Adobe Acrobat was the first software to support the Adobe Systems’ Portable Document Format (PDF). The Adobe Acrobat Reader program (now just called Adobe Reader) is available as no-charge download from the Adobe’s web site and allows the viewing and printing of PDF files. It is a major component of Adobe Engagement Platform and is widely used as a way to present information with fixed layout similar to a paper publication. Several other PDF-editing programs allows some minimal editing and adding of features to the documents, and come with other modules including a printer driver to create the PDF files.
In Ubuntu, the Feisty Fawn Acrobat Reder is not included by default along with the operating system because of licensing issues so you will need to install it manually using one of the following methods.
First is by using medibuntu Repository and second is by using Automatix2. Medibuntu is a common term for Multimedia, Entertainment & Distractions In Ubuntu, and is a repository of packages that cannot be included into Ubuntu distribution for legal reasons (copyright, license, patent, etc).
Step 1: Add gpg key using the following command: wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -Edit sources.list with new repo data sudo wget http://medibuntu.sos-sts.com/sources.list.d/feisty.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list.
Step 2: Now update the source list using the following command: sudo apt-get update. Now install acrobat reader with Firefox plug-in in Ubuntu with this command: sudo apt-get install acroread mozilla-acroread acroread-plugins
Step 3: This will complete the installation process. If you want top open acrobat reader then go to Applications -> Office -> Adobe Reader. Using Edgy Repository, Edit the sources.list file: sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list
Step 4: Add this particular line at the end of sources.list deb: http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-security restricted main multiverse universe. Now update the source list using the following command: sudo apt-get update. Now install acrobat reader with Firefox plug-in in Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install acroread mozilla-acroread acroread-plugins.
Using Automatix 2: You can also install the plug-ins using Automatrix2. Automatix is a graphical user interface for automating the installation of most commonly requested applications in Ubuntu and Debian based Linux operating systems.
Apart from these issues of installation of plug-in for Ubuntu, it’s interesting to know that Ubuntu 6.06 already reads .PDF. What I have not been able to do is install Java to read streaming prices on websites and if I go to Sun’s website they offer four versions of Java for Linux and not even one download works on my system, yet they gives the impression that they are downloading. Indeed I was going to suggest that for the increasing newbie’s to Ubuntu operating system, a stack of PDF’s like flick-cards would be enable us to watch the progress of doing a task like installing a new application.
Considering all these issues, the installation of PDF plug-in for Firefox browser inside a Ubuntu Operating System is quite typical as you have to go through several commands but it cost nothing if it is compared with the unmatched performance of Ubuntu Operating System.
