Overview

Adobe Reader is an application software, member of the family of applications developed by Adobe Systems, Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Reader's purpose is to view, print and manage files in Portable Document Format(PDF). Adobe Reader enables users to view and print PDF files but has negligible PDF creation capabilities. Acrobat and Reader are widely used as a way to present information with a fixed layout similar to a paper publication.

Installation

Download and ave the program to a location on your computer. After the program was successfully downloaded, go to the folder you have saved it and double click the file to start the installation. This will open the Acrobat Reader setup process and it will guide you through the rest of the installation.

The program can be installed on Microsoft Windows, MAC OS X, Linux and many mobile platforms.

Interface

The Adobe Reader's interface is easy to use, created to be user-friendly and provides text content, caret location, and attributes for textual information for all the controls and functions. Most user interface controls and functions in Adobe Reader can be executed via the keyboard. Also Acrobat Reader doesn't use animations or flashing, blinking texts or objects which may disturb the user.

Pros

Access to all PDF files: View and interact with PDF files that contain a wide variety of content types, including drawings, email messages, spreadsheets, videos, and other multimedia elements.

Opening PDF Portfolios: Open and view contents of a PDF Portfolio, a collection of PDF documents, and other document types. 

Comprehensive file searching: Find and retrieve any PDF document or phrase within a document in seconds. Search for words in page content, annotations, bookmarks, form fields, or document metadata within any PDF file on a local computer.

Flash technology support: Enable a new level of end-user interaction thanks to the ability of Reader to natively display rich media content created with Adobe Flash  technology.

Online Services : Directly access online services at Acrobat.com from within Adobe Reader . Perform common tasks such as creating PDF files, securely sharing and storing documents, and screen-sharing.

Security: Take advantage of the security of Protected Mode in Reader, which helps safeguard your computer software and data from malicious code.

Cons

Being a freeware application, Adobe Reader has its limitations. The program is mostly used for viewing and printing PDF files, but has negligible creation capabilities. To get the full creating and editing support, the user must rely on the other paid services of the Adobe Acrobat  family, like Acrobat PRO.

There are many issues with 64-bit machines. One of them is that the PDF viewer plug-in is not compatible with Safari running in 64-bit mode.

Reformatting issues when reopening PDFs made in Word.

Slow to open.

Conclusion

Adobe Reader is the standard application for viewing, printing, and commenting on PDF documents. It's perfect for home users and also for professionals, but as for users who want to work extensively with PDFs, this program has not enough creating and editing possibilities.