Picking out the perfect PDF reader can be strangely difficult. I mean, PDFs have been around for donkey's years now, and there are plenty of PDF readers out there to pick from. However, you'll usually find that one app does X better, while another does Y, and while a third app does do X and Y, it's really slow to boot and a pain to use.
Fortunately, if you're on the hunt for a PDF reader that's both open-source and great for studying, then I have the ideal app for you. It's called Okular, and I believe it ticks a lot of boxes for students and professionals alike.
Okular comes with some nice annotation and bookmarking features
Finding your notes is easy peasy
First up, let's check out why I recommend Okular for reading papers and textbooks. My favorite part of this app is its wide selection of annotation tools. You have your basics here, such as highlighting texts and adding notes to the side of the panel. However, on the side of Okular is a sidebar that lets you navigate the PDF more easily. The Annotations tab on Okular lets you jump to every highlight and note you've made, and Bookmarks lets you save specific spots for later.
Not only that, but you can also add notes to the highlights, too. So, if you want to remember to use a specific quote or statistic, but you want to tell your future self why you want to use them, you can either click on some empty space in the highlighted text or select it via the Annotations tab to add a note to it. You can then open and close the note as needed.
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Okular is lightweight and quick to boot
No eating hardware here
I don't know about you, but one of my major pain points for a PDF reader is its performance. I don't care if a reader comes with every feature under the sun; if it takes an age to boot up (or worse, to load each page), then it's really going to end up testing my patience.
Fortunately, Okular is kept nice and lightweight on the hardware. It's nice and quick to boot up, and loads pages without issue. Just what I need when I have to find something specific and want to spend more time searching than waiting for my document to load.
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Okular has a strong open-source base
And we love open source here
Alright, so that's why I think Okular works on the features front. Now, let's take a peek at the open source side of Okular. After all, not all open-source projects are equal, so we should take some time to look behind the curtain and see who's running the show here.
Fortunately for us, the minds behind Okular are well-known among the open-source community. If you're a Linux user, there's a big chance you've heard of KDE before. If you're not, KDE is best known for creating the Plasma desktop environment, one of the best systems for Linux, and my personal favorite.
KDE does more than just Plasma, though. It also made the Dolphin file manager, the Krita painting app, and Okular, the PDF viewer. In fact, if you're reading this on a device with KDE Plasma installed, there's a good chance you already have Okular installed.
This is partly why I recommend Okular over other open-source options. KDE keeps its apps well-maintained and of high quality, so I have no qualms about giving its programs some love.
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Okular works on Windows, Mac, and Linux
Bring your fave OS
The final reason I believe Okular is best for students and professionals is that it runs on any operating system. People usually have their OS of choice to get work done in, and suggesting an app that doesn't work with one of them is bound to let some people down.
The good news is that Okular does work with Windows, Mac, and Linux. The bad news is that the Mac version is experimental, so you may have issues using it. Regardless, it is there, so you can at least give it a spin, regardless of what OS you like.
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Okular hits every note just right
If you're on the hunt for a lightweight, open-source PDF app with a strong developer backing and perfect for navigating textbooks, Okular has your back. If you end up giving it a try, be sure to mess around with the annotation and note-taking features to see how you can put it to its best use.