PDFs are great. Having to wait for Acrobat Reader to open is not so great. This method has been around a while, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to post it for everyone who missed it. This decreases the time it takes for Reader to open.
- Find the “plug_ins” folder and rename it “plug_ins_disabled”
- Create a new folder named “plug_ins”
- Copy the following files from “plug_ins_disabled” to “plug_ins”:EWH32.api, printme.api, and search.api
Simple as that. You could be risque and skip steps one and two and just delete all the files except the ones listed.
oh yeah… I did this a few months ago after seeing it in a comment on /. — it’s beautiful how well it works. Turning off the splash screen is a plus, too. I hate that thing.
But for printable stuff on web pages, acrobat should go away and make room for Flash Paper. Even if you never plan to use Contribute, it’s worth buying, just for the FlashPaper driver.
Actually, there’s a simpler way. Just move all the unused plug-ins into the Optional folder.
Good point.
You can manage Acrobat/Reader speed-ups (and rollbacks) through TNK-BootBlock’s Adobe Reader SpeadUp utility. It’s freeware too.
Missing link: http://www.tnk-bootblock.co.uk/prods/misc/index.php
That is schweet! I’m amazed at the difference – PDFs are at least bearable now. Thanks Paul.
I removed many more plugins that aren’t useful. Same technique, larger speed-up: http://blog.monstuff.com/archives/000084.html