|
|
 |
09-08-2004, 08:55 PM
|
#1 of 22 
|
|
Member
Join Date: Nov 2002
Local Time: 09:01 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 1,742
|
I HATE PDFs!!!!!!
I ust got another PDF file online. It is a manual for a receiver.
I am running a P4 with 1 gig memory and every PDF file I've ever used slows my system down to a crawl when I click on it. Same for work or any other PC I use. Broadband connections seem to help, but it is still a problem.
Then, when I think it is downloaded and I try to scroll, my system slows again..
I hate those goddam memory munchers!
I have to download and save them, then, after a considerable wait for the download, I can finally view them at a reasonable speed.
So why the F are PDFs so friggin popular?
|
|
|
|
09-08-2004, 09:35 PM
|
#2 of 22
|
|
Member
Join Date: Oct 1997
Local Time: 08:01 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 3,020
|
Something's wrong with your setup. PDF's (portable document files) are there to make it easier and faster to read info.
I run about what you do, and I have zero issues with PDFs. Word documents, esp those that contain pictures, on the other hand, are a real PITA.
Mike
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
09-08-2004, 09:53 PM
|
#3 of 22
|
|
Member
Join Date: Mar 2001
Local Time: 09:01 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 4,870
|
I've got a P3 450, and PDFs cause me no troubles, in general. With every machine I've used, the only time I've seen slowdown is with more graphically intense PDF on a slower machine. In those cases I can see the page refresh slow down when I go scroll or zoom pages. But for normal stuff, there's no troubles. And just having one loaded doesn't has never caused me problems.
I don't know how your internet connection would affect things, except for the initial download time. After it's loaded, it's irrelevant.
As Mike said, there's something wrong with your machine or software installation. Have you tried reinstalling Acrobat?
EDIT:
I did a search on PDF related slowdowns and found some reviews at Download.com ( http://www.download.com/3302-2378_4-...html?pn=3&fb=0) echoing similar frustrations. I wonder if the newest version of Acrobat has some problems. I'm running v5 at home and it's fine. I've got 6 at work and it's ok too, but maybe v6 doesn't play well on all computers? |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
09-08-2004, 10:23 PM
|
#4 of 22
|
|
Ricardo C
Member
Location: Venezuela
Join Date: Feb 2002
Local Time: 09:01 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 5,142
|
Two tips:
1) You can use an older version of Acrobat Reader (4 or 5 are pretty lean) or you can disable most of the plugins in 6, which would make it load much faster (a google search will find the pwertinent links on what to disable).
and
2) Don't open the PDF files directly on your browser, download them instead.
Man, an hour wasted on this sig! Thanks, Toshiba! :p
|
|
|
|
|
09-08-2004, 11:33 PM
|
#5 of 22
|
|
Member
Location: Northern VA
Join Date: Mar 2000
Local Time: 09:01 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 4,826
|
^^^He ain't lyin! Regarding #2 anyways.
Firefox can slow to a crawl when I open a PDF in it and even crash totally. Just right-click, download and open from your hard drive. I think it's a mistake to have PDF as a browser plugin in the first place.. PDF's are great because you can zoom in/out and all that real estate at the top of browsers just creates clutter.
|
|
|
|
|
09-09-2004, 07:07 AM
|
#6 of 22
|
|
Member
Join Date: Jan 1999
Local Time: 09:01 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 3,855
|
It's the transfer, not the file, that's the problem. Unless I'm getting a .pdf from a site that I KNOW has fat bandwidth, I right-click, "Sare Target As..." and then open it after it's saved on my PC.
I love to singa, about the moon-a, and the june-a, and the springa...
-Owl Jolson
|
|
|
|
|
09-09-2004, 07:40 AM
|
#7 of 22
|
|
Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Local Time: 10:01 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 1,880
|
The three or four experiences I've had with them are similar to Eric's.
Adobe gyrates, asks me about things I don't understand, is slow as can be, then there's eventually as little text as in a couple of small pages.
Perhaps the geniuses who design these things could update or downgrade my computer (a small 7 year old) so it could benefit.  In the meantime, I remain puzzled - what is the good of them? |
|
|
|
|
09-09-2004, 08:22 AM
|
#8 of 22
|
|
Member
Join Date: Nov 2000
Local Time: 09:01 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 8,849
|
I have wondered this for a long time (all datasheets are printed on PDF) until we started using them recently at work. The biggest thing for us (and I guess most users) is: They cannot be edited, and they are pretty much universal - everyone has the Acrobat reader.
Huge PDF fan now, since I discovered cutePDF, a neat little utility which converts documents from ANY source into a pdf - it shows up as a printer, just print to it, and save.
Edited to say cutePDF is a freeware and is a google search away.
--
H
|
|
|
|
|
09-09-2004, 08:31 AM
|
#9 of 22
|
|
Member
Location: Chicago, Home of the 1908 World Champion Cubs
Join Date: May 1999
Local Time: 08:01 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 4,556
|
Quote:
|
Huge PDF fan now, since I discovered cutePDF, a neat little utility which converts documents from ANY source into a pdf
|
Is there a way to do the opposite -- I'd like to take the data in a PDF and convert it to an Excel spreadsheet so I can sort the records. |
|
|
|
|
09-09-2004, 09:07 AM
|
#10 of 22
|
|
Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Local Time: 09:01 PM
Local Date: 09-06-2008
Posts: 765
|
You need a full blown PDF creation program in order to be able to cut and paste text from a PDF file
|
|
|
|
|
