Javelin PDF Reader vs Komodo PDF

Javelin PDF Reader is a free app for viewing standard PDFs and files secured with Drumlin DRM. Readers are available for Windows 8/10/11, macOS 10.13 or later, Android 7 or later, and iOS or iPadOS 9 or later. Reading tools include hyperlinks, navigation trees, different page layouts, text search, annotation, and markup; offline reading also supports zoom and Read-Aloud text-to-speech. DRM-protected files can prevent copying and onward distribution, and publishers can set hard expiry dates or expiry periods that begin at first viewing. Printing is limited to desktop and laptop devices and depends on publisher permission, with controls for copies and page counts. Dynamic watermarks can show device or user details, a filename, authorization code, and date and time. Screen-capture protection varies by platform: it is optional on Windows and macOS, always set on Android, and offers a subset of facilities on iOS. Authorization records may include device details and IP address and are retained for three years. Corporate networks may require proxy configuration or web authorization.

Komodo PDF is a free, GPLv3 open-source PDF reader for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its local-first reader supports continuous scrolling, zoom, fit-width and fit-page views, document outlines, and text selection. An AI panel answers questions using passages indexed in a local vector store. Clicking a citation takes you to the cited passage and highlights it, while a per-page badge marks pages without a text layer, such as scanned images. If the document cannot answer, the assistant can use general knowledge and indicate that fallback. Chat works with OpenAI-compatible providers using your own API key and with local chat endpoints. The maker says Komodo has no backend, sends no telemetry, and does not upload documents to Komodo; remote chat sends retrieved passages to the configured provider. With local ONNX embeddings and a local chat endpoint, documents are said to remain on the laptop. API keys use the operating-system keyring with an encrypted disk fallback. Windows downloads include EXE, MSI, and portable ZIP files, with published SHA-256 checksums. Version 0.1.1 is displayed.