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Re: Reading pdf files

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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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Reading pdf files "k. jantzen" <kdjmailing@mailbox.org> - 2019-06-13 16:50 +0200
  Re: Reading pdf files Hans <hans.ullrich@loop.de> - 2019-06-13 17:30 +0200
    Re: Reading pdf files Joe <joe@jretrading.com> - 2019-06-13 18:20 +0200
      Re: Reading pdf files Gary Dale <gary@extremeground.com> - 2019-06-15 05:40 +0200
        Re: Reading pdf files Jonas Smedegaard <jonas@jones.dk> - 2019-06-15 09:40 +0200
          Re: Reading pdf files Michael Stone <mstone@debian.org> - 2019-06-15 14:30 +0200
          Re: Reading pdf files Gary Dale <gary@extremeground.com> - 2019-06-15 16:40 +0200
            Re: Reading pdf files Jonas Smedegaard <jonas@jones.dk> - 2019-06-15 17:00 +0200
              Re: Reading pdf files Gary Dale <gary@extremeground.com> - 2019-06-15 17:50 +0200
                Re: Reading pdf files Jonas Smedegaard <jonas@jones.dk> - 2019-06-15 18:50 +0200
                Re: Reading pdf files Gary Dale <gary@extremeground.com> - 2019-06-16 17:40 +0200
                Re: Reading pdf files Rory Campbell-Lange <rory@campbell-lange.net> - 2019-06-16 22:00 +0200
                Re: Offlist: Reading pdf files Jonas Smedegaard <dr@jones.dk> - 2019-06-16 18:40 +0200
      Re: Reading pdf files Kenneth Parker <sea7kenp@gmail.com> - 2019-06-18 16:50 +0200
    Re: Reading pdf files Sarunas Burdulis <sarunas@math.dartmouth.edu> - 2019-06-13 18:30 +0200
  Re: Reading pdf files Jonas Smedegaard <jonas@jones.dk> - 2019-06-13 18:50 +0200
    Re: Reading pdf files Cindy Sue Causey <butterflybytes@gmail.com> - 2019-06-14 15:40 +0200
      Re: Reading pdf files Jonas Smedegaard <jonas@jones.dk> - 2019-06-14 16:30 +0200
  Re: Reading pdf files Erik Christiansen <dvalin@internode.on.net> - 2019-06-14 11:00 +0200
    Re: Reading pdf files Celejar <celejar@gmail.com> - 2019-06-14 21:00 +0200
      Re: Reading pdf files Erik Christiansen <dvalin@internode.on.net> - 2019-06-15 07:40 +0200
        Re: Reading pdf files Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2019-06-15 10:00 +0200
          Re: Reading pdf files Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2019-06-15 10:10 +0200
          Re: Reading pdf files Jonas Smedegaard <jonas@jones.dk> - 2019-06-15 10:10 +0200
          Re: Reading pdf files Erik Christiansen <dvalin@internode.on.net> - 2019-06-15 10:20 +0200
          Re: Reading pdf files Rory Campbell-Lange <rory@campbell-lange.net> - 2019-06-15 18:50 +0200
          Re: Reading pdf files David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2019-06-22 04:00 +0200
            Re: Reading pdf files Celejar <celejar@gmail.com> - 2019-06-23 04:40 +0200
              Re: Reading pdf files David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2019-06-24 01:40 +0200
                Re: Reading pdf files Celejar <celejar@gmail.com> - 2019-06-24 04:40 +0200
  Re: Reading pdf files "k. jantzen" <kdjmailing@mailbox.org> - 2019-06-15 18:00 +0200
    Re: Reading pdf files <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2019-06-15 18:40 +0200
    Re: Reading pdf files Jonas Smedegaard <jonas@jones.dk> - 2019-06-15 19:00 +0200
    Re: Reading pdf files Fred <fred@blakemfg.com> - 2019-06-15 21:20 +0200
      Re: Reading pdf files Sarunas Burdulis <sarunas@math.dartmouth.edu> - 2019-06-17 15:30 +0200
        Re: Reading pdf files Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2019-06-17 18:10 +0200
      Re: Reading pdf files franiortiz hotmail <franiortiz@hotmail.com> - 2019-06-17 23:10 +0200
        Re: Reading pdf files Jonas Smedegaard <jonas@jones.dk> - 2019-06-18 09:20 +0200

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