[texhax] dvi vs pdf - skim

[Thomas Schneider]

Sam:

> To see what can happen, what would you do with a Word file from,
> say, 1990?  Each version of Word can handle files from the previous
> version or two, but no further.  So unless that file was continually
> updated from version to version, it is effectively dead.

I have always suspected that ... it's a reason to use LaTeX and other
text (ascii) based tools - aside from the switch to unicode they
should last a really long time.  But that's not why I started this
note ..  But that's not why I started this note ..

> I have one further problem with pdf.  I am accustomed to compiling a
> file, previewing it, making changes and then iterate.  I cannot do
> that with the Adobe reader.

Nope.  I've written to them inumerable times about it for some years
and they ignored the suggestion.  It's a trivial bit of code!

> I cannot write a new pdf file while the
> old one is loaded. So exit the file from the reader, then compile
> the new version, load the new file, and then find your place again. 
> I find this intolerable.

Me too!

> Someone once suggested a different pdf reader and I tried it and
> found it unsatisfactory in other ways (I no longer recall why). 
> I'll stick to dvi, thank you.

I recently found skim:

http://skim-app.sourceforge.net/

It can be set to automatically reload.  It is my basic viewer now for
LaTeX output.  It is for Mac OS X though.

> Just as a note here, I experienced a similar hassle using Adobe
> Reader. Switching to Ubuntu and the default pdf reader on that OS,
> Evince, greatly enhanced my productivity with LaTeX as it
> auto-refreshes when any changes are made to the file you are
> viewing. I cannot overstate how much better this is and how
> frustrated I become when I am forced to work with Adobe's reader.

Apparently that works on Mac OS X too but I haven't tried yet.

Tom

  Thomas D. Schneider, Ph.D.
  National Institutes of Health
  National Cancer Institute
  Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory
  Molecular Information Theory Group
  Frederick, Maryland  21702-1201
  schneidt at mail.nih.gov
  toms at alum.mit.edu (permanent)
  http://alum.mit.edu/www/toms (permanent)