Adobe Acrobat Pro Alternatives - Windows

Owned by John Alacce
May 04, 2022
2 min read

 

In some cases it can be difficult to use Adobe Acrobat Pro due to licensing limitations or other issues.

There are operating system based alternatives which may be acceptable for basic use cases such as:

  • Reading a standard PDF file.

  • Filling out a well crafted PDF form (although there is at least one alternative for PDF forms that were created using deprecated Adobe applications dependent on features such as Adobe Flash).

  • Creating a basic PDF from another application (word processor or web page).

Read a Standard PDF

Most modern web browsers include native capabilities to read a PDF. This includes Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

From the Windows Desktop or File Explorer:

  • Right-click the PDF and select Open With and then select your preferred browser. ECE ITS maintained Windows systems have Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox installed in addition to Microsoft Edge.

From A Browser:

  • In the address bar, use file:// to indicate that you are opening a file on the local computer.

For example file:///C:/Users/yourusername/Desktop/mypdf.pdf

Note the additional leading slash character and that the file path is similar to the type used in UNIX and UNIX-like operating systems.

 

Open and Edit a PDF Form

Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome both offer some level of support for PDF forms, but as of the writing of this article, Mozilla Firefox seems to support more form types, including legacy forms that have been created within the University.

  • In Firefox, Open the PDF form as you would a typical PDF and make the desired changes.

  • Right-click the form and then select Save Page As, a file window will appear. Change the filename to something appropriate to indicate that it is a completed form, verify that the type is set to PDF and click the Save button.

 

Create a Basic PDF

Microsoft Windows includes a simple read-only PDF printer called Microsoft Print to PDF.

To use the Microsoft Print to PDF printer, open a file or web page, select Print and then select

the Microsoft Print to PDF printer. A file window will open, set the filename to something appropriate and verify that the type is set to PDF.

Please note that PDFs created in Microsoft Print to PDF are not easily edited with other tools. If you are creating a PDF from an application such as a word processor, it is recommended that you keep the original file for future changes or updates.