Why do PDF files cause computers to screw up so much?

I’ve noticed, not only on my computer at home but on work computers, opening a PDF file can be the kiss of death. It often causes the PC to bog down or crash altogether. Why does this happen?

I work with some very large PDFs (some are over 1G) all the time, and have never had this problem. Do you have enough memory?

Without actually seeing the source code, it’s tough to determine the exact cause, but I’m pretty sure it’s memory or timing related (it seems to happen to most people on very large PDFs). A simple cure that works for most instances is to download the PDF, then open it locally.

Also, Acrobat can have an annoying habit of popping up its “Check for Updates” dialog box in the background, which seems to have some modality related issues.

I have never used a computer that didn’t have PDFs freeze up all the the time. It never fails, if when I am opening a PDF from the web I click on anything with the mouse, BAM! The whole browser has to be ctrl+alt+del and stopped and restarted. This includes what I consider to be pretty good computers with 3+ gigahertz processors and 1 to 2 gigabytes of RAM.

I open PDF’s from the web all the time at work and at home and I don’t recall ever having a problem. Although I only have the reader.

At work I’m on XP and IE, home is XP and Firefox. Both places have older version of Acrobat reader.

Maybe those with problems have some combination of versions of OS, browser and Acrobat that is causing the problem.

I’ve never had a computer crash with a .pdf but I have found thethings to be extremely irritating for their slowness (ie. on some machines, get up and get a coffee).

I recognise that this format has its useful place in that it can do things that HTML can’t, but I think it’s really rude when there is no “warning - PDF file” next to the link. Most people on messageboards are pretty good with providing warnings, but increasingly govt-type websites are not. I don’t mind if it’s something I need to see, but if I’m just idly surfing, knowing whether it’s a .pdf or not might be the difference between clicking and not clicking.

Based on my experience, DMC has it. Acrobat always searches for updates, and sometimes it gets pushed into the background, and loses “focus.” The update screen gets covered by the pdf or other programs, yet it still causes problems. It works best if you always update, or run Acrobat prior to opening a pdf.

You could always hover over a link with your mouse, and it’ll show you what kind of file you’re linking to in the browser status bar below. Whether it’s .html, .jpg, or .pdf, it should display it (unless the file you’re getting linked to is through javascript, then it might be a surprise).

I have the same problem with .pdf files. Especially if there is no compelling reason for the document to be .pdf. I update it, I try older versions, it always causes a problem.

I linked to a legislative document yesterday regarding changes to my field of employment, it was all gobbledy gook. Are they really so concerned that their websites will be hacked?

I love photoshop, but would love to live in an acrobat free world.

What do you mean by ‘linked to through javascript’? There are very simple javascript routines to replace the link URL description with something else. The javascript has nothing to do with the link, just the mouseover.

Of course, in the absense of those tricks, your point is a good one. :slight_smile:

Instead of text with a <A href> and a URL around it, clicking on the link triggers javascript that causes the browser to load a new, different page.

Instead of:
<a href=“myurl.html”>the link</a>

the code looks like
<a href=“javascript:someJavascriptFunction();”>the link</a>.

The javascript function will have code to redirect the browser. When you roll over the link you’ll see the javascript call, not the URL you’ll be going to (unless it’s part of the javascript call).

It may be helpful to locate a PDF reader other than Acrobat Reader. I always found Reader to be slow, ponderous hog. I have no trouble at all opening and reading PDFs under Mac OS X, using the Preview program that is installed with the OS. PDF is an open format these days, so finding a free 3rd-party reader shouldn’t be difficult.

I agree 100%, which is why I use Foxit Reader. It’s free, small, fast-loading, and renders PDFs much more quickly than Adobe (this is particularly noticeable when scrolling around high-density documents such as maps).

I have PDFs crash a lot when I view them within the browser, so I find it best just to save them to the desktop and view them through the normal reader.

Close all unused browser windows and see if that will help. pdf files tend to be larger than most.
They need a lot of room quickly available when downloading.