Viewing a PDF on a PandaRo

My RiscPC’s PDF viewer of choice is !PDFView, but !PDF also works well.

However, on my PandaRo, !PDFView does not install on the icon bar. Its help file just lists the keys for navigation so I can’t say what version it is, except it’s freshly downloaded.

Meanwhile, !PDF version 3.00.1.19 does install on the icon bar (with the help of Aemulor Pro), but it ignores PDF files even if I drag them directly to the icon bar icon.

Suggestions please?

Try the files available here:
http://www.riscosports.co.uk/downloads.html

Thanks David, I tried GhostView but it’s only slightly better than !PDF – it installs on the icon bar without needing Aemulor, but then ignores PDF files even if I drag them directly to the icon bar icon.

Beware, PDF files must have the right filetype to load.

Meanwhile, !PDF version 3.00.1.19 does install on the icon bar (with the help of Aemulor Pro), but it ignores PDF files even if I drag them directly to the icon bar icon.

PDF 3.00.1.19 is ancient, and probably not ARMv7 compatible (I’ve not checked) — it definitely has other issues. We’re currently on 3.02.1.24, which works fine on modern hardware (certainly on a Beagleboard): details are at http://www.riscos.info/index.php/PDF and if you don’t like PackMan you can manually download the package Zip file and install it yourself from http://www.riscos.info/packages/DocumentDetails.html#PDF

I tried GhostView but it’s only slightly better than !PDF – it installs on the icon bar without needing Aemulor, but then ignores PDF files even if I drag them directly to the icon bar icon.

You also downloaded and installed the correct version of GhostScript, didn’t you?

No, the GhostView thing didn’t tell me to! :)

Anyway, I downloaded your new zip and PackMan says the installation worked, but I can’t find where it put !PDF.
 

Beware, PDF files must have the right filetype to load.

They are the right filetype, but in any case all of these readers claim that wrongly filetyped PDFs will load if dragged directly to the icon bar icon.

No, the GhostView thing didn’t tell me to!

If he’d sent you to Martin Wuerthner’s GView page that information is clearly visible next to the download.

It looks as if RISC OS Ports is Chris Gransden, and the download on that page is a port of GhostView, not the native GView. I’d recommend getting GView (above) and sending Martin a tenner to say “thanks” (although it does seem to get its colours wrong on RISC OS 5).

Anyway, I downloaded your new zip and PackMan says the installation worked, but I can’t find where it put !PDF.

Do you mean that you downloaded the zip file, or that you installed !PDF via PackMan? If the former, then the application is wherever you put it. If the latter, then it will be at $.Apps.Document.!PDF (and remember that you probably don’t want to move it from there without telling PackMan – read its manual for how).

Okay thanks, I did the latter, and indeed it’s at $.Apps.Document.!PDF – PackMan would be much user-friendlier if it’d bothered to tell me that.

So, with the $.Apps.Document window open on the screen…

• Double-click the PDF file – nothing.

• Drag PDF file to icon bar – nothing.

• Drag PDF viewer to icon bar – it installs.

• Double-click the PDF file – nothing.

• Drag PDF file to icon bar – nothing.

• Drag PDF file to PDF viewer’s icon bar icon – it’s viewed!

• Double-click the PDF file – it’s viewed.

• Drag PDF file to icon bar – it’s viewed.

..this is excellent progress, and I’m most grateful to everyone in this thread for their help.

But how come !PDF only behaves normally after I’ve dragged it to the icon bar, and then dragged a file to its icon bar icon?

Whilst I appreciate this may not be quite the info that Tennant is looking for, I thought it worth pointing out that this is one of the hundreds of things that are addressed by our PandaLand support scheme, and is very much applicable to PandaRO users. It effectively provides access to all the content we supply as standard with ARMiniX, which includes working PDF handling as a tiny part of a greater whole. PandaLand includes a vast swathe of ready-to-go software inc approx 100ukp of commercial items, as well as support, updates and lots more, and has been described as turning “a toy into a work-horse”.

It’s a bit of topic, but can you detail the name of the commercial items included in the PandaLand support scheme?