Re: Newbie Linux User having trouble installing Adobe Reader

From: Thomas D. Shepard (ImaSpammer_at_spam.sux)
Date: 01/18/05 

Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 22:20:19 -0800

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 19:40:34 -0800, ozymandias wrote:

> I just installed Linux for the first time ever, using the installation
> cd that comes with the Red Hat Linux for Dummies 7.3 text.
>
> Immediately I find out that I need to read PDF files. Now I would
> normally just download the Acrobat Reader from Adobe and that would be
> that. But in Linux there is a not-so-good program called xPDF that runs
> instead.
>
> I tried downloading the Reader from Adobe (the Linux version); I even
> managed to unpack it (both the .gz and the .tar) - a huge step for me,
> since I know absolutely nothing about Linux.
>
> I went to run the Install executable for the Reader and it asks if I
> want it to Run or to be Displayed. I chose Run and nothing happens.
> I've tried restarting and all the other stuff you would normally do on
> Windows...but I'm not getting anywhere. Is there a shell command I need
> to use to install the script?
>
> Regards,
> Sage

We would have to see exactly what printed on your terminal when you
installed, or attempted to install, acrobat reader. It is possible you
have successfully installed it. The executable file is normally called
"acroread" and may or may not have been installed in a directory listed in
your path.

Once installed, you should be able to start it by typing acroread from a
command prompt. To get a GUI interface, you need to create a launcher for
it. How you do this depends on what desktop and window manager you are
running. Check the documentation on your system. There should be a help
icon.

Xpdf actually works very nicely if properly configured, otherwise the
fonts are ugly. There are gnome and kde versions of Xpdf (Gpdf and Kpdf)
that also are nice. Occasionally, I find PDF files that won't display in
Xpdf due to a non-standards-compliant font from microsoft. (They do this
to make things only work on windoze.) When that happens, the Linux version
of acroread always works.

You NEVER re-boot linux just because you installed software, unless what
you just installed is a new kernel, of course. 

-- 
Thomas D. Shepard
I am sorry, but you can't email me.
ImaSpammer@spam.sux is not a real email address. I figure if someone wants to
harvest an email address to use for sending spam, they may as well use this one.

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