debian (Etch) PDFs broken / elongated / in ImageMagick / Acrobat Reader

stu7 · 10-26-2008, 12:52 PM

In the past, AcroRead (Acrobat Reader) has been the PDF
viewing application I preferred... this is not in itself
my problem(!)... rather, when using Etch applications to
generate PDF output, neither ImageMagick / Display, nor
Acrobat Reader displays the PDF correctly... it is stretched
vertically, 15% or so. Both Gimp and Evince display the
same PDF correctly (oops... also... the small internal
print widget inside AcroRead displays correctly, while
the main app is wrong... strange).

Im wondering if there is a library to install which will
fix this problem systemwide, on Etch ? Anybody else seeing
this problem, or know how to fix it ?

thanks

jschiwal · 10-26-2008, 03:22 PM

Does a pdf file print properly?

You might want to check the "DisplaySize" entry in /etc/X11/xorg.conf. If the prepositions are off, the dpi calculations on the screen could be off. Some apps may use this value to draw the characters on the screen.

Code:

Section "Monitor"
  # created by KGamma
    Identifier     "Monitor[0]"
    VendorName     "--> LCD"
    ModelName      "800X600@60HZ"
    UseModes       "Modes[0]"
    DisplaySize     305    230
    HorizSync       30.0 - 38.0
    VertRefresh     30.0 - 61.0
  Gamma   1.05  1.05  1.05  # created by KGamma
    Option         "CalcAlgorithm" "XServerPool"
    Option         "DPMS"
    Option         "PreferredMode" "800x600"
EndSection

Also check if you aren't using the optimum display size for your monitor. For an LCD display, it should be the native resolution.

stu7 · 10-27-2008, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jschiwal

Does a pdf file print properly?

You might want to check the "DisplaySize" entry in /etc/X11/xorg.conf. If the prepositions are off, the dpi calculations on the screen could be off. Some apps may use this value to draw the characters on the screen.

Right... and thanks for replying.

Does a PDF print properly ? Yes... wherever else I print it (no printer on my home computer tho).

Your comment on DisplaySize entry could be it, except that this
wouldnt explain (to me) why, for instance, Evince displays the file correctly, but ImageMagick wont.

Finally, you suggested that an optimal display size might be a
factor... indeed... if I change the screen resolution, I get very
near to correct dimensions in Acrobat Reader... one of the apps
giving me a problem... however, this is still wrong, and again,
is not the same for all applications.

For what it's worth, I originally suspected this might have to
do with non-Linux applications (AcroRead) versus linux... but
as stated, it shows up in ImageMagick - a foundation linux
application. I am clueless.

stu7 · 10-28-2008, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stu7

In the past, AcroRead (Acrobat Reader) has been the PDF
viewing application I preferred...

...ah, and "the past" is where this problem began.
The acroread I tried to run in Etch was for older
distributions... Etch has different libraries...
on installing the new AcroRead-8 and libraries,
no problems... AcroRead-8 works great with Etch !