xpdf(1) UNIX System V (23 May 1996) xpdf(1)
NAME
xpdf - Portable Document Format (PDF) file viewer for X
(version 0.5)
SYNOPSIS
xpdf [options] [PDF-file [page]]
DESCRIPTION
Xpdf is a viewer for Portable Document Format (PDF) files.
(These are also sometimes also called 'Acrobat' files, from
the name of Adobe's PDF software.) Xpdf runs under UNIX or
VMS and the X Window System.
To run xpdf, simply type:
xpdf file.pdf
where file.pdf is your PDF file. The file name can be
followed by a number specifying the page which should be
displayed first, e.g.:
xpdf file.pdf 18
OPTIONS
X resources are listed in square brackets with the
corresponding option.
-err Send error messages to /dev/tty instead of stderr
(useful if xpdf is started from another application,
e.g., netscape which otherwise pops up an annoying
little window for every error).
-z number
Set the initial zoom factor (-5 .. 5).
[xpdf.initialZoom]
-g geometry
Set the initial window geometry. (-geometry is
equivalent.) [xpdf.geometry]
-remote name
Start/contact xpdf remote server with specified name
(see the REMOTE SERVER MODE section below).
-raise
Raise xpdf remote server window (with -remote only).
-quit
Kill xpdf remote server (with -remote only).
-rgb number
Set the size of largest RGB cube xpdf will try to
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allocate. The default is 5 (for a 5x5x5 cube); set to
a smaller number to conserve color table entries.
-cmd Print commands as they're executed (useful for
debugging).
-h Print usage information. (-help is equivalent.)
Several other standard X options and resources will work as
expected:
-display display
[xpdf.display]
-fg color
(-foreground is equivalent.) [xpdf.foreground]
-bg color
(-background is equivalent.) [xpdf.background]
-font font
(-fn is equivalent.) [xpdf.font]
The color and font options only affect the user interface
elements, not the PDF display (the 'paper').
CONTROLS
On-screen controls, at the bottom of
left/right arrow buttons
Move to the previous/next page.
'Page' entry box
Move to a specific page number. Click in the box to
activate it, type the page number, then hit return.
magnifying glass buttons
Increase and decrease the resolution, i.e., zoom in and
zoom out.
print button
Bring up a dialog for generating a PostScript file.
The dialog has options to set the pages to be printed
and the PostScript file name.
curved arrow buttons
Rotate the page clockwise and counterclockwise. These
are intended primarily for PDF files where the rotation
isn't correctly specified in the file, but they're also
useful if your X server doesn't support font rotation.
'?' button
Bring up the 'about xpdf' window.
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'Quit' button
Quit xpdf.
Links
Clicking on a hyperlink will jump to the link's destination.
Currently, only links within PDF documents or to another PDF
file are supported. Clicking on a URL link just prints the
URL. Clicking on any other type of link (e.g., links to
executable programs) prints an error message.
Key bindings
n Move to the next page.
p Move to the previous page.
<Space> or <PageDown> or <Next>
Scroll down on the current page; if already at bottom,
move to next page.
<Backspace> or <Delete> or <PageUp> or
Scroll up on the current page; if already at top, move
to previous page.
<Home>
Scroll to top of current page.
<End>
Scroll to bottom of current page.
arrows
Scroll the current page.
control-L
Redraw the current page.
q Quit xpdf.
WEB BROWSERS
If you want to run xpdf automatically from netscape or
mosaic (and probably other browsers) when you click on a
link to a PDF file, you need to edit (or create) the files
.mime.types and .mailcap in your home directory. In
.mime.types add the line:
application/pdf pdf
In .mailcap add the lines:
# Use xpdf to view PDF files.
application/pdf; xpdf -err %s
Make sure that xpdf is on your executable search path.
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REMOTE SERVER MODE
Xpdf can be started in remote server mode by specifying a
server name (in addition to the file name and page number).
For example:
xpdf -remote myServer file.pdf
If there is currently no xpdf running in server mode with
the name 'myServer', a new xpdf window will be opened. If
another command:
xpdf -remote myServer another.pdf 9
is issued, a new copy of xpdf will not be started. Instead,
the first xpdf (the server) will load another.pdf and
display page nine. If the file name is the same:
xpdf -remote myServer another.pdf 4
the xpdf server will simply display the specified page.
The -raise option tells the server to raise its window; it
can be specified with or without a file name and page
number.
The -quit option tells the server to close its window and
exit.
BUGS
This is a beta release of xpdf, and there are still a bunch
of PDF features which I have yet to implement.
At this point, the biggest problem is that embedded fonts
are not handled properly.
AUTHOR
The xpdf software and documentation are copyright 1996 Derek
B. Noonburg (derekn@ece.cmu.edu).
SEE ALSO
pdftops(1)
http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/usr/dn0o/xpdf/xpdf.html
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