Apple Silicon M1/M2 processor support

With Foxit PDF Editor or Reader Version 12.0, Mac users can choose to run PDF Editor/Reader natively on Apple M1 processors for better performance or use Rosetta emulation mode to support certain features (OCR Tools and RMS Tools) that are not available in native mode.

Since Foxit PDF Editor Version12.1, Mac users can use OCR tools in Apple Silicon native mode, but we don't offer a preference option for Foxit PDF Editor Version 12.1 to switch to rosetta mode when in Apple M1/M2 device. In Foxit PDF Reader version 12.1, Mac users still can choose to run natively or use Rosetta emulation mode for M1/M2 devices.

Does Foxit PDF Editor/Reader natively support Apple Silicon devices?

Foxit PDF Editor and Foxit PDF Reader support Apple devices with Apple Silicon M1/M2 processors.

• Foxit PDF Editor/Reader Version 12.1 and later versions

  • Foxit PDF Editor Version 12.1 can run natively in Apple M1/M2 device. There is no preference option for Foxit PDF Editor for Mac v12.1 to switch to rosetta mode when in Apple M1 device.
  • Foxit PDF Reader Version 12.1 can also run natively in Apple M1/M2 device. Users could still choose to run in either native Apple Silicon mode (the default) or Rosetta emulation mode.

• Foxit PDF Editor/Reader Version 12.0.x

You can now choose to run Foxit PDF Editor and Foxit PDF Reader in either (the default) native Apple Silicon mode or Rosetta emulation mode.

What is native mode on macOS?

Foxit PDF Editor and Foxit PDF Reader can now run directly on the new ARM architecture of Apple Silicon computers without any intermediary translations. This state of the application is referred to as the native mode. This mode allows better performance on these processors.

Known limitations

Foxit PDF Editor/Reader Version 12.1 and later versions

• In Foxit PDF Editor Version 12.1, RMS Tools are not available when in Apple M1/M2 device. There is no preference option for Foxit PDF Editor for Mac Version 12.1 to switch to rosetta mode when in Apple M1/M2 device. 
• In Foxit PDF Reader Version 12.1, RMS Tools are still available when in Apple M1/M2 device. Users could still choose to run Foxit PDF Reader Version 12.1 in rosetta mode from Preferences in order to use RMS Tools.

Issues

• RMS tools are incompatible with the Apple Silicon native mode. When Mac users try to open a RMS protected PDF with Foxit PDF Editor, an error message will appear. Mac users could use Foxit PDF Reader Version 12.1 in rosetta mode to open RMS protected PDF documents instead.

Foxit PDF Editor/Reader Version 12.0.x

Some features are not available in native Apple Silicon mode. These features can only be used in the Rosetta emulation mode. If you use either of these features, you should leave PDF Editor/Reader in emulation mode.

Issues

• OCR tools in Foxit PDF Editor are incompatible with the Apple Silicon native mode. All OCR functionality in the Ribbon and Preferences will be disabled.
• RMS tools are incompatible with the Apple Silicon native mode. When Mac users try to open a RMS protected PDF with Foxit PDF Editor or Foxit PDF Reader in native mode, an error message will appear.

How can I set Foxit PDF Editor or Foxit PDF Reader to run in native mode?

Foxit PDF Editor/Reader Version 12.1 and later versions

Foxit PDF Editor/Reader can run natively in Apple M1/M2 device by default. 

Foxit PDF Editor/Reader Version 12.0.x

Foxit PDF Editor/Reader Version 12.0.x run natively in Apple M1/M2 device by default. To disable native mode and change to Rosetta emulation mode, please do the following:

1. Go to File > Preferences.
2. In the Preferences window, choose General, and then uncheck Enable native OS mode for optimal performance in the Application Startup section.
3. Click OK. Quit Foxit PDF Editor or Foxit PDF Reader, and then relaunch the app.