The Foxit Reader Verdict

[Chim]

Okay, David ... Tech, so I extracted this topic from that other thread on the avast! Home / Pro Forum and brought it over here more appropriately.  I did already install the latest version of Foxit Reader on my Windows 98SE computer. 

Verdict?  Nnnnggg, Uhhh, well, I cannot say it is performing as ideally as Adobe Reader.  As my Test Subject, I chose an AV-Comparatives PDF File I had in My Documents Folder.  At 125% Zoom, which is what I use in Adobe Reader to see the File at a decent size ... Foxit Reader did have the same size of the content, but it was NOT displaying the characters in some Charts correctly.  The characters were a bit mangled.     Also, with Adobe Reader, I can just click on the Scroll Bar and Scroll Up & Down smoothly at will.  With Foxit Reader, I couldn't do that.  The Scrolling in Foxit Reader was Choppy & Lock Up-y and was making the Hard Drive Activity LED really active.

Now I don't know if those 2 problems are being cause by that issue of some sources suggesting that the Latest / Newest Foxit Reader 2.3 was NOT for Windows 98SE.  I don't know if a Lower version would clear up those problems.

For now, do I Uninstall THIS version of Foxit Reader with just plain using the ole Control Panel - Add / Remove method?  Or is there a Special Uninstaller for Wiping Out Foxit?

[igor]

"As ideally" as Adobe Reader?
In the later versions, Adobe Reader seemed unusable on Win98 to me... exhausted Win9x resources almost immediatelly.

(But yes, I admit GhostScript/GhostView was a bit slow as a replacement).

[Lisandro]

For now, do I Uninstall THIS version of Foxit Reader with just plain using the ole Control Panel - Add / Remove method?  Or is there a Special Uninstaller for Wiping Out Foxit?

Use the Control Panel to uninstall it.
If you change the default program for pdf, install or repair Acrobat Reader installation or manually change into Windows Explorer Folder settings.

[DavidR]

I have never noticed any real difference, for me I generally use 100% having a large 20" TFT monitor that is big enough and I can see virtually all of the page. Expanding it further than 100% means more scrolling which to me is a bigger pain in the rear.

The display issues might well be an OS compatibility issue, so you could use an older version try 2.0, etc. from filehippo.com.

It depends on how you installed it, if you downloaded a windows installation version it should have an add remove programs entry.

[Spiritsongs]

   Hi all :

  Perhaps Questions about Foxit Reader should be asked and/or "searched" on
  THEIR Support Forums at www.foxitsoftware.com/bbs/   !?

[Chim]

"As ideally" as Adobe Reader?
In the later versions, Adobe Reader seemed unusable on Win98 to me... exhausted Win9x resources almost immediatelly.

(But yes, I admit GhostScript/GhostView was a bit slow as a replacement).

Well ... "ideally as Adobe Reader" in reference to those 2 issues of Displaying Characters correctly and Smooth Scrolling.  I don't mess around with Adobe Reader that much, just a File here and there.  So, I don't really know how many issues might arise with Adobe Reader on Windows 98.  NOW ... I don't know if it is the nature of the PDF Format in general, but I do know that SOME PDF Files take FOREVER and a couple of eternities to load up and display.  Like one example is a TV Listings for a Local TV Station.  It was in PDF Format and Woooooooooo!  It takes a super long time to load.  Other PDF Files also take sooooo long to load that they make me wonder if they're locked up.  Sometimes I give up and abort the load.  I don't know if these Super LONG Loads would be any faster with a properly working Foxit Reader, or like I wondered previously ... maybe it's just the nature of the PDF Format.   

[Chim]

  Hi all :

  Perhaps Questions about Foxit Reader should be asked and/or "searched" on
  THEIR Support Forums at www.foxitsoftware.com/bbs/   !?

Now THERE's an idea.  Someone there might be able to via experience ... tell whether the Latest / Newest Foxit is NOT recommended for Windows 98.

[Chim]

For now, do I Uninstall THIS version of Foxit Reader with just plain using the ole Control Panel - Add / Remove method?  Or is there a Special Uninstaller for Wiping Out Foxit?

Use the Control Panel to uninstall it.
If you change the default program for pdf, install or repair Acrobat Reader installation or manually change into Windows Explorer Folder settings.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!  I just did the Control Panel Uninstall bit and the Foxit Reader Icon is STILL on the Desktop and so is the Setup File Icon.  The Foxit Reader IS now GONE from the Control Panel Add / Remove area ... and there is no longer any Foxit Reader Folder in the Program Files Folder or Windows Folder.  Should I just simply DELETE both of those Foxit Icons from my Desktop?  I'd ask at the Foxit Forum, but I'm just not in the mood to Register yet again on some other Forum.

[DavidR]

Have you rebooted ?

[Chim]

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!  I just did the Control Panel Uninstall bit and the Foxit Reader Icon is STILL on the Desktop and so is the Setup File Icon.  The Foxit Reader IS now GONE from the Control Panel Add / Remove area ... and there is no longer any Foxit Reader Folder in the Program Files Folder or Windows Folder.  Should I just simply DELETE both of those Foxit Icons from my Desktop?  I'd ask at the Foxit Forum, but I'm just not in the mood to Register yet again on some other Forum.

Have you rebooted ?

Yep, I had already Rebooted.  I grudgingly, reluctantly went and started the Registration process at the Foxit Forum.  But, it just seemed so intrusive and needlessly long.  I finally went, "The heck with this!"  I aborted the Registration and just took it upon myself to delete the 2 Foxit Icons on the Desktop.  I then downloaded and installed Foxit 2.2 instead of the previous Foxit 2.3.

Verdict?  Well, the Scrolling seemed better than with Foxit 2.3.  But, the character displaying issue was still there.  It displays the text just fine on the regular Body of Text on the File / Document.  It is on Tables, Charts, Graphs that it has problems displaying the Text and even some of the Graphics details correctly.

I give up.  I am DUN!  Game Over.  I wave the White Flag.   
I am ceasing any further Foxit experiments.  I already Uninstalled this 2nd version.

[DavidR]

As I suggested earlier I would have tried gong back to 2.0 as a .1 increment is unlikely to resolve any potential incompatibility with an OS. Even stepping back to 1.9 if available as whole point updates tend to be major and that could have been when support for older OSes may have been introduced.

Your system your choice, but you are going to experience more of the same with an old OS less and less applications are going to support it, even microsoft doesn't 

[Chim]

As I suggested earlier I would have tried gong back to 2.0 as a .1 increment is unlikely to resolve any potential incompatibility with an OS. Even stepping back to 1.9 if available as whole point updates tend to be major and that could have been when support for older OSes may have been introduced.

Your system your choice, but you are going to experience more of the same with an old OS less and less applications are going to support it, even microsoft doesn't 

I then went and tried this PDF Reader 2.4.0.0.
Ironically, this one had better Text Display in the Table, Charts & Graphs than Foxit ... but, seemed to have some slight problems displaying characters in the regular Body of Text.  Yep, the opposite of Foxit.  I tell you ... I can't get a break!  I didn't like the GUI ... too messy and confusing.  Not organized very well.  But, what immediately irked me to no end was that after Softpedia had declared it 100% CLEAN ... immediately on the Install, it had the audacity to put up an eBay Shortcut Icon on my Desktop!!!   That's when I decided ... "THIS Application has GOT to GO!  Get OFF of my Computer!  How DARE you take liberty to put eBay or any other Propaganda on my Desktop without MY permission!!"

THEN, while the Application had CLAIMED to have an Uninstall Tool, it ended up NOT working.  Upon using it, it claimed there was an Illegal Operation and that the Files were now Corrupt and the Uninstall could NOT be done.  Uhhh Hmmm.  How convenient ... wanting to keep itself in my computer.  But, NO!  I manually deleted its Folder in the Windows or Program Files Folder and its Desktop Icon.

:::Sigh:::  I now DO need to do a Total Windows Reinstall soon to neutralize whatever Garbage Remnants might be lingering from my recent Experiments.     Meanwhile, I now have to grovel and ask Adobe Reader to forgive me for trying to replace it.