That being said, Evince (Figure 1) is an outstanding app that has one major “feature” that Adobe Reader doesn’t have ─ it’s lightweight. Finally, Evince was supposed to include annotation support starting with release 2.32 (current release is 3.10) ─ no matter how far you dig in the app, you won’t find support for annotations. Even though embedded Javascript can add a layer of insecurity to the hosting platform (Javascript in and of itself is well known to be insecure), its use is widespread. Along with the list of advanced features (above), the list of unsupported features includes:Īlthough the PDF Browser plugin isn’t a deal breaker, it does add extra steps to the process (and if the PDF is embedded in a web site ─ and not a downloadable form ─ you’re out of luck). However, the list of features Evince doesn’t support is crucial (especially to internal government paperwork and more advanced tax documents). In fact, this particular app does a fine job of interacting with some of the basic PDF features (such as encrypted files, text areas, and check boxes). Evince supports the following formats: PDF, Postscript, djvu, tiff, dvi, XPS, SyncTex support with gedit, and comics books (cbr,cbz,cb7 and cbt).Įvince isn’t just a viewer.

EvinceĮvince is the default viewer on the GNOME (and Unity) desktop. Let’s examine the most popular tools and what features they do support and what applications are best-suited to handle advanced PDF documents. Of course, as there are so many documents with such an array of features and needs, not every PDF viewer is created equally.

To that end, what options are available for Linux users?įortunately, there are plenty. Some institutions, such as government agencies, still use PDF documents that can only be fully used by Reader (I’m talking about government forms and even tax documents). To some, however, Adobe Reader was the only application that supported more advanced PDF features, such as:Įxtended form filling (such as XFA Forms) If you go to the Adobe Reader site, you’ll find the Linux installer is no longer available. But until recently, you could at least download and install Reader on your Linux desktop machine. This should come as no surprise, as the last time Adobe Reader for Linux was updated came in May 2013. Adobe has pulled the plug on supporting its PDF reader app for Linux.

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