Sunday, August 19, 2007

Speeding up adobe reader 8

So I just went through the hassle of re-installing windows XP after a well needed upgrade. I'm still going through the process of re-installing the programs that I need to use from day to day and as the PDF file format is ubiquitous, you can't get away from using it really. I didn't bother looking for another reader other that the Adobe product, which is fine anyway, once it's loaded all those damn API's!

I've set about removing/disabling the API's I don't need to speed up the loading time. I found this page http://lifehacker.com/software/tweaks/speed-up-adobe-reader-8-263500.php which mentioned disabling the accessibility API. I moved it into a new folder and cut the loading time in half.

I moved the Annots.api which I think has something to do with stamps. Also moved the ReadOutLoud.api and MakeAccessible.api. This didn't make much of a difference to the start time but I'll keep slowly removing api's. One that did make a big difference was the PPKLite.api. This seemed to halve loading times once again. There is some loss in functionality, i.e. Adobe-Policy Server secured documents, PKI, encryption/decryption, etc. but if these features aren't of concern to you then it's no problem.

I've read other sites suggesting removing all but 3 API's but this seemed a bit extreme, I'm going to look into this further and see what else doesn't need to be there for me and I'll add to the post as I find out more. If you've got any tips, please comment.

Update (24th Aug 07) - So I've started having a problem with AdobeUpdater.exe becoming a huge CPU hog after opening reader. It's nasty, you can't even force quit the process, even on the cmdline using TASKKILL. After reading another blog, GameProducer.net, it seems to be a general problem with reader, something that I may not have broken just playing with. Anyways, I'm going to try to get to the bottom of this before I ditch reader altogether in favour of Foxit :)

Found out some more about the other api's. eBook.api is the DRM plug-in for using protected documents... trash it. DigSig.api is the digital signature plugin for signing documents but probably relies on the PPKLite api anyway and few will ever use this... trashed. DVA.api analyses documents to ensure they meet PDF specification and EScript.api allows JavaScript in PDF doc's (ECMAScript) so we'll leave these ones for now. EWH32.api allows PDF docs to be viewed within a browser, make your own choice here but I think I can do without that... trashola. HLS.api is some search highlighting thing for web searches within a web browser... bye bye. ImageViewer.api for multimedia stuff... hmmm, keep it simple adobe, it's just a reader... in the bin. IA32.api is internet access for acrobat, hopefully moving this will solve the updater issue I'm having! Multimedia.api... no prizes for guessing this one... gone! PDDom.api is more to do with accessibility... moved. Checkers.api actually seems to be important, I'll leave this for now. reflow.api adjusts content width to fit the window so I'll leave this too. SaveAsRTF.api... another no brainer, might need this functionality so I'll leave it too. Search.api is probably worth keeping also and maybe even Search5.api for now. SendMail.api lets you send the current document as an attachment through a mail client... who can't do this themselves? see ya! Spelling.api... I'm not creating documents and I've filled in all of one PDF form in my life... terminated! Updater.api has to go if the blog I mentioned earlier is anything to go by.

Anyway, I'll probably update this once more. Either the CPU hog issue is fixed and reader runs much lighter or I'm going to Foxit! hehe

2007 - Sept - 13: Update, the CPU issue with updater is still a problem, don't know what broke it but when I have more time I'll look into it. If you've seen this problem and know how to fix it, please post a comment!

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Amelia said...

I totally agree with all the above comments. You have shared a very good point about speeding up Adobe reader. Many people do complains that loading time is high but you have solved this issue. Thanks.
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