Quoting Cindy Sue Causey (2019-06-14 15:32:20) > On 6/13/19, Jonas Smedegaard <jonas@jones.dk> wrote: > > Quoting k. jantzen (2019-06-13 16:29:27) > >> in general I do not have a problem reading a pdf file with either xpdf > >> or documentviewer. > >> > >> But once in a while I get a pdf file that they cannot read and then I > >> have to go to Windows to open it. > >> > >> What is so spectacular about these files that they cannot be read by > >> the above mentioned programs? > > > > PDF is a big complex data format, and several things could have gone > > wrong, including the file being broken (but in a way that some > > commercial viewers handle more graceful than what you tried on Linux) > > and the files using features from newer revisions of PDF than is > > implemented in those Linux viewers. > > > >> Is there another program that would read such a file? > > > > There are many PDF viewers in Debian. Probably best way to sift through > > them is to install the package apt-xapian-index and run these: > > > > axi-cache search pdf viewer > > axi-cache more > > > > > > When your interest is in what PDF files the applications can render, > > then you need not try them all but can check which underlying PDF > > rendering library they use which are far more limited. > > > > Evince (a.k.a. "documentviewer"), Xpdf, Okular, Atril, Qpdfview and > > others use Poppler: > > > I started using Atril in last couple years after seeing it mentioned > over on Debian-Accessibility. I haven't used anything else since. I > haven't had any problems reading PDF files, but that just that means > that maybe I haven't encountered any files written in a less than > optimal way.. > > Wandering off now wondering.... didn't or doesn't one of the viewers > let us do some editing in addition to "just" being a viewer? I'm not > finding it via a couple fairly non-invasive "apt-cache search" > attempts via "main" repositories only. I'm sure I'm not imagining it. > Seems like I remember either mentioning that feature over at > Accessibility or at least thinking about mentioning having encountered > it ages ago. :) PDF "editing" can mean several things: * PDF files containing XFA forms that a viewer offers to fill out * Adding bookmarks * Adding annotations * Re-rendering (essentially creating a new PDF inspired by the old) Okular was the first to support XFA. Nowadays Evince should do too, and possible simpler derivatives too like Atril. A common problem is font sizes handled wrongly - sometimes solved by installing fonts (e.g. Microsoft-ish ones). Inkscape and Scribus can (crudely) re-render PDFs (as can many scripting tools albeit not interactively). - Jonas -- * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt * Tlf.: +45 40843136 Website: http://dr.jones.dk/ [x] quote me freely [ ] ask before reusing [ ] keep private
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