Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

RichS

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 3, 2011
5
0
Hi everyone,

Finding the right annotation/reader app is important to me since I, as thousands of others in academics, spend much of my time reading PDF format journal articles and books.

Specific goals of this thread:
(1) Get app suggestions from you along with feature explanations
(2) Maintain an updated list of apps with continuous vertical scrolling
(3) Maintain a list of suggestions for the developers of specific apps

Also, feel free to discuss why app developers ignore repeated requests to include simple features. For example, why won't PDF Expert or Goodreader include vertical scrolling and why doesn't iAnnotate offer fullscreen viewing or better/consistent scroll lock.

Apps with vertical scrolling:
1. iAnnotate
+Cloud services syncing
+Continuous Vertical Scrolling
- No zoom while locked (ala good reader)
- Zoom/orientation messes up when you rotate device
- annoying tabs on sides of page
- Date and Time show

2. Safari

3. Adobe Reader
-no Dropbox
-no scroll lock

4. PDFMate

5. Foxit PDF reader

6. Bookend (although I could not open any pdf in this program)
 
Last edited:

jojoba

macrumors 68000
Dec 9, 2011
1,584
21
I mostly use iAnnotate, but Bookend's iPad version also has continuous scrolling. Annotation features are very poor, though, but if you're just reading it works well.
 

RichS

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 3, 2011
5
0
Anyone have contact info for any of these app developers? PM me. Maybe someone can offer an explanation for why such essential features are missing from every piece of PDF viewings software.

Dropbox
Intelligent horizontal scroll lock w zoom
Continuous vertical scrolling

It seems easy.
 

charliegriffin

macrumors newbie
Jun 9, 2013
2
0
PDF reader with scrolling

Hi everyone

I am also searching for a PDF Reader with more sophisticated scrolling.

I am a singer/solo performer with guitar. I want all my repertoire to be stored on my iPad and readable during performance while I am playing, i.e. hands-free.

Songs with backing tracks are no problem as I have found a plug-in to iTunes that allows me to turn my MP3 backings into karaoke files, with chord symbols inserted into the text.

BUT my big problem is those with no backtrack. I want to display my vocal lead sheets as PDF's and since some of them are 2 or more pages, I need to PDF to scroll. Continuous scrolling would of course be nice, but the bottom line is the scroll SPEED. I need to (1) be able to have a speed control for the scrolling, and (2) I need to be able to save a different speed setting for each file, as every song has a its' own tempo.

Now there's a challenge! Does anyone know of a reader that can do this, or can a software designer improve their product to include these features? I have no doubt it is possible.

There IS a PDF reader by Kdan Mobile Sofware that scrolls and has a speed control. However it is not continuous, and it's "one speed fits all", which is no use to me.

I obviously also need to be able to read in full screen mode.

Here's hoping…

Charlie
 

tiriya

macrumors newbie
Feb 22, 2011
26
0
Autoscroll/ Scroll gestures

@charliegriffin: you may want to try Perform (free)/ Perform Pro --along with other sheet music readers: they are not listed as pdf editing app's.
Perform has continuous/ auto scrolling and one can adjust scrolling speed.

--No other pdf reader to my knowledge has this function. (I haven't tried other music readers)


My question: [after a short "review" of some pdf apps with vertical scrolling for those interested in using autoscroll/ scroller gestures in Cydia with them]

I am using a jailbroken Ipad with autoscroll and superscroller installed. In iannotate --the pdf reader with vertical scrolling I used at the time -- they were working fine, until a year so ago. After the recent updates, autoscroll/ scroll gestures apply only to thumbnail images -- that is the case for notability as well. Nothing happens in Foxit Reader.

Bookends accepts superscroller and autoscroll too. (not both at the same time: i.e. when you autoscroll, you cannot scroll down with superscroller. This may be due to an ios7 incompatibility though: safari is unable to do both either). Autoscroll stops the moment you touch the screen. (easily initiated again with an activator gesture)

I tried Pdfmate just today: It is similar to Bookends. Accepts superscroller and autoscroll gestures but not both at the same time. The difference is that once you autoscroll, it persists in scrolling even after the screen is touched --one can scroll up/down the usual way to reread a section missed, after that autoscroll will keep going down. And, autoscroll will be "paused" as long as the screen is being touched. (to stop it, one needs to go to bookmarks at the top for instance and select there a bookmark or tap on the empty box).

I have not tried Pdfreader pro with autoscroll and am wondering about what it would do. Anyone with a JB ipad and pdfreader pro could help maybe?

I would also appreciate any suggestions for other app's to try that "combination."
 
Last edited:

charliegriffin

macrumors newbie
Jun 9, 2013
2
0
iPad PDF scrolling

Hi Tiriya

Thanks I will investigate.

Bottom line is I need to save a different scroll speed for every song. I have TEXTPlayer which has autoscroll and you can adjust the speed, but it's "one speed fits all". Not good. I need to minimise physical interaction with my iPad to the absolute minimum, because my hands are busy playing guitar.

Charlie

@charliegriffin: you may want to try Perform (free)/ Perform Pro --along with other sheet music readers: they are not listed as pdf editing app's.
Perform has continuous/ auto scrolling and one can adjust scrolling speed.

--No other pdf reader to my knowledge has this function. (I haven't tried other music readers)


My question: [after a short "review" of some pdf apps with vertical scrolling for those interested in using autoscroll/ scroller gestures in Cydia with them]

I am using a jailbroken Ipad with autoscroll and superscroller installed. In iannotate --the pdf reader with vertical scrolling I used at the time -- they were working fine, until a year so ago. After the recent updates, autoscroll/ scroll gestures apply only to thumbnail images -- that is the case for notability as well. Nothing happens in Foxit Reader.

Bookends accepts superscroller and autoscroll too. (not both at the same time: i.e. when you autoscroll, you cannot scroll down with superscroller. This may be due to an ios7 incompatibility though: safari is unable to do both either). Autoscroll stops the moment you touch the screen. (easily initiated again with an activator gesture)

I tried Pdfmate just today: It is similar to Bookends. Accepts superscroller and autoscroll gestures but not both at the same time. The difference is that once you autoscroll, it persists in scrolling even after the screen is touched --one can scroll up/down the usual way to reread a section missed, after that autoscroll will keep going down. And, autoscroll will be "paused" as long as the screen is being touched. (to stop it, one needs to go to bookmarks at the top for instance and select there a bookmark or tap on the empty box).

I have not tried Pdfreader pro with autoscroll and am wondering about what it would do. Anyone with a JB ipad and pdfreader pro could help maybe?

I would also appreciate any suggestions for other app's to try that "combination."
 

tiriya

macrumors newbie
Feb 22, 2011
26
0
Ah, ok; sorry, Perform Pro also sets one scrolling speed for all files. Your need makes complete sense; there has to be a music reader that can do that...
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.