Nitro PDF Software has released version 1.4 of their PDF Reader, a small but worthwhile update that contains a number of useful time-saving features. Top of the list is the new intelligent hyperlink recognition, a simple but welcome addition that should help you to bypass a common PDF annoyance.
You've seen it many times: your PDF document includes a URL, but it's in plain text, and therefore clicking it has precisely no effect at all, which is irritating. Nitro PDF Reader actually scans the document ahead of time and converts plain text web addresses into active links, though, so there's no need to manually open a browser window and paste the address -- you can simply click the URL to open a site, as the author intended.
If you ever have to close a PDF file before you've finished reading it, then there's more good news: Nitro PDF Reader 1.4 should remember and restore your last page, along with the page view and zoom settings, when you next reopen the file. Or, at least, that's the theory. In practice we found this didn't work when the program was installed, as the feature was turned off by default. Fortunately it can easily be enabled from PDF Reader's settings (File > Preferences > Interface, check "Restore last view settings when reopening documents").
Elsewhere there are a range of tweaks to existing features, which generally makes the program more intuitive and easier to use. So, for instance, the Ctrl+A keypress now selects the entire document, which we'd expect, rather than just the current page (which we really wouldn't). You can now toggle full screen view by pressing F11, just as in Firefox and Internet Explorer. And the Output Pane is hidden unless it has something to display, helping to deliver a cleaner, simpler interface.
These are only small incremental changes, then, but in combination they all help make Nitro PDF Reader 1.4 an even more usable alternative to Adobe Reader. The program remains free of charge, and it's available now.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
