OSX speed tip: open PDF’s with Preview
Acrobat used to be slim and fast, but ever since Acrobat 6 it’s been a sluggish tank of an application. When I need to just read a PDF, as I do at least a dozen times a day for contracts, proposals and print proofs, I don’t want to wait for Acrobat to load everything including the kitchen sink. PDF’s are essential to my work, as they are for every designer, but so is my time and system resources. When I want to read a PDF, I want to view the document right now.
Instead of waiting for Acrobat to fully load, open your PDF’s with Preview instead. They’ll open up in a couple of seconds instead of a minute or more. To do this by default, option-click any PDF and go to Get Info. Under Open With: choose Preview and click the Change Al button. Now all of your PDF’s will open swiftly in Preview, no more waiting.
When you need to actually edit a PDF with Acrobat, option-click on the file and select Open With Acrobat or drag the PDF to the Acrobat icon in your dock.
Leopard’s new Quick Look feature may totally fix this issue (drop me a comment if you can confirm this), but there are still many of us using Tiger and older versions of OSX where Preview still comes in handy.
