Aug 28,2019 • Filed to: Mac Tutorials
BookReader is the e-reader for all files. It supports EPUB, MOBI, PRC, AZW, FB2, Microsoft DOC, RTF, RTFd, xHTML, Webarchive and TXT. No matter what type of ebook you have on file, you can read it on BookReader. It only supports DRM-free files, though, so make sure your digital books don't have digital rights protections before you try to use it. The ax to grind behind this post is to provide a protracted collection of best ePub reader for Windows and Mac user. Every now and then, we find many benevolent sellers giving away their eBooks for free on various platforms like Kindle or some other.
'Is there a reliable PDF reader for Mac?'
Mac users have a number of PDF reader programs to choose from, including Adobe Reader for Mac and Preview. But if you want a better PDF reading experience, you might want to use a more robust and powerful PDF program. In this article, we’ve compiled the top 12 free PDF reader for Mac tools including PDFelement Pro, which offers more features than a simple PDF reader.
Part 1: Top 12 Best PDF Reader Tools for Mac
1. PDFelement Pro - The Best Alternative PDF Reader to Adobe Acrobat for Mac
As high-quality as Adobe Reader is due to its constant updates and improvements, you can also look into alternative programs that can perform many of the same tasks. PDFelement Pro for Mac, as the best alternative PDF Reader to Adobe Acrobat for Mac, acts as both a PDF editor and reader that provides you full functions for PDF editing and a better experience reading PDF on Mac. This tool lets you add text, images, bookmarks, and more to your PDF. In addition, a user can also highlight text, underline, use strike-through features on the text and crop PDF pages on Mac. Watermarks can also be used to protect your PDF files on Mac. You can even edit and convert scanned PDF files with PDFelement Pro.
Key Features of this PDF Reader:
- Add, delete or edit text, images, graphics, links, watermarks, and more.
- Convert PDF to Word and other formats, or create PDFs from Webpages, images, and text files.
- Quickly mark up and annotate PDFs with various annotation tools.
- Combine or split PDFs, organize pages, and easily fill out PDF forms.
- Edit and convert scanned or image-based PDFs using the OCR feature.
- Easily add watermarks, passwords, and signature to PDF documents.
2. Skim - A Popular and Well-developed PDF Reader for Mac
Skim is a popular PDF Reader on Mac that is tailored towards scientific purposes, although it can also be used to view other types of documents as well. This free PDF reader software is designed to be customizable for individual use, and is handy for notes and previews. The reason why Skim is one of the most popular options is because it includes easy-to-use and visually impressive reading modes.
Key Features:
- Single swipe highlight mode for easy use
- AppleScript support
- Ability to preview internal links
3. Adobe Reader for Mac - A Widely Used Free PDF Reader
You can download Adobe Reader on Mac for free and set it as your default PDF reader. Adobe Reader for Mac is considered the industry standard. Adobe is still a very well respected product on the market, as they are constantly making improvements and upgrades to the program, but there are other options that offer many of the same features at a lower price and without without complicated licensing agreements.
Key Features:
- Fast and easy to use
- Established platform worldwide
- Considered industry standard
- Well developed and supported
4. Free PDF Reader - A Simple to Use Mac PDF Rreader
This is another very popular Free PDF Reader for Mac. It includes many excellent features, and is designed to be easy to navigate and simple to use. The software claims to have 150million users, which indicates a tried and tested package, and offers some impressive features including:
Key Features:
- Multi document viewing feature
- Rotate and Zoom facility
- Exporting and conversion capabilities
- Advanced printing options
5. Haihaisoft Reader for Mac - A Small Size Free PDF Reader for Mac
A prominent feature of Haihaisoft for Mac is its small size at only 3MB ; this compact PDF Reader for Mac takes up much less space than other programs like Adobe Reader (see below). The package covers a wide range of languages and is designed for ease of use, while it is also well supported and has been developed for use on a number of platforms. Interesting features include:
Key Features:
- Instant launch time
- No background net connection for added security
- Opens all PDF documents
- Protection with DRM-X
6. PDFSam - A New Free PDF Reader for Mac
PDFSam is a relatively new release that has been met with mixed reviews. This free PDF reader for Mac is designed for splitting and merging documents, hence why it is called 'SAM'. Some users report problems while using the application, though generally it is reported to be user-friendly and quick for the average user.
Key Features:
- Split and Merge – (SAM)
- Extract sections as separate PDFs
- Reorder pages when needed
- Compose documents by dragging and dropping
7. PDF Info - An Easy-to-use Free PDF Reader
PDF Info is specifically designed for viewing information stored in PDF documents, rather than actually creating new ones. While it is limited in its operation, it is easy to use and designed in a basic and uncluttered style.
Key Features:
- Easy to install and use
- Quick operation
- View info in PDF
- Very small download size
8. Read Right - A Flexible Free PDF Reader
Read Right is a clever product, designed to tackle the increasing numbers of smaller notebook type laptops. It’s most beneficial feature is that it automatically rotates the screen to fit – book style – on a handheld device, making it much more convenient to use.
Key Features:
- Multiple navigation options
- Zoom control for expansion
- Possible white on black text option for readers
- Returns to the same page after interruption
9. Open Office 3 - A Versatile Free PDF Reader
The latest version of this popular and very versatile Open Office PDF reader is designed for business and personal users to read PDF files on Mac. It includes an impressive new array of features that have been improved and refined. It continues to be one of the leading free PDF readers for Mac on the market.
Key Features Includes:
- Abilityt to import Microsoft Office file types
- Advanced features for note taking
- Chart creation tools
- The ability to export and share spreadsheets
10. PDF Lab - A Well-developed Free PDF Reader
Designed to facilitate the manipulation of documents, PDF Lab is a well-developed and tested platform that is popular with a variety of users. A simple and user-friendly interface lets you use this tool as a PDF viewer. It can be updated through a regular software update, although at times you may have to do manual step-by-step updates.
Key Features:
- Insert images and blank pages
- Create new PDFs
- Split documents into several different files
- Encrypt documents for security
11. Formulate Pro - A Simple Free PDF Reader
This is an easy-to-use and popular program, Formulate Pro does not have a ton of features, but it is a basic and effective tool for amending documents. This tool is not designed for creation of PDFs, but it is certainly an effective reader.
Key Features:
- Open and edit existing PDFs
- Add graphics and other images
- Write using the cursor
- Print out PDFs
12. PDFView - An Impressive Free PDF Reader
PDFView offers a range of impressive features within a compact and easy to use package. It comes highly recommended by many users, and is a great way to read PDF documents. However, one issues is that it is no longer being developed, which means it might not be the best choice for a full-time PDF reader.
Key Features:
- Has many customizable settings
- Fit document to maximum screen size
- Zoom in and out on PDFs
- More features than Preview
Part 2: Troubleshooting on Opening and Reading PDFs in macOS
Free Epub Reader Mac Os
Many people experience problems when trying to open or read PDFs on Mac. This is due to a variety of reasons, but luckily this problem is usually quite an easy one to solve in just a matter of minutes. Here are the three main reasons why you may have a problem reading a PDF on Mac, and what you can do to solve the problem.
Question 1. Your Web Browser needs Updating
Solution: This is one of the most common problemsthat can prevent you from being able to read a PDF. Not all not all browsers update automatically, and it could be that yours needs a manual update. You can usually run a regular software update, but other times you may be required to update manually through the menu. An outdated browser may be the issue, in which case you may need to update your browser to resolve the issue. You can then make annotations and markups within your document.
Question 2. Your Browser is not Compatible
Solution: This issue depends on your operating system. If you are running OS 10.5 x, as many are, you will find that the later versions of Safari, for example, are non-compatible with your operating system. This will lead to you being unable to open PDFs, as well as a number of other problems. It is recommended that users with this operating system try using Firefox instead, as that may solve the problem.
Question 3. Check the Adobe Reader Plug-in
Solution: This problem also affects many users. If you are opening your PDF with Adobe Reader, the Adobe Reader Plug-in can be problematic, especially if it is an automatic launch when you enter your browser. The trick is to delete the plug-in (just the plug in, not Adobe Reader itself). Try using Adobe Reader as a stand-alone program rather than having it run within your browser, and the problem should be solved. You can also re-install the plug-in if necessary.
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Well I’ve written and ranted before about free epub readers for Mac OS X. There are few such apps and those that are available seem to me to be limited as ebook readers. While I’d love to repeat and expound on my complaints, right now, I’d like to present you with a small list of epub readers I’ve found for Mac OS X.
Those looking for an epub reader for Mac OS X might want to try one of the free apps mentioned below.
Read more after the jump.
I’ve written about installing Stanza and Calibre and couldn’t help but complain about what I see as their limitations as readers. Now I’d simply like to list down some of their basic features. And I’m also writing for the first time about an app from Adobe. This list are in my opinion the top three epub readers for Mac OS X. There are other good ebook readers, but I have included in this only those that are free and those that support epub files.
Here are the top three free that you might want to check out
Epub Reader For Mac
- Stanza Desktop
- Stanza Desktop allows for customization and can read books in various formats.
- It can be installed on PPC or intel Macs running OS X 10.4.8 or later.
The problem is that is is no longer in development and it appears it is no longer available for download online.Downloading is working perfectly again.
- Calibre
- Calibre reads epubs and other file types and touts its ability to convert files from one format to another. It can also be used as a library manager, similar to iBooks library for iOS. The Calibre user interface looks dated and rather un-Mac-like, though.
- The latest version runs on Intel Macs running OS X 10.5.2 or later. An older version for PPC Macs on OS X 10.4 and later is also available.
- Download Calibre for Intel Macs, OS X 10.5.2 or later.
- Donwload Calibre for PPC Macs, OS X 10.4 or later.
- Installation instructions for Calibre.
- Adobe Digital Editions
- Adobe Digital Editions boasts that it is designed specifically to be a fast and free ebook reader. It reads PDFs and epubs, and XHTML books and has “borrowing” suport. Like Calibre, Adobe Digital Editions has a “bookshelf” where you can see the digital books in your library collection. The bookshelf is a little is better looking than Calibre’s and so is the user interface. Actually It looks a little like the Kindle app for Mac OS X. It can read even DRM-protected books and is recommended by some book publishers.
- Adobe Digital Editions can be installed on PPC G4 and PPC G5 Mac running OS X 10.4 and 10.5 and Intel Macs running OS X 10.4.1, 10.5, and 10.6. I’ve been able to install it successfully on Mac OS X 10.7.2.
- Go to Adobe Digital Editions download page.
The Kindle app for Mac OS X is a better looking reader in my opinion. Unfortunately, the Kindle app is for reading books bought from the Amazon digital book store. It cannot read epubs.
So what are my recommendation? Reading on Stanza Desktop, in my opinion, is the closest thing to reading epubs on iOS. Unfortunately it is no longer available. So at this point, it’s a choice between Adobe Digital Editions and Calibre for now. The good news is that both are compatible with PPC and Intel Macs on OS X Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Lion.
Adobe Digital Editions is prettier. To its credit, the app is also smaller: Adobe Digital Editions only takes up 19.1 MB of disk space compared to Calibre’s 218.1 MB. So points for Adobe here.
On the PPC, Calibre is a bit of a memory hog and it tends to freeze once in a while. On Intel Sandy Bridge, performance is pretty much equal. Overall, I’d recommend Adobe Digital Editions for reading epubs. It’s still not as elegant an ebook reader as its iOS counterparts, but it’s the best of the free apps I’ve found.
Screenshot: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on Adobe Digital Editions
Do you use or like any of the ebook readers mentioned in the article? Do you know of other free epub readers for Mac OS X?
Are there paid apps that you use to read epubs?I would love to hear from people who have bought and used paid ebook readers for Mac OS X.