PDF Mystery

[s|b]

Now I can get a different display of the pdf, and I
can search it using Ctrl-F. The controls look different, but that's not
a problem, nor is the find. I'm curious how this might happen.
Comments?

<https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/19.0.2/releasenotes/>

| NEW
| Built-in PDF viewer

Aren't such PDF readers in this instance provided by Adobe
Acrobat?

There are other (free) PDF readers such as Foxit Reader, PDF-XChange
Viewer, Sumatra PDF, ...

 

[s|b]

I've been using Foxit for some time now, but they messed things up in
their latest update (v6.x). I can't look at the new GUI without getting
a headache. I'm installing PDF-XChange Viewer instead.

I take that back. I've uninstalled PDF-XChange Viewer and installed
Sumatra PDF instead.

 

[s|b]

3. Despite the popularity of Adobe Reader, in my view the best such
program is the free Foxit Reader.

I've been using Foxit for some time now, but they messed things up in
their latest update (v3.x). The GUI looks like crap. I installed Sumatra
PDF instead. It's very basic, but it does what I need...

 

[Ken Blake]

I've been using Foxit for some time now, but they messed things up in
their latest update (v6.x). I can't look at the new GUI without getting
a headache.

Are you aware that you can turn the ribbon interface off and go back
to a standard menu interface? That's what I've done.

 

[s|b]

Are you aware that you can turn the ribbon interface off and go back
to a standard menu interface? That's what I've done.

And you're talking about version 6.x ? Because this is what I'm talking
about: <http://www.gratissoftwaresite.nl/userfiles/foxitreader6.jpg>

Well, it doesn't really matter now because I've installed Sumatra PDF
and I'm quite happy about it. It doesn't try to install Ask.com crap,
it's smaller and since it's not as popular as Foxit I'm guessing it's
also less vulnerable.

 

[Ken Blake]

And you're talking about version 6.x ?

Yes.


Because this is what I'm talking
about: <http://www.gratissoftwaresite.nl/userfiles/foxitreader6.jpg>

Yep! That's what it looks like before you turn off the ribbon
interface. I don't like that much more than you do, and turning it off
was one of the first things I did after I installed it.

Well, it doesn't really matter now because I've installed Sumatra PDF
and I'm quite happy about it. It doesn't try to install Ask.com crap,
it's smaller and since it's not as popular as Foxit I'm guessing it's
also less vulnerable.

Well, you *can* go back to Foxit, if you want to, or at least look at
to see how you like it without that interface. But it's your choice,
of course; I won't try to persuade you.

 

[gufus]

I've been using Foxit for some time now, but they messed things up in
their latest update (v3.x). The GUI looks like crap. I installed Sumatra
PDF instead. It's very basic, but it does what I need...

Myself, I still use Adobe Reader. (v9.54 NOT XI)

Didn't like XI

 

[s|b]

Well, you *can* go back to Foxit, if you want to, or at least look at
to see how you like it without that interface. But it's your choice,
of course; I won't try to persuade you.

I've been wanting to give Sumatra PDF a go for ages now. It's good to
know that Foxit's GUI can be changed; I've installed it on several
computers and I'm sure not all users will want to change to Sumatra PDF.

 

[John K.Eason]

*From:* Ken Blake <[email protected]>
*Date:* Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:10:53 -0700





Are you aware that you can turn the ribbon interface off and go back
to a standard menu interface? That's what I've done.

Me too!

Regards
John ([email protected]) Remove the obvious to reply...

 

[W. eWatson]

I've been using Foxit for some time now, but they messed things up in
their latest update (v6.x). I can't look at the new GUI without getting
a headache. I'm installing PDF-XChange Viewer instead.

How does one nstall PDF-X into FF? I have it.

 

[Mike Barnes]

How does one nstall PDF-X into FF? I have it.

Try "File Associations" in PDF-XChange viewer Preferences.

 

[s|b]

How does one nstall PDF-X into FF? I have it.

Don't know. I didn't like it and replaced it with Sumatra PDF. You don't
really need a PDF viewer for Fx, because the latest version(s) has a
built-in PDF viewer.

 

[Ken1943]

Don't know. I didn't like it and replaced it with Sumatra PDF. You don't
really need a PDF viewer for Fx, because the latest version(s) has a
built-in PDF viewer.

I don't think the pdf viewer in Firefox was ready for prime time. Saw
quit a few complaints about it.


KenW

 

[s|b]

I don't think the pdf viewer in Firefox was ready for prime time. Saw
quit a few complaints about it.

Do you remember what they were? I've used it a couple of times and had
no complaints.

 

[Ken1943]

Do you remember what they were? I've used it a couple of times and had
no complaints.

In the FF news group. Could be user not used to it. I have it disabled
and use an external reader, which I like better.


KenW

 

[mechanic]

Do you remember what they were? I've used it a couple of times
and had no complaints.

Could be what I was seeing - rendering a pdf with the
font/characters unrecognisable. Didn't apply to all, but after
installing evince I could cope.

 

[Rob]

In the FF news group. Could be user not used to it. I have it disabled
and use an external reader, which I like better.


KenW

I think Firefox has now reached the point that the underlying code
is spaghetti. It is now far too difficult to configure and I
fvcking hate Mozilla's "about:config" method (which you have to use
if you want to fix the pdf thing properly.) Thunderbird is
similar and equally obscure/painful to configure. Must be a Mozilla
thing.

 

[Paul]

I think Firefox has now reached the point that the underlying code
is spaghetti. It is now far too difficult to configure and I
fvcking hate Mozilla's "about:config" method (which you have to use
if you want to fix the pdf thing properly.) Thunderbird is
similar and equally obscure/painful to configure. Must be a Mozilla
thing.

Actually, there is a historical precedent. The preference style
you see in about:config, is the same idea as that used in XWindows
preferences. So you could blame concepts used twenty years ago
in Unix (or Linux), for what you see. They didn't dream this
up last week. The idea has been around for a while. We used
to edit crap like that, with a text editor.

An example here.

http://stray-notes.blogspot.ca/2010/07/xterm-xdefaults.html

The syntax isn't exactly the same, but it's conceptually similar.

*******

As for the comment about the Firefox code being spaghetti,
your observation is "right on". I tried compiling Firefox,
and debugging it in an IDE, and I had to give up, because
a structure or philosophy wasn't apparent in the source.
It felt like I was lost in the woods, and going around
in circles. If memory serves, I think there might have
been 64,000 files in the source tarball.

Paul