6.4. Document Viewers

Some new document formats have gained popularity since the advent of UNIX® and the viewers they require may not be available in the base system. This section demonstrates how to install the following document viewers:

Application NameResources NeededInstallation from PortsMajor Dependencies
XpdflightlightFreeType
gvlightlightXaw3d
GeeqielightlightGtk+ or GNOME
ePDFViewlightlightGtk+
OkularlightheavyKDE

6.4.1. Xpdf

For users that prefer a small FreeBSD PDF viewer, Xpdf provides a light-weight and efficient viewer which requires few resources. It uses the standard X fonts and does not require any additional toolkits.

To install the Xpdf package:

# pkg install xpdf

If the package is not available, use the Ports Collection:

# cd /usr/ports/graphics/xpdf
# make install clean

Once the installation is complete, launch xpdf and use the right mouse button to activate the menu.

6.4.2. gv

gv is a PostScript® and PDF viewer. It is based on ghostview, but has a nicer look as it is based on the Xaw3d widget toolkit. gv has many configurable features, such as orientation, paper size, scale, and anti-aliasing. Almost any operation can be performed with either the keyboard or the mouse.

To install gv as a package:

# pkg install gv

If a package is unavailable, use the Ports Collection:

# cd /usr/ports/print/gv
# make install clean

6.4.3. Geeqie

Geeqie is a fork from the unmaintained GQView project, in an effort to move development forward and integrate the existing patches. Geeqie is an image manager which supports viewing a file with a single click, launching an external editor, and thumbnail previews. It also features a slideshow mode and some basic file operations, making it easy to manage image collections and to find duplicate files. Geeqie supports full screen viewing and internationalization.

To install the Geeqie package:

# pkg install geeqie

If the package is not available, use the Ports Collection:

# cd /usr/ports/graphics/geeqie
# make install clean

6.4.4. ePDFView

ePDFView is a lightweight PDF document viewer that only uses the Gtk+ and Poppler libraries. It is currently under development, but already opens most PDF files (even encrypted), save copies of documents, and has support for printing using CUPS.

To install ePDFView as a package:

# pkg install epdfview

If a package is unavailable, use the Ports Collection:

# cd /usr/ports/graphics/epdfview
# make install clean

6.4.5. Okular

Okular is a universal document viewer based on KPDF for KDE. It can open many document formats, including PDF, PostScript®, DjVu, CHM, XPS, and ePub.

To install Okular as a package:

# pkg install okular

If a package is unavailable, use the Ports Collection:

# cd /usr/ports/graphics/okular
# make install clean

All FreeBSD documents are available for download at https://download.freebsd.org/ftp/doc/

Questions that are not answered by the documentation may be sent to <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org>.
Send questions about this document to <freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.org>.