PDF Expert recently released a Mac version (Readdle's PDF Expert for iOS has been around for some time). The pase years I have been using Preview, but PDF Expert is now my goto PDF reader with tabs and annotation. PDF Studio Viewer, Qoppa’s friendly and reliable PDF reader / annotator / form filler, is now available on the Mac App store, and it is free to download! If you are a mac user unable to markup or review a PDF document or fill your tax forms reliably using Preview, make sure to try Qoppa’s Free PDF Reader.

Apple has always packed a lot of decent software into OS X, but long time users may remember when the built-in options sucked so bad you had to install basic alternatives, like a PDF reader or image viewer, just to get something that worked well. Times have changed, and if you haven’t looked lately, it’s time to try a few of those built-in productivity tools again.

Apple’s not always known for its successes in its stock apps. Calendar is pretty subpar. iTunes is a joke. Photos is a disaster. Maps is about as useful as getting hit with a stick in the face. The fact is, some of the stock apps aren’t great. Some of them are. And many, like the ones below, used to be pretty bland, but have seen some big improvements over the years.

Advertisement

Apple Notes Is a Goldilocks Notes App Between Evernote and Plain Text

Advertisement

We all poked a little fun at the time Apple spent talking up the new Notes app in El Capitan, but the truth is, Notes is pretty powerful now. It’s not quite in Evernote territory when it comes to customization, but as MacSparky pointed out last year, the Rich Text revamp of Notes makes it much more useable. You can add in images to notes, format text, create bulleted lists, add in web page previews, and tons more that you weren’t able to do before.

Notes now falls between the two big types of note taking apps: “everything buckets” like Evernote, and the minimalist simplicity of plain text. It sits in a kind of Goldilocks zone that will likely work well for most people who don’t want the hassle of getting their arms around something big like Evernote, and need more than a simple plain text list. Even better, one of the big problems with early versions of Apple Notes, syncing glitches with iCloud, are gone now.

Advertisement

Of course, Apple Notes isn’t perfect. it lacks a tagging system, so organization can be tough. Search, while robust for a notes app, doesn’t allow you to restrict searches to a single folder, which becomes problematic the more notes you keep in it. As always, Apple Notes also only makes sense if you’re fully invested in the Apple ecosystem. It syncs with iCloud, and is only available on the iPhone and the Mac. Still, if you are in Apple’s garden and you haven’t checked out Notes in a while, it’s well worth another look.

Avoid 'Everything Buckets,' aka Why I Can't Get into Apps Like Evernote

When I first started using Evernote two years ago, I was really excited about the universal capture …

Advertisement

Spotlight Is the Only App Launcher You’ll Ever Need Now

Advertisement

Apple revamped Spotlight (tap Command+Space to pull it up) back in Yosemite with a ton of new features that make it as much an application launcher as it is a file search tool. For most people, this new feature-set can replace third-party launchers like Alfred or Launchbar, both of which we still love, but are feature dense compared to what many of you probably use them for.

Beyond just launching apps, there are a ton of additional search parameters you can use in Spotlight. You can do basic math calculations, define words, get the current weather (and the forecast), see what movies are playing nearby, search for nearby businesses or restaurants, grab a phone number from a contact, use natural language to search the web or your computer, pull up YouTube videos, and tons more. Seriously, if you’ve been using a third-party app launcher and haven’t tried Spotlight in a while, try it now. It’s probably faster and more flexible than you remember, and it won’t eat memory running in the background since it’s bundled with OS X.

Advertisement

Of course, Alfred and Launchbar still have tons of features that make them appealing. They’re customizable, you can usually launch specific scripts to trigger a series of automation actions, and the general search is often a bit better than Spotlight. But most of us don’t need all that, and if you do, you probably know it already.

All of OS X El Capitan's New Features in Two Minutes

OS X El Capitan is here, and while you’re waiting for that download to complete, you might as well…

Advertisement

Preview Makes Third-Party PDF Readers (and Some Office Apps) Useless

Advertisement

Acrobat Reader Mac

Preview has long been one of my favorite apps on the Mac. For the general public, it makes bloated, obnoxious apps like Adobe Reader completely unnecessary. It’s also one of those surprising apps that Apple continues to add new features to.

At its core, Preview’s an app that can open a variety of image formats and PDF documents. With it, you can do some basic image and text editing, crop or resize photos, and make minor adjustments to color levels, brightness and contrast, and more. It can even open Microsoft Office documents, although you obviously can’t edit those.

Advertisement

More recently, Apple’s added in the ability to sign PDF files, annotate PDFs, and add annotations to images. If you haven’t used Preview in a while, it can do just about everything most of us need it to. Basically, unless you’re keen on making PDFs or images, Preview is the only app you need to deal with them. Even then, if you are fond of MS Paint style visuals, Preview can handle that as well.

Access Your Mac's Hidden Paint Program In Preview

Preview is awesome for a number of reasons, and writer Dave Winer points out that it also makes a…

Advertisement

QuickTime Makes Quick Screen Recording and Editing a Snap

Advertisement

On the surface, QuickTime is a simple, passable video player that still struggles with several common video types. Under that rough, just-install-VLC exterior though are its built-in screen recording ability and its simple editing options.

The best part of using QuickTime for screen recording is that you don’t need another heavy, often expensive app just to make a screencast. With QuickTime, you can even create a screen recording of your iPhone’s screen if it’s connected to your computer. Open Quicktime and click File > New Movie Recording and select the camera and microphone you want to use. If you just need to make a quick screen recording for someone—let’s say you want to show someone how to do something, or you need to report a problem to tech support-this is a simplest way to do it.

Advertisement

Once you’re done with that recording, QuickTime also packs in some simple editing options to trim, split, cut/copy/paste, or flip/rotate the video. It’s obviously no competition for specialized apps that cost hundreds and pack in way more features, but most of us don’t need those.

Reminders Is Blissfully Simple, and To-Do Syncing and Deep Integration Set it Apart

Advertisement

When Reminders first launched, it was a pretty bare-bones little to-do list that’s only real appeal was its deep integration with OS X and iOS. The best feature of Reminders is its support for location-based reminders, but over the years, this simple little to-do app has come along way. Syncing across devices works well now, the simplistic folder structure for to-dos makes it easy to navigate, and its sharing features make it easy to create lists with multiple people (as long as they’re in Apple’s ecosystem, of course.)

But my personal favorite use for Reminders actually comes from third-party integration in another app: my calendar. A number of calendar apps, including Fantastical and Calendars 5, integrate Reminders into your calendar. For me, this is where I want them. I can see my schedule for the day alongside my to-dos. It makes sense. Heck, it’s even how it works with Google Calendar with their reminders software.

Advertisement

Regardless of whether you actually use the calendar integration feature, Reminders is still a pretty robust little app. If you haven’t touched it since the initial, lackluster launch in OS X Mountain Lion, it’s worth another look.

Advertisement

Contact the author at thorin@lifehacker.com.

Adobe Reader For Mac

Advertisement

Sep 03,2019 • Filed to: Choose Right Mac Software • Proven solutions

Mac users can now easily view PDF files and documents using various software programs available online. Users can benefit in numerous ways from these programs, as they not only allow users to view PDFs, but also manipulate PDF documents and fill simple forms. In this article, we'll list the top 7 PDF readers for Mac and outline their various features.

Top 7 PDF Readers for Mac

1. PDFelement

PDFelement is an excellent PDF reader for Mac users. It provides various modes to view PDF documents, and many other options to adjust view and zoom settings. When reviewing a PDF, you can use sticky notes, text boxes, highlight tools, links, drawing and many other annotation tools to edit your PDF.

Besides viewing and annotating PDF documents, you can convert, edit, create, OCR and use many other features that are integrated within the software. You'll have an excellent editing experience. You can use this program to edit text, images and manage pages in your PDF document. Signing documents is an easy task as well. PDFelement not only provides the option to add a customized signature image, but also provides the ability to add digital signatures to encrypt your PDF document. Your PDF files can also be converted into various other format files like Excel, Word, PPT, TXT, or EPUB etc. The following features are included in this great PDF reader for Mac:

• Enables users to underline, highlight, or strikethrough text;
• Allows users to view PDF files with different display mode;
• Enables you to edit PDF text while maintaining the original layout;
• Allows you to add shapes to PDF files;
• Supports cropping, rotating, and replacing of images, merging and splitting PDF files, and adding and deleting watermarks;
• It is compatible with macOS10.12, 10.13 and 10.14 Mojave.

2. Adobe^® Reader for Mac

Adobe^® Reader for Mac provides a host of affordable features for viewing and editing PDF documents. PDF documents can be created from a variety of sources and edited according to user requirements. Its key features are:

• Ability to create PDF documents from a variety of sources
• Allows editing, sharing, adding comments and different views of PDF files
• Supports scanning through OCR

Adobe^® Acrobat^® XI and Adobe^® Reader XI have ended support and updates as of 2017. This means you will no longer receive security updates, product updates, or customer support. In order to avoid your file and data being insecure due to lack of protection, you should check here to find out the best alternatives to Adobe^® Acrobat^®.

3. Skim for Mac

Pdf Reader For Macbook Pro

Skim is a powerful PDF reader for Mac which allows the users to view PDF documents and edit them in a user-friendly manner. The application can also be customized according to users’ requirements. Main features of this PDF reader for Mac are:

Apple Pdf Reader For Mac

• Enables editing, viewing and highlighting of PDF text;
• Allows snapshots of documents for previews;
• Allows password saving in Keychain;
• Enables full screen preview;

4. Preview

Preview is an extremely user-friendly PDF reader for Mac which has a ton of options for viewing and editing PDF documents. This PDF reader for Mac has the following key features:

Pdf Reader For Apple Macbook

• Makes viewing and working with PDF applications easy;
• Enables digital signatures, bookmarks, and adding comments to PDF files;
• Allows customization of preview toolbar;

5. Chrome

Google Chrome comes with a built-in PDF reader for Mac which enables users to view PDF web documents within their browser. It allows readers to control various functions of their PDF document with easy to use functions. The main features of this best PDF reader for Mac are:

• Includes the option to save PDF documents from within the browser;
• Enables printing a PDF document from within the browser;
• The PDF viewer can be enabled and disabled manually;

6. Soda PDF

Soda PDF is a Free PDF converter and reader available for Mac OS. You can read any PDF document and browse through catalogues, magazines, eBooks, and any other reading materials in amazing 3D with its top-notch technology. Using Soda PDF, you are also able to review your documents using notes and markup text tools, fill and save forms, copy and search text, and more.

• Open, read, and print PDF files
• Read any PDF file in 3D without converting the file
• Read digital comic book files
• Create PDFs

7. Haihaisoft Reader for Mac

Haihaisoft PDF Reader lets you read PDF files effortlessly. You are able to open a document using your browser, as the 'drag and drop' feature isn't available. It also allows you to rotate pages, view in full screen mode, make a presentation, skip to the first, last, next, or previous page, use the search function, zoom in and out, or create a favorites list.

• Print and Read PDF documents
• It takes up less space than Adobe Reader
• Haihaisoft PDF Reader can be launched instantly
• High privacy and security settings
• DRM-X platform protected PDF documents are supported

Free DownloadFree Download or Buy PDFelementBuy PDFelement right now!