To create an alias (also known as a shortcut) on your desktop. Hold both the Command (Apple Key) and the option (Alt key) together. Click and drag the icon that you want to create an alias of to the location (I.E your desktop) (also at this point you will notice that the pointer icon changes to a curved arrow signifying that you have done this correctly).

A PDF reader is any software that will open a PDF file, probably the most recognizable document format in the world. Your downloadable bank statements, the newsletters from school — they're probably all in PDF format.

More and more operating systems, smartphones, and other devices contain built-in abilities to show PDF files. Even so, a dedicated PDF reader often has a number of advantages over the built-in PDF reader you may already have, like viewing options, better search, and a lot more.

Need to edit or change a PDF file, and not just open it for reading? An easy way to do that is to convert it to Word format. If you want to make PDFs use a PDF creation app.

SumatraPDF

What We Like

• Open source and lightweight.

• Available in 69 languages.

What We Don't Like

• No ability to edit or annotate PDFs.

• No anti-aliasing, so some fonts look wonky.

SumatraPDF is an easy to use free PDF reader for Windows. While it is easy and simple to work with, it's also open for heavy customization if you so choose.

Different types of viewing modes are available, like Single Page, Facing, Book View, and Presentation. The latter view is great for distraction-free reading.

There are tons of keyboard shortcuts you can use that make it easier to move around a PDF file, which you can refer to in the SumatraPDF Manual.

You can download SumatraPDF in portable form (uses only 6 MB) or install it like a regular program.

PDFlite is another free PDF reader that's based on SumatraPDF. It looks extremely similar and works the same.

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

What We Like

• Handy drag-and-drop feature makes it easy to combine PDFs.

• Excellent integration with the Adobe Cloud system.

What We Don't Like

• Accessibility checker identifies problems, but it doesn't tell you how to fix them.

• The free version is very limited in its features.

Adobe Systems, the creator of the PDF file format, has a free PDF reader called Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.

Tons of feature are included in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. You can take snapshots of text and images, view a PDF in Read Mode for a more concise reading pane, and have Adobe Acrobat Reader DC read text out loud.

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC works with Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. The Adobe Acrobat Reader mobile app is also available for Android, Windows Phone, and iOS.

A download manager is used download Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. So while the download manager is really small in size, the actual download for the PDF reader is much larger (possibly around 50 MB).

On the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC download page, you may be asked to install McAfee Security Scan Plus and/or another program alongside Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. You must manually deselect the offer if you don't want it installed as well.

MuPDF

What We Like

• Supports XPS and CBZ files as well.

• Easy to use.

What We Don't Like

• Interface is a little too bare bones.

• Zoom feature is less than perfect.

MuPDF is a super-lightweight free PDF reader for Windows and Android.

When you launch MuPDF, you are immediately prompted to choose a PDF file before you even see the program interface. Once you have, there are literally no options to be seen but instead the full program window is dedicated to showing the PDF.

Click the top left program icon on MuPDF's title window, then select About MuPDF to see all the supported shortcut keys you can use to flip through pages, zoom in, and search for text.

When you extract the files from the download, open 'mupdf.exe' to run the program.

Expert PDF Reader

What We Like

• Faster than other free options.

• Intuitive interface.

What We Don't Like

• Editing features are rather limited.

• Tries to install other software during set up.

Expert PDF Reader is another free PDF reader for Windows.

You can view bookmarks and a list of pages found in the PDF in an easy to read index on the side of the viewing area.

There are also advanced options like signing and adding text to a PDF.

Visit CNET.com if the official download links aren't working for you.

Nuance PDF Reader

What We Like

• Adding videos and images to documents is a breeze.

• Dictation features makes this app ideal for the visually impaired.

What We Don't Like

• No mobile version.

• You can only open one PDF at a time.

Another free PDF reader for Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP is Nuance PDF Reader.

A really valuable search function is included in Nuance PDF Reader. The words you search for show up with a bit of context for easier understanding as to where the search terms are at in the text.

You can also highlight text in Nuance PDF Reader, which is great if you're using a PDF for study notes or a reference document.

PDF-XChange Editor

What We Like

• Premium version is reasonably priced for what you get.

• Adding and placing text is exceptionally easy.

What We Don't Like

• PDFs created with the free version often include a big ugly watermark.

• Doesn't automatically detect fields when creating forms.

PDF-XChange Editor is another completely free PDF reader for Windows XP and newer.

The program interface can be a bit nauseating to look at because there are buttons, toolbars, and side panels all over the place. You can easily disable most of these, though, for a much cleaner viewing experience.

In addition to opening a PDF from your own local computer, you can also enter a URL of a PDF file for PDF-XChange Editor to open (the PDF will still be downloaded, but the program does it for you).

PDF-XChange Editor also lets you add notes, record and attach audio, highlight text, attach files, and add a strikethrough to words.

Lots of features are only available in the professional version of PDF-XChange Editor, but they're clearly marked as such and aren't difficult to spot.

Evince

What We Like

• Also ideal for reading comic books and power point presentations.

• Excellent integration with the GNOME desktop environment.

What We Don't Like

• Scrolling isn't always smooth.

• The window size cannot be adjusted, and there is no full screen mode.

Evince is another free PDF reader for Windows and Linux operating systems.

The interface isn't cluttered and you can customize the toolbar with any of the included tools, like a search function and different view modes.

Evince also supports auto scroll. This is an awesome feature that lets you adjust your mouse position on the screen so as to scroll through a PDF automatically. You can fine-tune the speed for different reading paces.

Sorax Reader

What We Like

• Fast and lightweight.

• Doesn't even require installation.

What We Don't Like

• Limited zooming options.

• Doesn't come with help files.

Sorax is available for Windows as a free PDF reader.

You'll find all the basic features of a PDF reader, like the ability to search through text, copy text out of a PDF, zoom, and change the viewing mode.

Sorax also allows you to send the currently opened PDF to someone over email with the Email toolbar button.

Alias Files On A Mac

A portable version of Sorax is available from the download page that's just around 8 MB and is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows.

Javelin PDF Reader

What We Like

• Mobile version lets you access and manage metadata.

• Advanced encryption options.

What We Don't Like

• Occasional clunky performance.

• The installation process is unnecessarily complicated.

Javelin PDF Reader is just that: a free PDF reader. No extra features like editing or converting litters the program interface.

Everything is super clean and easy to read and understand. The search feature isn't the best to be had, but it works well as is.

Javelin PDF Reader can launch a PDF in full screen to make reading easier, and you can just click the screen to move down the PDF pages.

The download size of Javelin PDF Reader is only 2 MB for Windows. It can also be downloaded for Macs and mobile devices like Androids and iPads.

Cool PDF Reader

What We Like

• You can use it to convert PDFs to other formats including TXT, JPG, GIF, and PNG.

• Command icons tell you what they do when the mouse hovers over them.

What We Don't Like

• Very limited features compared to the alternatives.

• The help file isn't very helpful.

At under 4 MB for the portable version, Cool PDF Reader is a free PDF reader for Windows that's light on system resources.

While Cool PDF Reader may not require much disk space, it's not the best PDF reader available. There isn't a search function and scrolling isn't the smoothest.

However, it still works as a free PDF reader if you don't like the others on this list.

You can install Cool PDF Reader to your computer or use the Standalone Package to use it without installing anything.

Adobe Reader For Windows 10

Need to read Mac drives in Windows?

Unfortunately, it’s not a straightforward process; you can’t just connect the Mac drive and expect it to work. Here’s everything you need to know to get it working.

Why Can’t Windows Read Mac Drives?

Windows and macOS use different file systems. Windows uses the NTFS file system for its internal drives, whereas Apple replaced HFS+ with its successor—Apple File System (APFS)—in early 2017. Today, APFS is used on Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Apple TVs.

External hard disks and USB drives are generally formatted with the Windows FAT32 file system for maximum compatibility. Most devices, including Macs, can read and write from FAT32 devices. There’s even a way to make a Mac read an NTFS driveWrite To Your NTFS Drives Again in OS X El Capitan (For Free)Write To Your NTFS Drives Again in OS X El Capitan (For Free)Some of the most common methods of adding NTFS support broke with the recent release of El Capitan, but you can still write to your Windows drives with a bit of tinkering.Read More.

All new Macs will be formatted with APFS. Older Mac drives may still be formatted with the HFS+ file system. Windows can’t read either file system by default.

We’ll show you how to access your Mac-formatted APFS or HFS+ drive on Windows.

How to Read APFS on Windows

Firstly, let’s look at how to read the newer Apple File System format on Windows. All these apps will allow you to read drives from any updated Apple device, not just Macs.

1. MacDrive

MacDrive has been one of the go-to apps for a long time. The first version was released way back in 1996. If you’re prepared to spend some money, you don’t need to look elsewhere.

The app works with APFS drives and HFS+ drives.

Unlike some of the options we’ll discuss later, MacDrive lets you read and write data to your Mac-formatted drive directly from Windows.

The app is focused around the freshly redesigned Disk Management Window. It acts as a hub for all the Mac drives connected to Windows.

You will also be able to see your APFS or HFS+ drive directly within File Explorer, allowing easy integration with the rest of the Windows operating system.

Other useful features include the ability to create and partition Mac disks direct from your PC, a powerful disk repair feature, and robust security tools.

The standard version costs $49.99. There’s also a Pro version. It adds several extra features, including automatic file defragmentation, support for RAID setups, and a way to create Mac ISO files.

A five-day free trial is available.

Download:MacDrive ($49.99)

2. Paragon APFS for Windows

Paragon APFS for Windows is another paid app. It is the main competitor of MacDrive.

The app provides read and write access to APFS-formatted partitions, read and write access to compressed and cloned files, and read-only support for encrypted volumes.

It supports disk auto-mounting at start-up, but doesn’t have MacDrive’s partition tools.

MacDrive has one big advantage over Paragon’s app: HFS+ support. Paragon APFS for Windows only supports APFS-formatted drives. If you have some older Mac drives lying around that are still running HFS+, you would need to separately purchase Paragon HFS+ for Windows. MacDrive, therefore, is a more economical option.

One license—which costs $49.95—works on three Windows PCs.

Download:Paragon APFS for Windows ($49.95)

3. UFS Explorer Standard Access

Our third and final recommendation for reading APFS drives on Windows is UFS Explorer Standard Recovery. Once again, it’s a paid option. The app will cost you €21.95.

UFS Explorer Standard Recovery is the most versatile app on this list. It can read the two formats we care about—APFS and HFS+—as well as NTFS, FAT, FAT32, exFAT, SGI XFS, Linux JFS, Unix/BSD, UFS/UFS2, and VMware VMFS.

As such, this is the app you should choose if you find yourself hopping between lots of different operating systems during your day.

UFS Explorer Standard Recovery also comes with RAID support as standard. The app has a built-in RAID builder, so you can customize it for your array.

There is a free version of the app with no time limits, but it will only let you copy files smaller than 256KB in size.

Download: UFS Explorer Standard Access (€21.95)

How to Read HFS+ on Windows

If your Mac-formatted drive is still running HFS+, use one of these three methods instead.

1. Install Apple HFS+ Drivers

If you only need read access, you can install the Apple HFS+ drivers for Windows. Be sure to remove Paragon or MacDrive before proceeding.

Download the correct Windows driver package, then follow these steps:

1. Copy the ApplsHFS.sys and AppleMNT.sys files to C:WindowsSystem32drivers
2. Merge the Add_AppleHFS.reg file with your Windows registry.
3. Restart your system.

The video above also demonstrates the process.

After restarting, your Mac-formatted drive should show up under This PC. This method only gives you read access to the drive. If you would like to edit or delete files, try one of the alternative methods below.

2. HFSExplorer

HFSExplorer is completely free. You can use it to access Mac file systems from Windows without paying a dime. The developer hasn’t updated it since October 2015 due to the arrival of APFS, but it still works on older systems.

HFSExplorer requires Java. We generally recommend against having Java installed, but it’s necessary here unless you want to spend money. You also need to run the app as an Admin.

This tool is simple to use. Connect your Mac-formatted drive to your Windows system, open HFSExplorer, and click File > Load File System From Device. HFSExplorer can automatically locate any connected devices with HFS+ file systems and open them. You can then extract files from the HFSExplorer window to your Windows drive.

Note that HFSExplorer is read-only, so you can’t modify or delete files on your Mac drive. It also doesn’t integrate with Windows File Explorer—files are available in the HFSExplorer application and you must copy them elsewhere.

Download: HFSExplorer (Free)

3. Paragon HFS+ for Windows

Paragon HFS+ for Windows is a paid application, but it distinguishes itself with additional features.

Unlike HFSExplorer, Paragon HFS+ for Windows provides full read/write access to Mac drives and promises high performance. It even integrates HFS+ file systems with Windows Explorer or File Explorer on Windows. Any Windows program can read from or write to the Mac drive.

The app costs $19.95, but it also offers a 10-day free trial. If you just need to recover files from a drive, 10 days is plenty of time to install this file system driver, copy your files over, and uninstall it.

Paragon HFS+ doesn’t need Java to work.

Download: Paragon HFS+ for Windows ($19.95)

Or Format the Mac Drive for Windows

If you have a Mac drive lying around and you no longer have a Mac, you’re not stuck with the Mac file system forever. After recovering the files from your drive with one of the tools above, you can then format the drive and convert it to a standard FAT32 partition that will work with most devices.

Formatting will erase all the files on your drive, so make sure you have backed up your files. To format the drive, just use the dialog that appears when you connect the drive to your computer.

Check out our guide to learn more about using FAT32How to Format a Large Hard Drive With FAT or FAT32How to Format a Large Hard Drive With FAT or FAT32The FAT and FAT32 formats support up to 16TB. Yet Windows sets a 32GB limit for formatting with FAT or FAT32. We'll show you how to format larger drives.Read More.

Explore more about: File System, Hard Drive, Mac Tips, USB Drive, Windows Tips.

1. Apple data is so special that you have to buy some 'app' to access them from Windows.
   Send them to dev/null

2. android mobile can also read the files using OTG micro usb port :)

3. Thank you so much for this. Just what I need.

   Sometime back, my Mac has been acting up, to the point where I can't use it anymore. I'm thinking of reformatting it or re-installing Mac OS X.

   On the other hand, my 1TB external hard drive was initially formatted to be read and written with Mac only. Now, I have a Win PC but no access to the files there. I will surely try this out.

   Again, thank you very much. Cheers!

4. The Java application worked fine for me. Lucky I had the VM installed...

5. I bought today a WD my passport 25E3 from Curry Pc world. I was talking with the guy about Windows and an upgrade to my HP with another HP. For some reason ha gave me an external drive for MAC! I didn't notice until it was too late like why the hell my laptop can't see the hard and no drivers found for it. I literally black out when I saw it. No exchange or ref for opened boxes. But God I found you! and after bashing my head a few time, as I m not an expert I have managed to format my hard and now I can seeee it! Thank you sooo much!

6. This didn't work. Gave me the blue screen of death. Not worth it.

7. Thanks soo much!

8. Very helpful!

9. Another free way to do it - Download Ubuntu Linux, burn to a DVD (or put on a flash memory), boot from that - you can run Ubuntu without installing it. Ubuntu will see the Mac device as well as your Windows devices, and you can easily copy files from one to the other.

   This method doesn't many ANY changes to your Windows software.
   --Gary

   • Thanks Gary. These are the answers I've been looking for a long time. And it's free. Bill

10. Some of these programs cant access files if they are in 'core storage'. If your Mac is running OSX Lion or something newer this may be the case.

11. Tip: You must run HFS Explorer as Administrator on Windows in order for it to function properly.

    • thanks mate this Works. coz im using a hackintosh Laptop :)

12. I cannot get HFS Explorer to find my HFS+ formatted drive - containing a Time Machine backup of my MAC - when i plug the external hard drive into my USB port on my HP laptop running Windows 10. In fact the laptop doesn't even see the drive at all when I plug it in.

    What could the problem be?

13. Can a 'seagate for mac' slim drive be formatted NTFS (not fat 32) and used with windows 10 for external backup drive? Thanks.

14. Don't install Paragon HFS+!!! This program is not working and you can't remove it from your computer!

    • I've distrusted Paragon's filesystem code for years. About a decade ago I bought their Windows driver for reading EXT3 (Linux) filesystems. It seemed to work OK for about a month, but then suddenly after writing a file under Windows, the entire EXT3 filesystem became unreadable! Creating robust filesystem drivers is hard. A bug that only occurs on one write in a billion but that clobbers some critical element in some data structure the filesystem depends on can end up with you LOSING ALL THE FILES in the filesystem! Given the high risk of data loss, extensive testing is necessary before a filesystem driver can be deemed trustworthy, and it doesn't look like Paragon's testing is up to the task.

15. Be very cautious installing Paragon HFS+ on Windows 10. I used it on 8 with no issues, but twice I have tried to install it on Win 10, and both times it's bricked my computer with an INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE error...

    I found out you have to go into your BIOS and set your SATA mode to IDE, then boot into Windows Safe Mode, do a System Restore, back into the BIOS and set SATA mode back to AHCI, then you can boot normally.

    I didn't want to spring for MacDrive, but at least it works.

    • This exact thing happened to me as well. I am in the process of reinstalling 100s of GBs of programs right now.

16. Same issue reported by Terry, Paragon HFS+ trial is useless and doesn't do anything. The help is an equally useless small bit of text.

    Transmac won't let you read/write but it works okay. I find I have to close / open the program once in a while to continue working with a drive.

    MacDrive despite costing the most was the one that worked. I recommend this.

17. I needed to open some to open a DMG of an entire Apple DVD - no thanks to the waste of time MacDrive 'trial'.

    All I had to do was Extract the DMG using 7-zip. Done.

    To examine and edit Apple .pkgs or .mpkgs, I needed Transmac.
    Note that it will BURN a DMG to disc, but just the uncompressed version (now an ISO) since its a PC.

18. For step 4, formatting the drive to ExFat would be better than FAT32. FAT32 has a size limit of around 4GB, so you can't put any files over that on there. ExFat has unlimited size limits and can read/write from a Mac and PC.

    • But ExFat is legally-encumbered so that anyone who tries to write a Linux driver for it is subject to a nasty lawsuit from Microsoft. FAT32 is the only filesystem I know of that can be both read and written under all three major operating systems (Windows, OS-X, and Linux) as well as by various special purpose devices like digital cameras. It's unfortunate that FAT32 is an archaic design and has some serious limitations, but if your files are smaller than 4 GB and the partition containing your filesystem is under 2 TB, FAT32 provides portability between OS's that no other filesystem can.

19. For the record, The Paragon app won't let you run the free trial any more. I downloaded the app TWICE, restarted the computer both times, and nada...zero...zilch...bupkis...no funtioning app. What gives?? All I can access is the help menu, which ain't helpful at all! And like Pablo said earlier, Why offer a 'trial' version, if you won't let us TRY it?!?! Dumb!

20. MacDrive no longer allows access to Mac drives during the evaluation period... How we are supposed to evaluate it without actually evaluating it is beyond my little brain.

21. Is MacDrive the only option that allows formatting disks in HFS+ format (and is that identical to or is MacDrive able to format and partition Macintosh Journaled volumes?) ?

    My wife's iMac HD died, I replaced it with a Crucial M550 1TB SSD and now it's telling me the disk is bad. All I have to check to see if the drive is actually bad is a Windows 7 x64 machine as her Air sure won't help. After two supposed hard drive failures in 3 months I'm a bit suspicious of the SATA controller or cabling. The Crucial SSD firmware update LINUX disc that boots a Mac or PC to update firmware failed repeatedly on the Mac with an error 13, which according to Crucial is common and issued an RMA. After I pulled the drive, I decided to plug into my test PC and the firmware updated fine and the disk management utility sees 3 healthy partitions, but I can't read them without one of the products mentioned in this thread. It sounds like MacDrive is the one I need, but seek confirmation as I do intend to purchase the product that best suits.

22. Paragon did everything i needed it to do, read, edit and save , job done!

    With the trial version, happy to buy after trial experience.

23. Hmmm, HFS+ for Windows. After trialling the free version and finding it appeared to do what I wanted it to do and did it reasonably well and simply, I thought I'd do the right thing purchased a license.
    But the purchased licence won't load while the trial version is installed & I can't uninstall the trial version despite being the administrator and disabling the User Account Control. So far, after 2 weeks, I'm still waiting for a response to my request for help from Paragon and it seems I could be waiting a while.
    Apparently, irrespective of the fact I have purchased a license, because I didn't also purchase a 'support package' I've gone on a 'no guarantee' waiting list while those who purchased a support package get preferential treatment. (WTF! Doesn't Paragon understand any person who goes to the effort of purchasing a license expects sufficient technical support to at least get what was purchased working. But apparently not. Further it seems some customers are more important that others).
    So, my strong recommendation is, 'think 2 or 3 times about when you want the application to work before you purchase. If you don't need it for several weeks, then go ahead but if you want it to work now, or if you expect support for your purchased license, FORGET IT!!!

24. The problem with Microsoft proprietary disk formats like NTFS or EXFAT is that there are no repair tools for other platforms which can reliably detect & fix errors on the volume if it becomes corrupted. So if you dont want to buy a Windows machine just to maintain your portable drives, dont use Microsoft formats.

25. I am a Mac user, video editor. The Fat32 limit of 4 GB makes it unsuable for my needs.

    I once had to prepare files for a non-profit client using windows XP. I instructed them to use the update for ExFat and prepared an ExFat drive to mail them original high quality HD video files on. It all went well until I realized some characters are illegal in ExFat and that made for a lot of initial problems. Once I removed any character like: !@#$%^&*() all was well.

    Somebody should mention that when talking about ExFat. Does anyone have a good link to reference?

    Thanks

26. Always format hard disk as EXFAT in mac. Read/Write both in Mac and Windows :)

    • 'Always format hard disk as EXFAT in mac. Read/Write both in Mac and Windows :)'

      Always and never are too terms not often used in IT. There are several situations where a Mac drive should be formatted in HFS+, but if you don't that then there's no point in explaining it to you. You can look it up if you care.

    • Typos, sorry.

      Always and never are two terms not often used in IT. There are several situations where a Mac drive should be formatted in HFS+, but if you don't know that then there's no point in explaining it to you. You can look it up if you care to.

    • 4GB filesize limitation.

      Have not had success with HFS+. It randomly stops working, and I have to reinstall. Going to try MacDrive.

      • Wiz,

        Exfat does NOT have any limitation in file size.

        Fat 32 DOES have 4GB limitation.

        You are getting the two confused.

27. i had a mac but reverted to windows after my board died installed a software not quite sure i think it was paragon hfs works fine i didnt need to format i still use the drive in mac format

28. Palu, installing the filesystem drivers that come with bootcamp on a non Apple computer is possible, I did it a few months ago to get files off an old hard drive.

    It was read only, but that was good enough for what I wanted to do.

29. I have a imac with bootcamp, so my win partition reads mac drives correctly

    This article comes in handy, if i ever need to go back to a windows machine full time.

    Always had the idea you could install the bootcamp drivers on a non-apple branded pc, but doesnt look like its a possibility. Shake, would have been perfect :)