In Slackware most everything is also installed to /usr/bin, and Mint maybe different, but as I said above, the adobe reader .bin file (acroread) installs itself to, /opt/Adobe/Reader/bin/

Google Earth and VirtualBox also install to /opt

Okay, I've got that. Mine is /usr/bin/acroread. Now what do I do with that as far as opening a pdf file?

After puzzling over this for a good while and researching the topic on the web, I am still unable to find a solution for how to open a pdf file within SeaMonkey. Is this a bug, or is there something I'm missing here? I welcome anyone who might have some additional insights here. Thank you in advance for any information that might lead to a solution!

I don't use Seamonkey, but have it on my Slackware box and just tried this - it works...

1. Edit >> Preferences >> Helper Applications
2. Click "New Type"
3. Mime type = text/pdf, Description = PDFs, Extension = pdf
4. Check "Open it with" and "Choose" /usr/bin/acroread
5. Click OK, OK...

Then close and restart Seamonkey and find a PDF to open...

Try that!

Have you tried installing Okular? It's my favourite PDF reader, and can open much more then just PDF's

I'm using Firefox and in it's preferences I can select which program I wish to use with filetypes. Isn't Seamonkey based on Firefox?

I've made a screenshot (in Dutch) where I can setup stuff in Firefox. To be found in Edit -> Preferences -> Applications tab (If I translate everything correctly).

Astrogeek...I do not find "New Type" listed under Helper Applications. Where do you find that? SandsofArrakis, I did install Okular but don't know how to get it to read pdf files. It doesn't come up as an option when I hit a pdf file. Can you explain how to integrate it with my system more effectively? Thanks!

I have circled it in red on the attached screenshot.

Mine is a 1.x version, it is possible that a newer one is different, but I would expect the option to be there in some form or another...

Attached Thumbnails

 

Yes, my helper application looks significantly different than what you have here. Could you please tell me how to get a limited screen shot like the one you have here so that I can send you my corresponding page? In other words, how do I shoot a section of the page as distinct from the entire page? Thank you. If you have this we might be able to solve this!

You should be able to do just that with KSnapshot, which you can find in the repos.

Okay, thanks for that tip! Does this help you understand how this page is set up? I don't see how to get Adobe Reader (or whatever) established as the means to read pdf files. If I can show anything else, please let me know. Good to know how to make these shots!

Sorry to be slow, unexpectedly away again most of today.

Well, I returned home and booted into my Slackware current machine so I could use the most recent Seamonkey. I see what you mean about the dialog being different.

I have now spent most of the past 2 hours trying to do this and am going to throw in the towel! I have concluded that it is not possible in Seamonkey 2! Note this seems to be a Seamonkey thing, not a Slackware or GNU/Linux thing...

I found this page on mozilla.org which seems to be what you want as far as documentation, and have read and followed links ad infinitum this evening... without luck!

Down the page is a special section on PDFs which states...

Which seems to not agree with the current Seamonkey (the built in is available) but does indicate that Seamonkey features in this regard do not match Firefox.

There is an additional section further down page which tells you how to change helper apps... but it relies on them already being defined.

I also explored about:config but found no solution there either.

Among the pages I found online was this one here on LQ, in which Didier Spaier indicates that he was able to make this very change by copying the mimeTypes.rdf from Firefox, but also agrees that it cannot be accomplished through the preferences UI.

I am not a Seamonkey user at this time so my interest in the problem has been pretty well exhausted.

So to summarize - it seems to not be a Seamonkey feature, or possibly an undocumented Seamonkey feature, and your inability to configure it the way you want is not a GNU/Linux or Slackware related issue, so I would suggest that you try asking in the Mozilla forums.

Please post back to this thread if you find a solution - good luck!

1 members found this post helpful.

Thank you kindly for your research, interest, and persistence in trying to answer my question! This is commendable in the extreme. In my experience (which admittedly is limited) I have found no forum as helpful as Linux Questions. The quality and depth of replies is astounding. Thank you, Astrogeek, for the time you spent on trying to solve this. It would seem to me that the ability to open pdf files is pretty basic--certainly nothing esoteric--and I can't imagine why SeaMonkey would overlook this basic function. Very strange. I was finding Firefox quirky and that's why I dispensed with it. Another Mozilla browser I've heard about recently is Pale Moon, originally written for Windows but there is now a Linux application. Some people seem to like it. Does anyone know anything about it?

I know Linux Questions was originally intended for questions pertaining to Slackware. A friend of mine swears by Slackware and he never uses any other distro. From what I gather, however, the learning curve for Slackware is pretty steep and you have to be comfortable working at the terminal. But apparently once you grasp it, you can figure a way to do practically anything you want. I'm sure it comes up often these forums, but what is the best way to approach Slackware? Is there a book or online tutorial that provides a good introduction? My sense is, for non-techies like myself, it's probably better working with front-end distros. The terminal is of course always available, even in front end distros. Still, I like the idea that "when you know Slackware, you know Linux." Thank you again!

You are welcome! Sorry that the effort did not produce a positive solution for you...

I am like your friend - a great fan and promoter of Slackware - so I would highly recommend it!

Slackware is not any more "difficult" or "obscure" than other GNU/Linux distros, but it is a little different, and the difference is all for the good!

For basic functions, web, office, etc... you be able to install a working system out of the box.

It is true that you may spend more time in a terminal, but why does that scare people? The fact is that the terminal is just another simple application that provides an interface to the system - the shell. It is actually a foundation of the Unix concepts and those who never learn it really limit their use of their Unix-like computer experience!

it isn't hard! It does take a little more knowledge on the part of the user, but that is a good thing for all!

The only real negative surprise for most non-computer people with Slackware I think is that it does not provide a graphical partition tool during install. Many people become confused by this and form their opinion that Slackware is difficult based only on that.

So I would suggest using one of the free live CD partition managers first - Gparted is my tool of choice anyway - to set up your partitions before you install Slackware. Then the Slackware install is very smooth sailing!

Many people suggest installing to a VM to test drive it - but I favor doing a real install to the hard drive. I think testing in a VM is not a fair test in many ways and often the exercise becomes more a test drive of the VM rather than the target distro! So if you have available space, just use it.

And as you noted - LQ is the most useful and friendly place on the web for support, and the Slackware forum is the best of LQ (my opinion) - use it!

Good luck!

I have had a lot of success using Libreoffice 4.2 to open PDF files. You can read and, if needed, save to document format. Hope I am not being too simplistic.

Unless you have specific requirements - as mentioned by Cwizardone - I would go along with the advice from JohnVV - avoid acroread and use Okular (KDE) or its equivalent for other environments.

I have not had acroread on my systems for about 10 years since I discovered that just having the program open on another desktop was eating nearly all of my CPU cycles - when I hadn't gone near it for a couple of hours. It truly was crap software.