[plug] re : where is acrread?

[James Devenish]

Hi,

In message <oprx19zu1pynaiof at mail.webtec.net.au>
on Mon, Nov 03, 2003 at 08:22:32PM +0800, richard yellin wrote:
> /usr/localAcrobat5"  ie left out a "/", entered it and it asked 

If you had stopped here, then no worries: just go:

# mv /usr/localAcrobat5 /usr/local/Acrobat5

This would rename the directory and place it within /usr/local
(which would already exist, of course).

However, now that you've installed it twice, you will have a copy in
both /usr/localAcrobat5 and /usr/local/Acrobat5, I think. You can
safely go

# rm -r /usr/localAcrobat5

if you want to. Now...onto the problem of "where's acroread". I guess
what you mean is that when you type "acroread" at a shell prompt, you
see "command not found".

Acrobat Reader has been "installed" in a self-contained manner. That is,
it is all located within /usr/local/Acrobat5. However, your shell
doesn't know how to find software that is self-contained in this manner.
It's not problem, and there are several common solutions (this situation
is a "feature", not a "bug"!). Basically: the acroread file needs to be
found within a directory that is listed in your $PATH variable. But
don't *move* acroread -- there's no need!

1/ Use a link (normally a symbolic link or "symlink"):

# ln -s /usr/local/Acrobat5/bin/acroread /usr/local/bin

The above command line will link acroread to one of the directories that
your shell already recognises. Because Acrobat5 is self-contained, no
further effort is required on your part. You can freely delete Acrobat5
in future, or even overwrite or delete the symlink in future, without
damaging your system. (I.e. no stress to upgrade to the hypothetical
Acrobat6 for Linux.)

2/ Change your $PATH:

# export PATH=/usr/local/Acrobat5/bin:$PATH

The above is not a common solution for Acrobat, and it is only a
temporary solution (unless you add the above line to your shell's
startup scripts of your disto's defaults file). It might also appear to
be flaky, if you have already started your window manager. However, it
can be useful is you want to play around before going for the symlink
option.

With regards to any further issues with GNOME specifically, I'm not
sure.


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