blog: PDF preview for adobe X

[nikos]

here's the comment area for today's blog post found at
http://www.zabkat.com/blog/14Aug11-adob ... review.htm

[kunkel321]

Seems like I used to be an x2 power-user.  Now I can't even accomplish the simplest of tasks...

I'd like to preview PDFs in the Quick Preview pane of x2.  I use Foxit PDF Reader, because Adobe Reader is a high-maintenance bloated hog that won't stay out of my way.  I'm SURE that in the past I was able to preview PDFs, but can't now.

The above blog post by Nikos suggests that the Foxit iFilters are free, but (judging by the Foxit website) I don't think they are...  

I did a forum search and found where Kilmatead suggested PDF Exchange's iFilters, but that is also not free...

Do we have any Foxit users who can shed light on this?  Thanks.

[Kilmatead]

The above blog post by Nikos suggests that the Foxit iFilters are free, but (judging by the Foxit website) I don't think they are...

You have to register on the site to get the links for the free download - they bury them deep.

I did a forum search and found where Kilmatead suggested PDF Exchange's iFilters, but that is also not free...

Last time I checked, the shell extensions (which include the iFilters) for PDF-XChange were included in the free version.

[kunkel321]

You have to register on the site to get the links for the free download - they bury them deep.

Must be really deep.  
Near as I can tell, there are only four versions and none is free.  Nor cheap.  
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/products/i ... ricing.php
Though, strickly speaking, the download actually IS free!

[kunkel321]

AH ha...
Nikos' link in his blog post points to the actual "iFilter" which is not free.  But the x2 quickstart guide says that a person only need install the free Foxit Reader, and the required filters should be included.    Unfortunately I already have Foxit Reader installed, but cannot view PDFs in the quickview pane.

[Kilmatead]

But the x2 quickstart guide says that a person only need install the free Foxit Reader, and the required filters should be included.   Unfortunately I already have Foxit Reader installed, but cannot view PDFs in the quickview pane.

The quickstart lies - you need to install the iFilters (which are free if you register and log in to their site - or at least that's how it used to work).  The links to the "free" filters are hidden behind the login, and thus cannot be issued directly.  Did you register and log in?

I think if you stop worrying about what you're reading, and just go with the flow, you will find a bit of clarity - or just install the far superior PDF-XChange (equally as free) and stop worrying about the world trying to sell you stuff - that just makes you age faster.

[nikos]

the most relevant information about plugins including PDF is here:
www.zabkat.com/x2plugins.htm

as for preview, there are 2 kinds, first is the plain text/search that is offered via IFilters (foxit does that for free), and the exact (aka native) preview with formatting. I don't think foxit offers that, but special-K has another tool to recommend?

[Kilmatead]

Bloody breakfast cereal is getting popular around here.  You people not get enough fibre or something?

All I'm saying is that as far as I know PDF-XChange is completely free (with some reduced functionality like Annotation), but the iFilters are installed as part of the normal installation, and their use remains free in perpetuity.  I can't test this as I use a licensed version of the viewer, but it won't cost him anything to try it out (if he can't find the Foxit iFilters first).

[nikos]

does it also offer 'native' preview?

[Kilmatead]

Does all that history and azure sea give you geeky-Greeks short-term memory loss?  I could have sworn we just covered that not three weeks previous with a little bit of paraphrasing Creedence Clearwater Revival thrown in for good measure.

Yes, would be the answer.

[nikos]

ok, i added it to the plugins page you old nagging hag!

[Kilmatead]

It would be nice to get some 3rd-party confirmation of this first, no?  Surely there are free-loader users of PDF-XChange that can confirm the included shell extensions do what they say on the tin.  And then Adobe can be dismissed like the bloated nonsense that it's always been.

...you old nagging hag!

Well, considering my breakfast cereal is supposed to keep me young slim and sexy, I think I'm doing pretty well.

Now, we just have to keep nagging you about a certain banjaxed modal window...  :twisted:

[kunkel321]

I'm just about ready to drop Foxit all together...

A few years back, I wanted to be able to create my own editable PDF forms, so I bought Foxit PDF Editor for around 90 USD.  Unfortunately I was stupid and didn't check it out first.  It was only after purchasing that I realized Foxit Editor DOESN'T allow you to add text boxes to PDFs.  For that, you need Foxit Form Builder (a super-set of Foxit Reader Pro).  So I shelled out another 90 USD for that.  Shortly afterward, they discontinued both products and came out with the "Phantom PDF" product line.   Of course the way I learned about this is that the very first update to Foxit Reader that came out, after my purchase, was incompatible with the Form Builder features, so I was unable to update the Reader if I wanted to continue to build forms.   Foxit Reader is on version 5.1.3, but I'm stuck with the old version 2.3, which is probably why x2 is unable to display PDFs natively.  

The tools out there for creating PDF forms are prohibitively expensive and unimpressive.  Fortunately there is now http://www.pdfescape.com/ which is not great, but perhaps it shows that there will soon be a competitive market for these types of tools and I can finally scrape off Foxit like the turds that they are.

For your amusement, I'll copy-n-paste my recent correspondence with them.   Note how they avoided my question while simultaneously trying to get more money from me.
================
On Thu Jan 19 15:50:25 2012, kunkel321. wrote:
> Hi I'm using Foxit Reader v2.3. I paid for the advanced Pro version
> with Form Creating capabilities, but I can't find any information
> about this on your website.
> If I let my version of Foxit Reader
> update to the latest version, will I still be able to create editable
> forms?
>
> Do I need to buy Phantom, in order to have up to date, form creating,
> software?
>
> If so, can you please give me a huge discount, as I spend
> about 180 USD on Foxit Form Filler and Foxit Editor right before they
> were discontinued?
>
> (See purchase info below)
>
> Thanks in advance for any feedback. -Stephen Kunkel
>
(reg codes truncated)
================
Hello Stephen,

For Reader and PhantomPDF 5.0 Family are two different products,you cannot
upgrade from Reader to Phantom. You could only purchase the full license for
PhantomPDF Standard or Business version. For detail features of these two
softwares, please refer to http://www.foxitsoftware.com/products/phantomPDF/ .
All the features are listed on the bottom of the page.

Business version is $149.00 per user and the Standard version is $95.00 per
user. You could order it online directly
from：http://www.foxitsoftware.com/shopping/

--
Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely

Taurus

Integrated Sales and Service Team

Foxit Corporation

[Kilmatead]

...can you please give me a huge discount...

You do realise, of course, that such emails are the source of great mirth to the after-sales department where 8 sweaty guys named Vinnie are sitting around smoking cigars and playing poker, don't you?  And Vinnie #6 laughs the loudest and says "Yo, Stevie, youz wanna see some Huge?  Huge 'dis!"

The world was a friendlier place back when you could plug in your Commodore 64 and somehow the simplicity of a blinking square cursor was so vastly comforting that it just made everything better.  And 8 guys named Vinnie all worked in the motor pool for less than minimum wage.

T'was a simpler time, when Apple Pie actually had real apples in it and everything. <Sigh>