Smallpdf

Smallpdf aims to streamline numerous PDF-related operations, from simply reading their contents to converting the files or merging them. It is a simple, lightweight and convenient PDF reader, with a good amount of built-in tools. The best part is that all these tools are easy to find and using them won't be a challenge, not even for novice users. You can look over documents in a comfortable manner and perform various operations at a moment's notice.

You can find the software in free and paid versions, for Windows and Mac OS X. It has a small setup package and it can be installed in just a few seconds, without making any kind of settings. The hardware requirements are modest and you don't have to install any prerequisite tools.

Smallpdf comes with a clean and simple user interface, on which you can load PDF files instantly, either through a browsing option or by dragging and dropping them. Though you can't have multiple files loaded on separate tabs, it is possible to have multiple Smallpdf windows with different documents.

When it comes to reading documents, Smallpdf can't get any simpler. Besides scrolling up and down through a document's pages, you can also zoom in and out, jump to a specific page or bring up a list of pages on the left side of the interface, which makes navigation easier.

Editing options can be brought up on the right side of the interface. You can find options for compressing the currently loaded document, as well as a series of conversion options, for turning the document into an MS Word file, an Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation or into a JPEG image file. Additionally, the software lets you split or merge documents, rotate their pages, sign them or protect them. However, these features are marked as "Coming soon" at the time of writing.

The best part about the available features is that they don't require any kind of initial settings. All you have to do is select one of the options and specify where you want to save the edited document. At this point, the software will process and save the file right away, without asking for any further input.

As far as PDF readers go, Smallpdf is clearly a good choice, due to how quickly and easily you can perform various operations, while reading a document.