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Old 07-02-2016, 07:24 PM   #1
MarjaE
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OS X reading tools?

Hi,

I am looking for a good alternative to Preview for pdfs. Preview often corrupts my pdfs, making the text unsearchable, or making the file size far larger.

I currently use Djvu Reader FS for djvus. I try to get files as djvu instead of pdf because it will usually be smaller, and it won't be vulnerable to Preview's mangling.

I currently use Scarlett for epubs, and Calibre to convert drm-free azws to epubs.

I have tried some other software, e.g, Clearview, but haven't found any adequate solution for pdfs. I would prefer something that worked with many formats. Due to sensory issues, I need to avoid animation, such as page flip animation. oDue to coordination issues, I need to be able to use the Page Up and Page Down buttons on my mouse.

Any suggestions? Thanks.
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Old 07-02-2016, 10:44 PM   #2
democrite
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There's Skim, quite popular among academics:

http://skim-app.sourceforge.net/

I've been using it for years and it's my preferred app, though it stores annotations in it's own way rather than to the PDF. They might be doing that since using OS X's built-in methods to edit a PDF might not have been reliable over the years and still might not be. I've tried most PDF apps, and for reading have stuck with Skim. There are others plus editors though I can't remember them at the moment. Another recent entry, commercial, decent and has tabs, though since it is fairly new, it isn't as rich as I'd like, is Readdle PDF Expert.

https://pdfexpert.com/

Last edited by democrite; 07-02-2016 at 10:47 PM.
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Old 07-03-2016, 11:08 AM   #3
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Have you tried Adobe Digital Editions? It does PDF and epub/epub3. I dont know if it can see otehr formats or if you can use your keyboard to navigate, but its probably worth a download and a trial. Its free.

http://www.adobe.com/solutions/ebook...-editions.html
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Old 07-03-2016, 01:27 PM   #4
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I just installed Skim. I take it the note/bookmark handling runs the risk of losing the connection with the books, but doesn't corrupt the books?

I have Adobe Digital Editions. I can't use Adobe's help site though. I have a nasty strobe sensitivity, got hit with rapid flashing reloads last time, and don't want to risk a seizure.
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Old 07-03-2016, 06:32 PM   #5
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It should be fine. Unless you export, Skim doesn't save annotations to the PDF but to a different part of the file as OS X metadata, and optionally to an external .Skim file. if you copy the file to a non-OS X (or iOS I believe) system and then back, you'll likely lose the annotations but the .Skim file should help with that.
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Old 07-04-2016, 04:10 AM   #6
johnnyb
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This is an issue that's been keeping me busy for years. I absolutely cannot understand why Apple wouldn't fix the issues mentioned. I get that they use their PDF engine for a lot of stuff and it is really great to have as a printing option etc. but it does indeed mess with Adobe Clearscan OCR and other types of files that need a lot of recalculation to fit into Apple's PDF specifications (which then ruins OCR that does not fit and blows up file sizes)...

There's been mention of Skim here which is a great app unless you want to use it in conjunction with a tablet or other reading app (e.g. on Windows). The only option to get files out of it again complete with annotations is via ... the OSX PDF export which will then ruin OCR and possibly increase file size for those PDFs that it couldn't handle before you started using Skim. This is true of most of the PDF readers on the app store as well including the otherwise fantastic “Highlights” app (the creators know of the issue but chose to treat it like Apple does )
Then there's of course Adobe reader which isn't too bad (non destructive, honors encoding) but clunky in the annotations department. There's also a Foxit Reader for OSX which is a bit zippier and feels more lightweight, has tabs and context-menu annotation but no annotations overview.
And, this has also been mentioned already, there's PDF Expert, which is the app I have been using ever since it came out. It's fast, has tabs, good annotation features, gets regular updates, has annotations overview and a great thumbnail view for easy navigation. It has a steep price which I think is worth it (and it is on sale from time to same) and has a demo that gives you full functionality for 7 days...
(I also have 1 spare promo code still somewhere and would share it with you, gives you a 66% discount; and for the record I am in no way affiliated with Readdle, I just regularly pestering their support with inquiries and suggestions and they have been sending little thank yous from time to time)
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