search and find pages and keywords seamlessly. PDF-XChange Viewer's toolbars are totally customizable, and there is a considerable range of configuration options.

PDF-XChange Viewer's editing options are also impressive. Although the free version doesn't allow you to create documents from scratch, it does let you edit extensively, with a few exceptions, mainly the ability to add or remove pages. Commenting, underlining, stamping, attaching files and creating text boxes are all easily done, and can be modified and removed in the click of a button.

There are also tooltips, so you know what you are doing before you click. This feature is very welcome, as the PDF-XChange Viewer help is not very good. Additional cool features include a snapshot tool, document preview when opening PDFs and a huge range of interface language options.

PDF-XChange Viewer is a great PDF editor that is streets ahead of its many rivals.

Download PDF-XChange Viewer 2.5.201 in Softonic

Viewing PDFs with PDF-XChange Viewer Portable is fast and smooth; you can skip through pages, view documents in a variety of layouts, and search and find both pages and keywords seamlessly. PDF-XChange Viewer Portable's toolbars are entirely customizable, and there is a considerable range of configuration options.

PDF-XChange Viewer Portable's editing options are also impressive. Although the free version doesn't allow you to create documents from scratch, it does let you edit extensively. The main exception is the ability to add or remove pages. Commenting, underlining, stamping, attaching files and creating text boxes are all easily done, and can be modified and removed in the click of a button.

There are also tooltips, so you know what you are doing before you click. This feature is very welcome, as the PDF-XChange Viewer Portable help is not very good. Additional cool features include a snapshot tool, document preview when opening PDFs and a huge range of interface language options.

PDF-XChange Viewer Portable is executable from a USB stick and offers the same features as the desktop version. It is incredibly easy to move PDFs from your PC to PDF-XChange Viewer Portable as well, making the program even more desirable for frequent PDF users and readers.

PDF-XChange Viewer is a great PDF editor that for anyone who makes frequent use of this document type.

Download PDF-XChange Viewer Portable 2.5.201 in Softonic

PDF Studio is easy to use, yet powerful enough to allow you a whole host of editing options that enable you to annotate and edit documents. You can use it with existing PDF documents, or directly using the tailor-made scan-to-PDF feature. Note that PDF Studio doesn't require Adobe Reader to work - it uses its own propriety reader, which isn't nearly as good but does the job.

Editing documents is done via the formatting toolbar across the top. From here you can add text, draw diagrams, add watermarks, apply stamps, and generally deface documents to your content. If you want to join or split some PDFs, you can do that too and even add a password to open the PDFs you create. Probably the snazziest little feature is the ability to add sound and interactive elements to PDF documents - ideal for creating questionnaires and quizzes.

PDF Studio is perfect for anyone who doesn't like working with Adobe Reader and needs to add different types of annotations to their PDFs

Download PDF Studio 7.02 in Softonic

Almost identical to Microsoft Word in appearance, Kingsoft Writer Professional 2012 is a good alternative that's also compatible with Microsoft's popular word processor. Consequently, it's able to both read and edit DOC and DOCX document formats. If you need to send a file you've created on Kingsoft Writer Professional 2012 to someone who's using Microsoft Word, they should have no problem opening it.

Kingsoft Writer Professional 2012 has all the basic features you expect in a word processor, including spell check, multiple tabs, the ability to encrypt files and a PDF converter. In addition, Kingsoft Writer Professional 2012 has two different interface options for you to choose from. One looks like a pre-2007 Microsoft Word, while the 2012 interface option is a little more colorful and aesthetically pleasing.

There are also some new features that were added specifically to this latest version of Kingsoft Writer Professional 2012. One useful new tool is the ability to adjust your paragraphs via a simple drag and drop action. There's also a a cover pages setting that comes complete with a great variety of templates to choose from.

The nice thing is that if you're familiar with Word, this processor's interface will be easy to navigate since it's very similar. This program does cost money to purchase a license key, however, which open source alternatives like LibreOffice and Open Office do not. It will ultimately come down to preference as to which word processor you choose if you're looking for an alternative to Word.

Kingsoft Writer Professional 2012 is very similar and a good alternative to Microsoft Word for users who want to try something new with lots of the same features.

Download Kingsoft Writer Professional 2012 8.1.0.3016 in Softonic

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Adobe Reader has been in existence for over a decade and has gone through various evolutions during this time. One result of this is that it has been increasingly loaded with plug-ins and extensions which mean that it's consistently criticized as being bloated and slow.

The truth about Adobe Reader's speed

It is true to a certain extent that the extra plug-ins and extensions can make Adobe run more slowly. Adobe Reader is still a PDF reader that has much to offer though. With the latest version of Adobe Reader, Adobe have addressed some of the speed issues and the memory footprint has been improved consistently throughout the development of Adobe Reader X.

Interface and stand-out features

This version of Adobe Reader is not only slightly faster, but also displays a clearer, simpler interface that makes it easier to use. Adobe Reader X still features the classic tools from previous versions (Zoom, Text selection, Snapshots and Read out loud), but now it also includes renewed features such as the ability to leave comments as sticky notes. A new feature you’ll find in Adobe Reader X is the Share tool, with which you can easily share the document by email or via the Adobe SendNow service.

Built-in security precautions

If you were worried about security issues in Adobe Reader, fear not: Adobe Reader X is probably the safest version ever released, thanks to the new Protected Mode than loads images, code and 3D objects in a special area in memory, isolated from the system.

Adobe Reader X is undoubtedly an important update in the history of this popular PDF reader – an essential tool to open, read and print PDF documents.

Download Adobe Reader X 10.1.2 in Softonic

This app is very simple, and does its job very well. Add PDFs, either singly or in batches, and hit the Convert button. That's really all there is to it! Flip PDF to Word also has a handy Hot Directories mode, where you can tell it to monitor a specific folder for new PDFs to automatically convert when they appear.

As with all PDF to Word apps, Flip PDF to Word has varying results. Simple PDFs without much formatting or images generally do well, whereas more complicated ones or those with lots of pictures can often turn out corrupted and hard to edit. Only experience will let you know which ones are likely to work better.

Flip PDF to Word quickly batch converts PDF to Microsoft Word, but it's a very basic tool.

Download Flip PDF to Word 1.0 in Softonic

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With Nitro PDF Reader you can not only read PDF files on your computer, but also edit them in several ways: you can annotate PDF documents, insert notes, and highlight, cross-out or underline certain text. Plus Nitro PDF Reader also lets you extract all images in a PDF or save all the text inside the PDF in plain text, removing all the formatting and making it easier to edit.

Another great feature in Nitro PDF Reader is a virtual printer, with which you can convert any document to PDF – as long as the application you use to open it has printing capabilities. All you need to do is choose the Print option and select the Nitro PDF printer.

Nitro PDF Reader features a nicely designed interface that makes the program a pleasure to use. Plus the program seems to have solved the unstability issues that affected earlier versions, so there's really no reason why you shouldn't give it a try!

Nitro PDF Reader is a full featured PDF reader with annotation tools, image and text extractors and a special tool to convert documents to PDF.

Download Nitro PDF Reader 2.1.1.4 in Softonic