This application allows one to read files in Adobe's Portable Document Format (.PDF)
To use it type:
% acroread
You should get a dialog box that allows you to open the *.PDF file. Once the reader opens with the file there are many options which are pretty obvious.
To launch Acrobat Reader so that it appears as an icon on your desktop, type the following command:
% acroread -iconic
To view one or more files, give the filenames as command-line parameters. For example, to view /share/docs/annual_report.pdf and /user/bob/Schedule.pdf, type:
% acroread /share/docs/annual_report.pdf /user/bob/Schedule.pdf
By default, only one Reader process can be running. If you type acroread <filename> when Reader is already running, the currently running version of Reader becomes active and displays the specified file. If you prefer that a new version of Reader be launched each time you start Reader, type the following command:
% acroread +useFrontEndProgram
For more information on Acrobat Reader command-line options, type one of the following commands:
% acroread -help
% acroread -helpall
You can convert PDF files to level 1 or level 2 PostScript files from the command line if you are running the X Window System. Command-line printing supports only the standard page size of 8.5 by 11 inches; it does not support shrink-to-fit or scaling commands. If your document contains custom page sizes (such as 11 by 14 inches), open the file in Acrobat Reader and then print it or use Acrobat Exchange which has enhanced command-line printing capabilities.
To convert a PDF file by piping it into Reader and then sending the output to a file, type the following:
% cat sample.pdf | acroread -toPostScript > sample.ps
To convert one or more PDF files, such as sample1.pdf and sample2.pdf, into PostScript files and place these PostScript files into the directory <dir>, type the following:
% acroread -toPostScript sample1.pdf sample2.pdf <dir>
To convert a series of files expressed as both a PDF filename and a corresponding PostScript filename (or pairs), type the following:
% acroread -toPostScript -pairs pdf_file_1 ps_file_1 ...
To convert a PDF file to a level 2 PostScript file, type the following:
% acroread -toPostScript -level2 pdf_file_1
You may also set Netscape so that it will automatically launch Adobe Acrobat when a *.PDF file is downloaded. Make sure that Netscape Options | General Preferences | Helpers are set to read /usr/local/lib/netscape/mailcap and /usr/local/lib/netscape/mime.types files.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 22-Apr-1997 12:00:19 EDT