zathura - a PDF viewer

Runiq · 2010-08-16 14:51:18

Here's a simple .desktop entry for zathura:

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=Zathura
GenericName=PDF Viewer
GenericName[de]=PDF-Betrachter
Exec=zathura %U
Terminal=False
Categories=Office;Viewer;
MimeType=application/pdf;

All it needs are some translations and an icon. Works fine on my system.

Last edited by Runiq (2010-08-16 14:51:53)

LuX · 2010-08-19 20:31:21

Hello!

This might be the PDF viewer I have always been looking for. Thanks!

At the moment some features are not working for me (auto-refresh), others are puzzling (Tab-completion) or missing (see below) but broadly speaking the project is very promising and already quite good.

@ Jodell (post #371): You may check if upgrading poppler-glib solves your problem. Otherwise it might be that you experienced a freeze because of a confusion between input line and command area (the latter catches the focus until you press <Esc>). It happened to me too, but now that I have understood how to use it properly (see below "Documentation") it no longer happens and I cannot reproduce the freeze.

1) Dependencies

The Arch's package for zathura pretends that it requires only 'poppler-glib>=0.12.3' but this is wrong. I have installed zathura with 'pacman -Ss zathura' without problem. It did not update poppler-glib so I probably had a version >=0.12.3 (I remember that I had 0.12.something). In spite of this every attempt to run zathura gave me an error message, something like 'libpoppler* blah blah doesn't exist'. I had to 'pacman -Ss poppler-glib', thus installing poppler-glib=0.14.0. Only then zathura worked fine (after I removed and re-installed it, but maybe this was unnecessary, I don't know).

2) Documentation

The wiki is almost empty at the moment, and I can imagine that this will change in the future. However I agree with archgest (#372) that a default help page displayed when opening zathura without arguments would be quite usefull.

"There is the man page..." could you say. OK, but this is not so simple: The man page does not explain the basic notions which are needed to start using zathura properly.

For example, there are two areas which could be called 'command line' or 'command area': one which is below the status line (let us call it the 'input line') and one which is inside the status line, on the right hand side (let us call it the 'command area'). The man page doesn't explain this clearly and it is not obvious to distinguish immediately between them.

Personaly I first believed that typing 'blist' (possibly followed by <Return>) might be the right way to open the bookmark list (which I confused with the index list). Of course this was a bit stupid, but since I saw 'blist' appearing in the status line I believed that this part of the status was the input line. Moreover I pressed <Tab> after I typed a part of 'blist', expecting it to be completed, and this indeed opened the index list, which confirmed my complete misunderstanding.

I didn't understand either that when you start typing something in the command area, the <Return> key is useless and you have to press <Esc> in order to quit this area. Actually I did not immediatly notice that some of the key I pressed produced an immediate action while others only produced some caracters to appear in the command area.

--- EDIT ---
Even when I wrote this post I had not yet realized that every command can be typed in the input line provided it is preceeded by ':'. This is a pretty good idea, this command mode similar to vim, but not so well explained in the man page. Once again, a presentation of the various existing modes (and not only the key binding to switch from one to each other) would be a serious help for beginners.
--------------

3) <Tab>-completion

I confirm Stalafin's observation (#368) that there are some strange behaviours here (but I disagree with him on the first point of his post). Here are a few examples, still while trying to open a file with 'o':

* '~<Tab>' expands to '$HOME/'. In my opinion expansion to '~/' would be better but this is a detail. What is more annoying is that, probably as a consequence, '~/' expands to '$HOME//' which seems odd to me.

* '~<Tab><Tab>' lists the content of $HOME in a menu, which is nice, but in a completely puzzling order. Alphanumeric order would be suitable.

* './<Tab>' does not expand, which is arguable (although I prefer it like this), and lists the content of $HOME instead of the current dir, which seems puzzling to me. Think to the case of a subdirectory 'thesis' containing files 'chap1.pdf', 'chap2.pdf' and so on. If I was reading 'chap1.pdf' with zathura and want to open 'chap2.pdf' I expect './<Tab> to list in the menu the content of the current dir, that is $HOME/thesis instead of $HOME.

* After '~<Tab><Tab>' (or equivalently './<Tab><Tab>') a sequence of <Tab>'s allows me to select the subdirectory '$HOME/thesis/' in the menu. But then how can I list it's content? If I press <Tab> again, the next item in the menu is selected. If I press <Enter>, I get an error message ("File does not exist"). If I press '<BackSpace>/' or equivalently <BackSpace><Tab> (that is I remove and retype the trailing slash in the input line) the menu disappears and I am back to point 4 of Stalafin's post #368 (pressing <Tab> doesn't display the content of ./thesis/ nor anything else).

May I suggest that there is a bad concurrency here between the <Tab> and the arrows? If a menu is opened with <Tab> and some paths are already in the history, pressing the arrows will display them without changing the selection in the menus. It might be more natural, in my opinion, if:
- the first <Tab> displays the menu (with ordered entries!);
- the arrows (instead of <tab>) are used in the menu to select an item;
- <Tab> is used in the menu to display a new menu with the content of the selected subdirectory, if any.
All of this could be customisable as well.

4) Miscellanies

a) The opening command has a history... which is lost whenever you quit zathura. To keep it somewhere would be nice. (By the way it seems that zathura opens files at the page where the user left them the last time he closed them, which is very nice!) ---EDIT: In fact it is the input line and not only the 'o' command which has a history. To recover it after you quit and come back to zathura would be really nice.---

b) When using the 'scroll full-(up|down)' function, it would be better to scroll a little bit less than fully actually, so that the line on the bottom (which is usually not entirely visible) remains (and in most cases becomes) visible at the top after scrolling.

c) Although I do like very much the 'keyboard driving' spirit of zathura, I would be glad to have also the possibility to follow a link just by clicking on it instead of doing: 'type f+look at the number+type it+<Enter>'.

d) Is it possible to set some variables so that the index always opens fully expanded (that is all the nodes of the index tree are immediately visible)?

--- EDIT ---
e) Yet another one... hopefully the last! A feature simlar to vim's shortcuts zj/zj for jumping from folds to folds would be nice, for PDF files with a well structured index: a key binding which jumps to the first page of the previous/next (sub)section of the index (without having to open the index and so on).
--------------

I hope that these numerous remarks (and feature requests!) will be helpfull: zathura is the first pdf viewer I see which is so close to the 'suckless spirit' of vim or mutt, and I do like it. Please keep on the way!

Regards,
LuX.

Last edited by LuX (2010-08-24 13:39:18)

LuX · 2010-08-24 11:56:17

Hello!

Stalafin wrote:

4) When opening a file, Tab will only give me a list of documents available in the current subfolder, if I have _not_yet_autocompleted_ what I wrote. For example
If I type /home/user/ and then press Tab, I will get a list of documents and/or folders. If I, however, choose to expand ~ or /home/us, such that after hitting Tab I will get /home/user/, another press of Tab will not give me a complete list of documents available (pressing another char followed by Tab, however, will give a list of documents starting with that char).

I agree with you that the second example of behaviour that you reported (type '/home/us<Tab><Tab>) is odd. I have found a work around (see below).

On the other hand, your second example is wrong: '~<Tab><Tab>' indeed displays the content of $HOME (at least on my computer). Nevertheless, once you have selected a subdirectory of $HOME using <Tab>'s you are again in the same situation as in your first example: how to display the content of this subdirectory? This is what I asked in my previous post.

LuX wrote:

* After '~<Tab><Tab>' (or equivalently './<Tab><Tab>') a sequence of <Tab>'s allows me to select the subdirectory '$HOME/thesis/' in the menu. But then how can I list it's content?

In the default mode of vim (when 'set wildmode=full) the solution is to remove the last '/' after 'thesis', retype it and then press <Tab>. Not very natural, but it works. In zathura this doesn't work, but the solution is similar: after 'some_path/some_dir/', if <Tab> doesn't display the content of 'some_dir', extend this path by './' and press <Tab>. Exemple: if your username is 'tux' the command ':open /home/tux<Tab><Tab>' doesn't display the content of your $HOME, but ':open /home/tux<Tab>./<Tab>' does.

Regards,
LuX.

Last edited by LuX (2010-08-24 13:41:06)

eyolf · 2010-08-28 23:19:46

... so I'll ask here instead: is there a way to enable continuous scrolling (i.e. no jump from the bottom of one page to the top of next, but pages flowing seamlessly into one another, like a scroll).

neldoreth · 2010-08-29 06:21:36

Hello,

eyolf wrote:

... so I'll ask here instead: is there a way to enable continuous scrolling (i.e. no jump from the bottom of one page to the top of next, but pages flowing seamlessly into one another, like a scroll).

No, there isnt.

Best regards

eyolf · 2010-08-30 20:33:50

neldoreth wrote:

No, there isnt.

Any plans in that direction? I wouldn't say it's a dealbreaker for me, but it's a requirement for a day-to-day pdf reader if one reads a lot of text documents.

quigybo · 2010-08-31 06:50:11

eyolf wrote:

neldoreth wrote:
No, there isnt.
Any plans in that direction? I wouldn't say it's a dealbreaker for me, but it's a requirement for a day-to-day pdf reader if one reads a lot of text documents.

There are other pdf readers that may be better suited to you then, for example apvlv.

lordmetroid · 2010-09-11 09:50:49

How about pre-reading the pages ahead and caching the images or whatnot that takes a lot of time. As it is now, reading scanned documents which are presented as one image per full page is really tediously slow.

mentat · 2010-09-16 08:00:52

Thx for this great software !
In zathurarc, it is possible to overwrite zI command for zi ? I try

map zi zoom in
map ^zi$ zoom in
nmap zi zoom in

Last edited by mentat (2010-09-16 08:01:38)

rgb · 2010-09-17 03:52:24

lordmetroid wrote:

How about pre-reading the pages ahead and caching the images or whatnot that takes a lot of time. As it is now, reading scanned documents which are presented as one image per full page is really tediously slow.

I completely agree, it's quite hard to view a PDF file that contains images.

rent0n · 2010-09-17 12:50:27

rent0n wrote:

After last zathura upgrade I can no longer print pdf files with:
:print <NAME_OF_PRINTER>
Error is as follows:
lp: Error - unable to access "" - No such file or directory
Other apps, including evince, print just fine.
Thanks!

Hi neldoreth,

After some months, the bug is still here. Can you please check and try to solve it? It is quite annoying to have a PDF reader that can't print.
Also, I'm with those who would like to see continuous scrolling and a 'cleaner' Tab completion.

Thanks for zathura and please keep on with the good work.

Sara · 2010-09-18 10:31:09

I can't read (continuously) the following PDF past page five--I get a "Floating point error":

http://www.thehcmr.org/issue1_2/main.pdf

Is the PDF file damaged? If I jump to any page (using (pg#)G), zathura doesn't complain. It's only when I scroll through the document that the error pops up, and zathura quits.

I saw an earlier post in this thread about scrolling through a damaged document causing such an issue, but I don't know if the document is damaged.

Last edited by Sara (2010-09-18 10:31:38)

neldoreth · 2010-09-19 09:44:11

Hello,

@Sara: Seems like a bug in the cairo library - I can investigate more when I have my new hardware, because my current one is too slow to do anything besides browsing the web.

@Continious scrolling / Tab completion: Further development will take place in the next weeks I hope.

Best regards

rent0n · 2010-09-19 09:51:59

neldoreth wrote:

Hello,
@Sara: Seems like a bug in the cairo library - I can investigate more when I have my new hardware, because my current one is too slow to do anything besides browsing the web.
@Continious scrolling / Tab completion: Further development will take place in the next weeks I hope.
Best regards

And what about the :print problem? Can you reproduce it?

neldoreth · 2010-09-19 13:10:58

Hello,

rent0n wrote:

And what about the :print problem? Can you reproduce it?

I am afraid I can't, this occurs when you pass an empty string as the path for the file to lp.

Which version are you using? Can you show me your definition of print_command and your jumanjirc?
Try adding the following to line 3329: "printf("%s\n", command);" and show me the output that it procudes.

Best regards

rent0n · 2010-09-20 07:33:38

neldoreth wrote:

Hello,
rent0n wrote:
And what about the :print problem? Can you reproduce it?
I am afraid I can't, this occurs when you pass an empty string as the path for the file to lp.
Which version are you using? Can you show me your definition of print_command and your jumanjirc?
Try adding the following to line 3329: "printf("%s\n", command);" and show me the output that it procudes.
Best regards

Thanks for your help.
I'm talking about zathura (and not jumanji) here.
Here's my zathurarc:

# settings
set adjust_open width
set width 636
set height 382
set font terminus 8
set show_inputbar false

# colors
set completion_bgcolor #101010
set completion_fgcolor #999999
set completion_g_bgcolor #101010
set completion_g_fgcolor #999999
set completion_hl_bgcolor #999999
set_completion_hl_fgcolor #101010
set default_bgcolor #101010
set default_fgcolor #999999
set statusbar_bgcolor #101010
set statusbar_fgcolor #999999
set inputbar_bgcolor #101010
set inputbar_fgcolor #999999
set notification_e_bgcolor #101010
set notification_e_fgcolor #8C4665
set notification_w_bgcolor #101010
set notification_w_fgcolor #287373

Where can I get the definition of the print_command?
I what file do I have to insert that line?
Thank you

neldoreth · 2010-09-20 07:55:47

Hello,

rent0n wrote:

I'm talking about zathura (and not jumanji) here.

Yes, of course - Sorry I messed things up. If you did not overwrite the variable, you should find it in the config(.def?).h file
and you would have to change the line in the zathura.c file.

Best regards

jakob · 2010-09-21 19:41:29

Hello neldoreth,

thank you for these big improvements with outsourcing configuration to zathurarc.

But something has changed with keycode-detection, which is why I'm not able to enter commands starting with a colon any more. The reason for this is probably my keyboard layout. I'm using the German Neo 2.0 layout which produces a colon by pressing the (Qwertz-)Caps Lock key + (Qwertz) ö. In Neo's definition, Caps Lock is "Mod3", which means it is an activator of a third level. In /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/de, this reads as "include "level3(caps_switch)"" in line 390. This is in turn defined in our …/symbols/level3 file as follows:

xkb_symbols "caps_switch" {
  key <CAPS> {
    type[Group1]="ONE_LEVEL",
    symbols[Group1] = [ ISO_Level3_Shift ]
  };
  modifier_map Mod5   { ISO_Level3_Shift };
};

The ISO_Level3_Shift thing may be the reason.

When I change back to ordinary qwertz-layout, I have no problem entering a colon in zathura and feeding it with commands.

May be there is a solution to free zathura from any layout specific key-bindings (there are quite some dvorak users around as well…).

I will be happy to assist you with any further questions that may arise in the field of special layouts

Greetings, jakob

PS: I just remarked: Im not able to enter a "/" to search for words neither.

Last edited by jakob (2010-09-21 19:43:29)

Sara · 2010-10-13 22:15:31

How may I disable zathura jumping to the next page after I reach the end of the previous? Many times I am accidentally flipped to the next page when I still have a few more lines to read at the bottom of the previous page. Thanks.

[Edit] I changed the scroll step to 10. That seems to have done the trick. [/Edit]

Last edited by Sara (2010-10-13 22:18:32)

rent0n · 2010-10-18 11:33:05

Am I the only one experiencing printing problem with zathura?

No matter what, zathura doesn't print, while all other programs (including evince and apvlv) print just fine.

@neldoreth: I'm using latest zathura from the repos and I have no idea where to look for those files and what I am supposed to do afterwards.

Sadly switched back to apvlv for the time being...

firecat53 · 2010-10-18 14:47:35

@rent0n -- try zathura-git. Maybe he didn't push that change to the stable version yet.

Scott

comrad · 2010-10-19 12:25:11

rent0n wrote:

Am I the only one experiencing printing problem with zathura?
No matter what, zathura doesn't print, while all other programs (including evince and apvlv) print just fine.

Confirm... Has the same problem

neldoreth · 2010-10-19 15:30:51

Hello,

Please join the IRC channel so that we can figure this out.

Thank you

rent0n · 2010-10-19 21:13:53

Just to confirm that zathura-git prints just fine: so the problem is present only in the stable version. Thanks Scott.
I will join the IRC chan ASAP!

Last edited by rent0n (2010-10-19 21:14:22)

firecat53 · 2010-10-21 00:01:16

Hey neldoreth -- just wondering if you were considering working on the Syntex capability at all? It would be a killer feature on an already awesome viewer!

Scott

Last edited by firecat53 (2010-10-21 00:01:31)

Arch Linux

#376 2010-08-16 14:51:18

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#377 2010-08-19 20:31:21

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#378 2010-08-24 11:56:17

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#379 2010-08-28 23:19:46

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#380 2010-08-29 06:21:36

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#381 2010-08-30 20:33:50

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#382 2010-08-31 06:50:11

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#383 2010-09-11 09:50:49

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#384 2010-09-16 08:00:52

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#385 2010-09-17 03:52:24

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#386 2010-09-17 12:50:27

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#387 2010-09-18 10:31:09

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#388 2010-09-19 09:44:11

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#389 2010-09-19 09:51:59

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#390 2010-09-19 13:10:58

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#391 2010-09-20 07:33:38

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#392 2010-09-20 07:55:47

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#393 2010-09-21 19:41:29

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#394 2010-10-13 22:15:31

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#395 2010-10-18 11:33:05

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#396 2010-10-18 14:47:35

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#397 2010-10-19 12:25:11

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#398 2010-10-19 15:30:51

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#399 2010-10-19 21:13:53

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

#400 2010-10-21 00:01:16

Re: zathura - a PDF viewer

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