How to Open a PDF File From the Command Line in Ubuntu
- 1). Access the command line from the Gnome desktop by pulling down the "Applications" menu, usually found in the uppermost, left-hand corner of the screen; select "Accessories" and then "Terminal." Navigate to the directory where the PDF file is located. Enter the following command at the prompt without the quotation marks, "gnome-open filename.pdf", replacing the word file name with the PDF file's name that you wish to open and press "Enter."
- 2). Launch the same PDF reader from the command prompt by navigating to the directory where the PDF file is located and entering the following command, without the quotation marks, "evince filename.pdf", replacing the word file name with the PDF file's name that you wish to open and then press the "Enter" key.
- 3). Install an alternative PDF reader, using the following command at the prompt, "sudo apt-get install acroread" (without the quotation marks), followed by typing in your password when prompted and pressing the "Enter" key. When the installation has finished, type the following command at the command line prompt to launch Adobe Reader, "acroread filename.pdf", replacing the word file name with the PDF file's name that you wish to open and press "Enter."
- 4). Install another alternative PDF reader, using the following command at the prompt, "sudo apt-get install xpdf" (without the quotation marks) followed by typing in your password when prompted and pressing the "Enter" key. Type the following command, when the installation has finished, at the command line prompt to launch Adobe Reader, "xpdf filename.pdf", replacing the word file name with the PDF file's name that you wish to open and press "Enter."
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