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»PDF - Yes, please.
The company Adobe Systems Inc. successfully placed their Portable Document Format (PDF) on the market. The non-proprietary document format PDF spreaded over the most different computer platforms within the last years. PDF offers a file format, that might contain embedded pictures, graphics and links in addition to text.
Lots of CD-ROM's and Internet files prove that.
In addition to GhostScript and Xpdf ther is another PDF viewer for the Amiga. Emmanuel Leseuer, author of the latest Amiga port of the original Xpdf 0.80 by Derek B. Moonburg [1] named his port appropiately Apdf and put it into the Aminet [2]. There you find in addition to 68k-version the PPC-versions of the program, which are able to load and to show PDF files up to revision 1.2.
System requirements
In addition to an Amiga with at least a 68020 or PPC processor under PowerUP Apdf requires MUI revision 3.8 and GZip. If Apdf is wanted to operate fast a better CPU, a larger amount of RAM and a graphics board are recommended. In addition to the bitmap fonts Apdf can use PostScript-Type 1 fonts for showing PDF documents. But then an installed Type 1-font engine like the Type1Manager [3] with a number of Type 1-fonts, that can be found in the GhostScript package or on the FreshFont-CDs is necessary.
Even, if it is not mentioned by the program author, TrueType fonts can be used in addition to Type 1 fonts. The installation of the desired font engine, like the TTF manager [5] is required in this matter, too.
Installation
Even, if Apdf comes without installation routine, but the installation is done with some mouse clicks: You need just to copy the Apdf drawer into any hard disk directory. If GZip doesn't reside on your Amiga you find a fitting version under [6], you just have to copy to "C". That's it.
Use of the program
Apdf can be used either about the CLI, from programs like DOpus as with the Workbench. In any case, you can add some parameters, which have an effect on the PDF viewer.
Here you can set, if e.g. the PDF document should be opened with the first page, a given zoom-factor, embedded pictures in different colour depth or with desired fonts. Even the reation on URLs within the PDF document can be set.
Unfortunately the start using the Workbench is more difficult than necessary, because a simple double click on the Apdf icon just brings an error message. To display a document the desired PDF files has to be double clicked with pressed Shift button after clicking the Apdf file once. Why there doesn't appear a file requester after a double click is kept a secret of the author, because after selecting the menu point "Project/Open..." there can be opened more documents using a file requester.
The program GUI is functional and clearly arranged. In addition with selecting the pages zooming in different steps can be done on the same way, using a scrollbar. Just as easy and comfortable a desired text (fragment) can be searched for in a document. If you want to cut text fragments from the PDF document to use it in other applications - no problem:
Just mark the text part with the mouse and after selecting "Edit/Copy" the cut text goes into the clipboard and can be used from there anyway you like. And new with a PDF viewer for the Amiga is the extraction and saving of embedded pictures in various formats.
Alternatively the entire document resp. the desired pages can be saved as PostScript files.
But there are more possibilities for manipulation. Apdf also allows as a standard setting for any document or just for the desired PDF files to use the fonts you chose for displaying.
And, as mentioned in the program desription, Apdf is able to use TruType and PostScript-Type 1 fonts in addition to the standard Amiga fonts.
Fine.
Apdf could be THE PDF viewer for the Amiga user.
Well, if there wasn't a big problem. The compiled Aminet version of Apdf is not able to show encrypted PDF files. Not, that this wouldn't be possible. The reason is the laws of some countries (like e.g. America and France), that have limitations for encryption software. And this limitates the usage of Apdf, because many commercial documents go to the customers as "encrypted PF". There are two documents named as an example: In the current version Apdf cannot display the MaxonCinema4XL and the CanonBJC6000 manual.
A possible solution for experienced Amigans: Emmanuel Lesueur put the complete source code as Lha-package into the Aminet. With a patch [7] a Apdf version can be compiled, which can also display encrypted PDF files.
Conclusion
Apdf is a quite lean, efficient and a freeware PDF viewer with extensive possibilities of manipulation. The program can be recommended for any Amiga user.
Unfortunately the Aminet version of Apdf doesn't support encrypted PDF documents.
But you still have GhostScript as an alternative, which isn't quite comfortable. Or you try to compile to source files.
[1] http://www.aimnet.com/~derekn/xpdf
[2] in the Aminet under gfx/show/Apdfxx.lha
[3] in the Aminet under util/libs/Type1_5.lha
[4] in the Aminet under text/dtp/GS510xxx.lha
[5] in the Aminet under util/libs/ttflib.lha
[6] in the Aminet under util/pack/gzip124x2.lha
[7] ftp://ftp.sci.usq.edu.au/pub/linux/xpdf/xpdf-0.80-decrypt.patch
Uwe Pannecke <Uwe.Pannecke@t-online.de>«
