Foxit PDF printer gone after Foxit Reader upgrade

[cherry]

banawalt

Thanks for your update. I've escalated your comments to Feedback ID#PHANTOM-14556 for our Product team's processing reference.

Regarding the removal of PDF creation related features, you may refer to the version history page here:
https://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf-re...on-history.php

[Rocco FerroTiC]

I do not know which "Excel warrior" in commercial department had an idea to remove a PDF Printer from Foxit Reader, but I do believe he should be fired immediately.
I would understand the repositioning of advanced PDF features - creation, editing, compositing, etc., into other suites, but PDF Printer was such a basic and handy feature, one of THE reasons to use Foxit Reader in the first place.

I used to love Foxit Reader and was huge supporter for years, but lately I am having a hard time finding definite advantages to recommend an installation. From my perspective, Foxit PDF Reader still doesn't support 3D PDFs (PRC, not U3D format), PDF Forms (FDF) are hit-or-miss, and with the removal of PDF Printer - it became just another PDF Reader.

[Blodwyn]

I am a corporate customer. We deploy Foxit Reader to all of our users and have a number of other users with Foxit Phantom. This setup worked absolutely fine until this change, and I was very pleased with all of my users being able to do their job using related software suites.

I am amazed that what I would consider a core function of the software has been ripped out. Please for the love of God re-enable the print to PDF function, because if it isn't I will be looking at other options going forward.

Best

Stephen M.

[Lisa_lee]

Rocco FerroTiC Thanks for your post.I have also submitted your comments to to our product team's reference (Report ID#PHANTOM-14556).
For 3D plugin,it has remained the same as the original Beta one ,so it still doesn't support to open PRC 3D file.Now our Dev team have plan to redesign a brand-new powerful 3D plugin will be a substitute version of current one.The suggestion ID for redesign new 3D plugin is #PHANTOM-11078.
For the situation"PDF Forms (FDF) are hit-or-miss",please help to send us PDF form file samples and help to describe what the specific problem is in detail,so that we will do a closer testing on our part and further advise. If it is not convenience to upload files on forum,please help to send them to [email protected] (Attn.Lisa) and indicate this thread link when you send email to us.
Look forward to your reply.

[jennick]

We currently utilize the free version as a staple across our company deployment as well as several dozen purchased copies of Phantom throughout dozens of production processes. I view the embedded messaging method used to describe the removal of this key function extremely deceptive. It cost my team several hours of support to clean up the 10.X upgrades and back off to 9.7. We will not renew any Phantom licenses and will refactor our processes (less Foxit).

[Steven5clu884]

Yep I too was surprised when I installed Foxit on a new Windows 10 Computer and there was no Print to PDF
So I went to CutePDF Writer and after i told my supervisor for our remote clients THEY ALL PAID FOR CUTE PDF
Hope it was worth the LACK of effort

[lyndi_wu]

Steven5clu884 jennick

Sorry again for the trouble.I will submit your comments to to our product team's reference (Report ID#PHANTOM-14556).

[EricEJ]

We've been using Foxit Reader for a few years now, and we recently had the need for a full featured PDF editor for one of our administrative staff. We went with Phantom, because we were introduced to Foxit due to the basic PDF creation functionality provided by Foxit Reader. We need to get full featured software for some additional administrative staff now as well, and we will likely be switching to Adobe for that. It just changed our view of the company to remove such a useful feature in hopes to get more Phantom sales.

The basic PDF creation functionality of Foxit Reader most likely got a lot of people onto the Foxit platform, and, in our case, it led to a sale and would have led to future sales as well. Windows has a built-in PDF printer in Windows 10, so we can just use it, but unfortunately it gives us trouble in some situations. We rolled back to version 9.7 for now, and will look for a replacement moving forward.

[makstex]

Goodbye Foxit! This is the only function because of which I installed you to all my clients.

[cherry]

EricEJ and makstex


You guys' feedback has already been added to Suggestion ID#PHANTOM-14556 for further processing. Thank you in advance for your kind understanding.

[PissedOff]

THEY MISLEAD YOU TO BELIEVE THAT PRINT TO PDF IS STILL INCLUDED!!!!
Hey guys, did you notice that not only did the Foxit code monkeys remove the Print to PDF feature, THEY MISLEAD YOU TO BELIEVE THAT IT'S STILL THERE !!!!!
Do a fresh install of the latest version crap, select the custom install, and it has an option to Install as the default system printer !!!!

Here's a screenshot:


Install a non-existent feature as a default? Is this a deliberate attempt by Foxit to mislead Us, or are their code monkeys so incompetent that they overlooked something so obvious??? I vote for the former. Very unimpressed, goodbye to such Mickey Mouse software...

[richell_huang]

THEY MISLEAD YOU TO BELIEVE THAT PRINT TO PDF IS STILL INCLUDED!!!!
Hey guys, did you notice that not only did the Foxit code monkeys remove the Print to PDF feature, THEY MISLEAD YOU TO BELIEVE THAT IT'S STILL THERE !!!!!
Do a fresh install of the latest version crap, select the custom install, and it has an option to Install as the default system printer !!!!

Here's a screenshot:


Install a non-existent feature as a default? Is this a deliberate attempt by Foxit to mislead Us, or are their code monkeys so incompetent that they overlooked something so obvious??? I vote for the former. Very unimpressed, goodbye to such Mickey Mouse software...

We apologize for the trouble. Foxit Creator related options should have all been removed in installation wizard too. I will forward it to our team for further investigation.
If you want, you may stay with Foxit Reader 9.7 to use printer function.

[SiliconChip]

Since Foxit Reader PDF Printer is a component that can only be installed if the user selects it, Foxit has no rights to remove a printer from user's OS without their consent!
On top of that, asking users to downgrade their Foxir Reader version is not wise either. Shame Shame Shame....

So, for anyone looking to use Foxit Reader PDF Printer with Foxit Reader 10.x, you have an easy solution: Backup your computer printers! 😉
Here you have a step by step guide (tested with Windows 10 only):

01)  Launch Registry Editor (Start > Run > Regedit)
02)  Browse till the following location:

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\   or   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\

03)  Right click on "Foxit Software" > Export > Ensure that "Selected branch" is selected and save it as "FoxitReader 10 Registry Backup.REG"
04)  Close Registry Editor, uninstall any Foxit Reader versions installed in your computer and restart Windows.
05)  Open Registry Editor again and delete any "Foxit Reader" key folder under:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\

06)  Close Registry Editor, launch Windows Explorer and delete any "Foxit" folders in:

C:\Program Files\
C:\Program Files (x86)\
C:\ProgramData\
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\
%userprofile%\AppData\LocalLow\
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\

07)  Reinstall "Foxit Reader 9.7.2.29539" and ensure that PDF Printer option is selected.
08)  Once installed verify if "Foxit Reader PDF Printer" was added to your printers. If not, you must reinstall Foxit Reader again.
09)  Only if "Foxit Reader PDF Printer" is present, open Printer Migration wizard (Start > Run > PrintBrmUi.exe). 
NOTE: Windows 10 Home doesn't have PrintBrmUI.exe. Search google for "Printer_Migration.zip" and download the file.
 
10)  Choose Export Printer > This print server > NEXT > click browse > choose a location to export printer data and press NEXT
11)  Launch Foxit Reader and upgrade it to version 10.x or execute Foxit Reader 10.x install file
12)  Launch Registry Editor, browse till the below location, and rename "Foxit Reader 10.0" to "Foxit Reader 10.0.OLD":

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\

13)  Launch Printer Migration wizard again and this time choose Import Printer. In Import Mode, change to "Overwrite existing printers" and complete the wizard.
14)  Double click "FoxitReader 10 Registry Backup.REG" you created earlier and merge/import it to Registry.

Hope this helps most of you 😎

SiliconChip

[tasjam]

Since Foxit Reader PDF Printer is a component that can only be installed if the user selects it, Foxit has no rights to remove a printer from user's OS without their consent!
On top of that, asking users to downgrade their Foxir Reader version is not wise either. Shame Shame Shame....

So, for anyone looking to use Foxit Reader PDF Printer with Foxit Reader 10.x, you have an easy solution: Backup your computer printers! 😉
Here you have a step by step guide (tested with Windows 10 only):

01) Launch Registry Editor (Start > Run > Regedit)
02) Browse till the following location:

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\ or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\

03) Right click on "Foxit Software" > Export > Ensure that "Selected branch" is selected and save it as "FoxitReader 10 Registry Backup.REG"
04) Close Registry Editor, uninstall any Foxit Reader versions installed in your computer and restart Windows.
05) Open Registry Editor again and delete any "Foxit Reader" key folder under:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\

06) Close Registry Editor, launch Windows Explorer and delete any "Foxit" folders in:

C:\Program Files\
C:\Program Files (x86)\
C:\ProgramData\
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\
%userprofile%\AppData\LocalLow\
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\

07) Reinstall "Foxit Reader 9.7.2.29539" and ensure that PDF Printer option is selected.
08) Once installed verify if "Foxit Reader PDF Printer" was added to your printers. If not, you must reinstall Foxit Reader again.
09) Only if "Foxit Reader PDF Printer" is present, open Printer Migration wizard (Start > Run > PrintBrmUi.exe)
10) Choose Export Printer > This print server > NEXT > click browse > choose a location to export printer data and press NEXT
11) Launch Foxit Reader and upgrade it to version 10.x or execute Foxit Reader 10.x install file
12) Launch Registry Editor, browse till the below location, and rename "Foxit Reader 10.0" to "Foxit Reader 10.0.OLD":

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\

13) Launch Printer Migration wizard again and this time choose Import Printer. In Import Mode, change to "Overwrite existing printers" and complete the wizard.
14) Double click "FoxitReader 10 Registry Backup.REG" you created earlier and merge/import it to Registry.

Hope this helps most of you 😎

SiliconChip

So I upgraded, like most users here, and found that print to pdf is not there. I came here, and found that they had removed it. Really? the most useful feature of the app, and they remove it?
Anyway, I saw above, and am trying to do that. Let's see if it works. I have windows 10.
thanks

[pcguy]

@siliconchip

Thanks for the detailed explanation on how to get the PDF printer installed but I have removed FoxIT from all the computers here and in the process of doing the same on client computers I maintain. A software company who thinks their user will pay $185 CAD or $99 CAD a year to allow them to create an occasional PDF file and never have a need to edit PDFs needs to reexamine their actions. There are other PDF readers with PDF printers out there.

In general, please do not revert back to using version 9 and disable updates. PDF readers have security vulnerabilities that are patched with updates. Do not leave your computer open to this type of attack for the sake of a PDF printer. Look elsewhere for a PDF reader there are lots of them out there.