# Why is Acrobat Reader X so incredibly slow?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-acrobat-reader-x-so-incredibly-slow/628547>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 17, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-acrobat-reader-x-so-incredibly-slow/628547 "2012-07-17T18:20:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-acrobat-reader-x-so-incredibly-slow/628547/21 "2012-07-19T01:47:15Z")

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I really don’t use PDF readers very much but when I do I prefer Foxit. My main objection to Adobe Reader is that it requires a reboot when installing updates (something few other _ **utilities** _ do, and that Microsoft itself seldom does anymore). Requiring reboots is something that should be reserved for drivers, etc.

Bob

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-acrobat-reader-x-so-incredibly-slow/628547/22 "2012-07-19T02:38:43Z")

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> [@The\_Niply\_Elder](#):
>
> The reason that Adobe Reader X is so slow is that the pdf format has been expanding beyond the traditional page format. It is now possible to create and load pdfs of 3D cad data, as a sort of neutral file format, ala JT Open. All those extra libraries required to load the 3D cad data undoubtedly have a significant overhead.
> 
> In fact theres some interesting looking 3d pdfs available for download of things like a turbofan engine, motorcycle, etc. from Adobe’s website. I dont know why adobe is going this way, but there you go.
> 
> And oh yeah, never turn off updates, ever.

If you design your application well, you don’t need any overhead for pieces of the program that are not in use. You should only be loading the most common components.

Though the real problem, I suspect, is Adobe’s sandboxing the hell out of their applications. There’s a lot of overhead in seamless sandboxing, and Adobe’s never been one on optimizing their code. You have three different processes talking with each other in order to display a single document–all of which making sure there is no problematic code. Of course it’s going to be slower.

Still, it’s not something you’ll have to put up with much longer: Windows 8 has its own built-in PDF reader, finally bringing Microsoft up to par with Apple and Linux. Of course, it’s a Metro app, so whether you’ll like it depends on whether you like that app paradigm.

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