Soda 3D PDF Reader 2012 v1.0.145

Soda 3D PDF Reader is yet another tool designed to help you view PDF files. But if you've already tried more than enough of these, keep reading - this one has a couple of twists which means it stands out from the competition.

The "3D" in the name refers to a neat visual effect when you're reading, for instance: the file can be accessed in a dual-page view, like a book, and as you drag with the mouse (or tap the keyboard) so a realistic animated page turning effect sees you move through the document (see the screen grab for a mid-turn example). It's only eye-candy, but is still very nicely done.

And if you're willing to register the program by passing the developers your name and email address, then they'll send you an "unlock" code which also allows you to create PDF files of your own. Office addins enable you to build PDFs directly from Word, Excel or PowerPoint, and a "Create PDF" option from within the viewer also means you can convert Office documents, images, text and ComicBook files (CBR, CBZ) to a PDF equivalent.

As PDF creation tools go, this is extremely basic: you can't password-protect your files, configure any security settings, or tweak them in any way. You also don't get any PDF editing or annotation options - these are reserved for the commercial Soda PDF Professional. Still, if reading is enough then Soda PDF does a visually appealing job, and it does make creating PDFs particularly easy.

A good basic PDF reader with an attractive animated page-turning effect, and easy PDF file creation. It's otherwise a little short on functionality, though, and there are much more powerful freeware PDF tools around.