Read and print PDF documents with Adobe Reader X

One of the problems with distributing documents on the internet is ensuring they display and print properly without forcing people to install or buy other software. The PDF file format is the most commonly used solution to this problem and Reader X is the software used to open these files from the creator Adobe.

Installation is simple and will include plugins for Internet Explorer and Firefox. These are quite helpful because they let the browsers open these files within a tab rather than a separate program.

As this is a reader program it is not possible to edit PDF files, but text and images can be copied to the clipboard if the PDF file security settings allow.

Reader X introduces a Protected Mode to protect against malicious code inside PDF documents.

Although you cannot make and save changes to a PDF document it is possible to highlight sections of text and leave comments on documents. This is useful if you want to get feeback without ending up with lots of different versions. It is also possible to search the text.

The controls for moving through the document and changing the zoom level now appear at the bottom middle of the document when viewed in a web browser. They only appear when the mouse moves over them, which is good for giving as much space as possible over to reading documents but may leave you feeling a little lost if you don't know that's how it works.

More advanced features include Adobe Flash support for video and completing and sending electronic forms.