Some new document formats have gained popularity since the advent of UNIX® and the viewers they require may not be available in the base system. This section demonstrates how to install the following document viewers:
Application Name | Resources Needed | Installation from Ports | Major Dependencies |
---|---|---|---|
Acrobat Reader® | light | light | Linux® binary compatibility |
gv | light | light | Xaw3d |
Xpdf | light | light | FreeType |
GQview | light | light | Gtk+ or GNOME |
Many documents are now distributed as Portable Document Format (PDF) files. One popular PDF viewer is Acrobat Reader®, released by Adobe® for Linux®. As FreeBSD can run Linux® binaries, it is also available for FreeBSD. Due to licensing restrictions, a package is not available, meaning that this application must be compiled from ports. Several localizations are available from the print category (freebsd.org/ports/print.html) of the Ports Collection.
This command installs the English version of Acrobat Reader® 9 from the Ports Collection. To instead install a localized version, cd into the desired port's directory.
#
cd /usr/ports/print/acroread9
#
make install clean
gv is a PostScript® and PDF viewer. It is based on ghostview, but has a nicer look as it is based on the Xaw3d widget toolkit. gv has many configurable features, such as orientation, paper size, scale, and anti-aliasing. Almost any operation can be performed with either the keyboard or the mouse.
To install gv as a package:
#
pkg install gv
If a package is unavailable, use the Ports Collection:
#
cd /usr/ports/print/gv
#
make install clean
For users that prefer a small FreeBSD PDF viewer, Xpdf provides a light-weight and efficient viewer which requires few resources. It uses the standard X fonts and does not require any additional toolkits.
To install the Xpdf package:
#
pkg install xpdf
If the package is not available, use the Ports Collection:
#
cd /usr/ports/graphics/xpdf
#
make install clean
Once the installation is complete, launch
xpdf
and use the right mouse button to
activate the menu.
GQview is an image manager which supports viewing a file with a single click, launching an external editor, and thumbnail previews. It also features a slideshow mode and some basic file operations, making it easy to manage image collections and to find duplicate files. GQview supports full screen viewing and internationalization.
To install the GQview package:
#
pkg install gqview
If the package is not available, use the Ports Collection:
#
cd /usr/ports/graphics/gqview
#
make install clean
All FreeBSD documents are available for download at http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/doc/
Questions that are not answered by the
documentation may be
sent to <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org>.
Send questions about this document to <freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.org>.